A Tewksbury man says he was having a punctuation problem. One that kept him from cashing a $2,000 security deposit check.
That’s until Solve It 7 checked it out. Brandon Gunnoe has the story.
“Every time I saw something that needed to be cleaned, I was on it,” Matthew said.
Matthew kept the apartment he rented with his two roommates spotless.
“I cleaned. I mopped. I swept,” Matthew said.
That’s because he paid the entire $2,000 security deposit himself.
“I left it clean. It didn’t get messy. I think I deserved the $2,000 back,” Matthew said.
After Matthew moved out, he got that security deposit back.
“I was happy about it,” Matthew said.
The check was made out to Matthew and his roommates because they were all listed on the lease.
But there was a semi-colon between each of their names.
“I saw the semi-colons. I thought it was the way checks are written out,” Matthew said.
But Matthew soon discovered he had a check-cashing punctuation problem!
“I took it to my credit union first, and they told me they were unable to do anything about it because of the semicolons. ‘It doesn’t specify if it’s for one of them or if it’s for all three of them,'” Matthew said.
The semi-colons made things tricky: who could cash the check?
His roommates tried their banks too.
“They also then said sorry; unfortunately, we can’t deposit this,” Matthew said.
They were all told the simplest option would be to get a new check with the words “and” — or “or” (and/or) between their names. That way, any one of them could cash it.
“I was very frustrated,” Matthew said.
Matthew says he called the property management company several times and went to the office asking for a new check.
“I was like, ‘Okay, hopefully I should have my money soon,'” Matthew said.
But when the new check arrived, it still had the semicolons.
“I lost it. I didn’t know what to do. I was basically stuck. I had this $2,000. I’m looking forward to putting towards my future,” Matthew said.
He says he left more messages for the management company.
“Never ever got a response. No one was answering the phone. No one’s calling me back,” Matthew said.
Finally, he banked on Solve It 7.
“I was like, ‘You know, what, it’s worth a shot,'” Matthew said.
We tried contacting the management company, but no one responded.
So we emailed Matthew’s credit union.
A representative told us they have to be careful to protect against fraud.
But with Matthew’s roommates’ consent, they cashed the check.
“Solve It 7 honestly reached out and helped me a lot, and I can’t thank enough,” Matthew said.
So happy you got your dough! Do you have a “money matter” you’re trying to get resolved?
Give us a call at 617-367-7777.
Or email us: SolveIt7@whdh.com
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