Is there a waiting period before your sent to collections and it reflects on your credit?

I lived in an apartment for 4 years. when the time came for me to move out i gave the proper notice that i wouldnt be renewing my lease and i left my new forwarding adress and contact information. i had a cat and a dog who acting like a cat and dog did a little bit of damage around the apartment. (cat liked to chew on the blinds) (dog liked to scratch the moulding) i figured they would take it out of my security deposit and if it wastn enough would contact me. well they did contact me they sent me a certified letter and said they took my security deposit and said there was a remaining balance of $180 which was fine. i received the letter amybe a week or so after i had moved out. so the day i recieved the letter i called them to make arrangments to pay them. They told me they had already sent it to collections???? so i went down there and payed it that day i told them that it was rediclous that they didnt wait to inform me that i owed the money before they sent it to collections? i didnt even have a chance to pay it first? it really got my blood boiling. but i payed it and thought it would be the end of it. but now i checked my credit and i have this on my credit report collections. is this even legal? is there a waiting period before they can send it to collections? dont they have to inform me first that i owe them money? id really like to know if i have some kind of legal stand point please dont just give opinions im looking for legal facts. thank you|||There is no waiting period or requirement of notification before being turned to collections.





However, I am sure there are rules in your state's tenant/landlord laws that would require the landlord to provide notice. You might want to check into that.





Since they had already turned you to collections by the time you received notice, I suggest you check your credit report (AnnualCreditReport.com). If this shows, dispute it with the credit bureau. If that doesn't clear it up, you might want to check with an attorney. A bill for damages a week after you move out is certainly not defaulted debt.