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I would give it until the 31st, with a reminder in writing sent now that you are expecting your refund by the end of the month as per your past conversations and if you do not receive the refund unfortunately legal action will be taken. I would also start a document of all the dates and conversations, and then come the 31st, I would talk to a lawyer and see what they say. Hopefully the threat of a lawsuit is enough to pay up and it will save you money and time.

We couldn't get our deposit back from a landlord once after we'd moved out, and we sent a certified letter "demanding" our money back (I hate that language, but all the stuff I read online said to use it). We also threatened legal action if they did not comply. They sent us a nasty letter back (they actually made fun of the fact that we used the word "demand"), but they included our check in their reply. Worth trying that first, and building up a paper trail.

Another option is to leave a poor review for them somewhere (like yelp) indicating that they won't refund your money, and forward it to them. That is sort of mean, but again easier than going to court. You could always remove the bad review later.

So things likely vary by region, but we were sued by someone who bought our old house. It was terrible, she was absolutely out of line, and it caused so_SO_SOOOO much stress for all of us.

We consulted with a variety of lawyers in navigating the situation, and in the end we ended up going into mediation with her and came to a reasonable compromise.

But, before getting to that point, the advice we were given was to ensure that we could indicate that all avenues of attempted resolution had been exhausted. In our case it meant that we sent her letters through our lawyer, we provided a paper trail to show that we had been active in trying to find a solution, and we consulted with 'experts' in the field we were dealing with. After all of that we responded to her claims. In the jurisdiction we were dealing with the first step is to go to mediation, with two court-appointed mediators, and if that fails, then you end up in front of a judge. We wanted to avoid that at all costs.
Anyhow, long story short--taking steps to let them know that you are serious is not always a bad idea, and that court doesn't have to be the next step, but a step in the future

@mediagirl: Does she have an email address? I would get something in writing (even text messages) that documents your conversation before it gets to nasty and you don't have an actual paper trail. She could very well receive the certified letter and say you didn't give enough notice which will just be more of a headache for you. I would still encourage the certified letter but have something in writing (from her) that agrees to the terms you stated to her in person and on the phone.

No. And geez!

@mediagirl: Do you have any lawyer friends? I would see if they would help you write a letter in legal speak. It would essentially tell them that you are threatening to sue. That could light the fire under their butts and hopefully get a check to you ASAP. Definitely send it certified mail so they know you mean business. We did this with our venue for our wedding. We had a particular situation to deal with and DH's groomsmen's mother (a paralegal at the time) helped us construct a letter. We avoided any legal action because of the letter. I would try that before actually looking into suing. Lots of luck to you!

@bluestriped bee: @mediagirl: Ask friends on FB to have a lawyer write the letter. Let me know if you don't have anyone.... Sending letter from lawyer's stationary is very powerful.

I would absolutely start by writing a demand letter and sending it certified! (I'm an attorney ) And you need to be extremely assertive and cite to the appropriate documents/agreements.

I had to send one to my former landlord who wouldn't give back the security deposit when we moved out. Same type of deal - story kept changing, timeline pushed back, etc. So I sent a very detailed, assertive letter. In the letter, I cited to the lease and the state's Landlord-Tenant act that stated the amount of time that the landlord had to return the security deposit. I attached those documents with pertinent portions highlighted. I'm sure they thought it was "nasty" but you know, you have to do what you have to do. And I did put a "demand" portion - i.e., please provide the check to me in the amount of xx by x date. If I do not receive it by that date, I will be forced to take legal action.

That's a ton of money. WAY too much to sit idly by! I agree with seeing if you have a friend who's an attorney read over it.

You have to look at this way: you're not being nasty. This is just CYA. You have to make a paper trail as the first step.

Yes, but in pa, they can't make them pay. After you win in small claims court, you have to take some other step - I think filing with the commonwealth court? And then that level of court can compel them to pay. But if they don't have any $$ you have to wait until they get a tax refund or something. Crazy.