Southeastern Ohio Legal Services (SEOLS)-Newark

They're calling it an experiment I got shafted and they didn't give a damn just picking the easy cases

I had an attorney representing me from this division and handled my case wonderfully but, prior to the end of our business relationship I told him very clearly that I knew that my previous landlord was going to try to avoid returning my deposit and I could have sworn that I was told that something would be written up in the papers about my deposit but turns out, nothing was and he told me that he would not be representing me in regards to getting my deposit back and he also made it very clear with their attorney that he wouldn't be representing me and so for that reason I'm being completely ignored and blown off and just like I said they did not return my deposit nor did they give me an itemized list. Their attorney will not return my call and even though the legal aid attorney told me and the opposing council that he would be advising me if they were to not return my deposit and that was at the beginning of the month and I've been trying to reach my previous legal aid representation and I have not received a return call, I reply email or a reply text. I'm being completely ignored. So now I have to go and try to navigate the legal system on my own and try to get a small claims case filed against my previous landlord and I don't know the first thing about what I should do and how I should do it because the person that said they were going to advise me is ignoring me. It's a great place if you don't have money and have a simple case like I did and it can be handled easily but keep in mind that you're most likely going to have money out of your pocket anyway because they only handle your case to a certain extent and then you're on your own. Even when you try to call and just find out if they received that itemized list, the woman that answers the phone for their intake completely ignores you blows you off and just transfers you while you're in the middle of talking to her. She's very rude and disrespectful and I was told that I could call in to see if they've received any communication from the other party and the woman wouldn't stay on the phone with mean you said that I could tell her that any deposit or form of communication coming from them is coming to their office and not my address because I felt very threatened and to intimidated to allow my previous landlord to have my current address. But oh well I mean my deposit could be sitting there and may have been sitting there for 10 days now and I wouldn't know because nobody will talk to me.

Legal Aid presents itself as a champion for the underdog, but in practice, their actions often create challenges for responsible landlords. While it's true that some landlords may act unethically, the same can be said for many tenants and statistically, there are more scummy tenants than scummy landlords. Unfortunately, Legal Aid's approach can feel one-sided, often siding with tenants who refuse to pay rent and help them abuse the system. This imbalance can be frustrating for landlords who work hard to provide safe and fair housing. Why should tenants be provided with a free attorney when a landlord has to pay?