Woman seeking answers following wrongful eviction from Suitland apartment

SUITLAND, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A Suitland woman tells FOX 5 she was wrongfully evicted from her apartment Wednesday afternoon and she has the paperwork to prove it.

Denise Smith was at work when she got a startling call. She says she was told she was getting evicted from her apartment -- an incident she says was a complete mistake.

When she rushed home to the Andrew's Ridge Apartments, she found her belongings damaged and scattered all over the mud and grass. Smith was completely floored.

"I just felt violated and I felt like I just got robbed," Smith told FOX 5 Thursday. "Everything was all over the floor. Bags everywhere. Couches flipped upside down. T.V. on its side. It was just a mess."

Smith described the phone call she received from the Andrew's Ridge apartment complex to us:

"'Miss Smith, this is Val, the property manager. I'm trying to get in contact with you because the sheriffs are proceeding with your eviction,'" said Smith. "So at that point, I'm like, I felt like my heart was beating in my ears. I just was like 'what in the world?'"

The property manager told Smith they were evicting her because they alleged she hadn't fully paid her rent of $1,507 for several months.

Smith says their numbers just don't add up. We checked and they don't.

FOX 5 obtained a copy of Smith's bill from the apartment complex. The bill states she does in fact owe $1,507 a month, but on Smith's signed lease, it clearly states her monthly rent is $1,324 -- over $180 less.

"When I told [the property manager] that she goes, 'How is that possible?' And I was like, 'I don't know, but that's what was on my lease,'" said Smith.

Smith says the property manager put her on hold, double checked the numbers and came back on the phone.

"She's like, 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh wow' and then she hung up," said Smith.

FOX 5 tried speaking with the property manager in order to understand why they never checked Smith's lease or even notified her of payment issues before evicting her. They referred us to their corporate offices.

Meanwhile, maintenance workers managed to put Smith's belongings back into her apartment, but she says it wasn't the same.

"My kid's room, the dresser is, you see the scratches up there on the dresser, the piece of wood.
The scratches right over there? Yeah, the pieces of wood that's missing on the side, the dent right there?" said Smith

Now, all Smith can do is hope something like this never happens again. She says she is still looking for her children's iPads and cellphones that were outside at the time of the eviction.

Smith tells FOX 5 the apartment complex didn't mention anything regarding reimbursement for damages. They did, however, treat her to some take out dinner last night.