landlord saying i owe more money then should

Aloha Madeliene,
It must have been difficult for you to be on that situation.. I fully know that.. You said you have a returned check. Do you have a receipt as proof of payment? It’s like this..
The receipt is only a piece of paper saying you gave them a check.. It’s your responsibility to make sure that you have sufficient funds in your bank account; usually the bank takes few more days to notify your landlord that the check is bounced. When a check is received it is expected to go through the system and funds to be transferred. The receipt is given on this expectation. When a check bounces then payment was not made as no funds transferred to the landlord. All I can advise you to do is to go to your bank, see if the check really bounced or if it cleared. If it did bounce then just pay him the balance. Or if he received no money then write him a new check.If you are confident that what you have in your hand will plead you innocent from their accusation then fight for it. You can file a complaint through RPA you just have to fill out the complaint form. I guarantee you it will cost you less than getting a lawyer . Good Luck! 😉