I XXXX college in XX/XX/XXXX and left XXXX, XXXX to attend XXXX XXXX XXXX training in XXXX, XXXX. Five years later in XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from the National Credit Audit Corporation ( NCAC ) saying that I owed {$270.00} for damage that had occurred to the apartment that I was living in while in college. I took the letter to my legal department because it seemed weird that an agency would contact me almost five years later about a claim that had materialized out of thin air. My legal department advised me that it was probably a debt collector scam that they unfortunately see frequently with military members due to the frequent moves inherent with military life. Legal told me to respond asking for more information about the debt assuming that it would fall by the wayside. NCAC responded with an itemized list of maintenance charges ( from XXXX XXXX properties, the apartment complex that I had previously lived in ) that I had never seen before. The list was dated a full month before I had supposedly vacated the apartment and yet I was only seeing it for the XXXX time five years later. When I had vacated the apartment in XX/XX/XXXX, it had been under good standing with the rental company ; I understood that I would not be getting the full amount of my initial deposit back because it was standard practice to repaint the walls and have the carpets cleaned using the initial deposit. I again consulted my legal department who, after some research found that XXXX XXXX properties and therefore NCAC, were in violation of Title VI Chapter 83 section 83.49 paragraph 3 ( A ) of the XXXX Statutes which states " the landlord shall have 30 days to give the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant 's last known mailing address of his or her intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim.If the landlord fails to give the required notice within the 30-day period, he or she forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit. '' XXXX XXXX properties failed to notify me within 30 days, much less via certified mail to my last known address, which was provided, and so in my opinion, the debt for damages ( that seem to have materialized when I was not around to contest them ) is not a valid claim.