Large Companies Suck!
I've been renting apartments for the last seven years. For the first time in those seven years, I am renting from a large reality company that owns several buildings. Today I learned first hand how cold-hearted these large real estate companies are.
This complex does not let me pay my rent by personal check. Although it's actually quite nice to pay by credit card, I prefer to personally deliver my rent check every month so that I know that it has been received on time. In my seven years of renting, I only forgot to pay my rent on one occasion, and the landlord contacted me on the 4th day of the month to remind me of the issue so that I could pay well before I would be charged with a late payment fee.
Unfortunately, there was a mix-up this month with the payment service I use to pay my rent and my credit card was not billed for my July. I discovered this today when I noticed that my credit card bill was unusually low. The reason my credit card was not billed was because my credit card on file had expired and I needed to update my credit card number with a new expiration date for a scheduled payment to go through. I have not yet received any notice from the apartment complex that my rent was late.
Upon realizing the issue, I ran over to the leasing office to clear this up and find out why I had not been given a late notice. I was hoping that I could talk them out of charging me the $75 late payment fee since I am bringing this issue to their attention before they ever notified me. However, I assumed that I would probably have to pay the late fee since that charge is assessed on the 10th day of the month.
The office accountant was out to lunch when I stopped by, so I asked the person at the office to have her call me ASAP so that I could stop by and resolve this issue. 4:30PM rolled around and I still had not heard back. I called the office and was able to reach the office accountant. She was an asshole.
I was told that it is my fault that the rent is late. I was not there to debate that issue, so she didn't need to bring this up repeatedly. I was informed that I had to get them a money order by the time they close today for the late funds or I would be issued an eviction notice, which was scheduled to go out at the close of business today. Given that my bank had closed for the day, this was impossible. However, if she had returned my message promptly this afternoon, I would have been able to pay today.
When I asked whether they have a policy to politely warn their tenants of late rent prior to issuing eviction notices, I was told that I am lucky that they don't issue eviction notices on the 10th, which is within their legal right.
When I asked why she didn't respond to my message regarding my late rent at a time when I could still have gone to my bank today to obtain a money order, I was basically reminded that it was my responsibility to pay rent on time. I asked to speak to the building manager at this point since the accountant clearly cannot see anything beyond black and white, but she said that all rent issue go through her and that no one else could help me.
I ultimately pleaded for mercy since I did not want an eviction notice on my credit record. I had given up on trying to negotiate my way out of the late payment charge. Apparently, she did not want to relent despite the fact that I discovered this problem on my own and have not had a single issue paying rent on time since I moved here. When I pointed out that I cannot get a payment to her until after the leasing office closes on Tuesday, she initially said I was S.O.L.. However, I was able to get her to make a one-time exception after asking again why she never responded to my urgent message from earlier in the day, but she would not put it in writing for me. Given my distrust of this asshole accountant, I am going to go into work 2 hours late tomorrow and get a money order from my bank and put this issue to rest before my credit is tarnished.
Here is what I think of my apartment complex.
Long story short, never rent from a large real estate company. They are so large that they are incapable for caring for their low maintenance tenants. I can't wait to move out of here.
And don't worry. It's not lost on me that my non-payment of rent this month is ultimately my fault.
This complex does not let me pay my rent by personal check. Although it's actually quite nice to pay by credit card, I prefer to personally deliver my rent check every month so that I know that it has been received on time. In my seven years of renting, I only forgot to pay my rent on one occasion, and the landlord contacted me on the 4th day of the month to remind me of the issue so that I could pay well before I would be charged with a late payment fee.
Unfortunately, there was a mix-up this month with the payment service I use to pay my rent and my credit card was not billed for my July. I discovered this today when I noticed that my credit card bill was unusually low. The reason my credit card was not billed was because my credit card on file had expired and I needed to update my credit card number with a new expiration date for a scheduled payment to go through. I have not yet received any notice from the apartment complex that my rent was late.
Upon realizing the issue, I ran over to the leasing office to clear this up and find out why I had not been given a late notice. I was hoping that I could talk them out of charging me the $75 late payment fee since I am bringing this issue to their attention before they ever notified me. However, I assumed that I would probably have to pay the late fee since that charge is assessed on the 10th day of the month.
The office accountant was out to lunch when I stopped by, so I asked the person at the office to have her call me ASAP so that I could stop by and resolve this issue. 4:30PM rolled around and I still had not heard back. I called the office and was able to reach the office accountant. She was an asshole.
I was told that it is my fault that the rent is late. I was not there to debate that issue, so she didn't need to bring this up repeatedly. I was informed that I had to get them a money order by the time they close today for the late funds or I would be issued an eviction notice, which was scheduled to go out at the close of business today. Given that my bank had closed for the day, this was impossible. However, if she had returned my message promptly this afternoon, I would have been able to pay today.
When I asked whether they have a policy to politely warn their tenants of late rent prior to issuing eviction notices, I was told that I am lucky that they don't issue eviction notices on the 10th, which is within their legal right.
When I asked why she didn't respond to my message regarding my late rent at a time when I could still have gone to my bank today to obtain a money order, I was basically reminded that it was my responsibility to pay rent on time. I asked to speak to the building manager at this point since the accountant clearly cannot see anything beyond black and white, but she said that all rent issue go through her and that no one else could help me.
I ultimately pleaded for mercy since I did not want an eviction notice on my credit record. I had given up on trying to negotiate my way out of the late payment charge. Apparently, she did not want to relent despite the fact that I discovered this problem on my own and have not had a single issue paying rent on time since I moved here. When I pointed out that I cannot get a payment to her until after the leasing office closes on Tuesday, she initially said I was S.O.L.. However, I was able to get her to make a one-time exception after asking again why she never responded to my urgent message from earlier in the day, but she would not put it in writing for me. Given my distrust of this asshole accountant, I am going to go into work 2 hours late tomorrow and get a money order from my bank and put this issue to rest before my credit is tarnished.
Here is what I think of my apartment complex.
Long story short, never rent from a large real estate company. They are so large that they are incapable for caring for their low maintenance tenants. I can't wait to move out of here.
And don't worry. It's not lost on me that my non-payment of rent this month is ultimately my fault.
posted by GaryGinew at 5:08 PM
1 Comments:
It may technically be your fault, but I think most people (whether they work for a large company or not) would understand the credit card expiration date slipping your mind. Sounds like the woman you had to interact with was just a bitch. If this woman had imagined herself in your place (which is a good idea regardless of the situation - not to imagine oneself in Gary's place per se, but you know what I mean), perhaps she would have been a little less snotty and rigid regarding the rules.
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