Time to Speak Up

A recent extremely unpleasant experience with the leasing office sent me running to the Internet to search for information about tenants rights, which led me to the realization that San Regis is in great need of a tenants association. As of right now I'm uncertain how such a task would be feasible with the size of the building(s) however one thing I'm sure of is that the tenants need an arena in which to voice their concerns and act together. And so I thought to start off small with a blog.

However, let's start at the beginning with how I came to this point. Several days ago I received a three day notice for an amount less than $100. Despite the low amount I had no idea what it was for so I went into the office and was told it was due to unpaid late fees. Fair enough, we have had to pay late on occasion. I borrowed money to be able to pay it and dropped it off.

The day that I dropped it off I received a notice that I owed more money. I headed back down to the office and was told that it was for late fees. I refused to pay it, pointing out there was no way I could have acquired another late fee since the three day notice. "We don't give three day notices for late fees," she tells me. Clearly someone is in the wrong.

After vigorous insistence and threats of legal action she gave in and looked up my account on the computer. Turns out that I owed only the amount that was in the second letter ($40) not the much larger amount in the three day notice. She told me that mistakes 'happen', that they were clearing out the ledgers and so multiple people have been working on them.

Perhaps I would not have been so upset if: A) this was only the first time they made a financial error; B) she had not spoken to me in such a disgustingly condescending and passive aggressive way; C) I had not had to borrow money to pay for something I did not in fact owe; and D) if this was the only problem I'd had with this leasing office.

However, this bookkeeping error is really only the tip of the iceberg. And that is where you all come in. Speak up about your own difficulties and problems with this leasing office -- maintenance orders that never get done, standing water and leaks, the bugs that waft up the stairs from the garbage bins, inadequate parking, unhelpful and abusive staff, and so on and etc. Speak up in the comments and let's see what issues we all have in common that we can perhaps address together!

And as a last note, be vigilant about the notices you receive. If she was telling the truth about them clearing their ledgers and having multiple people work on them instead of just the bookkeeper, then they are likely to be sending out more erroneous notices due to their apparent inability to double check things.