Payments, Late Fees, Dead Ends
I live in Wilkes Barre PA.
Hi all, I'm having a major problem with the office management here where I live. I will give a little background.
When we moved in, we had to pay a balance of $1,251. We were told that this was for the last few days of the month we moved in, a $350 security deposit, and the second month's rent. There was also a pet security deposit of $500 that needed to be paid, but were told we could pay $5 a month, as long as we made an effort and it was paid off before the year was up.
Back in January/February, we started getting letters once a week saying that we had an outstanding balance. The numbers were never the same, and they didn't match our records for what we paid. The office manager showed us a copy of the ledger, and we apparently missed half of a month's payment, because they used our first payment to pay the pet security, and not the second month's rent.
The major problems started around the end of March. We received 3 letters in 12 days time, all saying that we owed a different amount. Between the second and third letter, we made a rent payment on April 5th, and payed $50 toward our balance. The third letter we received on April 8th or so, said that we owed more than the first letter that was given to us the last week of March!
At this point I was tired of arguing about money with them, so I figured I'd wait until we paid May's rent to bring it to their attention, and get everything straightened out. We go to pay rent on May first, and I bring the letters with me, to show the property manager, who printed and signed the letters. She couldn't explain anything, so she printed up a fresh copy of our payment ledger. As soon as I look at it, I see we are charged a late fee of $42.50 for April. Now, we have until the 5th of the month to pay rent, as per our lease, and late fees (again, as per our lease) are $10 per day. I took April's receipt out of my pocket, and show her that it was paid on the 5th, and wanted to know why there was a late fee. I was informed that 'a bunch of people were charged late fees for April for some reason', and that it would be taken off of the ledger by the next month, which to give her some credit it was.
So, fast forward to June. We always pay rent with 2 money orders. Always. We get two receipts, one for each money order, then they staple the money orders together and put them in a folder for deposit. Well, a few days after we pay rent, we get a letter saying we owe $815, up almost 600 dollars from what we truly did owe. My fiance calls the office and asks what's up. She was informed that we only payed $450 for July's rent. She tells the office that we indeed paid the entire amount, and have receipts to prove it. The office manager calls her back a few minutes later, saying they found the money order, and that everything was ok.
On to July. We got our tax returns, which weren't much, but decided to pay off the rest of the pet security, so we would be all squared up. On Monday, July 5th, we go to pay rent and find that the office is closed for the holiday. Why it's closed on the 5th, I don't know, but we slip the money orders through the door, a total of $1,250 for the pet fees and July's rent.
On August 6th, one day late because of how paychecks come, we go to pay rent. While we were there, we asked for a new copy of the ledger, because according to us, we should have had a credit because of the extra payments we made in July. Because it was the 6th, August's rent balance was included, but it said that we owed $1,325, $425 more than what we pay for rent. I told them that I wanted information for the property manager's superior, phone number, address, and email address, and also wanted to know how and why there's a $42.50 late fee if rent is a day late, when our lease says it's $10 a day.
The property manager wasn't in at the time, but we were assured by the leasing officer that she would give the information to the property manager and get it straightened out. Well, the office manager calls my fiance that afternoon, and tells her that 'everything is straightened out' and that now the balance is only $890. Wait. We paid $950 for rent... which is $50 over our rent to balance out the late fee for being a day late. How do we have an $890 dollar balance? I called the leasing officer, and asked her to have a copy of the ledger printed out for the next day for me to pick up, so I can see what is going on.
Saturday comes around, and I go down to get a copy of our ledger. That $450 that was missing from alllll the way back in June, is tacked onto the end of July. There's no record of the payment we made on the 6th. That's where the balance of $890 comes from. So we should have a minimum credit of $60... There's also a note tacked onto the ledger that allegedly has the info for the company that manages the managers.
So when I get home Saturday night, I pull out all of our payment receipts, and the ledger and I notice a funny pattern. Any time we payed rent on a Saturday, which is when the property manager (and the only one who does payment entry apparently) is off. So those payments go in the following Monday, instead of looking and seeing when the payment was made. This is why 'a bunch of people got charged late fees in April for some reason'.
So... on to today. I start googling around, and can't find any information about the office branch that apparently manages/owns this property. The business name given to me was coming up in a google search as a company with several branch offices, but none in the city that I was given. I call the company, and they inform me that indeed, the information I was given is incorrect. I find a phone number for the address they gave me, and there's no answer, and a generic 'please leave a message' answering machine.
Sorry for the book, but I don't know what to do. We are being charged excessive late fees, the property manager isn't doing her job, and we can't find any information about anybody to call to get in touch with her superiors.
We do like it here, even though our rent is about 300-500 dollars more for similar places, but it's convenient, they include most utilities, and we have great neighbors. Our lease is up in a few months, and we truly do want to renew, but are hesitant because the management can't keep our payments straight.
I guess what I'm asking is, does anybody have a clue what we might be able to do about this???
Re: Payments, Late Fees, Dead Ends
Update:
Someone answered at the number with the generic answering machine. It's a private residence.
I'm trying to find a phone number for the office building itself that this place is apparently located in, but haven't found anything yet.