Current Events > So There is a Line at my Apartment Front Office - They Charged 6 months of Water

(+) Yeah! (+)

not defending the practice, but backbills are a common practice and what may or may not have been an oversight during transition is not an excuse for free passes.

not defending the practice, but backbills are a common practice and what may or may not have been an oversight during transition is not an excuse for free passes.

people who are good with money would recognize they've been underpaying for the last six months and would either A.) bring it to someone's attention (save me your "YOU'RE LIKE THE KID SAYING TEACHER DIDN'T COLLECT HOMEWORK" fingerpointing crap, you know it's the right thing to do and will save you a headache in the long run) or B.) make a mental note and don't go spending above your means for when the backbill inevitably comes.

The apartment complex is still owed the payment on the water bill, but they also need to accommodate reasonable plans to make the payment. "Not paying" and "pay hundreds of dollars in 3 days or else" are not solutions any civil court in this country would approve.

That was what I told them - if they had told me "You can split this into $25 a month extra over the next few months" then okay, whatever. It's still BS but I'll live with it.

But they literally got all uppity with me and gave me this "it's not our issue" crap and "We explained to you the reason and you didn't want to listen" - she even rolled her eyes at me.

Mother fucker this is customer service and I have lived here 6 years, don't you DARE roll your fucking eyes at me.

Get it documented that they will not make a reasonable accommodation and bring it to housing court. Judges tend to not rule favorably to tactics like thing--Don't expect the money to be waived, but you will likely receive some sort of relief.

I mean the money has to come from somewhere. They did a shitty job notifying but it's not like they're just going to hand wave hundreds of dollars per tenant

I just fucking hate renting. Like, just leave me the fuck alone - I've lived here 6 years and I pay my rent on time the 1st day of the month every freaking month.

Freaking nickle-and-dime me with this bullshit...in the middle of a recession...fuck this.

Noone gives a fuck that youve lived somewhere for 6 years. Where does that idea come from? Do you think you offered a service?

People renting need to get a clue and pay attention to their finances. Mommy's not on your lease to keep it from going to collections.

It's not my problem as a tenant to correct their mistakes

Not trying to be a dick here, but you dont even know what the additional $80 is for? Its time, man. Get it together.

Well it actually is your problem as you found out, and if it's new management then it's not even their mistake. I get that you're venting but you sound pretty silly right now

If your cell phone company sent you a bill and said they undercharged the past 6 months please pay $115 immediately otherwise we will cut off your service - you would be extremely upset. If you had a pair, you'd call them up and tell them it is not your problem.

You wouldn't just have some dumbfuck smile on your face and say "OH OKAY LET ME PAY YOU MONEY FOR YOUR PROBLEM YOU HAD".

if a company realizes that it has not billed you for past services rendered / used, they are within their rights to bill you for it.

they're being a bit aggressive by demanding you all pay it on such short notice, but i think they're within their rights to expect payment for services rendered

if a company realizes that it has not billed you for past services rendered / used, they are within their rights to bill you for it.

they're being a bit aggressive by demanding you all pay it on such short notice, but i think they're within their rights to expect payment for services rendered

also, $114 for 6 months of water is pretty cheap. my house's water bill is usually closer to $150 every 3 months.

If your cell phone company sent you a bill and said they undercharged the past 6 months please pay $115 immediately otherwise we will cut off your service - you would be extremely upset. If you had a pair, you'd call them up and tell them it is not your problem.

This should be on the management side, they fucked up so they foot the bill. That's why you are paying them to manage the system. If keeping tabs on the water bill was responsibility of the tenant and no management involved then it would be a different issue.

It is like if the house you rent suddenly has a broken roof due to lack of mantainance and the landlord expects you to pay for 3 years of backward mainentance fees even though it was their negligence and they failed to even consider charging you such a fee in the rent price... and of course CE being CE will also defend the landlord in this hypothetical example

Not trying to be a dick here

you aren't being taken advantage of at all. you're being asked to pay for what you used. the only "unfair" thing about this is how little notice you're being given to make up for their mistake.

if a company realizes that it has not billed you for past services rendered / used, they are within their rights to bill you for it.

If your cell phone company sent you a bill and said they undercharged the past 6 months please pay $115 immediately otherwise we will cut off your service - you would be extremely upset. If you had a pair, you'd call them up and tell them it is not your problem.

You wouldn't just have some dumbfuck smile on your face and say "OH OKAY LET ME PAY YOU MONEY FOR YOUR PROBLEM YOU HAD".

not defending the practice, but backbills are a common practice and what may or may not have been an oversight during transition is not an excuse for free passes.

people who are good with money would recognize they've been underpaying for the last six months and would either A.) bring it to someone's attention (save me your "YOU'RE LIKE THE KID SAYING TEACHER DIDN'T COLLECT HOMEWORK" fingerpointing crap, you know it's the right thing to do and will save you a headache in the long run) or B.) make a mental note and don't go spending above your means for when the backbill inevitably comes.

Does the water bill company deserve to be paid? Yes. However you are paying a 3rd party called the managament to pay for those services on your behalf. In this case the management did not provide you the services you paid them for, wouldn't you deserve to get refunded all the specific management fees that you paid for the past 6 months? To put in another way, the money to pay the water company (who deserved to be paid) should come from management because you pay them to do so.

This should be on the management side, they fucked up so they foot the bill. That's why you are paying them to manage the system. If keeping tabs on the water bill was responsibility of the tenant and no management involved then it would be a different issue.

It is like if the house you rent suddenly has a broken roof due to lack of mantainance and the landlord expects you to pay for 3 years of backward mainentance fees even though it was their negligence and they failed to even consider charging you such a fee in the rent price... and of course CE being CE will also defend the landlord in this hypothetical example

This should be on the management side, they fucked up so they foot the bill. That's why you are paying them to manage the system. If keeping tabs on the water bill was responsibility of the tenant and no management involved then it would be a different issue.

It is like if the house you rent suddenly has a broken roof due to lack of mantainance and the landlord expects you to pay for 3 years of backward mainentance fees even though it was their negligence and they failed to even consider charging you such a fee in the rent price... and of course CE being CE will also defend the landlord in this hypothetical example

What. CE hates landlords.

This all the way. They have a management company. Clearly, said company didn't do its job and is now trying to screw over the renter.

They fucked up and should eat the cost, not you.

Also, we have an online payment system - so all it shows up as is 1 Gross Amount that is owed. My rent is $995 a month and I've been paying $1075 a month. How the hell should I have known that the $80 extra I pay each month did NOT include the water? I thought it did.

Do you have a Homeowners Association? I

Does the water bill company deserve to be paid? Yes. However you are paying a 3rd party called the managament to pay for those services on your behalf. In this case the management did not provide you the services you paid them for, wouldn't you deserve to get refunded all the specific management fees that you paid for the past 6 months? To put in another way, the money to pay the water company (who deserved to be paid) should come from management because you pay them to do so.

I wasn't expecting so many people to shill for the landlord.

They made the mistake, they should take responsibility for it.

No, and the example you agree with is ignorant.

An actual comparable example would be the resident destroys the roof, and billing for the repairs is delayed. Doesnt get you off.

Sounds like you are.

EDIT: Also, we have an online payment system - so all it shows up as is 1 Gross Amount that is owed. My rent is $995 a month and I've been paying $1075 a month. How the hell should I have known that the $80 extra I pay each month did NOT include the water? I thought it did.

not defending the practice, but backbills are a common practice and what may or may not have been an oversight during transition is not an excuse for free passes.

people who are good with money would recognize they've been underpaying for the last six months and would either A.) bring it to someone's attention (save me your "YOU'RE LIKE THE KID SAYING TEACHER DIDN'T COLLECT HOMEWORK" fingerpointing crap, you know it's the right thing to do and will save you a headache in the long run) or B.) make a mental note and don't go spending above your means for when the backbill inevitably comes.

Oh but sure, give the white people that use more tap water on average a larger concession than the black and hispanic residents who use less on average. Congrats, you're fucking fired, and your leasing company is sued for thousands. Real smart.

My favorite thing is when these people pretend like they would just "let this stuff go and eat the cost" if they were in the same shoes as the landlord.

The agreement that you made with the landlord wasn't "I'll pay for my water bill but only if you charge me correctly every month!"

The agreement you made with the landlord was, "I'll pay my water bill to you, and you will pay the utility company with it". The servicing of the billing is merely a means to an end to fulfill the leasing agreement, and not the agreement itself. Common Law stipulates that reasonable accommodations must be made to fulfill financial contracts that were disrupted through human error and not malice. There is no malice in the act of forgetting to bill you, it is a normal act of human error. You make errors all the time. I make errors. Computers make errors. The legal system already provides an inordinate amount of protections for errors you might make when renting a property that you don't even realize or think about. Likewise, landlords are given protections as well.

You made a financial commitment to your landlord and you will have to fulfill it. That's life. Sorry.

This seems out of nowhere. When did race even come into this?

Considering that I have rental property in the building I own/live in, yes, I am right. You don't get to fuck up for six months and then put the burden of the fuck up on the renter. You inform them that you made a mistake, and that there will be an increase in rent going forward with the new amount.

Fuck outta here with your slobbering of landlords.

Sorry, I'm at my 100-post-per-24 hour limit and cannot go on with this Jerry dude and this DipDipDiver dude trolling to get a rise out of me, unfortunately.