Integrity in all that you do.
8/29/2024
3:02 pm
As a retired member of the US Air Force, we lived by a set of core values that we were expected to adhere to at work and in our daily lives. The Air Force Core values are “Integrity first, Service before self, and Excellence in all we do”.
I took these values to heart and tried to live that way for the twenty years I served this country. I also lived that way when I was going to school, working, and taking care of my family.
The only problem is that not every person out there has a core belief system and some may confuse it with religious principles, practices, or teachings. This is not about what we have been told on how to live our lives, it is about what we believe inside our hearts and minds. The definition of who we are or want to become.
In recent weeks, I have been dealing with an apartment manager who seems to be upset with me over an incident that occurred in July. It has gotten to the point where we have a court date next week for a pending eviction.
Here is the background of what I believe has precipitated the actions and the unwillingness to find a solution.
After I paid my rent in July, I saw that there was a credit balance of about $47. I had overpaid the water portion of the rent because there was a credit balance the month before that I was unaware of before I had paid it.
For reference, our water is billed by another service provider but included in our rent. The issue has been that we do not receive billing statements from the service provider until up to 10 days past the final rent due date. I have just been estimating or making up the difference once I actually get the billing.
I normally just go by what is typically shown on the online ledger balance on my account for the apartment’s website. I had previously discussed this with the apartment manager with no clear resolution. I was informed that if the balance billed to include the water was not paid in full by the 5th of each month, then it would be subject to late fees, 5-day notices, and possible eviction.
Once I saw the credit, I inquired about whether I could get a refund or if it rolled over to the next month’s balance. At first, I was told “No, it cannot be refunded” by the apartment manager. She came back a few days later stating that it could be refunded but to give her 10 business days to process that. 6 of those 10 business days were to ensure that my payment had cleared the bank.
I told her it already had been processed and cleared my bank. That is when she asked me to call my bank, have them take the payment back, and resubmit it for the right amount.
I used to work in customer service for an investment bank, there is no way to recall those payments once they are processed through the clearing house. It is not like canceling a paper check, it is all digital payments. Plus any canceled payments cost a fee of usually $35 from my bank. I asked if they were going to reimburse me for this cost and was told no.
She said to give her 10 days to get the refund back to me. I said okay and on the 10th business day, I texted her and told her that my refund had not been deposited. She texted back to give her another 10 business days. At that point, I was irritated and felt like she was just blowing me off.
I went to the main office, walked in, and asked her point blank “Where is my refund?” “I want an answer, a check, or cash by the close of business.” That is when she started to argue and said, “I don’t know how to do the refund.” I argued back “You had ten business days to figure it out”.
That whole time, I did not realize that I had walked in just before they were about to have a team meeting. The maintenance and office staff were all there, seated, and watching this all unfold. I asked her “Who is your manager or supervisor?” and she told me to go to the website. I said, “No, I need you to write their name down and contact info on a piece of paper and hand it to me”. She did and I left. I emailed her manager that same day.
Two days later, I got an email from her supervisor at the property management company, they apologized for the misunderstanding and stated they did not know that the apartment manager did not know how to do refunds in their system. I had also sent an email to their holding company stating that they needed to do a better job of training their employees for this possible situation. That supervisor processed my refund and it was a direct deposit the next day.
When I look back at this interaction, yes, I was harsh and overly critical, I own up to that part. What I do not own up to is others not doing their job and trying to evade their responsibility. If she had said at the beginning, “I am not sure how to do that or I have never processed a refund before, let me check, and get back to you.” I would have not gone into her office that morning. Instead, I was blown off twice and expected to wait a month for $47.
When I emailed the manager, I stated that if I had done the same thing, and told them to wait for my rent payment, then they would have started the eviction process. This is unfortunately true here in this state and many others. There is no process to seek a resolution or any mediation.
I found this article in a state paper that stated, “In a state ranked sixth worst for evictions, Oklahoma renters have few protections and little power individually. ” It also said, “Tenant unions are legal in Oklahoma; however the state does not have anti-retaliation laws to prevent landlords from finding ways to evict or otherwise penalize residents with whom they have issues.”- by Heather Warlick, The Oklahoman, August 2, 2024
That brings me to today.
At the end of July, I informed the apartment manager that I had car issues and higher than normal utility bills, and that I was going to be late with the August rent. I informed her the earliest I could get a payment to her was the 26th because that is when my disability deposits. I also stated that my son just started working and would not have his first check until after that. I told her that I would seek out assistance to see if I could get rent paid sooner.
I texted and emailed her to keep her informed of what was occurring. When I got the 5-day notice, I called some of the programs that helped me before. I was told by these programs that they had changed their policies and no longer took the 5-day notice but wanted the eviction notice instead.
I texted her to let her know and she said okay. She texted back that they had to file on the 15th of each month any evictions and she would let me know when they received the paperwork. On the 16th I got her text stating that by noon, on that day, they were filing the eviction. I once again stated that I still did not have payments coming in until the 26th and would need the notice to get further assistance.
I waited and never received anything.
Then on the 26th, I got my Social Security deposit. I had a few doctor’s appointments that day and once I got back at around 4:30, I logged onto my account to submit the payment. On my 5-day notice, it said $1182.51 was due with the late fees. I logged in and realized that I was locked out of being able to do the payment online. I called the office to find out what I needed to do and let them know that I had never received the eviction notice they filed on the 16th.
The office assistant told me that I would need to bring in a money order or cashier’s check for the balance due. She did not mention anything else and I verified that it was $1182.51, she said yes and I heard her verify it with the apartment manager. I asked when their office closed because I thought it was at 5 o’clock. She told me they were there until 5:30 pm. I said, “Okay, I will leave here in a few minutes and see if I can get to the bank before the lobby closes”. She said okay and hung up.
This next part was way too coincidental and others that I have told this story to, have thought the same.
I park in the same spot every day in front of my apartment. So much so that no one else parks there, it’s unofficially my spot. That particular day, I pulled in and out of my spot twice with no issues. I ran an errand to get gas earlier in the morning and grabbed some breakfast then went to my appointment at the VA clinic and had no issues then either. I told my son where I was heading off to after I got off the phone with the apartment manager and got in my car. I was backing out of my spot when I heard this loud noise, like running over a plastic bottle, it was a loud pop. I stopped and pulled back up. I got out, hoping that I did not run over some kid’s toy or one of their bicycles.
The back driver’s side tire was completely flat. It was 4:40 pm. I went inside and got my son to change the tire. I am disabled and cannot use my hands well or lift more than 5 pounds. I have no strength in my right arm to push or pull anything.
He struggled to get the lug nuts off at first but he finally did and got the tire changed. When he pulled off the tire and rolled it, that is when we saw this big metal screw in my tire. It is a weird coincidence that it occurred right as I was leaving to get the money order. When I pulled into and out of the spot twice and did not run over it. Yet, I ran over it when I was backing out? That did not make any sense.
As I was standing there waiting for it to be changed, I tried calling the office but there was no answer. Then I saw the apartment manager’s car leaving, it was 5:25 pm. The office employees had left early.
It was too late to get or drop off the money order and I needed to get my tire fixed. My son changed his clothes and came with me. We went to two places but they were closing and could not check it for me. We got some food and headed home. I did not want to drive too much on the spare tire.
The next morning, I woke up and was leaving before 7 am to get to the tire place early. My son had to be at work by 10 am. It was 6:45 am when I opened the door, and the eviction notice was posted.
It was dated 8/26/24 for the amount of $1182.51, the same day I was trying to get a money order to them. It was not 8/16/24 as I was previously told. It was filed at the courthouse the day before when I said I was getting the money order. Why was it not posted on my door that day?
I went and got my tire fixed, and debated on the whole incident the night before. It bothered me that my tire suddenly went flat when I had just mentioned to the office person that I was going to leave in a few minutes to get the money order.
The reason it bothered me is one of the maintenance guys was just two doors down from me at that time. They had been in and out installing drywall. Then suddenly to have the eviction notice posted the next morning after waiting for 10 days for it, thinking it had been filed on the 16th per her text messages.
I had seen the office manager’s car at the office when I left to get the tire fixed. In the three years since I have lived here, she’s never in the office until around 8:30 in the morning.
This whole situation has left me uneasy. I debated on the 27th about getting the money order and taking it to them. I went so far as going to another apartment complex and filling out an application. The leasing agent called me afterwards and everything was good except she called the current apartment and was told I had not given notice. I had already explained to the agent and the apartment manager what was going on and why I was there. They said they would finish the process once I gave notice.
I went and got the money order for the stated amount on the eviction notice, $1182.51. I dropped it off at the apartment manager’s office, the assistant took it, made a copy, and signed/dated the copy to show it had been received then gave me the copy.
I left, then about twenty minutes later, I got a text from the manager stating that I did not include the $250 lawyer fee. I told her that was not what was on my eviction notice or the 5-day notice. She stated that I did not pay it in full. We went back and forth over it. I told her “Okay, I will see you in court on September 3rd at 3 pm and we will let the judge decide if I fulfilled the stated court order.”
The stated court order says I owed $1182.51 and there was not a back page included where they normally have the lawyer’s fee listed. This is not my first rodeo.
I even went online to check the court case, the documents scanned in are blank and do not have the lawyer’s fee listed either. I printed out all the documentation I could find and screen shot the information as well.
She texted me on the 29th to come and pick up the money order because it was not a full payment. I went to pick it back up and asked the assistant if she needed to make a copy of it and have me sign it showing it had been returned. She went to the apartment manager who came out of her office and stated “No, we don’t need a receipt because it was never processed, it’s like we never received it.” I said okay and left.
I walked out to my car, stopped, and took a picture of the money order in hand so I could date and time stamp when I got it back. I was just about to get in my car when the manager came out quickly and said she did not know that there was a copy of the money order as a receipt showing they had received it. She said that they did need to make a receipt returning it.
I went back in and stood there chit-chatting with the assistant while we waited for the manager to make a copy of the money order. I stood there for a few minutes when the manager came back out, handed me the money order, and then handed me the copy to be signed.
She wrote this statement “We returned this money order to Suzanne Allen because it was not the payment in full and did not include the attorney’s fees of $250 plus filing fees.” I chuckled and handed it back to her and said, “I am not signing that”.
She reached her hand out toward the money order when she realized that she already handed it back to me. I put it in my purse. Then she got rather miffed, turned bright red, and quickly turned saying “I guess we’ll see you on the third” and went back to her office. I said, “See you on the third.”
***9/1/24 12:49 pm, Continuation
It has been a few days since I last wrote this. I have had time to work things out mentally and emotionally.
I went to a second apartment complex after the last one said they had to wait for a notice. I spoke to the manager and leasing agent, showed them my documentation, and explained what had happened. This apartment manager even said that I am only required to pay what is on the court order and if my current apartment manager forgot to add in the filing fee and lawyer’s fee that was her mistake, I am not responsible for it. She even stated that I should go ahead and attend the hearing with my documentation.
In the meantime, she had me do the application process, and pay the application fees for a new lease with them. She said that what the current manager is doing seems intentional and not the way to do business. She said that she would override some of the process as it relates to the pending eviction to get my application for the new lease approved.
Her leasing agent got us through the application process and we passed all the other checks including the background checks. His only issue was when he called to get a rental history from my current apartment, she stated I had not given notice and would not give it to him.
He called me and had me send her an email giving notice due to the pending eviction hearing and not accepting my court-ordered payment. He called her back on Friday, 9/30/24, to request the rental history. He was going to let me know if she refused. I did not get any call back as of yesterday. The only issue is it is a holiday weekend, Labor Day is on Monday.
If I still want to stay in this apartment and get assistance, I am too late unless I can get help on Tuesday morning, before the hearing. I also have the option of finding help to move from this apartment. It all depends on what the judge decides and how much time I will be given. Per the five-day notice, my 30 days is up on the 6th of September.
The emotional and mental part has been up and down the last few days.
On the one hand, I am upset that this happened. I thought I had a good rapport with the manager, she was always friendly and listened to my concerns. I paid early every month and only had two incidents of being late in the last 3 years when my disability payment amount changed after I completed school and after my son lost his job. It was quickly resolved and we moved on.
To be treated like I was “riffraff” as she called others previously when I was doing my initial walk-through, made me feel pretty useless and demeaned.
On the other hand, I got angry and remembered that I am a person of integrity.
I made copies of my payment history from my accounts ledger and looked at it. I have paid on average, 3 days early every month since I started living here.
I have paid every increase, and every fee, and met every requirement that was given to us from pet registration, pet insurance, higher-than-normal renter’s insurance requirements, deposit insurance, water increases, and rent increases.
I have put up with all the nonsense that has occurred within the complex such as the unruly kids, the trash being dumped, people not picking up after their pets, the discarded furniture, the homeless people that wandered thru before the gates being put in, the gates working then not working after they were put in, the water being randomly shut off for hours, the weekly police visits to certain buildings, and the now two washer limit for the laundry room in which they placed cameras to ensure we stick to it.
There was also the email offering $100 to anyone that reports any wrong misdoings of their neighbors. My son called it the “Snitch payment”. This is a dwelling with people responsible for their own behaviors. If there is wrongdoing occurring then where is the security person they are paying for?
The latest email is stating more fines, lease violations, non renewal of leases, and evictions plus cameras being added to the problem areas such as the playgrounds and trash bins.
I had integrity in all my actions while living here and did what I was supposed to do. I have made sure the dwelling has been clean and maintained for the duration. The same I have done in every place that I have ever rented.
I do not know what the outcome will be in a few days. We are prepared to pack up and leave if we have to. I just wanted one more year of rental history before I moved on. I knew that it would have to happen eventually. I do not tend to stay in one place exceedingly long.
The reason why for not staying very long in one place was realized during my morning pages writing today and will have to wait for another blog post.
All I can do at this moment is stay positive, stay motivated, and keep moving forward.
Thank you for stopping by and supporting this blog.
Have a great week!
Peace, love, happiness, and good vibes, always!
Suzanne
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