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Late fees being accessed for auto pay

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by mikebnllnb, May 24, 2021.

  1. mikebnllnb

    mikebnllnb Active Member

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    If you pay your HOA fees automatically through click pay check your account. I’m set up to pay automatically every month and have been for years. This month I was charged a $25 late fee that apparently you have to submit a request in writing to have waved. Not happy!
     
  2. CAPABODY

    CAPABODY Member

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    FirstService Residential has not been the greatest lately. I still mail in checks. It is things like that which is why I do not set that automatic withdrawal up with FirstService Residential.

    Back in September 2020, FirstService Residential took one of my HOA checks and applied it to the wrong HOA account. I got a letter from FirstService Residential in September 2020 stating my account is delinquent. I submitted my bank statement to FirstServie Residential to show they cashed my check on September 01, 2020, and yes, I submitted the separate form to get late fees removed by FirstService Residential. FirstService Residential removed the late fees, but never correct the account. Since September 2020, I have received several additional letters from FirstService Residential telling me my account is delinquent. I have submitted that bank statement to them via fax (twice), email (thee times), and snail mail (once).

    As of today, FirstService Residential still has not corrected my account. I have called them and requested to speak to someone in Accounting. The person answering the phone always tells me that they can see that the September 2020 payment was posted in the wrong account. The people in accounting are never available and I told that they will call me back to correct the issue. They have never called me back as of yet. Called them again on Friday morning, after getting yet another "nasty gram" about my account being delinquent, and was told accounting will call me back by close of business tomorrow. How much do want to bet, that I will have to call them AGAIN, on Wednesday, and be told that no one in account is available and they will call me back. 8 months have passed and FirstService Residential still cannot fix their mistake. The customer service from FirstService Residential's account staff....SUCKS!

    I hope that you are able to get those late fees reversed quickly and that does not continue to keep happening to you.
     
    Mike likes this.
  3. mikebnllnb

    mikebnllnb Active Member

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    You should bring this issue up at a Board meeting. First Service is acting as our HOA’s agent and they should take steps to rectify this situation if the management company does not want to.
     
  4. CAPABODY

    CAPABODY Member

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    Hopefully, they will resolve by Wednesday. If not, that will be my next course of action.
     
  5. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    8 months???

    I wouldn’t have let it go for that long! Wow! Why let it drag on for that long?

     
  6. PDILLM

    PDILLM Well-Known Member

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    I just got the $25 charge for not paying for documents I ordered on April 29th. I guess they expected payment on May 5th, so was charged the $25 late fee on May 13th. I just got the letter telling me about these fees today (24th)....so not even a full month.
     
  7. CAPABODY

    CAPABODY Member

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    My issue was finally resolved. Took getting the Broadlands Association involved to resolve. I appreciate Broadlands Association for getting involved, resolving the issue with FirstService Residential, and for letting me know that it was resolved. Just as an FYI......as of yet, FirstService Residential has not yet returned any phone calls, emails, or hard copy inquiries about this matter since September 2020. FirstService Residential has not even bothered to inform me the issue was resolved. Hope others have a better experience with FirstService Residential than I had.
     
  8. mikebnllnb

    mikebnllnb Active Member

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    My fees were waved but they suggested that I change my payable date to earlier in the month to avoid late fees despite Click Pay’s website offering a 1st-10th of the month time window.

    Just a thought.....don’t offer something in a certain time window if you can’t complete the process in said time window.
     
  9. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    I find it ridiculous that it took 8 months to resolve this issue through the board's intervention!

    Can’t the HOA sit down with FirstService Residential (FSR) and iron out the existing customer service issues as it appears the accounting dept folks are not willing to answer the phone or return calls to resolve payment issues? Why does it take our HOA Board to resolve the issues?

    Seems it’s a colossal waste of the board’s valuable time to work out these issues that FSR's team could have handled themselves. Why in the world are we paying them the fees if they are not willing to work with our members? We should be paying our HOA board members instead for doing the work that the accounting dept should have handled? Its unacceptable that the FSR’s team won’t return calls, emails or even to try to work it out with our residents let alone the whole click pay issue that another resident talked about.

    I don’t understand why it takes the Board to resolve it when we all are paying FSR for their services? Are they requiring additional fees from the HOA to answer the resident's questions or are they just doing the bare minimum possible and taking the HOA’s money all the while refusing to work with our members??

    At a minimum, I would expect the board and HOA manager to discuss this issue with the FSR’s president because the HOA is not getting their $$$ worth. If FSR's accounting team doesn't want to be bothered by our residents' payment issues, I strongly suggest we look for another management company who are more willing to serve our residents better.

    I’m speaking up because it bothers me that some of our residents are being ignored by FSR and wasting our HOA Board’s scarce time when we have paid FSR a significant amount of $$ for their services that should include resolving our residents' payment issues.

    What does it take to get accounting to return calls and/or emails -- or are we supposed to lean on our HOA leadership to fix things for us? I don’t think the Board should have to stop everything they are doing to resolve payment issues on our behalf.

    Bottom line is:
    why is our HOA paying them the management fees for if FSR is ignoring calls, emails and letters from our residents? I sincerely hope that the board insists that FSR's accounting dept, going forward, begin working with the residents directly on future payment issues —- otherwise I’m afraid that the board will end up doing more of the legwork in resolving these issues, which would be an inefficient use of their time. FWIW, my previous HOA had written into the contract minimum service requirements including servicing the residents' payment issues, etc and if the company did not meet the minimum requirements, the HOA withheld a percentage of the fees. This is not dissimilar to what some government contracts contain with consulting firms. IF we did not meet the requirements they have set with us, they withheld a percentage of our fees. Seems very fair to me.

    In closing, the HOA board deserves a huge thank you for resolving CAPABODY's payment issue. They do a fantastic job of running this community to the best of their ability and often are not thanked enough for it- I appreciate what they do daily for all of us with the scarce resources and time that they have!

    NOTE: If anyone disagrees with me here, then what do you suggest should be done to get FSR's attention on resolving our residents' payment issues? Should the HOA Board 1) let this continue "as is"; 2) demand that FSR resolve these issues with the residents directly going forward or 3) shall we begin "bothering" our HOA leaders to step in and resolve the issues each and every time, which would be highly inefficient use of their time.


     
    PDILLM likes this.
  10. CAPABODY

    CAPABODY Member

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    You will find this more ridiculous Capricorn1964.

    It has been a week since the Broadlands Association told me that the issue has been resolved. Still no notification from FirstService Residential that the issue has been resolved. No email, no phone, no fax, no hard copy letter received. When I called FirstService Residential about the issue back on May 21, 2021 (I believe), I was told that an email was being sent to Laura Marshall, Crystal Coates, Mark Bailey, and everyone in Accounting to get the issue resolved and it should be resolved in two business days and I should hear from FirstService Residential by then. While it did get resolved, I still have not heard from FirstService Residential that it has been resolved. FirstService Residential is quick to send "nasty grams" when there are issues with your accounts, but are radio silent with trying to resolve the issue or even letting you know it has been resolved. I think it is time for the HOA to replace FirstService Residential.
     
  11. Capricorn1964

    Capricorn1964 Well-Known Member

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    Have you talked to the Board and HOA about this issue of non-communication? This does not bode well for other residents if they have same problems and I think the Board will get tired of dealing with the management company if this keeps on going with other residents.

    I suspect HOA will NOT change companies if the fees are cheaper than other companies- customer services be damned.

     

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