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I'm a college student and I go to Purdue University in Indiana. I have an internship in Maryland so I am out of the state. I had rent due in June on the 3rd and mailed the check out on the 1st. I just got an email saying my rent was late and I owe a 50 dollar late fee because they received it on the 4th. I have never been late on paying my rent and I feel this is absolutely ridiculous since technically I can't control how long mail takes to travel.
Is there anything they can do to me if I refuse to pay the late fee?
Things to consider:
- I moved out of my house (handed over keys and parking pass)
- I have no security deposit. I was forced to pay a $150 "redecoration fee" which is not refunded.
- This was technically my last month of rent.
You really should have mailed it at least 5 business days in advance. However, ask them to scan and send you the postmark on the envelope the check was sent in. That's a good start to appearing to be cooperative. Keep copies of all correspondence. If they write back that the envelope has discarded, I would write back and say you really need evidence of the check being late because you mailed it well in advance of the due date. If they actually do scan your mailing envelope and the date is the 4th, I would pay the late fee. I am guessing it wasn't really late and they will not be able to prove that it was.
It was my first time having to mail rent so I wasn't really sure about travel time and I assumed post mark date would be what mattered. They first tried to tell me it arrived on the 5th but after talking to the manager they said it arrived on the 4th. I'll see if they can send me a scan. If not would there be any consequence to just not paying the late fee since technically I am no longer renting from them and have no security deposit to lose?
The consequence of not paying the fee is that someday you may need a landlord reference and this landlord may have indicated on some database that you left with money owed. So, if you don't pay the fee, as you apply for future leases you will likely be telling the story of the "unfair" late fee over and over to avoid being declined as a tenant.
Pay the $50. Yes, they are being jerks about it. But they can get worse and sue you in small claims court over the $50. If you lose, you might have to pay court costs. Worse, this would show up on public record, which could have a negative effect on future employment for you, and future rentals.
Furthermore, you will need a future reference from them. This small issue could prevent you from getting a future rental and possibly a home. Yep - they check landlord references.
I always give 7 days for mail when sending across several states. Usually it arrives 4-5 days later but you don't want to risk running late if the mail is slow for some reason. So you send it 7 days before the due date.
BTW, credit card companies will charge you late fees if your payment doesn't arrive by a certain TIME on a given date....like 10AM on the due date, for example. They dont care about the date you mailed it. This is typical. Due date means it's there by the due date. If you have to next-day mail it, then so be it.
If you miss this date, you are simply late on rent, regardless of who you want to blame. I'm affraid you'll have to pay up. Next time make an effort so that the rent will arrive early, instead of the very last possible second.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was always under the impression that the post mark is done the day the mail is received at the post office. Meaning...if I drop my mail in the local blue box outside the post office on Tuesday, and that piece of mail is due to arrive somewhere by Friday...the post mark will be on Tuesday. That just means I mailed it by then...doesn't mean that the day they received it. A scan of the envelope with the post mark on it is only going to prove when it was mailed...not when they got it.
but I was always under the impression that the post mark date...
You're not wrong but the post mark date is immaterial.
Actually being received (by whatever means) by X is all that matters.
The OP could have sent it two weeks prior and if it didn't show up before X it is still late.
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