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I will pay the pet fee I just don't agree on the late fee they want to charge me because if I still owed it it was because the people who work there didn't explain to me.
When I went to sign the lease the woman was in a hurry because she had to leave , so she said she would only read to us the partsame were we needed to sign. And I had to move in that date I couldn't wait til the next day
If you signed the lease, your signature says that you agree with the terms of the lease.
It doesn't matter that she was in a hurry or that you were in a hurry or that she didn't explain it to your satisfaction or that you didn't read the whole lease or follow up with questions about the process.
The understanding is that if you are responsible enough to rent an apartment, you are able to abide by the terms of the lease, and if you cannot you are subject to penalties which, in this case, include the late fee.
Pay it and be done with it before it affects your credit rating.
There really isn't any sort of justification as to how it can't be considered late if this is still going on from March. You knew it was owed and should be more proactive in seeing it was paid ASAP to avoid such late fees.
I'm a late because the woman I signed the lease with failed to inform me how exactly is that I needed to pay the rest, instead of just saying that THEY will add it to my rent, I was expecting to see the pet fee at anytime when my rent was due.
I understand what you're saying OP. I've had issues with complexes who would not put the line item for fees on my account on until AFTER they were paid. However, you shouldn't have let it go on so long without resolution.
I would have paid the extra for the fee and printed out the confirmation of my payment, taken it to the office and had them write "for pet fee" on it and sign it. That way you have your proof.
In this case, I'd just pay all the fees and be done with it or it's going to affect your credit.
I'm a late because the woman I signed the lease with failed to inform me how exactly is that I needed to pay the rest, instead of just saying that THEY will add it to my rent, I was expecting to see the pet fee at anytime when my rent was due.
I kinda agree with the OP about the late fee for two reasons:
1. It seems to be excessive on such a small fee.
2. Unless the installment plan was documented, they agreed to take payment over time. That time, if never defined, could still be ongoing.
OP... did you sign a statement or was it in your lease that you were to pay the pet fee in installments, when those installments would be made, and what the total fee was (or line out late fees)?
I'm a late because the woman I signed the lease with failed to inform me how exactly is that I needed to pay the rest, instead of just saying that THEY will add it to my rent, I was expecting to see the pet fee at anytime when my rent was due.
I understand what you're saying, but I do think you're in the wrong. You were expecting to see the pet fee each time your rent was due, so you obviously knew it was due, and you knew you were allowed to pay in three installments. There was also a place for "additional payment" which would logically be referring to the pet charge. The woman who signed the lease with you didn't inform you how to do it, but it was your responsibility to be proactive and find out how. I know it's easier to wait for someone to tell you what to do, but you signed a lease indicating you knew what was expected of you in regards to payment. You mention that you forgot about it after a while, but you "expected" to see it each month, so you remembered it long enough to have paid it as expected.
I do think you will have to pay the late fee. It's December, the second installment was probably due in April (if you signed in March) or maybe May, which makes it at least 7 months late. Be proactive in the future to avoid having to pay late fees.
Since the fees are legal in FL, it sounds like what you're really paying is a fee based on the total balance you owed them.
And if you knew you owed the fees, I'm guessing you were hoping they forgot about them since they didn't add it into your rent. That was your gamble, which is now catching up with you.
I suggest you stop thinking of the late fee as only having to do with the pet fee. It's a fee on the running balance. It would be like owing a minimum payment to your credit card company of $100, but you only sent them $75. There would be a late fee on your bill for not paying what you owed. You don't get out of it because you paid part of what you owed. They wouldn't let you get away with saying, but why should I get a late fee on the $75 item I paid for?
I bet you know you owe the late fee. You're just hoping for a loophole. But, it doesn't look like you have one. Live and learn.
Just pay it OP, before it ends up on your credit report. Judgements or collections to landlords are a big red flag to landlords and having one on your credit report will make it more difficult to rent in the future.
You knew you owed the money and you just let it slide. It looks suspiciously to me like you were hoping that they would forget it.
It's already going to be more difficult for you to rent because you have pets. You don't want to add a bad landlord reference to your renting difficulties.
I kinda agree with the OP about the late fee for two reasons:
1. It seems to be excessive on such a small fee.
2. Unless the installment plan was documented, they agreed to take payment over time. That time, if never defined, could still be ongoing.
OP... did you sign a statement or was it in your lease that you were to pay the pet fee in installments, when those installments would be made, and what the total fee was (or line out late fees)?
The total amount yes, is on the lease, but no other agreement as to when .
I understand what you're saying, but I do think you're in the wrong. You were expecting to see the pet fee each time your rent was due, so you obviously knew it was due, and you knew you were allowed to pay in three installments. There was also a place for "additional payment" which would logically be referring to the pet charge. The woman who signed the lease with you didn't inform you how to do it, but it was your responsibility to be proactive and find out how. I know it's easier to wait for someone to tell you what to do, but you signed a lease indicating you knew what was expected of you in regards to payment. You mention that you forgot about it after a while, but you "expected" to see it each month, so you remembered it long enough to have paidt it as expected.
The thing is the woman said they will add the pet fee to my rent. I saw the aditional charge thing, but since the woman said they will add it, why would I add to my account without really knowing what was I adding or what I was doing, and maybe ruined the something about my payments . ..
I do think you will have to pay the late fee. It's December, the second installment was probably due in April (if you signed in March) or maybe May, which makes it at least 7 months late. Be proactive in the future to avoid having to pay late fees.
The thing is the woman said they will add the pet fee to my rent. I saw the aditional charge thing, but since the woman said they will add it, why would I add to my account without really knowing what was I adding or what I was doing, and maybe ruined the something about my payments . ..
I do think you will have to pay the late fee. It's December, the
The thing is the woman said they will add the pet fee to my rent. I saw the aditional charge thing, but since the woman said they will add it, why would I add to my account without really knowing what was I adding or what I was doing, and maybe ruined the something about my payments . ..
I do think you will have to pay the late fee. It's December, the
And when they didn't add it you should've gone to the office and asked how to add the payment.
This isn't about you not knowing you owe the money, this is about you hoping to get away with not paying the money.
How can it 'ruin' your payments? It can't. You're going to pay more, not pay less. Paying less would've been an issue not paying more.
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