PM taken Tenant DD dishonor out of rent

[cmason]

This is purely for interest sake as I am over this particular REA and the amount is small, I just want the last tie broken an ended.

I ended using this particular REA at the start of November and it took them all this time to pass on the last rental payment. I then find out they deducted $58 which was 2 Direct Debit dishonor's from the tenant. Just wondering if people have experienced this before where an REA has deducted monies owed by the tenant to the REA from rent the REA should be passing straight to the LL.

 

[alplant]

So basically you are paying the tenant's bank fees? Have I got that right? Sounds a bit dodgy to me. Surely that should have been deducted from the bond and paid to you as your full rent minus the REA's management fee. One would think the rent payable would be x amount of dollars per week, not x amount of dollars minus $58 bank dishonour fees because they didn't have enough in their bank to process the payment. They should be wearing that expense, unless I've read it wrong.

PS ,, It's not all that unusual for a final payment to take as long as that, at least it hasn't been in my experience.

PPs .. Oh, I've just realised that you might not be getting a final payment from the tenants, more the REA because you have changed, so there wouldn't be any bond. I guess that changes things somewhat, but I still think it's a bit cheeky to deduct the dishonour fees.

 

[cmason]

Yep you have it right alplant. The agency was too lazy to follow up the tenant themselves for the dishonor fees once I changed management, so thought they'd just deduct it from my rental payment so they can close the file.

I have been chasing it up and they admit what they done was wrong but still don't want to reimburse me and pursue the tenant themselves

 

[urban cowboy]

report them to your local office of Fair Trading and the REIV...

fairly sure what they've done can be construed as illegal.

 

[cmason]

Contacted Consumer Affairs and they informed me that they shouldn't have taken it from the rental money and that I should inform the REA they need to reimburse the full amount within 7 days and chase the tenant for the monies owing.

So I have done that and we'll see what happens from here...

 

[urban cowboy]

good work!!

keep us posted on the result!!

 

[cmason]

Got an email from my new PM today that she received a call from the old agency saying all monies will be reimbursed within 7 days. No further information than that and I don't particularly want to know anything further, hopefully the last time I need to deal with them.

 

[urban cowboy]

YAY!! great result, congratulations!!

 

[alplant]

Terrific outcome, well done. I'm glad you took urban cowboy's advice and followed up. The amount might have been small but it's your money and you're entitled to it.

 

[cmason]

This didn't quite work out the way I would have liked. The REA dragged the chain majorly and I finally got my reimbursement today 1 month after the 7 day warning, 6 weeks after they stole my money and 3 months after I stopped using their services.

In that 3 months since changing PM's have also found out the tenant informed the old PM the oven doesn't work properly as well as an issue with a light in one of the bedrooms which was never relayed to us. Also the tenant said to old PM one of the fences is falling over, neighbor is willing to pitch in half which the response from the PM was the Landlord is not willing to pay for it we never heard anything about any fence. All those issues are now resolved or being resolved with new PM