Error Statement sent from HOA with $0.00, they now want the payment from two months ago.

Hello everyone!

Just a quick note, I am new here and recently (Aug. 2015) moved in to my new place. I've been having issues with my HOA management and they have been very unprofessional at times with me.

Now, my current issue is involving an HOA payment. Monthly I received a statement in the mail with a detachable note to include with my payments (if mailed with a check). I received my statement with $0.00 as my balance / payment for the month of December 2015. I assumed it was the HOA giving the community a break from paying since it was the holidays and whatnot. I didn't ask any of my neighbors if they also received the statement with $0.00 for that same month. In early January, I received a letter in the mail stating I had not paid my December HOA fee. I emailed a HOA member with copies of my statement for December. She said she would have someone in accounting take a look at it and get back to me by tomorrow if there was an issue. That same day I paid for the month of January 2016 online. I did not hear back from anyone and naturally assumed that the letter was a mistake. Now this month (Feb) I received a notice in the mail stating I didn't pay my HOA fee for January. I did make a payment online for that month and are charging me late fees. I assumed the online system counted the January payment as the payment for December. I emailed the lady again about the issue. She said a person from accounting will reach out to me. I had to email them again to see if there were any updates. Someone from accounting emailed back to informed me it was an error on the December statement and that I send in my payment that payment plus my February together, that's over $800 and that he would waive the late fees.
My thinking is that it was an error on their behave and I should not have to pay for it. It was not my fault that they made the mistake. He emailed me telling me to send in the payments by Feb 25 or he late fees will be higher.

Has anyone ever had this issue come up? If it was a mistake on their behave, I shouldn't have to pay for it right? Shouldn't they honor that it was their mistake and shouldn't charge me? Is there anything that can back me up on not having to have to pay if they were the ones who made the mistake of sending me a statement with $0.00 and then trying to collect it?

Please if anyone can help reply to this.

Thank you!

-Eve

you are aware of the monthly maintenance fees at closing. Regardless of the amount on the statement you know the fees you owe. You owe the maintenance fees every month after you close, pay it.

I doubt that there is any language in your declaration that gives you a month off at year-end nor would I expect to find a clause that makes payment of your assessments dependent upon having a management company that can figure out how to prepare a statement. Be thankful they waived the late fees and get your account up to date.

Evelyn,

Yes it was the MC mistake.
They have admitted that to you and did the only thing they can do, waive late charges if the account is brought current.

Not even the Board can waive assessments.
Therefore, it's unrealistic to think that the MC should waive your assessment.

My guess a clerical error does not satisfy a monetary obligation. To suggest the MC's error frees you of this payment while all others pay is unreasonable and foolish.

Now the OP in 5 months has had issues with the MC. And in her view they have acted unprofessional. My guess this payment debacle is her attempt to go tit for tat in the hopes of proving a point and evening her scorecard.

This issue should have been resolved in 5 minutes by submitting payment for what you owed. Not wooden nickel lawyer this into an issue of
who should now be responsible. The answer is and always was YOU.

Pay your dues and try to limit your issues to those that might really matter.....

Many years ago, out of the blue I received in the mail a "notice of satisfaction" for a second mortgage that I still owed tens of thousands of dollars and many years of payments on. Obviously it had been sent in error. I had a consultation with an attorney just to see what the chances were that I could get out of paying any further on the mortgage. His take was that the lender would probably sue and would most likely prevail, claiming that it was an obvious error on their part and the balance was still due. One can never say for sure how a given judge will rule on any given day, so you could certainly take your chances. Look up "Unjust enrichment" for some more detailed info.

YOU admit the statement was an error.

Simply pay your obligation and fuh-ged-boud-it.

or

let the blah blah blah continue

Yeah I think she gone.