Question about treasurer's OPPS??!!!

I have a question. it's our policy that all work that is done on our property that is due to be paid via check will have a final walk through before a check is cut fo payment. We recenty have had a slew of work done onsite and there is a bit of an issue at hand.

It is California law that fire exstinguishers be serviced and tagged annually per fire code. This is usually done earlier in the year. last month at our HOA meeting it was brought to our attn that vendor who provide this service was sending a letter to us stating that they did service our property back in January and that our account is due to go to collections if not paid.. I offered to check the extinguishers for that last date of service which is on a tag on all 12 FE's throughout the building. I checked, and it appears that ALL of the FE's have NOT been serviced since 07. The company's claim they servced our buiding was going to be disputed via our MC to sort it out. It wasn't up to code on the tags and that is the only proof we have of any service being done. ( The orignal service date was in January of 2007.... nothing for 2008 which is what they were billing for... and in fact we are in violation of some safety code due to this.. it's an easy remedy.. )

The issue at hand? Our minutes indicate that we as a board agreed to verify that the service to the FE's were done and pay the company if indeed they were done in Jan 08 as bllled. My findings were sent via email to the board per investiagation done and they opted to wait until our next meeting to discuss next step and get it in our minutes ( meaning calling the company on service not being done but billed for )

The big problem? Our meeting to discuss this issue was met by silence when this item came up. I opted to have our PM call the company to provide them with our proof of lack of servicing and that thier bill was a mistake. ( It was a $350 invoice ) Our treasurer said " guys after looking at the copy of the invoice in our board packets I inadvertantly paid them last week.... "

Ok. now the question is ? Is the treasurer responsible for this error? Is she responsible to pay this back? I can't find anything in DSA, and our baord is ready to make her write a check to fix her "oops"

First, you can not legally hold the treasurer responsible because your documents have indemnified him. At least I hope they have since if not, you can be held responsible for his mistake as well.

But moving beyond the legal argument, the man made a mistake. If he was working for a company he wouldn't be held up for the money. The only right thing to do is to move on and deal with it. To that end as someone already said contact the vendor and have them fix their mistake. I would not start with the threat of a suit though. I just think it is so much better to call him/her up and tell them you need help. You paid for service on all fire extinguishers and some don't have the record.

As a note, given the dysfunctional way your BOD handled the situation, you really can't blame the treasurer for his mistake.

She said:
It is California law that fire exstinguishers be serviced and tagged annually per fire code

The company did NOT perform the service, and left the HOA in possible violation of the law. Then HE threatens them with a lawsuit!

Good thing the Fire Marshal did not stop by.

I'd give this guy 48 hours. He put you in a vunerable situation.

I don't think he threatened a lawsuit. His company just sent a non-payment letter saying they would turn the matter over to a collection agency.

That's not really a lawsuit, but it is something that could probably be cleared up without a lot of saber- or cage-rattling.

They obviously have incorrect service records, and your treasurer unwittingly paid them anyway.

It just seems to me to be a common sort of problem that all sorts of companies experience every day.

I would first recommend taking a meeting with the vendor on your property and asking them to bring the service records and meeting with you so that you can show him the tags.

Then simply request that they perform the service for which they billed and for which they were paid.

It doesn't have to be escalated beyond what it is.

A collection letter is a pretty standard business practice and often triggered by payment dates, etc., and not a hostile action, and companies are often pretty responsive to clear up mistakes when they realize they've sent the notice in error.