Crazy Fees for nsf cheque

[psicodude]

So I am willing to suffer the embarrasment of publicly acknowleding I am an idiot in return for some legal advice. Here is the story...

I live in Cranston. Our residents association fees are about $140 a year. I could go on a huge rant about this, but that is another thread. Anyway, I recently changed banks, and sent a cheque to the res. assoc. on the old, closed account. Yeah, stupid, I know. Of course it came back NSF. I just got a letter stating that they are charging me $50 for the NSF, plus $150 for "recovery fees". I called the lady in charge of my account, and she says these fees are to cover their expense of pulling my land title, sending me a letter, and sending my mortgage company a letter. I tried to negotiate with her, but she said there is nothing she can do. Seriously....$150????? So, to make a long story short, my $140 has turned into over $350 because I wrote a bad cheque by mistake.

So, the question is...can they even do this? I mean I would be happy to pay the nsf charge and interest. But $150 to send some letters? The $350 is not a lot of money to us, but this just doesn't seem fair. Aren't there laws about fees that can be charged?

I appreciate any help.

[moncton golden flames]

Pulling a 'Land Title' costs less than $10, and last time I checked, paper to write a letter was still cheap too. Sounds like a cash grab to me.

[FireFly]

They can charge whatever they want for the NSF... As long as it's written into your contract. Check that.

[FanIn80]

Pay them with another check from your old bank! That's what Brian Boitano would do.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Pay them with another check from your old bank! That's what Brian Boitano would do.

Yeah, just keep feeding them those old checks until they either get tired of it or you run out.

[HalifaxDrunk]

Originally Posted by psicodude

The $350 is not a lot of money to us

Can I have $350.00?

[Aeneas]

I'll second Halifax's request.
What bothered me, along with the obvious outrageous cost to contact you, was that they contacted your mortgage compnay.
What was thier reason for that. What business is it of thiers to make that contact?

Seemed they decided to be aggressive from the start rather than assuming a valued customer may have made a small error. Seems a management style that might respect some righteous indignation on your part, and back down.

[CM ONE]

Can you pay them in nickels?

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by CM ONE

Can you pay them in nickels?

That's a fantastic idea, but go one step further.
Send them $350 worth of pennies...that's gotta be like 1000 pennies!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

That's a fantastic idea, but go one step further.
Send them $350 worth of pennies...that's gotta be like 1000 pennies!

That would seriously be a wheelbarrow of pennies. It may or may not be more than a thousand.

Just roll it right up in front of their offices and dump it. That would be great. Dont forget to ask for a receipt.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

That's a fantastic idea, but go one step further.
Send them $350 worth of pennies...that's gotta be like 1000 pennies!

Actually that is a good idea. They have to accept it since its a debt and pennies are still legal tender.

Bring in the pennies, as well as a cheque for $225 - say either take the pennies or the cheque for $225. If they take the pennies say you expect change from that.

Actually now that I think of it, do it with dimes, less weight for you, almost equal amount of hassle for them.

[metal_geek]

Not sure what the legal process is for your fees, but they may have filed a lien against your house for the outstanding fees. Part of the title on your property is the payment to your community assoication. If you sell your house without making a payment then your lawyer will pay out the liens from your proceeds before the title can be transfers. I'd be willing to bet the "Recovery Fee" is the cost of them doing that, and then taking the lien off. The NSF is excatly that.. the NSF from the bank.


I'm not sure if thats the same for mine in Auburn bay, I think it's the same people running it, I know they give us 30 days after the due date but not sure what happens if you don't pay it then.


Likley you're just gonna have to find a way to get 350.00 worth of enjoyment outta that sweet windmill this year...
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STARCRADT 2 REPLAYS

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by metal_geek

Not sure what the legal process is for your fees, but they may have filed a lien against your house for the outstanding fees. Part of the title on your property is the payment to your community assoication. If you sell your house without making a payment then your lawyer will pay out the liens from your proceeds before the title can be transfers. I'd be willing to bet the "Recovery Fee" is the cost of them doing that, and then taking the lien off. The NSF is excatly that.. the NSF from the bank.

Yeah, the $150 sounds more like a registration fee, rather than a "pulling title" fee. While the charge is related to the cheque going NSF, it isn't one in the same.

---

So I checked a few things out for you.

a) The Community Assoc. will register a lein on your title for the amount. That's basically where your $150 is coming from.

b) If that's all you're getting charged, you're lucky. It sounds like most Community Assoc. will go through a lawyer, and you wont be able to talk to them directly, you'll have to go through said lawyer. You'll also be on the hook for said lawyer's fees. I'm sure it's in the fine print of whatever document you signed to get the Community Assoc. to take the money from you.

c) It sounds like it's common that if you take too long to pay, the Community Assoc. can contact the mortgage holding institution, and have the outstanding fees and the legal/lawyer costs added back into your mortgage, which I'm sure the institution enjoys doing.

If you can handle this right away, and only have to pay the approx $350, you're probably getting away with a deal within the situation.

If the Community Assoc. will talk to you and understands the situation... all the better, but my contacts have heard they can be pretty darn ruthless when it comes to these kind of situations.

Good luck man.

[McMack]

Just curious if you've had any "prior history" with your Resident's Association or with Carma. It looks like the RA is still run by Carma?

[psicodude]

To answer someone's question...yes, this is the Cranston Residents Association. The letter she sent me actually says Carma Developers on it.

So the lady just faxed me over the details of the charges. this is good...

$50 - nsf fee
$50 - pulling the title and sending demand letter to me via legal council.
$100 - Lawyer letter to the mortgage company fee.

So, is this all crap, or do I accept I screwed up and suck it up like a big boy?

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by McMack

Just curious if you've had any "prior history" with your Resident's Association or with Carma. It looks like the RA is still run by Carma?

Nope, nothing. Other than sending them the only cheque I write every year to them because they won't accept credit card. And yes, the RA is still run by Carma.

[mykalberta]

Wow, that seems pretty steep for one bad cheque. Note to self, dont live in Cranston.

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by psicodude

So, is this all crap, or do I accept I screwed up and suck it up like a big boy?

Check your agreement with them. This isn't the first time they've done this to a community member, I would venture to say.

I would say that the longer you try and fight it, the bigger that price tag gets. Getting a lawyer involved isn't cheap.

The $50 NSF is high IMO, but it's the cost for the Community Assoc. to deposit the cheque, and it go bad. If you still had that account open, but didn't have enough money, you'd have another charge too.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by psicodude

To answer someone's question...yes, this is the Cranston Residents Association. The letter she sent me actually says Carma Developers on it.

So the lady just faxed me over the details of the charges. this is good...

$50 - nsf fee
$50 - pulling the title and sending demand letter to me via legal council.
$100 - Lawyer letter to the mortgage company fee.

So, is this all crap, or do I accept I screwed up and suck it up like a big boy?

Why did the lawyer have to write a letter to your mortgage company? I think someone else said it... why didn't they just phone you?

I wouldn't suck it up. At least make it a hassle for them to get your money. And maybe, since you are paying his fees, you can talk to the lawyer and see what he did. And check with your mortgage company to see if they received anything.

And tell all your neighbours. Tell the whole bunch. I just had a hippopotamus for lunch.

[old-fart]

Sounds like they are basically just trying to screw you.

I'd do the penny thing. They will fully understand your displeasure. Just be a bit careful... while pennies are legal tender, there is no law that says a company has to accept cash for things. Before you did it, if you actually decide to pay the bill, you might want to e-mail her and ask if you can pay in cash - if she's says 'yes', dump the pennies on her.