I often think it's valuable to share things from the renter's point of view, and although I no longer live in an apartment, I have one final story to share with you. Early last year, we moved out and bought a home, and at the time, we believed we did not have any outstanding payments left. But this week, almost 20 months later, I got an email from my former apartment community that I had a remaining charge of $24.66 from a delayed water bill. Before I continue, let me be clear that although the ridiculous delay of this bill is annoying, that in itself was not the problem. What really made me as a renter upset is that even though this is the first time I have ever heard from them after 20 months, they felt it necessary to add this nice little threat at the bottom:
"Please remit balance due within 15 days from the date on this notice. If payment is not received, the balance due will automatically be turned over to our collection agency and the credit bureau. Should you have any questions, please contact the community office immediately."
Is this really how to treat former residents? Don't contact them for 20 months, and when you do finally get around to letting them know, tell them to pay within 15 days or get submitted to the credit agency? Obviously, this is a standardized email, and it probably got sent out to all past residents when they implemented a new accounting system of some sort. But regardless of the reason, this is a horrible way to deal with past residents who might be someone who still referred friends to that community. Not only that, but even though I am a past resident, I still have quite a bit of power in the relationship. It wouldn't surprise me if someone who got this auto-generated email ends up posting something nasty on ApartmentRatings.com. And after so much talk at the NMHC OpTech conference about reacting to online reputation, aggravating that doesn't seem to be the best strategy.
The fact of the matter is that as the (former) renter, I wasn't the one who messed up. So rather than sending out threats, why not simply contact me nicely? I realize sometimes things fall through the cracks, so I wouldn't mind paying, even if it did come much later, but to have the community mess up and then threaten me in this manner? It makes me strongly consider if I'll be so forthcoming with payment.
