Moving in Previous Customers Who Left With Unpaid Charges

skylinestorage

I feel it would be good if the software would show that a previous customer moved out owing a balance.  For instance, had a customer rent forklift recently.  We apply to account afterwards as charge is dependent on time used.  Customer came back saying they'd stop by the next day to pay the charge. Space was empty the next day.  Of course, now they no longer answer calls, etc.  I did a mock move-in using their name and the unpaid charge does not come up.  This would be a good way to flag customers who have previous balances for whatever reason, even auction.  Not all employees in the office remember these people.  (Of course I will turn over for collection)  I realize we could move the charge over if I, as manager, catch it later. And I do make a tenant note, and that does carry over. Seems like the baggage should follow the traveler.

teamcapitola

The problem is that  any unpaid charges will "stay" with that previous unit after moving out; when you go to move the tenant back in at a later date using the same name, the unit will appear in notes and ledgers etc. (linked) but you will have to open that  previous unit to apply a payment to those old charges.

The way it was explained to me is that each "unit" / "rental agreement" is a separate legal entity, rather than one umbrella responsible for multiple units.

So a tenant with 2 linked units could stop paying one of them, allowing it to go to auction, and you couldn't take those unpaid charges and move them to the remaining unit since its a separate account (even if linked).

You could certainly refuse to rent to that person until those old charges are paid however.

I'm in California though, so my information is limited to those I've asked in this state.

skinman

I usually ask if they have rented from us before before starting the move in... if they say yes, I go to payments and un-check the box " show only current tenants" then type in their name. I make a determination from there whether I proceed with renting to them or not... Or tell them I only can if they catch up their unpaid balance they left with.

It adds extra steps, but ultimately, we are only talking about a few mouse clicks.

skinman

teamcapitola said:

So a tenant with 2 linked units could stop paying one of them, allowing it to go to auction, and you couldn't take those unpaid charges and move them to the remaining unit since its a separate account (even if linked).

That's interesting... we treat linked units as one account. They don't gain access to any unit unless they have a "0" balance. When we process their payments we don't differentiate between units. We take the payment as the overall account and sitelink pays the fees first, then credits toward rent.

Plus they have 1 gate code for the entire account... so you assign a new gate code for each unit with the same customer?

teamcapitola

@skinman -  the units can have same GATE code... we can link accounts, and also share due dates, invoicing etc..

We link accounts for convenience with billing and codes.

When it comes to being late, the Lien process, or any legal issues do we treat each unit as separate... a separate rental agreement for each unit/Each rental agreement is seen as a separate contract.

So if one unit is late/over-locked, we still allow access for the other paid unit.

Apologies for not having any documentation as to WHY we do it....  it was something drilled into us during training. If I can find the training material or case law for it, I'll post.

L_Greenwell

I agree with skylinestorage it would be most helpful if this popped up when they rented, without going through their notes. We also treat each unit separately even if they are linked.

CVSSSTORAGE

I do the uncheck show only current tenants and look them up. I had a lady come in who needed two big units badly. When I checked her name it showed she owed over $500 for her previous balance. I let her know I was unable to rent to her until that $500 was paid in cash. She said she was going to get the money but I assume she went and called other storages. My area is pretty much always full on the bigger units so she had no choice but to come back with the cash and pay her past due balance. She ended up renting two 10x20s paid on time for 4 months and moved out. She just hit a rough patch the first time she stored with us but never caused any problems aside from non payment.

MegumiM

L_Greenwell said:

I agree with skylinestorage it would be most helpful if this popped up when they rented, without going through their notes. We also treat each unit separately even if they are linked.

I agree, not only is it a pain to go through their notes but I have noticed that Sitelink only stores notes for a certain amount of time before deleting them. The only issue with this is that it probably wouldn't show debts that had been written off. I think the best course of action is to write a short comment in the "Tenant Notes" as you move them out. This way you aren't having to check their old notes or ledger history. It can be as simple as writing "banned", "caution - left unpaid charges" or "auctioned - date". Something just to give the employee a heads up while their renting it.