Waive my late fee because of the Superbowl...

CVSSSTORAGE

I just had someone call and say I should not charge him a late fee due to him not being able to come out and pay today due to him having a Superbowl party and it being man time lol! I told him he is more than welcome to pay over the phone but if it was not paid today he would have a late fee. What is the best reason you have heard why someone should not getting a late fee

Orkocean

Well the craziest one I've ever been accused of is "because i'm black" as to why I was charging them a late fee. Not sure what it was about Nashville, TN but in 8 months there I was called a racist more times than the rest of my time in this industry. That particular one I was tired of dealing with so when she told me that I told her the only color I care about is "green" which is the color of the money she isn't paying us for her bill.   To go along with the crazy customer post I had one in Florida who sent faxes in to our home office about how he's a "Great preacher, veteran and man of god who deserves his 3 units for free!" Except his faxes were a LOT more detailed

JamesStorage

"Because we just had a baby and this is no time to think about silly things like money"

teamcapitola

6 days after renting unit, paid by check.

"When I left the other storage facility to rent with you, they refused to refund the rest of my unused month! So since I didn't get the money, the check I wrote you is going to bounce. I shouldn't have to pay any fees....I mean, since I'm telling you it's going to happen ahead of time?!? its the other facilities fault!"

teamcapitola

I posted this in another thread, but it fits.... please ignore if you read already....

The 20th- Received a very confusing call from tenant. First she explained that her auto bill credit card was declining because she "has no money" but she wanted to "arrange the payment on the 3rd" I explained that there will be fees added by then as the  grace period ends on the 24th. I also told her that we cant schedule a future payment...she will have to call us when she wants the card run. Then she said "oh ok ...ill be there before that"

the 26th-Tenant came by the office to ask if she could pay her bill on the 3rd when she (gets) her check. When I gave her the total she was very surprised and upset. She claims she called Josh on the 20th and asked him to run her credit card on the 3rd.  I told her that "promising" to make a payment isn't actually "making" a payment & didn't stop the late fees on the 25th.

Today -Tenant came in to pay past due amount. She started being very aggressive with me "I was on auto pay and shouldn't have fees" I explained that she WAS on auto bill, but the card kept declining and she told me she wouldn't have funds until the 3rd. I explained that unless she made the payment AND THEN told us to put the card back, it wasn't going to be automatically billed (since we couldn't know when she actually had funds) She immediately started crying and stating that its NOT her fault we don't listen to her and doesn't understand why she has to pay a late fee since she called and said she couldn't pay.

JamesStorage

A close second for me was the customer who wanted it waived because their team lost and the family was grieving

CVSSSTORAGE

I get the well I called you so I should not have a fee people all the time. I let them know when they call they will have the late fee when they come in. When they finally come in to pay I ask them if the electric company and mortgage company waive their late fees because they called...

jayjay

I hear "I'm in the hospital"  ALL the time!

AnitaJohnson1269

We will waive 1 late fee the first time but only if they set up Auto payments. 

teamcapitola

We also do the "Waive One Fee" program. Everyone gets one fee waived...that's it.

I have one habitually late tenant who refers to the fees as "Taxes"  He has to pay his "late tax" every month.

On the other side, I have a tenant who lives way out in the woods; comes into town once every 2-3 months and who is ALWAYS late...in fact he goes into Lien 3-4 times a year.. since 2010!

He always comes in eventually and pays, never complains about the fees, always thanks us for our patience. Guy even sends us x-mas cards!

I've never added up how much we have made in fees over the years from just his account....

CVSSSTORAGE

@teamcapitola we have one of those who are always in lien and constantly up for auction. She is the nicest tenant. I have been here 3 years and for 3 years she is always late. The auction company actually said oh her again when we did lock cuts last time and commented on all the cut locks on the ground

Matt_W

'I'm in the hospital' or 'My relative just died'. It's hard try to operate in a business setting and have a heart as well. You understand what the person is going through, but there is still a procedure that you have to follow. 

Robyn

Because "you are running a scam. A scam to get richer and prey upon those in need" lol

CVSSSTORAGE

@Robyn we have the running a scam person as well. She is upset with us because we sold her daughters things 3 years ago! She said they received no notice whatsoever of the pending sale. I went back in the files and said we called every week once she was in lien. She promised to pay several times and then we could no longer get a hold of her. She said well she moved and you did not send her mail to her new place. You know because we know when someone has moved. Every time she comes in she talks about it.

JamesStorage

@CVSSSTORAGE I had someone like this as well, a week after auction he deigns to call us and wants to set up a payment plan. I had to tell him we had been trying to reach him daily for months. He was so surprised he went to auction!

CVSSSTORAGE

@JamesStorage we had one lady last year who went into auctions a few times. We sold her stuff one weekend and she calls to find out what she owed a few weeks later. And started cussing at me because her items sold. I said ma'am did you get your past due? Yes, your prelien? Yes, Your lien? Yes, did you get all the messages we left including 2 the week of the auction? Well yes we got all those things. Well why didn't you come in or return our calls? Well the last two times we went to auction we owed like $600, this time we only owed $300 something so we thought we had more time... 

Storageinasnapp

@CVSSSTORAGE
We started using Rpost Registered E-Mail.  I love it because, even if they ignore the mailed and emailed invoices, Past Due's, Pre-Lien Notice, Lien Letters and phone calls, the Registered Email shows proof of sending, verification of delivery, contents, and then sends you an "Open Receipt", when they open their email. 
Now you KNOW they are getting the information and choosing to ignore it.  
.....generally, on the last day, 2 minutes before deadline, they end up paying

CVSSSTORAGE

So far no I cannot come in because it is Superbowl please waive my late fee calls lol

BRS

Not for late fees but I just recently had a tenant tell me that she will be unable to pay rent on time this month as her husband sneezed while they were driving and his false teeth flew out this window. Apparently the dentists office doesn't accept partial payments and they have to pay for that first. The end of my conversation with this repeat late offender is "And this is my problem how?". Keep in mind her rent is $52.50 a month.