Do I have to pay late fees?

moon8466 said:

What is the name of your state? Tennessee

I live in a condo with 2 HOAs and have always paid my dues on time. In April of 2004, I had a series of problems and tried repeatedly to contact one of the HOAs to get assistance. When the HOA did not return my calls or letter, I filed a complaint with the department of consumer affairs in Tennessee. After 42 days of no responses, I stopped paying my dues. 4 days after the dues were due, I received a late notice with fines of $15.00. I paid the dues after someone finally responded but refuse to pay late fees when the HOA failed to respond and provide service for which I paid them.

The late fees have continued to compound each month and I continue to refuse to pay the late fees. I have talked to the management company and board members to no avail. They think I should just pay the late fees regardless of the circumstances.

Money is not the issue here. This HOA repeatedly does not live up to its responsibilities and during this one time period, they were unresponsive to my contacts for 42 days. I have to pay dues and fines but they do not have to provide the service.

When I moved here, I entered a contract with the HOA and I pay dues for them to provide a service. They failed to fulfill their end of the contract so I stopped payment. Now I am being penalized and fined because I took action to force them do something.

My question is this, do I have any legal recourse if the HOA reports this to a credit agency and does damage to my credit? Also, do I have any other way to address this situation, short of paying the fines?

Thanks,

Mike

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Alison2 said:

Reading your Bylaws regarding late fees, collection, etc. is a must, first.

The law requires you pay those fees, even though you will be fighting them in court, but consult an attorney first because there are procedures you must follow.

One is to write the Board a letter of protest and asking them to dismiss the late fees **since they are 'only' for one unpaid late fee (if that is true). Check those bylaws for unpaid late fees.

Second, write 'on the check' "under protest". Along with a letter, with your payment, explaining this payment is 'under protest' and will be contested in court.

If ALL your payments except for that ONE, were on time, then you have a good shot. Small claims can handle it but hire an attorney to map out the case you will present.

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