Is a receipt a legally binding document.

[Sloppyjoe68]

ok so I’m in Michigan and currently renting a home from this business. I have been paying my rent on time for the last 3 months only to get notice that none of the payments were received. It turns out they changed their online payment system. However, they never took the old system down and i have been paying my rent on time using that old system. The issue here is that each payment i made the money was taken out of my account, i have receipts as well as proof of each transaction. However, my landlord is saying it is on me to repay those months and my responsibility to track down lost money. Is that legal for them to do? As far as I’m concerned the money left my account and i have receipts from them to prove it. Is there anything i can do?

 

[Shadowbunny]

ok so I’m in Michigan and currently renting a home from this business. I have been paying my rent on time for the last 3 months only to get notice that none of the payments were received. It turns out they changed their online payment system. However, they never took the old system down and i have been paying my rent on time using that old system. The issue here is that each payment i made the money was taken out of my account, i have receipts as well as proof of each transaction. However, my landlord is saying it is on me to repay those months and my responsibility to track down lost money. Is that legal for them to do? As far as I’m concerned the money left my account and i have receipts from them to prove it. Is there anything i can do?

Will the LL be able to prove that you were given ample notice of the change in online sites?

 

[Sloppyjoe68]

Will the LL be able to prove that you were given ample notice of the change in online sites?

They did give notice. If I’m being specific I’m a college student and my father handles the rent, I told him about the new system but i guess he didn’t understand. However, if that’s the case shouldn’t it be on them to shut down the old system? Wouldn’t the receipts they issued to us be enough as proof of purchase?

 

[Shadowbunny]

They did give notice. If I’m being specific I’m a college student and my father handles the rent, I told him about the new system but i guess he didn’t understand. However, if that’s the case shouldn’t it be on them to shut down the old system? Wouldn’t the receipts they issued to us be enough as proof of purchase?

It should't be on them to correct your mistake. If Dad had mailed the checks to the wrong address and someone else cashed them do you think your LL should have to go after the bad guys? It was your (Dad's) mistake -- he needs to figure out out to fix it. In the meantime, the LL still needs to be paid.

 

[Sloppyjoe68]

It should't be on them to correct your mistake. If Dad had mailed the checks to the wrong address and someone else cashed them do you think your LL should have to go after the bad guys? It was your (Dad's) mistake -- he needs to figure out out to fix it. In the meantime, the LL still needs to be paid.

So the receipts mean nothing? There is also bank activity explicitly marked under the LL’s name that the money is being paid to them. Does all of this mean nothing. Regardless of your opinion we are prepared to take them to court over this.

 

[Shadowbunny]

So the receipts mean nothing? There is also bank activity explicitly marked under the LL’s name that the money is being paid to them. Does all of this mean nothing. Regardless of your opinion we are prepared to take them to court over this.

No, the receipts mean that when Dad makes the effort to track down WHERE the payments went, he has something to go on. Was this payment site hosted by the Landlord or by a third-party? If a third-party, has Dad contacted them to find out where the money went? And until/unless you can confirm that the LL received your rent via the old site, then your threats to "take them to court" are empty. How will you prove to the court that the LL received the rent?

 

[Taxing Matters]

I disagree a bit with Shadowbunny on this one. I'd want to see the old online payment system and the reciepts that you were given. Even with the notice of the change, if the online system used was one specific to the landlord or the property management service that it is currently using then I think this is the landlord's problem since the payment portal and reciepts are representations by the landlord or its agent that rent payments were accepted that way. I suggest you get screen shots of the old system before it gets taken down and take those along with copies of the reciepts you have to a local landlord-tenant law attorney for advice. It may be a call or letter from that attorney would get the landlord to accept that the payment problem is the landlords and give you credit for the rent paid.

 

[quincy]

So the receipts mean nothing? There is also bank activity explicitly marked under the LL’s name that the money is being paid to them. Does all of this mean nothing. Regardless of your opinion we are prepared to take them to court over this.

Sloppyjoe68, what is your landlord doing about your (alleged) missing rent payments? Are you being evicted?

 

[FarmerJ]

This is another reason why I would never use a online portal system to pay any regular bills. If the LL canceled the online service then there should be no problem getting the money back. I suggest once this is settled then to mail a paper rent check from now on .

 

[Taxing Matters]

This is another reason why I would never use a online portal system to pay any regular bills.

I don't see online payment portals as a problem in themselves, whether for regular bills or otherwise. I use one to pay my health insurance bill each month. What I don't do is set up automatic payments from my bank account to pay those recurring bills. That is what can lead to problems. Input each payment yourself instead.

 

[quincy]

This is another reason why I would never use a online portal system to pay any regular bills. If the LL canceled the online service then there should be no problem getting the money back. I suggest once this is settled then to mail a paper rent check from now on .

We make it easy for our tenants to pay, offering four different payment options, so we haven't had any issues collecting rent.

What I can't understand is why a landlord would not contact a tenant after the first missed rent payment, though.

It sounds like the missed payments are the result of data entry errors when switching from one online payment service to another and could have been corrected early on. It still probably can be resolved without the need for any legal action.

This is ASSUMING there is no eviction action pending.

 

[Sloppyjoe68]

Thankfully a lot of the land lords around here don’t evict because financial issues are common with college students, so as of now they haven’t brought any eviction notice against us. However, as of yesterday, it seems they have completely shut down their website. “Problem connecting to MySQL” tried on multiple internet devices.

 

[quincy]

Thankfully a lot of the land lords around here don’t evict because financial issues are common with college students, so as of now they haven’t brought any eviction notice against us. However, as of yesterday, it seems they have completely shut down their website. “Problem connecting to MySQL” tried on multiple internet devices.

I suggest when your next rent payment is due, you pay this rent in person. And get a receipt.

It sounds as if you are not the only one who experienced problems with online rent payments not being credited properly.

It might take awhile but they should figure it out eventually. Just keep your own good records.

Good luck.