townhouse association water disconnect

[t1ommyo1]

What is the name of your state? texas

i am the owner of a townhome and have resided there for 23 years every month i have to pay an assessment fee of 168.00
that is due on the 1st of each month our property used to be run by a board of directors elected by owners or association members like me 2 years ago
we voted to hire a property management company to assist us with the daily operation and management the property

this month i was late paying my assessment and was given until 6pm on the 22nd to make payment with a 25 dollar late fee included bringing the total to 193.00

i followed the management companies guidelines to the letter to avoid having my water shut off and paid it by their deadline but the following morning my water service was shut off and two combination locks placed on my utility box

since i had paid my assessment + late fee i removed the utility box and turned the valve back on

3days later the prpty mngt vice pres rings my doorbell and demands 175.00
reconnect fee on top of the 193.00 that i paid by their deadline

by the way its friday at 4:00 pm

i refused to pay the 175.00 reconnect fee on the grounds that i made payment in full by their deadline and my water should not have been turned off in the first place

at this point the vp tells a plumber to cut and cap my water line while im standing in my door holding my 2year old son wondering how im going to wash bottles and bathe him

understand that the 175.00 reconnect fee is just that a reconnect fee
and she was demanding payment before she had cut the pipe

is it me or is that unusual

not to mention the fact that i MADE MY PAYMENT IN FULL BY THEIR OWN DEADLINE TO AVOID HAVING THE WATER SHUT OFF.

IS THIS LEGAL WHAT RIGHTS DO I HAVE

 

[CaliCat]

Sounds illegal. You payed on time per their letter. Do you have any evidence? Go to the housing board. Plus they must give you notice to shut utilities off.

I don't understand an assessment fee. Just what do they assess? Or is this like a "membership" fee? The very reaon co-ops and the like are bad ideas.

 

[kcdogg]

What is the name of your state? texas

i am the owner of a townhome and have resided there for 23 years every month i have to pay an assessment fee of 168.00
that is due on the 1st of each month our property used to be run by a board of directors elected by owners or association members like me 2 years ago
we voted to hire a property management company to assist us with the daily operation and management the property

this month i was late paying my assessment and was given until 6pm on the 22nd to make payment with a 25 dollar late fee included bringing the total to 193.00

i followed the management companies guidelines to the letter to avoid having my water shut off and paid it by their deadline but the following morning my water service was shut off and two combination locks placed on my utility box

since i had paid my assessment + late fee i removed the utility box and turned the valve back on

3days later the prpty mngt vice pres rings my doorbell and demands 175.00
reconnect fee on top of the 193.00 that i paid by their deadline

by the way its friday at 4:00 pm

i refused to pay the 175.00 reconnect fee on the grounds that i made payment in full by their deadline and my water should not have been turned off in the first place

at this point the vp tells a plumber to cut and cap my water line while im standing in my door holding my 2year old son wondering how im going to wash bottles and bathe him

understand that the 175.00 reconnect fee is just that a reconnect fee
and she was demanding payment before she had cut the pipe

is it me or is that unusual

not to mention the fact that i MADE MY PAYMENT IN FULL BY THEIR OWN DEADLINE TO AVOID HAVING THE WATER SHUT OFF.

IS THIS LEGAL WHAT RIGHTS DO I HAVE

Sounds like it is time to fire the mgnt company you hired!

 

[JETX]

Something just doesn't 'ring' right about this one....
You said, "i followed the management companies guidelines to the letter to avoid having my water shut off and paid it by their deadline"

What demands did they make for payment?? Was payment to be made by money order or cashiers check?? Were there specific instructions as to how, where, when payment was to be made?? And did you FOLLOW those instructions?? Did you do something like pay in all pennies, etc.???

One other thing that was quickly 'glossed' over in your post.... you said that payment was due on the 1st ("i have to pay an assessment fee of 168.00 that is due on the 1st of each month"). Why did you wait until the 22nd to pay the demanded amount ("i was late paying my assessment and was given until 6pm on the 22nd to make payment")?? What conversations or demands were made between the 1st (due) and the 22nd (demand)??

Finally, the 22nd was last Monday. I am sure that you had many conversations with the management company during the past week. What did they say when you pointed out that you had in fact paid as requested??

It just sounds like there is another side to this that we are not hearing..... and any advice you get on this forum MUST be based on the FULL facts, or it is useless!!