Problem Electronic rent payment?

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PicturedFramer

PicturedFramer

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
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My landlord or in this case the largest commercial and residential management company in the US wants to start an "exciting new payment program EQR will be implementing in the near future to save you time and paperwork."
Evidently the have teamed up with Klik Technologies to take your money out of your bank account with your permission to pay the rent. It's as easy as "KlicknPay"!
I really don't trust this management company now or in the future to handle my rent payments with all the extra charges they try to tack on willy nilly. It's always a knock down drag out fight to get them to stop the harassment. So do you think I want them to access my bank account so they can have run of it?
What do you guys think about this plan? Is it legal to demand that you pay this way or else? I just know it will come to that. Is this our future for paying the landlord? Kinda sounds like giving your bank info to a collection agency. What do you think?:icon45:
 
My landlord does ETF for rent, as an option. But I like my landlord and he's one of the good guys who tries to help out when he can.

I was thinking about the idea of having to pay most my bills online now that the Post Office will be upping their fees again AND lowering their service. I like the control of paying by check when I want to for my cash flow. The US Post office will definitely lose business by shortening their delivery days. Goodbye snail mail.
 
It really depends on what your lease says. Most would indicate that a payment must be made to a specific address by a specific day of the month.

On the flip side many leases have some little BS statement that they can change things like this.
 
Run, Run, Run away.

Automatic payment plans are one of the most evil things ever invented.

There is absolutely no way that they can force you to pay this way.

No one has any right to automatically take money from your checking account unless you give them that right.

And if you do give them that right, then try to stop it.

There are a lot of sites that talk about the problems with these.

Here is one : http://www.worldoffinance.biz/reasons-not-to-use-autopay/

The biggest problem is trying to stop one of these and trying to get your money back if it continues after you stop it.

There is no way, under any condition that I would ever use one of these.

Now ask me what I really think about them. :vomit: :smileyshot22:

I have been burned by these. Never again.
 
auntiesarahjayne said:
I was thinking about the idea of having to pay most my bills online now that the Post Office will be upping their fees again AND lowering their service. I like the control of paying by check when I want to for my cash flow. The US Post office will definitely lose business by shortening their delivery days. Goodbye snail mail.
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The only business bill that I still pay by check is my rent and that is only because I haven't hit up my landlord to let me do online payments. But even if I do that, I control it, not my landlord.
 
auntiesarahjayne said:
I was thinking about the idea of having to pay most my bills online now that the Post Office will be upping their fees again AND lowering their service. I like the control of paying by check when I want to for my cash flow. The US Post office will definitely lose business by shortening their delivery days. Goodbye snail mail.
Click to expand...

I think this is a Wisconsin thing. We don't trust all this new fangled technology and prefer to use cash or checks. I know in our business, we have a lower than average use of credit cards by our customers. I still pay everything by check myself except for 2 trusted sources I allow to make automatic withdrawls-the bank where we have our home mortgage takes the payment out of our account with them and the insurance company where we have our auto, home and business insurance.
 
I stay away from ACH payments also and do not allow anyone access to my checking accounts. Like Larry said, once they have authorization the only way to stop them from taking anything out is to close the account and open a new one. The bank will not stop payment requests by you just asking them to stop the authorization. Lesson hard learned.

Why not just do Bill Pay on line? My credit union offers this free of charge and I have total control over when the payment is sent and withdrawn from my account. For creditors that are set up to received ACH payments the money is deposited into their account on the day it is authorized to be paid and for those that are not set up for ACH payments a physical check is sent on the day you authorize it to be sent. They even pay the postage.

Better yet, if your landlord accepts credit cards and you have a mileage card, why not just utilize that and authorize payment that way? Total control and benefits too.
 
There is a difference between automatic bill pay and one at a time EFT payments. I have no problem with using EFT where I have to authorize each payment and amount. The only autorization that I give for blanket auto-pay is to my bank for my mortgage, my Medicare supplement insurance payments, and (unfortunately) the required access for my business merchant service provider.
 
I use a third party payment system and automatically charge my rent each month to a credit card that gives me airline miles. I get at least a round trip business class ticket to Europe each year by doing so. The firm remits a check to my landlord on my behalf.

Yes, there are fees (tax deductible as a business expense) - but I can leverage something I am paying for to something of much higher value. Let's say the fees are $1200 per year. The cost of a business class ticket (or a First Class ticket which is Barbara's preference :)) is between $5,000 - $12,000. Or, one could get two round trip economy tickets to Europe and have some miles left over. It is also a great way to meet spending thresholds for bonuses that new credit cards come with. I received 100,000 British Air miles (plus the miles for spending) on a new BA Visa card and also a 2 for 1 companion certificate that allowed us to book two First Class round trip tickets for our next trip in May by meeting the spend X$ within a certain number of credit card cycles.
 
They can't change it unless it is written into the lease already. I would send them a letter stating that they should start shopping for a new tenant when the lease expires. Also post a sign in the window that you are looking for a new space as soon as the lease expires due to less than scrupulous dealings on the part of the landlord.

Many of the large landlords bully the carp out of independent businesses because they have their own legal staff. They will hit you with bogus charges knowing many just pay them without asking questions or knowing how to make it stop. Be proactive and begin the process now so you are prepared to move if needed and in the mean time the landlord will most likely put it in writing that you don't have to participate in the carp they plan to pull.

The majority of commercial loans are due for refinancing between now and 2014. Lenders are putting the screws to these guys and they need to have the spaces full for the lender to negotiate with them. Commercial property nationwide has lost an average of 39% since the peak of the market and that is when the current loans were made. These sleazebags will bogus charge you to death to keep the properties afloat.
 
And yet another reason to OWN your BLDG.
 
I am currently in an issue with my old landlord. He owes me my $5k deposit back, and I spent $2k making his space better than new, but he doesn't feel like paying me until sometime next spring. Plue he wants me to pay for HIS old flourescent sign cabinet because he doen't want it anymore (he installed it 30 years ago when I was 6) and apparently wants to deduct that from my deposit.

...anyway. Don't do it. That's my POV. Landlords are ####.


My girlfriend's dad used to work for the IRS. He doesn't even file his taxes electronically, because if THEY make a mistake, they authorize themselves to deduct from your bank account, now that they have it.

So, keep a firewall between them and your bank account.
 
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