Everyone makes mistakes, and businesses are no different. A provider who your association relies on may make a mistake, costing your association money. Of course, that doesn’t mean they are always willing and ready to fix the problem. To resolve issues with reluctant business services, check out these tips.
Stay Proactive
It’s always important to review your bills each time you get one. This is true for businesses and individuals alike. Whenever you get a bill for the HOA, review it and make sure you do not spot any errors. This is important, because reporting errors early is crucial. Businesses are more likely to fix the problem if you bring it to their attention immediately instead of waiting a few months. If you do spot a problem, contact the company right away to see what can be done to resolve the issue. If you wait to fix any problems, it may be harder for them to be resolved, it may end up costing you money, or it may interrupt your utility service.
Contact the Utilities Commission
If the company isn’t willing to correct the mistake, contact the utilities commission for your state. If you are dealing with a municipal utility, you may need to contact the city manager’s office. Doing this may prevent the company from stopping your utilities while the issue is handled. You can also contact them if the business hasn’t made a mistake, but you feel something is unfair.
File a Complaint
The next step is to file an official complaint. Again, you can do this for mistakes made by the business or if you are unhappy with the service and feel it is unfair. The complaint must be written, signed and sent to the appropriate office for your state. There will be a hearing for your complaint. A few weeks after the hearing, you will get a written decision. If you disagree with the decision, you can file an appeal, but sometimes, the court refuses to hear additional testimony, so you may end with the same results.
Businesses can’t take advantage of you. If you feel they have made a mistake or are treating you unfairly, there is something you can do to protect your HOA and residents. Start by working with the service provider, but if that fails, it’s time to escalate the issue.
Working with difficult businesses can create time consuming inefficiencies for your team. Learn more about common inefficiencies hurting property management companies by downloading our free infographic.
