[bjansson]

I need everyone's opinion. I moved here in December and have been paying my amenity fees online the whole time using the check transfer system. Several months ago I paid my amenity fee and I accidentally typed in the wrong number, their system does not allow cut and paste, and somewhere i typed in a number wrong. I received a confirmation that the bill had been paid.

Next month I logged in and found the bill to be doubled so obviously something didn't go through. I didn't receive any notification that there was a problem or I would have tried to pay it again immediately. So I typed in the numbers again and evidently they are wrong in my notes because I was very careful this time. Again I received a payment confirmation.

Then I got a notice in the mail detailing the problem so I went in and paid the account with a different checking account. That one went through. Keep in mind there is plenty of money in both of these accounts. The bank didn't deny anything nor did it charge the villages a penny. But I got charged $40.00 for each ‘infraction’. $80 for typing in the wrong numbers accidentally.

I was quoted state law that says very clearly if someone knowingly writes a check and there are INSUFFICIENT FUNDS in that account then it is lawful to charge a fee. But charging a fee for an accident, a mistake? According to their office this happens a lot and they charge a lot of people $40. Am I incorrect to think that this is unfair? I didn't do it on purpose. I'm 65 now so the brain doesn't work quite as well as it used to. Communication was less than par. Still they refused to refund my money.

The person I talked to suggested I write a check - and then changed her mind and said “no you're not ALLOWED to write checks anymore because of the two penalty fees”. So I guess I will pay by credit card and incur those charges instead.

Still I feel all of this was completely unnecessary. They showed no grace whatsoever and I can only imagine what it's like for someone who is developing cognitive problems, has no one else to rely on and is trying to do the right thing and being treated like this? i thought this was supposed to be "the Dream".

What a nice welcome to the Villages….