Me vs. The System

When we first moved into our apartment in August, we paid a deposit for the apartment, plus a $50 deposit for a clicker that opens the garage. The apartment people will henceforth be know as "the system". We were told that each apartment was entitled to one garage spot; if there were empty spots once everyone who wanted one had been assigned a spot, the remaining spots would be allocated to those who wanted a second spot.

In September I got an email from the system saying that there were indeed extra spots available, so I claimed one for my car. At the time I went by to pick up the second clicker I didn't have my checkbook with me; the guy in the office said I could just drop the check in the rent drop-box, which I made sure to do next time I left my apartment.

Since then there have been some move-outs and move-ins. Recently I got an email from the system saying that a new move-in wanted a parking spot, so we had to give up one of ours. Apparently we're at the bottom of the priority list, since we live in a one-bedroom apartment. Bummer. But the good news is that we get one of our $50 deposits back... right?

I moved my beloved Beigey out onto the street in front of the apartment and returned the clicker. The girl in the office at the time said she'd make a note, they'd do some paperwork, and I'd get my deposit back shortly.

Later that day I got an email from them saying, "it appears that the second payment of $50.00 for the second clicker had not been received. I now show that we have $400.00 on deposit which is $350.00 for the apartment and $50.00 for the gate clicker you still have."

Hm. I thought I had paid that... I replayed the scene from last September in my mind. I did drop it in the rent box, didn't I? Perhaps it got stuck in there and they never picked it up. Ok Hannah, time for some detective work! I checked my bank account. Unfortunately they don't keep check images online after a certain number of months, which was more than the number of months since the incident. I found a check for $50 that had been deposited on October 7, which happened to be the same day that my rent for that month was deposited. I couldn't see to whom the check was made out, but the fact that it was deposited on the same day as my rent suggested that it was collected along with my rent (i.e. from the rent drop box), making me highly suspicious of the system.

I called the bank and fumbled through their automated voice guy to finally speak with a real person. The girl was helpful and said she could get me my check images, but unfortunately I'd have to wait 5-7 business days for them to come via snail-mail. The suspense! But I found my evidence convincing enough to attempt a follow-up with the system. I sent them a polite email along the lines of "I really think I did pay the second deposit back in October. Please check again." I expected a reply of either, "Our mistake! Here it is! We'll get this refunded right away," or at least, "We've checked again and I am still not seeing it." I got neither! No reply! They seem to be underestimating the value of $50 to a poor graduate student.

Today I received the check images from my bank. As I suspected, the original (apartment + first clicker) deposit AND the second clicker deposit were both made out to and deposited by the system. Vindication! Well, not yet. I guess vindication will be when I get them to refund me my deposit. But I sent them a strongly worded email stating that I did pay the deposit and that if they had lost the record, I had obtained check images that I could show them. Hannah: 1. the system: 0.