University housing is trying to charge me $250 for damage to my room *UPDATED again, the plot thickens*

[imported_Imp]

As much as I hate Universities for being money stealing mofos, what exactly qualifies as "not seriously damaged"? My walls at home are 5 years and running, worst you see are paint chips. Plaster hasn't been necessary in years, if this "wear and tear" occurs in a 1 year term requriing a contractor friend to patch up, then the University is probably right.

 

[Paktu]

Originally posted by: Imp
As much as I hate Universities for being money stealing mofos, what exactly qualifies as "not seriously damaged"? My walls at home are 5 years and running, worst you see are paint chips. Plaster hasn't been necessary in years, if this "wear and tear" occurs in a 1 year term requriing a contractor friend to patch up, then the University is probably right.

By "not seriously damaged" I mean not requiring seven hours to patch. I wouldn't whine about this is they were asking for $100, it's the amount that pisses me off.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Paktu

Originally posted by: Imp
As much as I hate Universities for being money stealing mofos, what exactly qualifies as "not seriously damaged"? My walls at home are 5 years and running, worst you see are paint chips. Plaster hasn't been necessary in years, if this "wear and tear" occurs in a 1 year term requriing a contractor friend to patch up, then the University is probably right.

By "not seriously damaged" I mean not requiring seven hours to patch. I wouldn't whine about this is they were asking for $100, it's the amount that pisses me off.

maybe the people they hire will only be hired in a day's work (8 hours - 1 hour for lunch for example) and they aren't going to eat the cost even though they only have to do 1 hour of work, they are going to make you eat it.

 

[BKLounger]

Same thing actually happened to me when i moved out of college senior year be and my roommate were being charged 600 for damages to our room, but actually before we left we had completely redone to the room to how the college wanted it including painting a certain color and cleaning. They tried to come back and say it needed all kinds of repairs, cleaning and more. So i finally appealed it. I asked for all kinds of crazy specifics like, was it documented how many people worked on the jobs, precisely how much time was used, what kind of material was used. Just as much inanspecifics as possible. I submitted all the requested info the person in charge of housing. Then i haunted him one every two days for the information finally after a month he said that everything was fine and we would not have to pay. So i say ask much specifics as possible and just be on top of every detail. Also harp on issues you find. People just tend to give up if you keep going after something.

 

[Paktu]

Originally posted by: BKLounger
Same thing actually happened to me when i moved out of college senior year be and my roommate were being charged 600 for damages to our room, but actually before we left we had completely redone to the room to how the college wanted it including painting a certain color and cleaning. They tried to come back and say it needed all kinds of repairs, cleaning and more. So i finally appealed it. I asked for all kinds of crazy specifics like, was it documented how many people worked on the jobs, precisely how much time was used, what kind of material was used. Just as much inanspecifics as possible. I submitted all the requested info the person in charge of housing. Then i haunted him one every two days for the information finally after a month he said that everything was fine and we would not have to pay. So i say ask much specifics as possible and just be on top of every detail. Also harp on issues you find. People just tend to give up if you keep going after something.

That is the best idea I've heard on this entire thread. Thanks.

 

[eLiu]

Originally posted by: mrchan

Originally posted by: mugs
At my college if you had minor damage to the walls they'd spot paint it. If you tried to fix it yourself they'd paint the entire room. 7 hours seems a tad high.

If they painted the entire room, he got off lucky. They charge $1000 a room at the university I work at.

My school paints for free....

 

[daniel1113]

My advice, both as a student and an RA, would be to just pay the fine and avoid making changes to your dorm room in the future. These cases are nearly impossible to appeal, and chances are, there is a clause or policy in the housing agreement that you signed at the beginning of the year (most likely without even reading a line) that will favor the university.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Paktu
Here's what the letter said:
Patch/Paint right long wall in living room $150/2= $75
Patch/Paint left long wall in living room $150/2= $75
Patch/Paint wall outside close in bedroom $100/2= $50
Patch/Paint window wall in bedroom $100/2= $50

Sounds like they have a set per-wall rate... can't really argue with that.

When you figure in patching, taping, priming, painting one or more coat, and cleaning up, $100 for a wall isn't that absurd. Oh, and the slow rate of union labor.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Paktu

Originally posted by: BKLounger
Same thing actually happened to me when i moved out of college senior year be and my roommate were being charged 600 for damages to our room, but actually before we left we had completely redone to the room to how the college wanted it including painting a certain color and cleaning. They tried to come back and say it needed all kinds of repairs, cleaning and more. So i finally appealed it. I asked for all kinds of crazy specifics like, was it documented how many people worked on the jobs, precisely how much time was used, what kind of material was used. Just as much inanspecifics as possible. I submitted all the requested info the person in charge of housing. Then i haunted him one every two days for the information finally after a month he said that everything was fine and we would not have to pay. So i say ask much specifics as possible and just be on top of every detail. Also harp on issues you find. People just tend to give up if you keep going after something.

That is the best idea I've heard on this entire thread. Thanks.

Or they could just say "we don't have to give you all of that information, we have a set rate for painting a wall."

Now that I think about it my school had a set rate for painting the whole room, and $500 sounds familiar.

 

[SVT Cobra]

The fact that OP won't tell us exactly what he did to "not seriously damage" the walls makes me think there is justification for this price.

 

[Paktu]

Originally posted by: F22 Raptor
The fact that OP won't tell us exactly what he did to "not seriously damage" the walls makes me think there is justification for this price.

Mostly, it was nail holes from posters/banners I put up, which I patched. Since I don't live there anymore, it's not possible to take pictures. And honestly, I don't remember exactly what it looked like, since it's been almost two months since I moved out.

 

[SirChadwick]

$250 is peanuts. Pay it and quit whining... come back and complain later when you owe $20,000 in loans.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Paktu

Originally posted by: F22 Raptor
The fact that OP won't tell us exactly what he did to "not seriously damage" the walls makes me think there is justification for this price.

Mostly, it was nail holes from posters/banners I put up, which I patched. Since I don't live there anymore, it's not possible to take pictures. And honestly, I don't remember exactly what it looked like, since it's been almost two months since I moved out.

i call shens on his reasoning and excuse.

 

[zixxer]

kind of weird. I don't understand why you patched some things but not others - esp considered you repainted some areas?




I suspect that you left holes/etc in the walls that need patched... prolly not just tiny nail holes.




Keep in mind that stuff like a doorknob through the wall is something that requires more than just slapping on some sheetrock mud - they have to cut out a square - screw in brace boards, then screw in sheetrock - then patch with mud. then, that has to dry - then paint. While minor for you or I - you're paying $70 for the total time involved -




also, many states (inc mine) require by law that a residence be painted after a tenant leaves. Here places try and charge for paint even though by law they can't

 

[The Batt?sai]

Originally posted by: Paktu

Originally posted by: BKLounger
Same thing actually happened to me when i moved out of college senior year be and my roommate were being charged 600 for damages to our room, but actually before we left we had completely redone to the room to how the college wanted it including painting a certain color and cleaning. They tried to come back and say it needed all kinds of repairs, cleaning and more. So i finally appealed it. I asked for all kinds of crazy specifics like, was it documented how many people worked on the jobs, precisely how much time was used, what kind of material was used. Just as much inanspecifics as possible. I submitted all the requested info the person in charge of housing. Then i haunted him one every two days for the information finally after a month he said that everything was fine and we would not have to pay. So i say ask much specifics as possible and just be on top of every detail. Also harp on issues you find. People just tend to give up if you keep going after something.

That is the best idea I've heard on this entire thread. Thanks.

hope that works. i just hid a hole in the wall with a stand alone closet . another time i cleaned my half of the room but my roomate hadn't moved out and his side was trashed, and the RA said i was responsible for cleaning up for him too. i said **** NO! lol stupid RA's

 

[HomeAppraiser]

$70 per hour BS. I worked on the summer paint and patch crew for minimum wage!

 

[The Batt?sai]

Originally posted by: daniel1113
My advice, both as a student and an RA, would be to just pay the fine and avoid making changes to your dorm room in the future. These cases are nearly impossible to appeal, and chances are, there is a clause or policy in the housing agreement that you signed at the beginning of the year (most likely without even reading a line) that will favor the university.

sounds like arse reasoning here :roll:

rooms get normal wear and tear. and you did pay them thousands to stay there for the year. i won't even say highly doubt it costs that much. it just doesn't. patching stuff you can buy at lowes or home depot costs a few bucks.

 

[Ausm]

Ahhh that brings back memories! I needed proof of college credits when I went to Tech School in 1990 so I could test out of everything and I found out they wouldn't release my grades until I repaid 350 dollars in damages to my dorm room in '83 They never came after me for it....in fact the secretary thought it was funny when my Ex called them in regards to my grades


Ausm

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: HomeAppraiser
$70 per hour BS. I worked on the summer paint and patch crew for minimum wage!

But how much did your boss charge per crew hr? $70/hr is far from unreasonable.

Originally posted by: zixxer
Keep in mind that stuff like a doorknob through the wall is something that requires more than just slapping on some sheetrock mud - they have to cut out a square - screw in brace boards, then screw in sheetrock - then patch with mud. then, that has to dry - then paint. While minor for you or I - you're paying $70 for the total time involved -

QFT. Patch jobs are much more time consuming than people assume.

 

[Linflas]

We "patched" the nail holes in our dorm room with toothpaste.

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: The Battosai

Originally posted by: daniel1113
My advice, both as a student and an RA, would be to just pay the fine and avoid making changes to your dorm room in the future. These cases are nearly impossible to appeal, and chances are, there is a clause or policy in the housing agreement that you signed at the beginning of the year (most likely without even reading a line) that will favor the university.

sounds like arse reasoning here :roll:

rooms get normal wear and tear. and you did pay them thousands to stay there for the year. i won't even say highly doubt it costs that much. it just doesn't. patching stuff you can buy at lowes or home depot costs a few bucks.

Hey, don't get upset with me. The bottom line is that when you live in on-campus housing, you are at the mercy of the University and whatever bullsh!t policies it may have. I guarantee you signed an agreement somewhere that pretty much gives the University full control over anything and everything that happens on their property.

 

[Paktu]

Updated the post, bumping this once so people can see it.

 

[MrChad]

They already cut the charges in half. That's about as much as you can expect in this situation.

 

[sniperruff]

be a man and pay for your own fvck-up's.

 

[Eeezee]

You have time and no money? Then GET A JOB. Besides, you should have been aware of the potential damages you'd incur if you made holes in the wall!

But anyway, try to continue your appeal. Even at $125 each ($250 total), did it really take 4 hours to paint the room? How big was the room? I could see 4 hours actually being reasonable if you factor in time to protect the carpet and possibly paint the ceilings