Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/19/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On January 29th I received a certified letter from the law firm Jenkins Bagley Sperry notifying me that as of January 1st I was 3 months past due on my HOA fees and I owed $545 with late fees included. On top of that they were charging me almost $700 for their fees to collect this debt. I was confused because I have owned this property for 15 years and have always been on time paying my fees as well as at one point even having a surplus of $1000 on my account for over paying. Upon receiving this notice, which was the first notice I had received, I immediately paid the $545 owed as well as reinstated auto pay for any future payments.
  
  After only 2 more emails with this law firm discussing the matters of their fees and how they justified charging almost $700, they notified me that they were now increasing the amount I owed them by $346 because of this additional email sent to me and would continue to increase the amount if I further contacted them regarding the amount owed.
  
  Today, March 18th, I received a new letter from them notifying me that not only have they increased the amount I initially owed them to $1675.86, they also now have placed a lien on my property despite my payments towards my account bringing my account current with my Home owners association.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/25/2024

  March 25, 2024
  
  Better
  Business Bureau
  **** ** **** **
  Salt Lake
  City, UT 84129
  *****************
  
              Re:       Response to Complaint ID ********
  
  To Whom It May Concern:
  
              Thank
  you for bringing this matter to our attention. We are pleased to respond to the
  complaint that was submitted on March 18, 2024, with an ID of ********.
  
              On
  January 9, 2024, a Homeowners Association (the “Association”) which I and the
  law firm of Jenkins Bagley Sperry, PLLC (the “Firm”) represent, assigned this
  collection account to our office for the purpose of collecting delinquent
  assessments owed by the homeowner to the Association. The Association was owed
  $545.00 as of the date of assignment of the account to our Firm, which amount
  consisted of assessments and late fees incurred between September 1, 2023 and
  January 1, 2024.
  
              On
  January 23, 2024, our office sent to the homeowner, via regular and certified
  mail, a letter regarding the delinquent assessments (the “Pre-Lien Letter” attached
  as Exhibit A). The attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in creating the file,
  performing research of the property and homeowner, studying the Association’s
  governing documents, and drafting the Pre-Lien Letter and FDCPA validation
  notice totaled $546.80 as of the date said letter was sent. The Pre-Lien Letter
  included the assessment balance as of January 1, 2024, plus a $10.00 late fee
  that was incurred on January 15, 2024, and the attorneys’ fees for a total
  outstanding balance of $1,101.80. The Pre-Lien Letter provided a deadline of 30
  days to pay the outstanding balance and informed the homeowner that failure to
  bring the account current within 30 days would result in a lien being recorded
  against the property at a significant increase in legal fees and costs.
  
              On
  January 29, 2024, at 3:26 pm, our office received an email from the homeowner
  in response to our January 23rd Pre-Lien Letter whereby the owner
  requested we verify with our client the accuracy of the amounts owing. Attached
  to the homeowner’s email was an account statement dated January 1, 2023 with a
  credit balance of $985.00. That is, as of January 1, 2023, a year prior, the
  homeowner was ahead, not behind, on assessment payments.
  
              On
  January 29, 2024, at 4:27 pm, our office responded to the homeowner’s email and
  included an account statement which included a full account history from April
  1, 2016 through January 1, 2024. It was pointed out that this statement also
  reflected a $985.00 credit balance as of January 1, 2023, and that the
  delinquency began to accrue as of September of 2023. An updated payoff amount
  of $1,246.81, which was good through February 22, 2024, was also provided in
  that email response. (A copy of the email correspondence is attached as Exhibit
  B). The February 2024 assessment and late fee were also included in the
  provided payoff amount and the attorneys’ fees incurred for the time it took to
  respond to the homeowner’s email were waived as a courtesy, as an effort to
  resolve the matter.
  
              On
  January 29, 2024, at 6:10 pm, we received the following email response from the
  homeowner: “Why have I not received any notices that I was in default? This is
  the first notice I am seeing. I will pay the original amount owed plus late
  fees but I am not going to pay attorney fees for collections when I was not
  given proper notice of late payment.”
  
              On
  February 5, 2024 at 4:02 pm, our office sent the following email response to
  the homeowner, and the attorneys’ fees incurred for the time spent doing so
  were, once again, waived as a courtesy and as an effort to resolve the matter:
  
  “Thank you for your email and expressing your
  concerns. I did want to mention that the homeowner is put on their notice and
  obligation to pay assessments through the governing documents when they take
  ownership of the property. This is agreed to by the acceptance of the Deed.
  With that, the Association is not obligated to send notice of your delinquency,
  and if they do it is out of a courtesy.
  
  Additionally, below please find Article 6 section 9 of
  your Associations CC&R's.
  
  6.9 Personal Obligation and Costs of Collection.
  Assessments imposed under this Declaration, together with late charges and
  interest at a rate to be established by the Board, not to exceed the maximum
  permitted by law, and costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred or expended
  by the Association in the collection thereof (whether or not a lawsuit is
  initiated), shall also be the personal obligation of the Owner holding title to
  any Unit at the time when the assessment became due.
  
  Although I have spent additional time corresponding
  with you, I have waived the costs for my time spent on this correspondence and
  will honor the previously provided payoff quote of $1,246.81 provided to you on
  January 29, 2024. If any additional time is necessary, it will be billed and
  added to your account balance.”
  
              On
  February 5, 2024, at 3:23 pm, we received the following email response:
  
  “Well Utah code states:
  
  The creditor shall establish the amount of the
  collection fee imposed under this Subsection (2), except that the amount may
  not exceed the lesser of:
  (i)    the actual
  amount a creditor is required to pay a third party debt collection agency or
  licensed attorney, regardless of whether that amount is a specific dollar
  amount or a percentage of the principal amount owed to the creditor for a debt;
  or
  (ii)   40% of the
  principal amount owed to the creditor for a debt.
  
  So how is it legal that you charge a fee of more than
  98%?”
  
              On
  February 6, 2024, at 4:52 pm, we responded to the email with the following:
  
  “Attached please find Utah Code § 12-1-11 in its
  entirety and note that § 12-1-11(2)(c) states that "an obligation to pay a
  collection fee imposed under this Subsection (2) is in addition to any
  obligation to pay attorney fees that may otherwise exist." Our firm does
  not charge a collection fee and pursuant to the Association's CC&Rs, owners
  are obligated to pay attorneys' fees and costs incurred for the collection of
  delinquent assessments.
  
  I hope this is sufficient information to answer your
  question. Please be aware that we are a fee-based firm and collect on an hourly
  rate charge and all time spent in efforts to collect, including all
  correspondence with you, is billed and added to your balance. Therefore, the
  previously provided payoff amount is now inaccurate. The updated payoff amount
  through today's date is $1,592.81 and if no additional collection efforts are
  required, is good through February 22, 2024.”
  
              As a
  result of time spent studying Utah Code and responding to the homeowner,
  $175.00 in attorneys’ fees were incurred. Also included in the payoff amount
  provided to the homeowner was the March 2024 assessment and a $36.00 electronic
  service fee that would be automatically charged against the file before the February
  22, 2024 deadline.
  
              On February
  6, 2024, at 5:35 pm, we received the following email:
  
  “But I’ve already paid the full amount to the HOA’s
  including the late fees.
  
  Good luck. I promise you this will not hold up in
  court. Especially Utah.”
  
              On or
  about February 9, 2024, the Association forwarded to us a partial payment in
  the amount of $375.00. Then on or about February 14, 2024, the Association
  forwarded to us another partial payment in the amount of $550.00.
  
              On or
  about February 16, 2024, the partial payments were credited to the outstanding
  balance; however, they were not sufficient to satisfy the full amount owed.
  Pursuant to the collection policy in place with the Association, $462.50 of these
  payments were applied towards attorneys’ fees and costs of collection. As a
  result, additional attorneys’ fees and costs in the amount of $94.14 were added
  to the account for the time it took our office to deposit the funds, cut a
  check to the Association, account for fees and costs owed to our Firm and to
  review and update the account.
  
              Because
  the account was not paid in full by the deadline, a Notice of Lien was recorded
  against the property and a copy of the notice and a demand letter was sent to
  the homeowner via regular and certified mail on March 13, 2024. As a result,
  additional attorneys’ fees and costs in the amount of $857.75 were added to the
  balance. (A copy of such letter and lien are attached as Exhibit C).
  
              Moreover,
  Section 6.8 of the Association’s CC&Rs provides for recovery of attorneys’
  fees for collection of assessments whether or not legal action is instituted.
  
              To
  settle this matter at a discount, by Friday, April 5, 2024, the homeowner can
  pay, via certified funds, $1,820.60, which includes the April assessment and all
  assessments, attorneys’ fees and costs accrued prior to responding to this
  complaint.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  Jenkins Bagley Sperry, PLLC     
  Bruce *. J******, Esq