Return of the BBB & Fox Management Group (#52)

The results of the most recent complaint filed against Fox Management Group...

Case Description: Performed work at the request of Fox Management Group's authorized representatives (contact information on invoice).
Billed Fox. (Delivery Confirmation information available upon request)
Fox failed to pay or even respond within billing timeframe. (Contact information and my request that, if there were any questions or problems with the bill are included on the enclosed invoice itself.)
Since Fox Management Group failed to take ANY action, Fox Management Group gave tacit approval to the terms of the bill and, due to their nonpayment are now in default.
Payment of the bill and late charges as specified in the terms listed on the invoice....
Desired Resolution: Payment of the bill and late charges as specified in the terms listed on the invoice.

The complaint was received by the BBB on October 22, 2008 and has been assigned case # 94205306 in our files.

Below are Mara Feldman-Fox's unverified assertions, as well as my verified responses from parties involved...

You may be interested in the BBB's resolution of Fox Management Group's currently-unpaid bill to me. It's at the bottom of the page.

Fox: It is Ms. A's practice to send her monthly assessment payment by certified mail.
Each month along with the assessment payments there are copies of past correspondence. Apparently, the July 28, 2008 certified mailing included an invoice from Mr. B.

BB: 1) There were three other sheets and a check along with the invoice. Four pages total!
2) We have cut down on the volume of paperwork to accommodate Ms Fox's "special needs", notably her claimed inability to read long documents. (A curious condition for a property manager, whose job requires reading long documents!)
3) Fox Management had the bill in hand, and failed to respond, question, or pay within the deadline.
Their failure to perform proper clerical functions, while indicative of a poorly-run office, are not my concern.

Fox: This was inadvertently overlooked until we received a second copy...

BB: It's the first time I've heard of incompetence being used as a defense for not paying bills!
If they tried this with the power company, they'd be sitting in the dark!
But note: they do acknowledge receiving it!

Fox: On September 15, 2008, Mr. Stuart Fox, President Fox Management Group sent Mr. B an e-mail that stated in part:
"I was not aware of any invoice that was mailed from you until this e-mail. I did not realize that you staple it to the back of the renewal proxy that also included copies of previous letters. I do not recall requesting you to provide any services for Claremont Condominium Association or for Fox Management Group. Please let me know when that request was made and to whom you spoke."

BB: See 1, 2 & 3 above. And it wasn't stapled, just loose in the envelope.

Fox: Mr. B's response was in part:
"While you, Stuart Fox, personally, did not request my services, your authorized vendors did request my services to help perform work contracted for by Fox Management Group.
Their names, contact numbers, and work performed for Fox Management Group are all on the invoice, as they were on the previous two hardcopies in your possession.
Fox Management Group had the opportunity (and contact information) to question the invoice, but failed to do so before payment was due (8/19/08)."
The vendors that Mr. B is referring to are The Security Shop and Fox Valley Fire and Safety. There was a call placed to Security Shop for service call to make some necessary repairs to the back gate. Security Shop has been servicing this Association for almost 10 years with out any need for unit owners or residents to assist with their work. After speaking with Security Shop I was informed that they did not request Mr. B's assistance nor did they ask for any. Mr. B volunteered his time to apparently oversee their work.

BB: In a phone conversation on 11/3/08, Seth Strong, the Security Shop worker who performed the work on-site, disputed this version of events.
He confirmed that he had NOT spoken to Mara or ANY Fox Management personnel about this matter and then corroborated my statement that he solicited my advice & knowledge of the history of the lock and that I did NOT volunteer it without his asking for it.

Fox: There was a call placed to Fox Valley Fire and Safety to complete the annual fire extinguisher maintenance. Fox Valley Fire and Safety has been servicing this Association for 6 years with out any need for unit owners or residents to assist with their work.

BB: A Unit owner or resident is needed to allow access to the locked building, since Fox Valley doesn't have a key. A Board member (Judith Lea Marrs, who moved out) previously performed this function.

Fox: After speaking with Fox Valley Fire and Safety I was informed that they did not request Mr. B's assistance nor did they ask for any. Mr. B volunteered his time to apparently oversee their work.

BB: In a phone conversation with Fox Valley's Jeanette, ( Ellen the field agent's dispatcher) on 11/4/08, Jeanette confirms my sequence of events and states that no one from Fox Management had spoken with Fox Valley since the request to check the building in July!

You'll note that Mara does NOT provide dates or names of people she talked to at those companies for verification. Hard to provide names of people you haven't talked to, eh?
(Mara did the same thing on her resume. I vetted it, and you'd be astonished how much of it doesn't check out!)
I, on the other hand can provide phone numbers & phone records (from the phone company) for verification of my conversations.

Fox: The Board of Directors met on October 21, 2008 for the regular quarterly Board of Directors' meeting. Mr. B was present at the meeting. The matter of his invoice and payment thereof was addressed at an open meeting. The Board of Directors stated in part: "The Board of Directors reviewed an invoice presented for services rendered by Mr. B. The Board denied payment and expressed their disappointment that there was an invoice at all.

BB: The Board's opinion is irrelevant since the Board is NOT being billed, ONLY Fox Management.
The vendors were Fox's agents, not the Board's.
If Fox want to be reimbursed by the Board, that is between them & the Board.

Fox: "The Board of Directors is a volunteer position. Unit owners and residents from time to time also volunteer for the betterment of the Association."

BB: I am a resident, NOT an owner OR Board member.
Legally, I am NOT obliged to do ANYTHING that a tenant in an apartment house wouldn't be required to do.
That includes doing the landlord's/super's/Board's job for them (and for free, yet)!
If I do their job for them, it's for pay.
Without my aid, requested by the vendors, the work would NOT have been performed, and in the case of the fire extinguishers, would've rendered the condo in violation of the law!

Fox: In conclusion, there was never any implied or expressed request to have Mr. B assist the vendors that were requested to perform service work at the building.

BB: See above responses from the actual workers involved, not Feldman-Fox's delusions. Work was solicited by the vendors, and they've verified it!
And, the key is that Fox HAD the option to question the validity of the bill BEFORE the due date, but FAILED TO DO SO!
Mind you, I've been able to disprove EVERY "point" made by Fox.
Even if I hadn't (though I obviously did), the letter of the law is clear.
They FAILED TO ACT within the billing period!
They defaulted.
Fox Management owes the money due.

The BBB's response...
We regret to inform you that the BBB can not process your complaint as it is our policy to process only those complaints that fall under the scope of the BBB's activities.
The case has been reviewed by one of our Complaint Specialists and was found to contain issues that are out of the BBB's purview.
The Bureau does not handle matters of collection as we are not licensed...to be a collection agency. We suggest you contact a private collection agency...

Apparently, the BBB considers this a billing situation. (ie; a legitimate attempt to collect payment for work performed!)
Unless payment is made for both the original amount and late fees (as of today: $129.57, total), I'll follow the BBB's suggestion...at a time of my own choosing.

Extra: the BBB's listing for Fox Management Group!

Wednesday's total for Fox Management Group's still-unpaid bill...$129.57 from an original $75!