Self-Inflicted Refunder Blunder

(A new tenant recently moved out without notice just a couple days after moving in. She contacts me to get a refund of part of her rent. I remember the tenant well; she paid her first month’s rent with several large money orders and a small personal check. The boss approves the waiving of the 30-day notice policy for this case, in hopes of making the tenant a little happier so she doesn’t badmouth us around town. I call the tenant back to give her the good news, and to let her know that the paperwork has been filed to get her refund.)

Me: “[Boss] agreed to waive the 30-day notice requirement, so we’ll be able to refund $[amount] to you. I’ve submitted the paperwork to our central office, so a check will be issued next Wednesday and mailed to you.”

Tenant: “What? I can’t wait that long; I have bills to pay at my new apartment! I’ll just come in, and you can write me a check today.”

Me: “Unfortunately, I cannot write a check myself; all our checks go through our central office across the state.”

Tenant: “Hmph. So, I’ll get the check next Wednesday?”

Me: “No, the check will be printed next Wednesday. Unless you want to drive across the state to pick it up, they’ll have to mail it, and it should arrive on Friday.”

Tenant: “Nonsense like this is why I moved out! I’ve never seen another company so incompetent!”

(The next Wednesday, I get a call from my supervisor at the central office.)

Supervisor: “We got notice from [Tenant]’s bank that she stopped payment on her check, so I had to adjust the balance on her account. You’ll need to redo the paperwork on that refund. We’ll just plan on refunding it next week, instead.”

(The purest moment joy in my life was calling the former tenant to let her know that by stopping payment on her check, which we were refunding in full, she had delayed her refund another week.)

Related:
Refunder Blunder, Part 32
Refunder Blunder, Part 31
Refunder Blunder, Part 30