WWYD-Dorm Damage Charges

[Westcoastwild]

Why would you assume that?

Financial need isn't a valid reason to have those types of fees waived where I work

Yeah, that's not a thing. At all. They bill everyone and chances are those poor students and "illegal aliens" are the ones that got screwed. They probably cleaned because they knew they couldn't afford the fee. The kids who parents will just write that check won't even register the fee.

 

[Mizzoufan]

If it was me my child would be paying that bill ASAP.

 

[Westcoastwild]

That sounds like it is for his specific room not for the common areas.

Some include common areas. My sister's did because it was apartment style. My co-op did because it was part of our co-op agreement. But the regular dorms did not (mostly because the regular dorms had essentially bombproof common areas.)

 

[erincon23]

Therapy cat,what is this world coming to?

My friend's son has a therapy cat at college, and believe me, it's made a huge difference. He has severe anxiety and depression that aren't completely helped with meds, and tried to kill himself while he was in school. Petting animals has been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce anxiety. If I could have a cat in the house (highly allergic), I'd get one for my son who has depression and anxiety.

 

[snoopy5386]

This is my DH's field so I have lots of experience in this area.

Yes, billing common area damages to all the residents is completely normal, expect a bill every year from now on.

Yes, they wait till the end of the semester or year to calculate and bill, would you prefer one weekly or monthly instead?

Usually it's divided up amongst everyone in the building and not just by floor - there isn't any reason why someone who lives on the 10th floor couldn't use a bathroom on the 3rd floor to dye their hair or for that matter a friend from another building. We lived in a 10 story dorm with 900 residents for several years, impossible to track down the culprit.

The trash was probably left in the hallways, elevator lobby, etc.

You would not believe some of the things that happen in these dorms - water fountains ripped off the walls, fire extinguishers sprayed all over the place, feces in the elevator or bathroom sinks, absolutely disgusting stuff. So much pee in the elevators. There are no cameras to catch who is doing it so everyone must pay the price. They used to post a running damage total in the elevator lobbies at one school so the kids could see what was happening and what they were being charged for, but it did very little to stop the destruction.

 

[Westcoastwild]

This is my DH's field so I have lots of experience in this area.

Yes, billing common area damages to all the residents is completely normal, expect a bill every year from now on.

Yes, they wait till the end of the semester or year to calculate and bill, would you prefer one weekly or monthly instead?

Usually it's divided up amongst everyone in the building and not just by floor - there isn't any reason why someone who lives on the 10th floor couldn't use a bathroom on the 3rd floor to dye their hair or for that matter a friend from another building. We lived in a 10 story dorm with 900 residents for several years, impossible to track down the culprit.

The trash was probably left in the hallways, elevator lobby, etc.

You would not believe some of the things that happen in these dorms - water fountains ripped off the walls, fire extinguishers sprayed all over the place, feces in the elevator or bathroom sinks, absolutely disgusting stuff. So much pee in the elevators. There are no cameras to catch who is doing it so everyone must pay the price. They used to post a running damage total in the elevator lobbies at one school so the kids could see what was happening and what they were being charged for, but it did very little to stop the destruction.

Right. THIS. I don't care how good the RA is, they are still very outnumbered by the students. And the students have probably been warned multiple times what they will be charged for. These aren't hidden fees. Every single person in that dorm knows they should not be sweeping and leaving trash in the halls. We aren't talking about minor scratches in the paint or whatever, usually- we're talking about missing fire extinguishers and bodily fluids and many other things that take significant amount of manpower and money to fix.

One of my summer jobs was turning dorms around for summer students. You might have 300 rooms and 5 workers and 2 days. That's just enough time for a complete scrub down and normal maintenance. That's not enough time to do all that and then also to replace stuff, fix plumbing, and scrape gum off furniture.

 

[mom2rtk]

This is my DH's field so I have lots of experience in this area.

Yes, billing common area damages to all the residents is completely normal, expect a bill every year from now on.

Yes, they wait till the end of the semester or year to calculate and bill, would you prefer one weekly or monthly instead?

Usually it's divided up amongst everyone in the building and not just by floor - there isn't any reason why someone who lives on the 10th floor couldn't use a bathroom on the 3rd floor to dye their hair or for that matter a friend from another building. We lived in a 10 story dorm with 900 residents for several years, impossible to track down the culprit.

The trash was probably left in the hallways, elevator lobby, etc.

You would not believe some of the things that happen in these dorms - water fountains ripped off the walls, fire extinguishers sprayed all over the place, feces in the elevator or bathroom sinks, absolutely disgusting stuff. So much pee in the elevators. There are no cameras to catch who is doing it so everyone must pay the price. They used to post a running damage total in the elevator lobbies at one school so the kids could see what was happening and what they were being charged for, but it did very little to stop the destruction.

Silly me. I thought that's why they charged nearly the price of a whole house rental for one tiny room already.

My son was in a dorm for 2 years and thankfully never had a communal charge like that. But then he was at an engineering school. Maybe if something broke they all sat around trying to figure out ways to fix it.

 

[dosekies]

My friend's son has a therapy cat at college, and believe me, it's made a huge difference. He has severe anxiety and depression that aren't completely helped with meds, and tried to kill himself while he was in school. Petting animals has been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce anxiety. If I could have a cat in the house (highly allergic), I'd get one for my son who has depression and anxiety.

If you are able to have a dog, I highly suggest getting one! I am allergic to cats too and I have a therapy dog. Like you mentioned, she has helped immensely with all of the things meds haven't helped with. They say weighted blankets help with anxiety, and I feel like I have my own because she is 45 pounds and needs to be as close to on top of you as possible when she cuddles! It also helps just knowing you have something to take care of that is depending on you. There are plenty of days that I wouldn't be able to get out of bed or function if I didn't know I had to get up and take care of her.

 

[Allison]

Silly me. I thought that's why they charged nearly the price of a whole house rental for one tiny room already.

No, that's not why.

 

[mom2rtk]

No, that's not why.

Maybe you missed the little eye roll guy?

I get it. They charge those high prices because they can. And they charge communal damage fees because they can.

 

[Allison]

Maybe you missed the little eye roll guy?

No. I didn't.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Maybe you missed the little eye roll guy?

I get it. They charge those high prices because they can. And they charge communal damage fees because they can.

They charge those high prices because of all the services they provide. Which is A LOT. I don't miss sharing the bathroom, but I definitely miss the free hot water, electricity, wifi, lack of commute. Really. I bet you that the dorm isn't actually that expensive compared to off campus housing plus all of the amenities that come with a dorm.

 

[mom2rtk]

They charge those high prices because of all the services they provide. Which is A LOT. I don't miss sharing the bathroom, but I definitely miss the free hot water, electricity, wifi, lack of commute. Really. I bet you that the dorm isn't actually that expensive compared to off campus housing plus all of the amenities that come with a dorm.

We'll have to agree to disagree with the "value" involved. But then my son's room was pretty basic. 4 walls and a roommate (so double the revenue). Of course there was a pole on one end to hang clothing. And he shared a bathroom with an entire floor of kids.

 

[DaisyJ]

They charge those high prices because of all the services they provide. Which is A LOT. I don't miss sharing the bathroom, but I definitely miss the free hot water, electricity, wifi, lack of commute. Really. I bet you that the dorm isn't actually that expensive compared to off campus housing plus all of the amenities that come with a dorm.

When my son moved off campus, our housing cost was cut in half, including utilities and cable.

 

[Branflakes]

If my kids had "fees" of ANY KIND added for cleaning, parking, tickets,books what have you, I would not be writing a check. They would be. I already wrote the $18,000 check at the beginning of the year so why would I pay one more penny for negligence? No. And my son did indeed help himself to many parking tickets and boot removal fees over the course of 4 years. ALL of which he paid on his own. Communal area not up to par? I guess one should decide, do I want to be assessed a fee, or go a little out of my way and contribute extra time and effort to clean up common areas. I suspect the answer would highly depend on who would be writing that check.

 

[nkereina]

I remember being in college and receiving a bill for damage to my own dorm room, but never the common areas. Maybe we just got lucky. Regardless, I agree that DD should be handling any disputes if she feels its warranted. While I agree it seems the items they are charging for are questionable, its a good opportunity to instill some responsibility into the college students to either dispute it or pay up. Especially since the amount in question is relatively small.

 

[AppleDumpling]

You would not believe some of the things that happen in these dorms - water fountains ripped off the walls, fire extinguishers sprayed all over the place, feces in the elevator or bathroom sinks, absolutely disgusting stuff. So much pee in the elevators. There are no cameras to catch who is doing it so everyone must pay the price. They used to post a running damage total in the elevator lobbies at one school so the kids could see what was happening and what they were being charged for, but it did very little to stop the destruction.

Yes, but some of that goes beyond general messiness and neglecting to clean properly. Some of it is intentional vandalism, a problem that's been around for a long time. Back in the 80's, when I was in college, a friend of mine lived in a dorm where sinks were ripped off the wall of a bathroom (how hard would that be?!), several windows were broken, and a row of mailboxes was damaged. An investigation was done; apparently there were no witnesses and the guilty parties would've been subject to disciplinary action, possibly charged with a crime and expelled. All the residents paid a high price for it and were not happy.

I have to believe that the majority of students do not damage or destroy property (other than something minor like tack holes in a wall), and most leave their living space reasonably clean. So I can see it being frustrating for those who follow the rules and act responsibly to be held accountable for the poor behavior of a few of their peers. Just part of college life I guess. Anyway, I got through college without any such issues, as has my son thus far, thankfully.

 

[mom2rtk]

If my kids had "fees" of ANY KIND added for cleaning, parking, tickets,books what have you, I would not be writing a check. They would be. I already wrote the $18,000 check at the beginning of the year so why would I pay one more penny for negligence? No. And my son did indeed help himself to many parking tickets and boot removal fees over the course of 4 years. ALL of which he paid on his own. Communal area not up to par? I guess one should decide, do I want to be assessed a fee, or go a little out of my way and contribute extra time and effort to clean up common areas. I suspect the answer would highly depend on who would be writing that check.

Would you be ok with your kid then not getting a diploma? Like it or not, I'd still make sure it got settled.

 

[maxiesmom]

We'll have to agree to disagree with the "value" involved. But then my son's room was pretty basic. 4 walls and a roommate (so double the revenue). Of course there was a pole on one end to hang clothing. And he shared a bathroom with an entire floor of kids.

Did he not tour the dorms before deciding to go to that college? I know they vary greatly from college to college, but I'm doubting it was a surprise what they looked like.

 

[mom2rtk]

Did he not tour the dorms before deciding to go to that college? I know they vary greatly from college to college, but I'm doubting it was a surprise what they looked like.

I didn't say it was a surprise. They had a large group of incoming freshmen that first year and that was where he was assigned (Living on campus is required the first 2 years). He didn't get that room assignment until a few weeks before school started.