Close Call with my Rent check almost made me freak out!

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Heya....god, I had quite the rude awakening this morning! You see, my father called me, waking me out of a nice dream, to tell me something that almost sent my world crumbling around me....the landlord called my parents to say that he didn't receive my rent check yet for August!

Naturally, I couldn't believe it when he said that, because I'm probably the most PUNCTUAL person I know when it comes to paying debts! But in any case, Dad said that I should look around the apartment like an IDIOT for a check I KNOW I put in the rent slot, and said that if I still couldn't find it, he could always void the old one and write out another.

After searching my apartment anyway for a check I know I put in the slot, I went down to that place in question to see if it got put in properly. I heard voices from the other side of the door, so I took a big gamble and actually confronted the landlord himself, who just happened to be in his office on that rare once-a-month occasion he does come along!

Wow, am I ever happy that I was blessed with such a nice guy for my landlord. I explained to him my take on the situation (that I think someone might have stolen it because it didn't go in the slot all the way), and brought up the same alternative that my dad mentioned: about writing a new check and voiding the old one. He said he didn't have a problem with that, and that I didn't need to be so nervous about a simple mistake. I mean, I don't see myself as a person who makes that many mistakes, but I dismissed that statement and thanked him for this 'second chance at life'.

Whew....crisis averted! But still, it was a narrow scrape for my dignity! But how about any of you guys and girls here? Ever had a moment when you thought a simple mistake and/or act of lateness was the end of your world?

Usagi1992

that is lucky that you have a nice landlord.

I panicked big time one year because i had lost my group certificate (which u need to do your taxes) anyway, I called the accounts person at work and she told me to call the accountant they use, so I did and they sent me another copy. So it was all good in the end.

It happens to us all sometimes.

I was checking my bank balance yesterday to see if a payment I'd been waiting for (the return of the deposit on my old flatshare, which was an awful experience - I should start a thread on it sometime!) had gone in. And I noticed my rent on the current flat hadn't come out yet.

I checked the payment (which is an electronic transfer by standing order), and I found I'd really, really messed up. My bank defaults to "quarterly" rather than "monthly" when you do this, but I hadn't noticed. So I'd paid June's rent (when I moved in) with a banker's draft - a cheque which the bank had written for me and can't bounce - and July's rent when I set up the payment. But the next payment wasn't due out til October!

So I had a panic, because my rent was due a week ago. Oops.

After about half an hour's panic, I got a cup of tea from the canteen (I was at work at the time). I called the agent's office and they gave me the call centre number. I wasn't hopeful about it. But actually, because I caught the mistake, came forward as soon as I realised, apologised, and paid over the phone (on my card), they were really nice about it. We laughed about it, as it happens, because it's an easy mistake to make.

Moral of the story - Little things like that happen to all of us in life. But sometimes people are surprisingly cool about it if you're honest, and talk to them as soon as you know there's a problem. (And yes, I did think it was the end of the world, for a couple of minutes - "nooo! bailiffs at the door tomorrow!! eviction on Monday!! !!" sort of thing. But that's what a cup of tea is good for.)

In my experiance most folks are cool with it, if it is a one time event. They really don't even remember that it happened unless it becomes a regular problem.

Heh, I was thinking that too, initially, that there was gonna be a lawsuit against me, and that I'd have 2 weeks to evacuate the premises...

Thanks fellas, for letting me know I'm not the only one who goofed up like this.

But you see, this is the reason why I'm so hard on myself; because I'm not infallible. I would think that, as an Aspie, I'd be so cool and logical that I'd be incapable of making mistakes, even little ones. But I keep forgetting about one little contingency: LIFE! It throws you curveballs every now and again, that send your world upside-down and inside-out.

Usagi1992

That's the kind of thing that happens to everyone at some point.. I can't imagine a landlord throwing out a good tenant over a misplaced check anyways.

Edit to add: Do you have any idea how horrible, nasty, and demanding some tenants are? If you're friendly and punctual with your rent, a landlord is NOT going to want to get rid of you over a mistake that makes the rent late by a few days..

I guess....maybe you're right. *sighs*

Besides, every single tenant in my building was personally approved of by the landlord, because they had no history of drugs, no criminal records, etc. I guess you could say Mr. Green is setting an example in an otherwise skanky, low-class city by allowing only nice people to stay and pay rent. ^_^