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Package fees?

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Package fees?

Postby snowlock » Sun Aug 28, 2016 3:52 am

I've been looking around for an answer and finding rather little info. My apartment complex used to allow delivery services (USP Fedex USPS) to just deliver right to our doors (all apts have outside doors). Around Chirstmas they started having deliveries to the office because people were on vacation (nice thought), but they never stopped. Now they have decided they are going to make everyone sign up for a 3rd party service which has a subscription fee and late fees to "hold" their packages in lockers. The office has effectively barred the delivery services from delivering packages because now they make money by causing this problem.

Am I screwed here or is there actually any recourse to this bad situation?
snowlock
 
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Re: Package fees?

Postby TenantNet » Sun Aug 28, 2016 10:12 am

You said you're not in NY, so check your local laws - I doubt there will be anything on this though.

Then look at your lease in all the small print. Chances are it's silent on this as well. But unless it's in the lease or house rules, if there are any, any such fee would not be legal in our opinion during the term of the current lease.

You say all the units have outside doors - do you have specific mailing addresses? Are they preventing the USPS from delivering to you? I think that would be illegal. I don't see how they can prevent deliveries to individual units.

As for the fees, I've never heard of that. I don't know what you mean by "third party service." What would happen if you simply declined to subscribe?
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Re: Package fees?

Postby snowlock » Thu Sep 01, 2016 5:06 pm

Nothing in state or local laws, and nothing in the lease.

The complex started using a third party service called parcel pending. Basically there are lockers installed in the complex which require a yearly subscription and have late fees attached if you don't get the package quickly. The complex refuses delivery of packages (sending them back) if you aren't a subscriber. And as near as I can tell, they now don't admit the delivery companies to deliver on the premises, through the parking lot gate.

They have effectively rerouted any packages through a pay wall.
snowlock
 
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Re: Package fees?

Postby TenantNet » Thu Sep 01, 2016 6:08 pm

Does this describe your situation?
https://goo.gl/ZJu8hL
and read the comments as well.

If in NYC and rent stab, this would be an illegal deprivation of services.

In our opinion the refusal to accept packages - if they did previously accept packages - would be a violation of your lease. But making a fuss could put your renewal in jeopardy. If enough tenants are upset, you could organize and make a big fuss.

Having a concierge is one thing, but refusal to deliver to your door is something else. It is true that with the popularity of Amazon and other online retailers, some building's lobbies are over-flowing with packages.

Don't know about Fedex or UPS, but I think that the USPS won't refuse to deliver parcel post. Check your state/local laws to see if the LL is required to accept mail or packages.
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