Questions about boots and rent payments...

I have two questions, so despite their wildly different topics, I thought I’d put them both in the same post to save space.

  1. I have a pair of Doc Marten boots, the first boots I’ve owned in years. The sole part is slightly larger than the rest of the shoe above it, so there’s this leather “ridge” where the two are connected.

I’ve noticed recently that because of the way I walk, this “ridge” is cracked where the shoe bends as my heel leaves the ground. Is this normal? If not, could it be caused by my not lacing up the boots to the top holes? I do this because if I do, I have to undo it anyway to get the boot loose enough to take off easily.

  1. I pay my rent and utilities online at the same time. I’ve done this without problem for at least five months under the current regime.

On the first of this month, I failed to notice that the utilities part of my bill was somehow not included with the rent, which it normally is, so I end up paying just the rent, with the utilities added on later. So because I didn’t notice this, the utilities just sits there until it incurs an eviction threat and a $50 late fee.

ETA: I’m even more confused now. In late November, I got a notice on my door that was a bill for the utilities. It had a due date of the first of this month, and the service dates are listed as October. I took this to the management office and asked about it, and was told, oh, don’t worry about it, they were just giving that to you because they failed to mail it for some reason; it should be covered in rent payments. Now I have no idea just when this was added to the online payment system.

Do I have any case for asking the late fee to be waived? I know it’s partly my fault for the inattention, but I’m a renter of long standing here, but the current management company is relatively new to the property. I have records to show that for at least four months previous, the utilities were in with the rent when I paid.

Thanks in advance.

Yeah, I’d try to get the late fee waived. The purpose of late fees is to punish chronic scofflaws while allowing a gracious offering to good folks.

You always have a case to “ask” for a waiver on a late fee. I never pay late fees, all you have to do is be pleasant and polite in explaining your situation, whoever you get on the phone has the authority to waive the fee, just don’t act like it’s her fault pesonally. Your case sounds like a slam-dunk. They changed the ground rules without notifying you in advance, and younconformed with established procedure. The threatening notices you got were generated by a computer, not by a person who has the wherewithal to grant relief…

It’s somewhat normal in Docs. You really need to condition the leather especially if you’ve got a pair made in England which has the thicker/stiffer material.

I think we’re thinking about different things. You know how the sole of the boot is a platform on which rests the rest of the shoe, which is slightly smaller than that platform? Thus, there’s a ridge which runs around the sole where it meets the rest of the shoe. The top of that ridge is where the crack is, and it’s an actual crack in the surface leather, not just a fold.

Hm, might have to take a picture.

Love the title of the thread. Before opening I thought “people rent boots??”.

I would ask for the late fee to be waived. The most they can do is say no.

This is not a good idea.

Nope. That’s one of two places that Doc boots are prone to cracking.

Huh, okay, then. I’d been remiss in the conditioning, but it never would have occurred to me to condition that part too. Oh, well, lesson learned. Glad it’s somewhat normal, though.

Oh, and yes, I did get the fee waived.

$50 late fee seems awful high. Glad you got rid of it.