Quit fucking with me

I've lived in my cozy Lower East Side apartment for four years now. I have been a good tenant. I've paid my rent on time. I haven't broken anything. I'm nice to the new super who starts every three months or so. I didn't kick anyone when there was no hot water for two months. I don't throw wild parties on the roof (well, I can't actually get on the roof without setting off alarms). All in all, my management company should be happy to have me. And they were, until my neighborhood got trendy.

Beacuse of this little thing called rent stabilization, these rentmongers can only raise my rent a little bit each year. If I left, they could double the rent. Now, I might be paranoid, but I think I might be a victim of harassment here.

Item 1: December 2002
I receive a card in the mail from the Housing Court, telling me my landlord has begun eviction proceedings and I'm required to appear in court to get a court date. I call the landlord, who claims I failed to pay rent for two months and am being evicted. I ask which months are in question, and then point out that they did, in fact, cash the checks. That is not good enough for them. I go to court. I get a court date. I sit and wait, and a lawyer for the management company shows up, takes me outside and asks me why I have not paid my rent. I show him the cancelled checks. He says he'll "look into it". The judge does not understand why we are all there, but tells me I really have nothing to worry about. Two days later, they send me a letter claiming the funds were placed in the wrong account. No apology.

Item 2: July 2003
Me: Why is there a 50 dollar late charge on my rent bill?
Them: You sent your rent in late.
Me: I sent it on the 2nd. I do not incur late charges until the 10th.
Them: We didn't receive it by the 10th.
Me: When you choose to cash the check is not my concern. Mail does not take eight days.
Them: Sometimes I send things and it takes weeks.
Me: I'm not paying this charge.
Them: If you pay your rent on time for three months, we'll take the charge off.
Me: I pay my rent on time EVERY month! And I'm sending my rent check certified mail from now on.

Item 3: August 2003
I get a bill for twice my monthly rent, and two seperate 50 dollar charges, I call the management compny and am told that 1) I did not pay July rent and 2) They have not yet received August rent. My answers, you ask? 1) You cashed the check! and 2) I sent it certfified mail! You signed for it on the 2nd! They do not believe me. I have to now send copies of the cancelled checks. The late charges are for my failure to pay July rent and my failure to pay the late charge, even though I never received anything telling me I owed any late charges or a bill for August rent.

I cannot figure out if I'm being harrassed, or if their accounting department is really THAT bad. Either way, DHCR urged me to file a complaint. I'm taking you down. And your moms too.