Rubenerd

Photo of the letter I got this morning

I keep using the word "ironic" in posts here, I'm starting to sound like a broken iPod. Get it, I was going to say broken record, but then I remembered my dad and I have an extensive vinyl collection and that a broken record would be far more painful to think of than a broken iPod. Especially since I use an iPhone now. Anyway, it's particularly ironic that this nonsense would trickle down to me so quickly after posting about the subprime mortgage crisis, the financial crisis and the bailouts of financial institutions here, and how the corporations were receiving assistance while good people lost their jobs and houses.

This morning I opened my mailbox here in our temporary rented house I'm sharing with my sister so we can study in Adelaide, only to find a letter from our landlord's realty company. It was clearly too thin to be a cake, some fresh bikkies or other baked good thanking us for our business, so I was intrigued. Upon opening said letter, I couldn't believe my eyes.

(I would have scanned the letter in to show you exactly what they were talking about, but there was far too much personal information on it, and I'm not sure as to the legality of duplicating a document like that and publishing it).

FORM 2 – Residential Tenancies Act 1995
NOTICE BY LANDLORD TO TENANT TO REMEDY BREACH OF AGREEMENT — NOTICE OF TERMINATION

THIS BREACH IS AS FOLLOWS
Rent not paid in accordance with the terms and conditions […]. Your fortnightly payment due on 24.11.2008 has not been made. You are currently paid to the 23.11.2008

To remedy the breach, you must make payment for four weeks in advance […].

Yes ladies and gentleman, I was late in paying the rent by one day. ONE DAY. As a result of this I am required to pay a month's worth of rent now instead of a fortnight. I can pay it, no problems, it's just that I won't be eating for the next few weeks. Okay I exaggerate, but it still makes little to no sense whatsoever. Alas they are completely in their power to demand this.

I wonder how much this realty company has lost on the Australian share market in the last few months? I wonder if they've started penny pinching their customers to make up for a shortfall. Because the important thing is to treat your customers like absolute crap when times get tough, because only by doing that do you secure your wealth. Maintaining good relations in the hopes your customers will stick around when things improve is hippy speak.

Don't you just love it? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to my credit union to withdraw some cash. I like credit unions because they treat you like human beings. It's not that I loathe banks as much as I just… loathe them.