North Texas Realtor Questions Extra Fee Tied To Deferred Payment Plan
(CBSDFW.COM) - Many companies are offering deferred payment plans due to COVID-19. But one North Texas realtor said that option ended up costing her.
Now, she wants a refund.
Realtor Anastasia Pool received a letter stating that due to the pandemic her quarterly dues for the Metrotex Association of Realtors could be deferred by one month.
"We were able to pay later, by April 30," Pool said. "I took advantage of it."
Realtors and other real estate professionals pay dues to Metrotex to access the Multiple Listings Service, or MLS. The database shares detailed information on properties.
But Pool realized she would still be fined for missing the original deadline.
On March 18, Pool received a letter that stated, "If the fees are not paid by March 31, your individual MLS service will be suspended and a $25 reinstatement fee will apply."
On top of her $109 quarterly dues, she was charged a $25 to "reinstate" her MLS.
But Pool said the service never needed to be reinstated because she never lost access to it.
"I even said, 'Why did you charge me this $25 fee?'" Pool said.
While $25 seems negligible, Poll wonders how many other realtors paid the same fee.
On its website, Metrotex said it services 21,000 real estate professionals.
'It's just the principle," Pool said. "It makes me furious."
The CEO of Metro Tex released the following statement:
"Although we appreciate your request, this was an internal business decision about the longstanding member's fees/dues structure and obligation made by the Board of Directors of North Texas Real Estate Information Network Inc. Similar to any business, the North Texas Real Estate Information Network, Inc. considers those decisions to be proprietary internal decisions and would not be considered appropriate for a news story."
When asked, a Metrotex spokesman did not clarify what the extre fees funded or how many members paid.