Our Condo Association pays annual dues to a Home Owners Association in the community in which we are located. Each individual condo owner pays dues as well. Our treasurer made an error in paying the Condo’s dues to the HOA, with a double payment, AND forgot to pay her own individual HOA dues. The HOA applied the overpayment to the treasurer’s personal HOA account.
I want the HOA to refund the overpayment to our Condo Association, and collect from the treasurer her past due HOA dues. The HOA treasurer doesn’t want to issue a refund for the overpayment, and instead is asking us to get the money back from our treasurer. Which way is correct?
Assuming this is a good faith error (which would likely require that the Association dues and the individual dues be the same), as a practical matter you could probably correct it either way. I would rather correct it, however, with the refund to the Association and the payment by the treasurer to the HOA for her personal dues. This would reflect what was intended (and actually done) and avoid questions in future years when an auditor or new treasurer looks at the books of either the HOA or the Association. If the Association gets a check from the treasurer to the HOA for her dues and takes it to the HOA treasurer with the request, it will at least eliminate the HOA’s issue with having to chase the individual. If the HOA treasurer doesn’t agree, I would ask the full HOA board president or full board. Both organizations have an interest in having their financial records be accurate.
I think a better answer would have begun by congratulating him for identifying the issue and trying to get information about it. That's key, to me. Most Board members don't even pass that test. SO many "trustees" don't even read the materials, much less think (with an active brain) and ask/question.
The rest was excellent advice, of course! T.O. --via email