In my university, there is a move out date but you can request extensions until another date. I made the request for extension before its deadline, and accordingly, they put a note on my door stating something like, “don’t go in, approved extension.” Right before the regular move out date I stored most of my belongings some place else for next semester and left campus for a few days, but when I returned (before the extension ends) all my remaining stuff is gone as if I didn’t request the extension. The extension slip was ripped off also. And yes I told my roommate that I would leave after the regular move out date hence the extension, my roommate asked for an extension too but moved out two days after the regular move out date. I asked him about it and he implies that he didn’t tamper with the paper because he knew that I would come back. The extension lasts one week. I’m in the process of talking to the residence life department to get this sorted out but is there anything else I should do?
Do you have written documentation or an email or something that documents your request was actually granted?
All you can do at this point is see if resident life can sort it out. If they can’t, then you may need to take legal action against them. That is where the documentation would be required. No documentation would just about mean no case, however.
Please don’t threaten legal action while they are working to resolve this. That would only make them less likely to want to help you. But do be prepared just in case.
My guess is that they saw the room empty for a few days and figured you weren’t on campus and didn’t need the extension. They figured, correctly, that you were no longer on campus.
I would tread very carefully-- be polite and accomodating. I’m going to guess that, if pressed, they’ll show you something somewhere that says that the extension implies that you’ll actually be using the room during that time, not off campus for a few days.
@HPuck35 Yes, I do. They put a slip on my door. The policy is that they wouldn’t enter people’s rooms unless the slip was removed. Someone must have removed it and they went into my room, but they should have had a record of my approved extension in spite of the lack of the slip (I guess that makes sense). They have proof of my request (I asked) and confirmed it was approved before the relevant deadlines.
@bjkmom That’s not how the extension works, I am well aware.
They did ask for a reason for leaving later (but it was more of a formality) and I did say it was because of a something I would be leaving and coming back for (which is a valid reason).
Be polite…don’t make them defensive.
Polite: " I was wondering if you could help me. It seems as though something got messed up…I was approved for an extension and had a slip on my door, but then after a couple of days the slip was gone and all of my belongings were removed. Can you help me find out where they may have gone so they could possibly be retrieved or how I will get compensated?"
Defensive. “Someone threw out all my stuff! I can’t believe how screwed up things are here!”
But be persistent…"Can you call the custodial staff now to see what happened? " “WHen can I expect an answer?” “I will just wait while you make the phone call.” “I adhered to the rules…so you can appreciate that I cannot take the cost of replacement.”
I stand corrected.
Update: A few days after I made this thread I met with the hall director and she made me fill out a lost items form including the items I lost and the price. She also made contact with my roommate. Currently, it’s still being investigated but she told me the relevant departments will ‘try to make things right.’ I lost quite a bit more than I thought too.
@bopper You’re right. When I met with the hall director a few days after posting my thread I was really polite and pretty much did everything correct on my part I feel in terms of the things I said, etc. If I don’t get an update within a reasonable timeframe I might start asking them what’s going on.
I would follow up within a week and ask for the status
@bopper I asked the person who handled my case yesterday and was told that the case was submitted to a supervisor who submitted it to another department. I just directly emailed the department inquiring about the status lol.
A phone call or two might get you better information more quickly. Weekly emails with updates that you need to contact someone else can get old very quickly. And it provides more time for your belongings to be accidentally misplaced, thrown away, etc.