PM overpaid vendor

[Peter Sik]

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice regarding an issue with my property manager.
A few months ago, I questioned an unusually high $1,000.00 cleaning fee charged to my property. However, my property manager did not provide any real explanation at that time, and in some cases even stopped responding to my follow-up messages. This back-and-forth went on for months without a clear answer.
It wasn’t until last month that the PM finally reviewed the invoices and informed me that the vendor had actually been overpaid by $900.00 due to their failure to properly verify the invoice. They told me they had contacted the vendor, and that the vendor would refund the overpayment within three weeks, after which the PM would return the money to me.
It’s now past the three-week mark and I still haven’t received the refund. When I follow up, the PM only says they are “still waiting for the vendor.”
I’m trying to understand:
1. Is this type of mistake common in property management?

2. Should the PM be responsible for reimbursing me immediately, since the overpayment happened due to their own error?

3. How would you handle this situation?
Continue following up politely?
Ask the PM to refund me now and let them handle the vendor separately?
Escalate the issue to a higher-level manager or consider switching PMs?



For context, this isn’t the first administrative issue I’ve had with this PM, but it’s definitely the most costly one.
I’d really appreciate any guidance from experienced investors or property managers on what’s considered standard practice and what the appropriate expectations should be.
Thanks in advance!

[Drew Sygit]

@Peter Sik can't think of a reason why the PMC would NOT be responsible for THEIR error!

We've had this happen before, where a worker made an entry error, and we've immediately covered it for the owner, while we worked it out with a vendor or whomever.

Doubt this is covered in your contract, but recommend pressuring them to correct their mistake with you and STOP using the vendor as an excuse.

Otherwise, start looking for a new PMC FIRST, then when you find one, terminate this one.