Yet another Medico question

methinks if you SIGNED the contract.. you are stuck with the bill..IF that was IN the contract...

now.. WHY (curiosity) would the ENTIRE apartment complex have to be redone? you do NOT?? have a master.. so.. curiosity?? your apartment and ??? the entrance doors??? but 45???

--Shiva--

Think about it. If you could accomplish what you are trying to accomplish, Medeco (or any other HS key) wouldn't be worth a grain of salt. You can have all the documentation in the world but if you don't have that card, y'ain't gettin' copies.

I assume you mean that you will have to pay to have "common area" doors (entrances, laundry room, storage room, etc) rekeyed and new keys issued for every occupant of the building. At $12/key times an average of two keys for each unit, plus some for management and maintenance staff, plus rekeying four HS cylinders and the service charge... Yeah, you could easily be looking at a little shy of $1,500 or so.

You say they were stolen at work. Did you report it? If so, either work or your homeowner's insurance should cover it. Even if you put it through your homeowner's insurance and have to pay a deductible, it's still cheaper than footing the whole bill yourself.

But when it comes down to it.... They were stolen at work. Your employer, (or their insurance) ought to pay for it.

Bobby

Hey Steve,

I suggest you should bite the bullet. You were careless with the keys. You place your neighbors at an unnecessary risk by leaving you keys lying about where a bunch of drug addicts can get them.

Yes, of course I reported it. The idea of the homeowner's insurance hadn't even occurred to me. I think of that in terms of flooding, fire, etc. Thanks for suggesting it! Really, it NEVER would have occurred to me.

Bob DeWeese, CML wrote:

cheaper than

That almost certainly wasn't in the contract. It's just a rule that got laid down sometime. The reason for rekeying the entire complex is that the Keeper of the Keys is a control freak. Seriously, I think it was done because people were getting casual about their keys. We don't have an elevator and people on the top floor would give out their keys to contractors, housecleaners, etc so that they (the residents) wouldn't have to walk all the way down to street level to let those people in. In principle I can understand it. Still ... three times in 20 years ..(and one of those in a near fatal car accident) seems not unreasonable. Individual units are not part of the Medico system and will not have to be rekeyed .. thank heaven.

Since you didn't ask a question, I don't have anything to answer.

You do not say whether the keeper of the keys is a resident or a manager's employee. In the latter case if there is a security breach the manager could be 'in the gun' for failing to take adequate precautions by not changing the cylinder when too many keys are unaccounted for.

The method of charging a resident for a re-key after losing 4 keys over an indefinite period is rather haphazard, since there could be alot of stray keys floating around well before a cylinder change is triggered.

The idea of charging $100 or so for each key issued (except the first two, or number of bedrooms plys 1 key etc) seems much superior, with the $100's going into a sinking fund for a periodic re-key.

If upper floor residents find answering the entrance door a nuisance, then if the majority of residents want it, the co-op could be asked to install an intercom and electric release. At this point the extra cost of a swipe card system may not be too great and may be worthwhile as lost cards are easily 'locked out'.

Ottawa Canada

Try making a claim against your tenent's insurance for the cost of re-keying the building.

Sounds like your co-oip takers security fairly seriously.

If they took it really seriously, you would be rekeying the building each and every time you lost any building key.

Would hjae thought you had been working around junkies long enough to not leave keys or anythking else laying around.

Remember to have the clinic re-keyed while you are at it or you may find the whole building cleaned out some morning.

Brian

( snipped-for-privacy@klarer.net) writes:

principle

Individual

They had a better learning curve?

If you don't like the policy, talk to management. But frankly, losing that many keys indicates a sloppy attitude to security that needs to be stepped on HARD.

... I should say that I agree that losing 4 keys in 20 years isn't entirely unreasonable (though I don't think I've lost one in that time). So I'm not convinced it should be enforced in this case.

Especially since, after 20 years of turnover, it might be a good idea to recombinate the building on general principles anyway, despite the inconvenience that entails.

Steve,

Come to think of it...

You may want to seriously consider having your car rekeyed or at least having an alarm installed. If he/she has your car keys all he/she has to do is watch to see what you get out of when you arrive, then just drive off with it one day.

Sorry to pile more on your plate, but better safe than sorry.

Bobby

Very good point, Joe!

And the complex should "eat" it.