FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT ACH What is ACH? A: Automated Clearing House (ACH) is an electronic network for financial transactions governed by NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association) and the Federal Reserve. Banks use the ACH network to transmit electronic files containing financial data to transfer money between bank accounts How does FirstService Residential's ACH program work? A: Once a month, FirstService Residential's ACH processor generates a payment file that gets transmitted through the ACH network to pull money out of your bank account and to credit your association's bank account. Is there a cost associated with FirstService Residential's ACH program? A: FirstService Residential does not charge a fee for processing ACH payments. This service is provided free as a convenience to our associations' members. Individuals should check with their own banks to ensure that their banks will not charge a fee as the receiver of an ACH file transmission. I see that FirstService Residential uses the terms "ACH," "Auto Bill Pay," and "Debit" often. What is the difference between these terms? A: We will often use the terms "ACH," "Auto Bill Pay," and "Debit" interchangeably. They all refer to the same thing — the process by which FirstService Residential will pull your assessment dues electronically from your bank account. This electronic payment occurs through the ACH network. It is considered an automatic bill payment in that, once enrolled, you will not have to take any action to initiate payment of your assessment bill. And the transaction will be reflected as a debit or withdrawal to your bank account.
ENROLLMENT How do I enroll in FirstService Residential ACH? A: You can enroll in FirstService Residential ACH though the Recurring Auto Pay portal on our website. Or you can complete an application and mail it in along with a voided check to our Irvine office, Attn. ACH Department. Applications can be downloaded from the website or can be obtained by emailing
[email protected] . When will my auto payments start? A: Auto payments will start with your first balance due. We schedule our monthly processing between the 8th and 14th of each month. However, if you have signed up with a balance due on your account, your initial payment may be pulled on a different cycle. Please refer to the Auto Pay Dates Calendar on our Recurring Auto Pay home page for details on our processing schedule. How can I verify that my account has been enrolled in ACH? A: If you sign up online, you will receive an email confirming your enrollment. If you mail in a paper application, you will receive a letter in the mail confirming enrollment. Your assessment billing statement will also reflect your enrollment status. Once enrolled for ACH, a note that says “Auto Pay. Do Not Pay” will appear in the Pay This Amount field on your statement remit.
ENROLLMENT Where do I find bank routing information to enroll my account? A: For checking accounts, you can find the routing information on the bottom of your checks. For savings accounts, you may be able to find it on your bank deposit slips. The routing number will always be a 9digit number. If you have any questions at all about your ACH routing information, the best thing to do would be to contact your bank for this information. Can I sign up for FirstService Residential ACH with my credit card? A: We are only able to process ACH payments to checking or savings accounts. Can I sign up for FirstService Residential ACH by giving bank account info over the phone? A: We are not able to accept account information by phone. We are required by law to be able to provide documentation of ACH enrollment and bank account information so all new enrollments and any bank updates will need to be received in writing. I received a letter saying that my ACH enrollment has been cancelled. Why? A: Your enrollment may be cancelled for the following reasons: Two or more payments have been returned for insufficient funds in a 6 month period. Your bank account has been closed and we have not been notified of the new account information. Your bank notifies us that your account has been frozen. Your bank notifies us that you have requested a stop payment or revoked authorization on the ACH payment. I am a member of more than one association managed by FirstService Residential. Will my enrollment cover all of my associations? A: If you are a member of more than one association managed by FirstService Residential, you will need to enroll each account separately. The information you enter for one association will not automatically be attached to all of your assessment accounts. What if I own more than one property in the same association? Do I need to enroll each property separately? A: Yes. If you own multiple properties in the same association and you are receiving separate billing statements for each account, you will need to enroll each account separately. The information you enter for one property will not automatically by attached to all of your properties. How do I get a copy of my ACH agreement with FirstService Residential? A: You can contact
[email protected] to have a copy of the agreement sent to you. When can I expect the payment to come out of my account each month? A: Our monthly processing for ACH payments is between the 8th and the 14th of the month. If you have signed up after the 14th and have a balance due, your initial debit will occur later in the month. All subsequent debits to your bank account will fall between the 8th and the 14th of the month. Please see the Auto Pay Dates calendar on the Recurring Auto Pay home page of our website for our processing schedule.
ENROLLMENT I received a message that says you were unable to retrieve my ACH record. What does this mean? A: This means that our records do not show you have been set-up for ACH processing through the FirstService Residential ACH program for the account that you are logged in to. Possible reasons for getting this message include: You may have a multiple accounts but may have only enrolled one of the accounts. You may have enrolled in an ACH program outside of the FirstService Residential program Your enrollment in FirstService Residential ACH may have been terminated.
CHANGES OR CANCELLATIONS How do I cancel my enrollment in FirstService Residential ACH? A: You can cancel your ACH enrollment through the Recurring Auto Pay portal of our website. Simply login to the website and follow directions to cancel enrollment. You can also email your request to cancel to ACH.ca@fsresidential .com, or fax to (949) 448-6400. I changed banks or have a new bank account that I'd like to have my assessment payment be drawn from. How do I update the bank account information that you have on file? A: You can change your bank information through the Recurring Auto Pay portal of our website. Login and follow directions to update an account. Or you can send a voided check with instructions to change bank accounts by email to
[email protected] or fax to (949) 448-6400. I need to suspend my ACH payments temporarily. How do I arrange this? A: Please email
[email protected] to suspend your ACH payments temporarily. These requests must be received by the 8th of the month to be effective for that month’s debit. When is the last day that I can cancel my ACH enrollment prior to the scheduled debit date? A: Our monthly process starts the 8th of each month and runs through the 14th. Requests to cancel ACH must be received by the 8th of the month in order to be cancelled for that month’s debit. When is the last day that I can make changes to my bank account information prior to the scheduled debit date? A: Our monthly process starts the 8th of each month and runs through the 14th. Requests to change bank accounts for your ACH payment must be received by the 8th of the month to be effective for that month’s debit. Can I call to give information to change or cancel enrollment over the phone? A: We are not able to accept account information by phone. We are required by law to be able to provide documentation of ACH enrollment and bank account information so all new enrollments and any bank updates will need to be received in writing. You can email your request to change or cancel to
[email protected].
CHANGES OR CANCELLATIONS I enrolled in an ACH or Bill Pay program with my bank. Can you cancel those payments? A: We are only able to cancel ACH if you enrolled in our FirstService Residential ACH program. We are not able to cancel your enrollment in any programs outside of FirstService Residential ACH. You will need to contact your bank to cancel your ACH payments in these cases. I heard that my association is no longer going to be managed by FirstService Residential and we will have a new management company processing our assessment payments. What is going to happen with our ACH payments? A: When an association transitions to a new management company, the association is deactivated in our accounting system which prevents the generation of an ACH file so no ACH payments are processed once the new management company takes over. If the new management company offers an ACH payment program, you will need to contact them to enroll in their program.
GENERAL PROCESSING When will the payments be pulled from my bank account? A: We process ACH payments between the 8th and the 14th of the month. The dates are predetermined at the start of each year. A calendar of scheduled processing dates can be found on the Recurring Auto Pay portal of our website. I have an outstanding balance that I do not want to pay at this time. Can I still enroll for Auto Pay? A: Our automated system will apply your payments to oldest charges first so, to ensure your payments are applied appropriately to your current assessment charges, any outstanding balances must be cleared. We can enroll you for auto payments with your authorization to pull your outstanding balance. Will you pull all of the charges posted to my HOA assessment account? A: Pursuant to the ACH agreement you entered into with FirstService Residential, we will only pull the amount of your regular assessment unless you authorize us to pull other amounts. If you wish to have an additional charge pulled with your assessment, please email authorization to
[email protected]. I would like to have my payments pulled at a different time of the month. Can I specify when I'd like the payments to hit my bank account? A: To ensure that we are servicing our ACH clients as effectively and efficiently as possible, we process ACH payments for the 55,000+ ACH customers in all of our associations at the same time. I already sent in a check for this month's dues and I'm worried about doubling up on my payments. Will you process the ACH debit to my bank account if I sent a check in already? A: If the payment you mailed in has not been received when we generate the ACH payment file and your assessment account shows a balance due, then your bank account will be debited through our ACH process. Your bank account will not be debited if your payment has been received and posted to your account prior to the generation of the ACH file. We will not debit accounts that show no balance due for assessments or that show a credit balance on assessments.
GENERAL PROCESSING I already signed up for ACH payments and got a confirmation saying my payments would begin this month. Why wasn't my account debited? A: There may have been a problem with the bank account information that prevented your bank from locating your account. You should have received a notice from our ACH department if there was a problem processing your payment. Your account may have reflected that you were current in assessments (no money due) at the time we generated the payment file. You may have signed up in a different program outside of FirstService Residential ACH. If none of these circumstances apply to you, please contact
[email protected] to investigate the situation. Why did I get charged a returned check/item fee? A: Because your bank did not honor the ACH payment request we processed. My bank already charged me a fee for the returned ACH payment. Why are you charging me too? A: We charge the returned payment fee so that you can reimburse the association for the costs it incurs for the work the association's bank and FirstService Residential does in handling the returned item and adjusting your assessment account. Any fee your bank may charge would be to cover your bank's cost for processing the returned item. I thought there was no charge for your ACH program. Why am I seeing a charge for ACH payments on my bank statement? A: FirstService Residential does not charge a fee for the FirstService Residential ACH program. If you are incurring fees on your ACH payments, it may mean that you enrolled in the PayLease ACH program under the Pay On-Line Now link on our website. Though accessible through our FirstService Residential website, PayLease is an outside vendor that does charge for ACH processing.
ABOUT PAYLEASE What is PayLease? A: PayLease is an outside vendor that FirstService Residential contracts to offer online payment options to members of FirstService Residential-managed communities. These options include online credit card payments, electronic check payments and recurring ACH payments. What are the key differences between FirstService Residential ACH and PayLease? A: FirstService Residential ACH is free of charge. PayLease charges a fee for recurring ACH payments. PayLease offers the homeowner more control on when the payments will hit as the homeowner is able to specify when the payments should be drawn from his/her bank account. With FirstService Residential ACH, we only pull payments between the 10th and the 15th of the month and the specific date is determined by us.
ABOUT PAYLEASE I accidentally enrolled in PayLease ACH and FirstService Residential ACH. Will my bank account be debited twice? A: There is a possibility that your bank account will be debited twice if you enrolled in both programs since PayLease is a different company. This is even more likely if you set-up your PayLease auto payments to be debited between the 8th and 14th of the month. How do I cancel my PayLease enrollment? A: You can cancel you PayLease enrollment by emailing support@PayLease .com or by calling PayLease at 1-866-729-5327. How do I get to PayLease's website? A: You can access PayLease's website through our FirstService Residentialpm .com website by clicking the Pay On-Line Now link on the navigation pane on the right side of the page. This link will re-direct you to PayLease .
Have Other Questions? Please call us at 1-800-428-5588 or by email at ACH.ca@fsresidential .com.
