Damage Charges & Appeals
Damage Charges and Appeals | Damage Charges and Appeals FAQs
Download the Damage Policy and Procedure Flowchart (pdf)
If you have received or will be receiving a bill that includes a damage charge from the Residence Life Office, this information should assist you with that charge.Bill Payment
Checks should be made out to the College of William and Mary and mailed to:
The Bursar's Office
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Billing for Damage Charges
All bills must be paid by their due date except when a letter of appeal has been filed as outlined below. Failure to clear outstanding bills will be considered a violation of the Housing Agreement and may result in
(a) ineligibility for participation in the room selection process or special interest housing membership;
(b) ineligibility for official check-in procedures, i.e., obtaining key and
(c) withholding of registration materials.
Appeals for Damage Billing
Charges must be appealed within thirty days of the date of the bill. Bills received during the summer must be appealed before the end of the first full week of classes. In the event the resident wishes to contest charges for damages or loss, the following procedure is prescribed:
(1) Contact in writing the Area Director for the building in which the alleged damage occurred. For Hall/Apartments Council levied damage billing, appeals may be heard by the Hall/Apartment Council or the Hall/Apartments Council’s designates prior to the last day of classes in the spring semester. After the last day of classes in the spring semester the Area Director will hear all appeals.
(2) Residents may appeal the decision of the Area Director by contacting the Director of Housing Operations in writing or through email. The decision of the Director of Housing Operations is final. Appeals of Hall Council levied damages will be forwarded automatically to the Appeals Board.
(3) Appeals will be heard by the Appeals Board consisting of three representatives from the Residence Hall Association (RHA). The decision of the Appeals Board is final.
(4) Charges must be appealed in writing within 30 days of the date of the bill. Bills received during the summer must be appealed in writing before the end of the first full week of classes in the fall semester.
If you have any additional questions please e-mail the Office of Residence Life [[living]].Damage Charges Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a Common Area Charge?
- How is this money collected?
- Why does Residence Life bill residents?
- Why is there an additional charge?
In the case of the common area charges, they are assessed by the area Hall/Apartments Council, not Residence Life. As part of our policy of Self-Determination in the residence halls and as outlined in the Housing Agreement, Hall/Apartments Councils are given the authority to assess responsibility for common area charges. These charges can include vandalism and/or extra cleaning charges (ex: broken lounge chair, remnants of a shaving cream fight, garbage bags left in the hallway). The Hall/Apartments Council can either assign responsibility to an individual, hall or building or they can designate the charge as unassigned if, in their opinion, there is no way to assign responsibility and the residents of the building should not be held accountable.
How is this money collected?Hall/Apartments Councils are responsible for collecting the monies and forwarding payment for the common area charges to Residence Life. Thus this charge should not be a surprise to residents, as there was an opportunity to pay the charge prior to leaving. The Hall/Apartments Council also includes a list of those residents who did not pay their portion to the Hall/Apartments Council representatives. At that point, Residence Life then bills those residents.
Why does Residence Life bill residents?For two reasons:
1) Billing those who do not pay underscores the importance of the policy of Self Determination and supports the Hall/Apartments Councils efforts to curb damages in the halls. Peer enforcement has been found to be the most effective way to cut down on damage costs. If these outstanding charges (no matter how small) were not collected there would be no motivation for residents to take responsibility for their halls and share in the costs for damages. In addition to the educational benefit of giving residents an opportunity to address their own concerns as a community, common area damages remain at a manageable level because of the Hall/Apartments Council's ability to recover the majority of those costs. Un recovered costs would then be passed onto residents in either increased rent or diminished services.
2) There is the simple issue of fairness. Usually about 80% of residents who owe Hall/Apartments Council charges will pay their Hall/Apartments Council Representatives. It would not be fair to those residents to allow the other 20% to avoid payment.
Why is there an additional charge?The administrative service charge of $15.00 is only added to billed Hall/Apartments Council charges to cover the additional overhead required to list and collect these charges by our office.
