Typo on account for ACH rent payment, realized issue same day and tried fixing, being charged Insufficient Funds fee... Help / Advice??

Housing

I got a new bank account and tried paying my rent with it for the first time. My bank gave me a handy wallet-card with my routing and account numbers on it, and I used those numbers to make an ACH rent payment on Monday.
 
Because it was my first time paying with a new account, I checked my bank account after to make sure the payment went through. By mid-day the money still hadn't come out of my bank account (my old account was always debited immediately), I called the apartment complex to see if there was any error, but they weren't seeing any issue.
Still concerned, I called my new bank as well to confirm my account number, and found out the account number given on my wallet card is internally used only, and is not what I need to enter for an ACH payment.
Called apartment complex and explained, they said there is no way to cancel the payment, and that I will be charged an insufficient funds fee of $30 if the payment does not go through. My bank said payments like this with a wrong account number go through a manual review, so it's possible the payment will process correctly, but I found out yesterday from my apartment manager that the payment did not go through.
 
So, I'm paying the rent via check today and that's fine, I'm not being charged a late fee(it's not considered late until the 6th anyways), but I'm being fined $30 for insufficient funds by my apartment complex, for what is essentially a typo, that I realized same day and took steps to fix. The lease does say

"You'll also pay a charge of $30 ... for each returned check or rejected electronic payment"

 
And so this would qualify as a rejected electronic payment. But, I realized the issue the same day, I notified the apartment management, and I was willing to make the payment again immediately if the prior payment could be cancelled. I just don't feel very good about being fined for what is essentially a typo on an account number. Any advice on how to not pay this fee? Also, is this sort of fee reported or part of any record, like if I want to buy a house in the next year is this going to look unfavorable on me?

Posted May 5, 2017, 12:19 PM UTC · edited

12
Dhgsuejs56•

Sorry, but you signed and agreed to the lease. It's only $30 so don't get too worked up over it.

3
t2231•

Since it was your mistake, you should pay the fee. There is no need to be concerned about your credit.

2