The Daily Disastah: Water leaking from under my engine
First offense.
Apparently they got angry because I didn’t show up to a meeting they had where they would discuss the problems I was having with the dogs with me; they interpreted my behavior as “rebellious”. That is a word one uses with children and teenagers and not adults.
I had written them a letter stating that I couldn’t go because I had a previous commitment, I explained the problem with the battery for the invisible fence, that the problem had since been resolved, and that I was willing to go on a different date if they still had questions. They responded with a fine.
Today I have to call an arbitration group where I can appeal, but they charge US$1000+ to hear the case. Its a group which normally hears international commercial disputes, and the only place where I may appeal according to the rules they set up and force everyone to sign. Note that my attorney also did not inform me of the charges for appealing a dispute with the developer though he knew about them. Today I have to ask the arbitrators if the arbitration fee can be part of what becomes negotiable, but in the US it falls on the person who initiates the mediation. I also need to find out if I have a legal recourse through the courts. It is a hornet's nest, very abusive. The developer has a reputation for doing this, and I didn’t know of it. They cherish their rep. I have heard that their meetings are equal gross.
ElizMcCord said:
That fine though. That’s horrendous. Can the average Chilean afford it? It’s beyond punitive.
No, the average Chilean can't afford it; I can't afford it; I am retired. The developer has a history of being outrageous, and if you take it to the courts, it becomes prohibitively expensive. When I moved in, I learned about what they did a few years back with the property owners association president. People still talk about it. He sold them his house, and he returned to France. It is a beautiful house which was recently sold after being abandoned for several years.
The property owners are organizing once again, and this time they are being smarter. They wanted me to be involved, and I am not having any of it. I think that they are harsher on foreigners, because who cares about them anyway, right?
joanne said:
Can you use some practical plantings to make boundaries that are difficult for the dogs (and rats) to get through?
I know it’s hard - the waterfowl here nest in every plant or edging they can.
That sounds lovely.
in some ways, going along to meet the property owners could be useful - breaking down the ‘she’s a haughty foreigner’ stereotype/bias, and also info gathering for both sides of this nasty political mess. You can still avoid a committee position, you’re too new! 
You clearly don’t know anything useful for business/legal matters (not true but they don’t know) and don’t want to get them in trouble...meantime you’re seeing how each thinks, and who’s allies with which other neighbour.
Joanne, I don't understand who you mean by "property owners". The Committee who assessed me the fine is made up primarily of the developer's personnel, and the chair is the owner of the development. The property owners are in the process of establishing a legal neighborhood association which the developer is doing all it can to stop, and it takes a year to be able to establish it after the application is filed and approved, that time period will end in about ten months, and I go to the meetings to be informed. I don't want to be an officer, because I feel I would make myself a target of a very tyrannical developer. What i did do is to call the organization that does the arbitration, and they let me know that because this is such a small case, the fee is half as much and the attorneys involved are junior members of the staff. I will take that option.
To solve this problem of this very heavy handled developer the Neighborhood Assn. needs to initiate the legal process to take off the agricultural land standing of the development and to make it an urban entity. That will stop them from being the law within the Reserve. I believe that is possible, but the organization has to do it, not me as an individual.
I understand that the father and originator of the development as well as the father of the administrator and owner of this land jumped off a high rise in Santiago a few years back. I think his sons are ruthless.
Oh Copihue, I am sorry for your troubles. I haven't been on MOL lately and miss reading about your adventure in Chile.
First offense? That's insane.