TLDR: Angry old man UR agent scratches my phone in aggression because I'm asking for a repair form that they claim doesn't exist even though it's protocol written in the guidebook given to tenants and on the internet.
I had the most bizarre experience at the UR Sumai office today.
I need a drain pipe repair linked to an overflow that occurred. The pipe is in a state, severely corroded to the point that the lid was sealed shut and needed a plumber to force it open.
In the Tenants Guidebook, it says I should ask for and submit a repair request form. Went to the local office, the woman first said it wasn't their responsibility, but when I showed her the guidebook where it clearly states it is plus pictures of the corroded pipe, she eventually gave in to calling someone.
I wanted to issue a repair request form as per guidebook rules. It's best also to leave a paper trail, since UR office resistance is strong and they already declared that there was no report of the overflow, so they are happy to pretend things haven't been documented when it suits them. They also demand that you are responsible for payment of any repair before they agree to dispatch a representative without knowing what the cause is, which is illegal.
From now on, I want to follow official UR procedure. Went to the main office to get the repair request form. The general exchange …
Manager: Repair requests by telephone is enough, you don't need the repair request form.
Me: I would like to have something on paper so please give me a repair request form as per written tenancy guidelines.
He quickly gets irate, keeps aggressively tapping my phone (which I was using to record) and the partition with his pencil and fist, telling me repair requests by phone is enough. (It's a spare iPhone so I should have been more proactive in telling him to stop but afterwards I saw the bish scratched it).
(EDIT: I was recording AUDIO. My Japanese isn't strong, I don't catch everything and I asked to do so before recording.)
Me: Calm down. I would like proof on paper, please.
Him: You don't need it.
Me: If the residency guide is out of date, please give me the new one.
Him: No. You have told me. It's enough (But weirdly writes on the paper, document is OK and telephone is Ok). I try to get him to give me a new guidebook if the old one I have is wrong, but he says a new one doesn't exist.
Another guy comes and says that that guidebook applies to Kanto, not Kansai. I show him the page which clearly references the whole of Western Japan. He just smiles. Straight lies.
Me: Please write on paper that ringing to schedule by telephone is the new procedure, the guidebook information is out of date, sign it and I will leave.
Both men refuse. Closing time approaches and the manager tells me to get out or he'll call the police.
I was so surprised by this interaction. Definitely the kind of man who boofs into women on the subway (butsukari otoko).
EDIT2: …because I am also a woman. And he was acting aggressively from go – there's a hole in the partition and he had to actively reach through with his pencil to tap my phone.
Asking to follow standard procedure or receive updated information should be considered a reasonable request. Has anyone else submitted a repair request form or had experience with UR people trying to dodge their own written protocol? And he also damaged my phone. It was recording so it's possible to hear him tapping on it and me telling him to calm down.
by Blessedbee123