Being taken advantage of by my property manager

[Tony Castronovo]

So I recently ended a very bad relationship with a property manager (large company) on the 11th of last month.  I've been waiting for everything to clear on my ledger to get my final distribution.  Earlier this week I saw that they charged me a full month's management fee (we were on a flat monthly fee), despite that they only managed the property for 11 of 31 days.  When I questioned it they said they deserved it because they collected tenant fees for the month.  I claim that they only worked 1/3 of the month....and to be honest, if tenants are paying without having to chase them down then there isn't much to collecting rent.

The problem is that they have my money and just deducted it from my account.  It''s not like they sent me a bill and I have the right to refuse payment.  I have absolutely no leverage here.  It's obviously not enough money to take it to court.

Do I just need to get over it?  Or is there something I can do?  Is there anything you put in your contracts to avoid/mitigate this situation?