A Kelowna realtor and property manager has been fined $15,000 over regulatory violations.
Donna Craig received three separate fines of $5,000 over incidents in January 2020 to January 2021 and August 2018 to September 2022, according to the BC Financial Services Authority.
The first violation occurred when Craig “failed to take reasonable steps to avoid a conflict of interest” when she “contracted the services of your licensed assistant to provide cleaning services for your clients.”
Craig was also found to have failed to take reasonable steps to avoid a conflict of interest when she “contracted the services of your common-law spouse to provide repair and maintenance services to your clients.”
Finally, she failed to provide a client, “owner of property… with an inspection report in a timely manner.”
In an interview with Castanet, Craig says the fines related to a former client and a “misinterpreting of my services.”
She said a dispute arose when a client placed their own renters into a unit and then later resumed Craig’s services, leading to a breakdown in the relationship between the two.
Craig said she tried to make the client happy by waiving fees, but the client took the issue to the regulator.
While she is healthy now, she said when the penalty was coming down, she was “grievously ill.” While she explained her side of the story to the regulator during a phone call, she didn’t have the desire to carry on a hearing and fight the penalty or negotiate it down.
“I just wanted to settle. My husband was sick, I was sick. I couldn't deal with it. I couldn't have a court case for two or three days. So I just paid,” she said.
“Everybody wanted me to fight it, but I don't have the wherewithal.”
“I've been in this business for 34 years. I've never had a complaint ever. So I just don't know why they wouldn't have listened more attentively to my side of the story,” she added.
“I've managed 87 properties, I have owners who are saying, ‘oh my god, you're so good at your job and you're so attentive’ I have lots of positive affirmations, but this one, it was a bad one,” she concluded.
