RPS refunds residents due to bed lofting charges

IU parent Greg Cannizzo was surprised to hear he would need to provide a credit card number in order for his daughter and her roommate to loft the beds in their Collins Center dorm room during move-in.

Cannizzo’s daughter, freshman Kelsey Cannizzo, was one of many Collins residents who faced an unexpected $105 fee from Illinois-based bed lofting company BedLoft.com.

“It was two people with four pins for the posts of the bed, four hands and a hammer,” Greg Cannizzo said. “I just questioned the fact that it was that amount of money for something so simple.”

BedLoft.com could not be reached for comment.

For the past few years, Residence Halls Association Vice President of Student Affairs Hana Horton said RHA contracted BedLoft.com to help students safely loft beds.
BedLoft.com’s services were not necessary in Collins in previous years since the beds were typically lofted in preparation for students’ arrival, said Horton, a fourth-year Collins resident.

However, this summer Residential Programs and Services decided to unloft beds in almost every residence center, Horton said, meaning students who wished to loft their beds would have to request the services of BedLoft.com.

“A lot of returning students were really surprised,” said Horton, a fifth-year senior. “They were upset they had to pay for a service that in the past wasn’t necessary.”

Horton met with RPS officials, including Assistant Director Sarah Nagy, on behalf of Collins residents, and RPS decided to offer affected Collins residents a 50 percent refund. They were notified of the refund last week via email.

“It’s good that students raised the question,” Nagy said. “Having an engaged student body is important.”

Although BedLoft.com had been contracted in the past, this year was different in that students were not notified the service would be necessary.

“We didn’t miscommunicate as we did this year,” Nagy said.

Nagy said BedLoft.com was contracted with the University staff members’ safety in mind.

“We’re facing a situation where a lot of our (environmental operations) staff are not physically able to bunk a hundred beds anymore,” she said.

Hiring BedLoft.com for the job also ensures residence hall facilities and furniture won’t be damaged in the process, Nagy said.

She said BedLoft.com’s services were used in other residence halls, but the miscommunication only occurred in Collins.

Collins residents can claim their refunds until Aug. 31 at the Collins Center Desk.
Greg Cannizzo said despite RPS attempts to lower costs for students, the amount paid after the refund — $49.50 — is still too much to pay for the services provided.

“For students with jobs ... $105 or even half of that, it’s a full day of work or more after taxes,” he said.

From now on, students wishing to loft their beds will still be required to do so through BedLoft.com, but they will be charged $50 instead of the full amount.

Greg Cannizzo said other universities, such as University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his son attended college, have students take a class on safe bed lofting procedures and offer bed lofting services free of charge.

RHA will be sending out surveys, Horton said, to all residence halls to assess the option of re-contracting BedLoft.com in the future.

Additionally, RPS will be working more closely with students to ensure similar miscommunications do not happen again, she said.