Associated Asset Management

We have located the payments.  They were posted to a previous account in his name for a home that he previously owned.  The accounts will both be at a zero balance with the next payment being due November 1 to the new management company.  The payments were sent in with his old...

account number on them which is why they were applied to the incorrect account.  AAM strives to assist in these issues as quickly as possible.

Review: We were given a violation notice for allegedly having weeds in our front yard and this being the "5th" offense in 6 months we were fined $100.

First of all, I've contacted the [redacted] at [redacted] HOA ###-###-####) when I've got fine notification for 2nd notice and complain about the false allegation and would like to to have someone come to my yard and take a look at it. The lady answered my phone call said she will take a look at my yard and let us know. time passed and I did not hear back from anybody at all. Then I've got the 3rd notice with $50 fine and the violation picture that is posted is a picture of the first violation from 1/21/2015 10:16am. I've sent out an email to the email address on the violation letter to appeal the fine and still no reply. Yesterday we've got another fine letter for weed removal with $100 fine for the inspection on 06/05/15 with no photo record of the violation. We do not have a weed problem on our property as we often spray and hand pulled them (especially my wife and I were cleaning the yard and trim our trees on 06/01/15 and we're sure there's no weed on the property. I even installed surveillance cameras outside to have evidence of my clean yard but this aggressive HOA only send violation letter and collect money without taking any respond. I feel like a false allegation is being made in an effort to raise funds. I would like to have someone come to my house and show me where they can find weed on my yard or at lease have a picture taken from the last introspection (not from 1/21/2015).Desired Settlement: AAM LLC should have the photos of current violation not the old photo from 2 or 3 months ago. Need to respond to the appeal to make sure the violation issued to the right lots and must refund the fine in case it's the false alergation.

Business

Response:

The community manager has discussed the issue with the homeowner and explained the fine policy and compliance process. The fines have been waived from the account and the homeowner appears to be satisfied at this point based on his email response to the community manager.

Review: This complaint involves my property located at [redacted]. I have owned the property since March 2010. I resided at the property between March 2010 and August 2011. I moved out-of-state in October 2011 and rented out the property to the same tenant from that time to the present.

In September 2015, I learned through my tenant of past due HOA fees. Based on correspondence with the HOA and the respondent,, I discovered the HOA changed payment processors, thereby terminating my auto-deduct HOA payments, and advised owners of the change, including the process for continuing monthly HOA payments. The HOA and respondent, however, had a typographical error in my email address and outdated telephone numbers. Therefore, my tenant’s receipt of the past due statement was the first time I learned of the issue. Given the circumstances, the HOA and respondent waived the late fees and agreed to reverse the lien, upon payment of the past due amount of $1,550. I made the payment that month.

To date, the HOA and respondent have not reversed the lien. Furthermore, despite repeated efforts, the respondent has yet to properly record my mailing address and send out billing statements, and its system failed to make payments under its auto-deduct system, on which I set up my bank account.Desired Settlement: Reversal of lien and invoicing of HOA dues on a monthly basis.

Business

Response:

Thank you for brining this to our attention. We are removing $275 in late fees, $175.00 line fee and one $50.00 demand fee which are all of the collection costs affiliated with this matter. We will also do a rush lien release to have the lien removed and a courtesy copy of the release will be emailed to the homeowner. We have corrected the email address to read [redacted] and have corrected the rest of the contact information with that found in the complaint.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: We filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and had a hard time paying HOA fees since the discharge. However we were blessed to pay 1526 this year to clear the back assessments and fees per the collection agency which said that would bring us current and include the january 2015 assessment and we would only owe April. April came never got a bill checked online only the assessment showed for $137 + 15 for the late fee (I have screen shot). But the online statement said 0 due so I emailed to ask for clarity then they said I owed a lien fee from 8/12 and I responded we filed bankruptcy that should have been included. Then they sent me a bill in mail for the January 2015 assessment instead of the 8/12 lien fee. I have emailed and called no reply today I get a letter dated 5/15 with another $50.00 demand fee. I have paid $160.00 and want bogus January fees rescinded!!!!!!!!!!!!Desired Settlement: I have emails to prove my claim about the 8/12 fees and I spoke and dealt with Angelica at Paid in Full collections regarding my past due assessment. I want all records and documents pulled!! Angelica said the HOA was waiving $150.00 in late fee assessments to settle the account so I would be current. She also said I had to deal with Paid in Full until the account was current which we paid in full in February. I know those phone calls are recorded and I want the tapes on my phone calls pulled for review for further proof my HOA is trying to scam me!!!! The collection agency lied or the HOA is scamming me.

Business

Response:

We have resolved this account. It is current with a zero balance with the next assessment coming due in July. As part of the agreement with the collection agency, $150.00 in late fees were to be waived and they were not. This has been corrected.

Review: AAM LLC, has been sending me notice to violation for parking my vehicle overnight on a city street in front of my house [redacted]. The first time they sent a warning letter. The second time they charged me $25 and attached the violation fee to my account to the HOA the letter gave me an online code to look up a photo of the violation, but there is no photo and I did not park on the street in front of my house. I sent a dispute with the AAM LLC on the website according to the letter and they sent a letter stating that I signed a contract, and had a rule book of HOA violations. I did NOT sign a contract with AAM LLC. They sent a third letter of a violation and charged me $50. Again there is no photo, on the website with the code they provide. I have not parked on the street.

With the online dispute, I requested a contract that I did not sign, and I requested a fee schedule. My neighbors claim that violations are $3 for parking on the street. Each violation letter does NOT include a rule # of violation, or an HOA rule book. They do not provide any on the AAM LLC. website either. They way the AAM LLC provides violations is harassment with no PROOF, or rule number and random fee schedules. I own the house and the city owns the streets. As far as I know the prior HOA manangement did not want DISABLED vehicles on the street, and my vehicle is fully capable and used daily.Desired Settlement: Adjust the Bill for my HOA account and reverse the $75.

Provide a contract, I didn't sign one.

Provide a fee schedule online for EVERYONE in HOA to see and access.

Provide a rule book and rule violations numbers with the violation letter.

Business

Response:

Attached are the CC&Rs for the Northwest Ranch Homeowners Association. The CC&Rs are recognized as a legally binding contract between the homeowner and the association and becomes a contract when the homeowner purchases a home within the association. Section 4.21 of the CC&Rs refers to street parking in the community. The fine policy attached advises homeowners of the penalties that can be imposed for failure to correct the violation once notified. All of the governing documents are provided to potential homeowners when escrow is opened on a property within an association so there was ample notification that street parking outside of the parameters allowed in the CC&Rs would be a violation. The documents are provided as part of the disclosure requirement in accordance with State Statute. The fines and violations were appealed to the Board of Directors of the [redacted] in accordance with the fine policy. The Board denied the appeal. As the managing agent, we must act at the direction of the board. If the violation continues we must follow the fine poicy and the enforcement of the governing documents as written. We act at the discretion and direction of the board.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The HOA AAM LLC, has not provided photos of any violation. I have not parked on the street. The HOA AAM LLC has not provided a list of FEES that show fair and impartiality toward all homeowners. The HOA AAM LLC, is acting based on no evidence and claim that I have parked on a street when I haven't. Why would I be charged $25 fee when other homeowners charged $3?

Regards,[redacted]

Business

Response:

Unfortunately as the management company that takes direction from the board, there is nothing further we can do. The board has reviewed your appeal and has denied the appeal. The next step would be to attend a board meeting and appeal to the board in person. We cannot waive or remove fines once the board has indicated they are unwilling to do so.

Review: On April 29th 2014 this company failed to honor their contractual obligations under sections 2.5 and 3.12 of the management contract with our Homeowner's Association. I provided reasonable notice with my demand to receive copies of the original Request For Proposal that the President of this company, stated in an email to me, was received last fall (approximately Sep 2013). I received a response from their representative that this "documentation does not exist". I then asked them to provide an explanation as to how they were able to generate a bid proposal for our HOA without first receiving a Request For Proposal.

The Treasurer of our HOA is an employee for this company. The Executive Minutes from Oct 8th 2013 state that the Treasurer solicited a bid from her employer, AAM, and presented the same to the HOA Board for consideration. However, the records show no prior discussion regarding the need to change management companies ever took place before Oct 8th 2013, and there is no record of a vote taken to allow the Treasurer to submit this bid proposal. The Treasurer has been using her company email address for Board business, for at least as long as I have been a Board member.

Section 2.5 of their contract states:

"2.5.Accounting Services: To keep full, detailed and adequate accounts and records of all funds received and disbursed with reference to the Agent's management of Association and said records shall be available for representatives of the Association to examine at any time during business hours upon reasonable notice."

Section 3.12 of their contract states:

"3.12. Ownership Rights:

The Association shall retain all ownership rights in all records that involve Association business, whether directly or indirectly, regardless of whether the record was generated by the community manager, a board member, or some other third party. Records include but are not limited to, paper documents, electronic documents, such as emails,.pst files, PDF files, TIFF files, word processing files, JPEG files, multimedia or image files(graphics,audio and video, text files, or any other file, document or medium that contains information related to the business of the Association."

My request also included copies of all emails sent or received by the Treasurer, related to Association business. The contract's language does not specify a date range limitation. In addition, the content applicable that is specified as "related to the business of the Association" is used with words such as "directly", "indirectly", "regardless of whether the record was generated", "not limited to", "some other third party", and "any other file". As such, ALL emails that the Treasurer has sent or received using her work email address and are related to the business of the Board is the property of the Board. It is my contention that the information I requested falls under the Accounting category since this is specific to our Treasurer's correspondence.

On the day of April 29th 2014, upon my arrival to obtain the information I lawfully requested, I was told to leave or they would call the authorities. I refused to leave without the requested information to which the CFO responded, "there is no way we will ever give that to you. That belongs to us and you have no right to that information."

After mentioning, once again, Section 3.12 of the contract regarding Ownership Rights, I was once again refused and the company called the police. The police escorted me off the premises without incident. The report number for this event is 14-8787 (Street Check) and is available at the Tempe Police Department.

I also wish to state that the President took ad[redacted]tage of the event to place blame on me and then submitted a 30 day termination of notice. However, the previous day, after informing the President of the failure by her employee to declare a conflict of interest and what seems to be an antitrust violation in the form of bid-rigging, the President of AAM had already suggested that we re-bid the contract or they would be forced to issue their 30 day termination of notice. It is my contention that the intent of this action by the President of AAM was an attempt to sweep the issues "under the rug"Desired Settlement: I require both a written apology that I can use to regain my reputation amongst my fellow Homeowners in my Community and for this company to comply with the request for the information I have lawfully requested. I also demand that they address the conflict of interest issue with their employee and they engage a discussion with our Board in an open meeting to consider reimbursement or compensation to our Association for their performance issues and what I consider to be significant breaches of ethical conduct.

Business

Response:

AAM has complied with Mr. [redacted]s' requests for copies of Association records including a copy of AAM's proposal for services which the Board for [redacted] Homeowners Association utilized in their bid process. Any documents used by AAM to prepare our bid for services is proprietary to AAM. The Board President of the Association is copied on this response to support that AAM has complied with our contractural obligations since the beginning of our contract term which started January 1, 2014. Our bid for services was submitted to the Board in October 2013 and any information used to prepare that bid was brought to AAM prior to any contract execution. We are happy to provide any additional Association records that Mr. [redacted]s would like to review as we have done since he joined the Board earlier this year. Please also note that due to Mr. [redacted]s' disrespectful demeanor towards AAM's employees and an incident during which he visited our corporate office and refused to leave causing our VP of Human Resources to contact Tempe police to have him escorted out, AAM delivered its 30-day notice of termination in accordance with section 1.3 of our management agreement to the Board.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The response from AAM is unacceptable because AAM has not complied with my lawful request for copies of Association Records. section 3.12 of their contract (AAM Contract 01 JAN 14.pdf) specifically states that:

"3.12. Ownership Rights:

The Association shall retain all ownership rights in all records that involve Association business, whether directly or indirectly, regardless of whether the record was generated by the community manager, a board member, or some other third party.

Records include but are not limited to, paper documents, electronic documents, such as emails, .pst files, PDF files, TIFF files, word processing files, JPEG files, multimedia or image files (graphics, audio and video, text files, or any other file, document or medium that contains information related to the business of the Association.

When this Contract is terminated, the Association has the right of ownership to its records in the format in which they were typically maintained by the community management company. However, the data files, also known as the .dat files, are owned by the community management company and are not subject to any record request or claim of the Association at any time, including but not limited to the termination of this Contract."

I am not asking for.dat files. I am asking for a copy of the emails used by our Board Treasurer, [redacted], using her AAM account. The language in the ownership clause is written so as to allow a broad, nigh unlimited, access to all documents related to Association business. The notion that the "documents used by AAM to prepare the bid for services" is proprietary is ridiculous. The specifications that they were provided are the intellectual property of the Association. A simple printout of the email that [redacted] sent her employer or a copy of the intake request that shows the specifications they were provided, will show whether or not the Request For Proposal (RFP) was submitted in a fair manner, complied with antitrust practices, and demonstrates whether or not [redacted] and her employer, AAM, adhered to the AACM Code of Ethics, Section 5.01b and Section 9.0. (http://www.aacm.com)

The [redacted] HOA Board President has been complicit with the [redacted] HOA Board Treasurer with their effort to violate open meeting laws IAW ARS 33-1804. (Complaint filed with Dept of Fire, Bldg, Life & Safety on 5/23/14)The information brought to AAM prior to any contract execution was done so in an unauthorized, undocumented, unsanctioned manner by [redacted]. Notwithstanding, her contribution toward the HOA violating ARS 33-1804, she also violated ARS 33-1811 by failing to declare a conflict of interest in an open meeting before any discussion was held or vote taken to hire her employer as the HOA's management company.

[redacted] has openly admitted that no disclosure was made (Email Chain.pdf Apr 19, 2014 at 7:44 PM) despite the contradiction by [redacted] that AAM had assumed that [redacted] did declare a conflict of interest. (Email Chain.pdf Apr 28, 2014 at 5:05 PM)The Executive Minutes for October 8th 2013 show that [redacted] (Executive meeting review.pdf) did solicit and present to the Board, that evening, a bid proposal prepared by her employer (2013 Cover Letterhead [redacted] HOA RFP.pdf) dated October 2nd 2013.

[redacted] stated via phone call with me on April 23rd 2014, that [redacted] had submitted an RFP to AAM via email last year, to which I sent an email (Email Chain.pdf Apr 23, 2014 at 12:55 PM) back requesting that information.

[redacted] responded that she could not locate the original email (Email Chain.pdf Apr 23, 2014 at 2:31 PM) but that it may have been sent to someone in their Business Development department.

[redacted] decided on Apr 28, 2014 that the allegations I had been bringing up regarding conflicts of interest and antitrust compliance were simply too much of a burden and suggested that the [redacted] HOA Board re-bid the contract or AAM would be giving its 30-day termination of notice. (Email Chain.pdf Apr 28, 2014 at 5:05 PM)

[redacted] responded to me the next day (Email Chain.pdf Apr 29, 2014 at 12:17 PM) that the information I had been requesting regarding the original RFP or specifications sent to AAM to prepare their bid proposal, did not exist. I responded by asking the most basic of questions, "How then did AAM prepare a bid proposal dated Oct 2nd 2013, a week before the Board had met to discuss, allegedly for the first time, that there would be a need to change management companies?" (Email Chain.pdf Apr 29, 2014 at 2:12 PM)

I felt insulted, ridiculed and quite fed up that this company felt it would be acceptable to provide such a ridiculous response to my inquiry. I then advised them that I would be going down to their office to obtain this information IAW with the State Laws and their own contractual obligations. After being denied the documents I had been repeatedly requesting, I was once again told that the documents I am looking for do not exist. I was escorted out by the Tempe Police and given a report number of 14-8787 for reference.

I sent [redacted] an email (Email Chain.pdf Apr 29, 2014 at 11:33 PM) advising her of the incident and I was rather naïve to think that she would obtain the documents I sought.

[redacted] then sent an email out the next day (Email Chain.pdf Apr 30, 2014 at 8:06 AM) blaming me for their decision to provide the 30 day notice of termination, even though they had been planning (Email Chain.pdf Apr 28, 2014 at 5:05 PM) for this prior to my sit-in demonstration at their office.

Further email correspondence from [redacted] to the Board insisted that she did nothing wrong and never attempted to hide the fact that she worked for AAM. (Email Chain.pdf May 5, 2014 at 8:25 AM) I later explained to her that I have no issue with her being on the Board while working for AAM. However, when she introduced her employer as a potential bidder for our HOA to hire, she changed the whole dynamic of the relationship and at that time, she needed to declare a conflict of interest in an open meeting of the members of our HOA, IAW ARS 33-1811.

The Executive minutes for the November 7th 2013 (Executive meeting review.pdf) meeting show that [redacted] was present during the reviews between the three different companies bidding their services. If she was the agent who presented the bid proposal to the Board for consideration, why was she allowed to be present during the review of the bids between the competitors? Why weren't the other two companies allowed to have their own representation present to answer any of the Board's questions?

I contend that this was done by design to give AAM an advantage and allow them to win the contract with very little effort or consideration. I contend that our HOA Treasurer violated her duty of loyalty to our Community and manufactured a bid-rig that allowed her company to take over as our statutory agent for management services for our community. Since AAM refuses to comply with their contractual obligation to provide us with the information I have lawfully requested, I maintain my position against this company and reaffirm my complaint that AAM did in fact and continues to, act in bad faith. AAM's failure to produce the original RFP and the Treasurer's emails pertaining to [redacted] Board business, shows that they know something is definitely wrong and they have something to hide.

Regards,

Business

Response:

The contract started on January 1, 2014 and would apply to records generated between AAM and the Association starting at that time. We will very gladly share any records with Mr. [redacted]s that were the Association's prior to our contract and any generated since the execution of our contract. Please identify.

Review: I had overlooked my HOA fees for the quarter and I received a letter on January 25th with a late fee of $15 attached. Which I paid it on January 31st at 8:14am have e-mail to prove it. Everything should be good right? Not! I received a letter in the mail today 2-12-15 from AAM saying they have not received a payment from me and dated the letter 1-31-15 and said I have 14 days to respond and attached a $45.00 "DEMAND FEE". How is it the letter is dated 1-31-15 and I received it on 2-12-15 and the company is a city over from me which takes no more than 2 days max to get to me and then try to charge me $45 more dollars and threats of a lien being placed on my house. This isn't the first issue I have had with this company and their scheme. Too many complaints about them which everyone has the same issue. Weird right?Desired Settlement: Stop trying to charge fees for something that has already been paid. Look into payments before sending letters and attaching more fees. Don't date the sent letter with wrong dates. It doesn't take 12 days to go from[redacted], Arizona to[redacted], az It is only 13 miles away from my house. [redacted] is very quick on local mail.

Business

Response:

[redacted]’s collection policy states all payments are due by the 1st of the month. There is a 15 day grace period. If a payment is not received by the 15th of the month homeowners are charged a late fee if a payment is still not remitted by the 45th day a demand fee will be charged following the late fee. AAM confirmed Mr. [redacted] did go online and pay his assessment on 01/31/2015. Per our 3rd party payment vendor homeowners are advised it takes 3 business days for payments to post. This information is provided on the payment screen before a homeowner submits payment. Mr. [redacted] called AAM and was informed of this information. AAM’s customer service department offered Mr. [redacted] and appeal to have the fees reviewed by the board Mr. [redacted] declined.As a courtesy AAM will waive the demand fee. Mr. [redacted] has been fully informed regarding his communities collection policy and his assessments are current.

Review: Several months ago my checking account with [redacted] was compromised. During negotiations with [redacted], they agreed to close my account and open a new account and contact those parties with whom I had electronic billing. AAM,LLC was one of those parties. Yesterday(January7, 2015), I discovered that my water, electric, gas, and HOA companies were using my old account number and were not being paid. I contacted AAM with the intent of notifying them of such and furnishing them with my new account number for future billing. I spoke with a representative of AAM ([redacted] (sp). I found [redacted] not to be in the least bit helpful and she was rude and abrasive. I requested to speak with a supervisor and she would not connect me with anyone else. I emailed the AAM office explaining my plight and received no response to my email. The next morning I again called the AAM office and requested to speak with a supervisor. I was given the direct number of a [redacted](sp) ###-###-####. She did not answer her phone and I left a message for her to call me. She did not respond. Wanting to get my HOA fee paid was my greatest concern and, upon further thought, I wanted to communicate that I wanted to go back a paper type billing rather that Surepay(electronic billing) that appears to be problematic. I then reviewed my [redacted] statement and attempted unsuccessfully to pay my HOA fee by online payment, and calling the pay vender at ###-###-####. Frustrated, I then called AAM again and spoke with a gentleman who explained that because of my situation certain charges would be forth coming in the amount of $35 for return payment fee etc. The statement from AAM also stated that if the fee was not paid by 1/15/15 that an additional $15 late charge would be applied. Since I had received no communication or assistance from AAM, I wrote a check in the amount of $148.50(the quarterly HOA fee) and mailed it on 1/8/15 to the AAM, [redacted]Desired Settlement: I wish to receive communication from AAM that my first quarterly payment has been paid in full in a timely fashion with no attending additional charges, and that future bills will be paper and I will pay from the invoice.

Business

Response:

A voice mail was left for the Customer Service Supervisor on 01/08/2015. It is AAM’s policy that all calls are returned within 24 – 48 hours. [redacted] our Customer Service Supervisor did speak to Mr. [redacted] this morning 01/09/2015. She confirmed to make any changes to AAM’s direct debit program “Surepay” it needs to be done through our paper form or by logging on to our website and completing the online form. [redacted] also stated how she understood the frustration Mr. [redacted] had gone through regarding the fraud on his account and all that follows. She ensured it is never Customer Service’s goal or intention to be rude or abrasive with AAM’s homeowners. Customer Service wants to ensure that homeowners know our policies, procedures and are aware of any upcoming fees. [redacted] also assured Mr. [redacted] due to the fraud that has happened on his account we would waive the NSF fee our bank charges to the Homeowners Association and he would not be charged a late fee. Mr. [redacted] was confirmed he was less frustrated with the situation before the call was ended.

Review: I received my first bill for [redacted] dues in December with a $15 late charge attached. I attempted to make contact with AAM LLC on December 11 to dispute the late charges. I was put on hold for longer than 15 minutes. I used the automated option to have an associate call me back. Instead of a call back I received another bill with a notice of a now $50 demand fee. I once again attempted to make contact on December 21st and left another message. This message was never returned. On January 3rd I sent an email describing the above events and gave two phone numbers to contact me at with specific days for each number. I received a message from [redacted] with AAM LLC on January 5th on the wrong phone number. I attempted to call back during business hours and got her answering machine. She never called me back. I attempted to call her on January 8th at approximately 9:15am with no answer.Desired Settlement: I would like to pay my bill, however I am unwilling to pay a late fee on a bill from which I was never notified.

Business

Response:

This issue was resolved with Mr. [redacted] yesterday. The fees were waived and he was provided a new statement with just the assessments owing. He was communicated with via telephone and email on January 8, 2015.

Review: This company, AAM, LLC. took over for Crystal Gardens HOA beginning in July of 2015. The 1st statement we received said there was a zero balance due prior to July which was correct. (I have all documentation) This bill was paid on June 22 for July 2015 HOA fees. This statement was due no later than July 15th. The next statement we received was dated for August 2015 showing that we owed 101.00 for a June assessment & a July assessment a late fee of 15.00 & a August assessment. I called in & the 15.00 fee was waived by [redacted] He said to send in a $43.00 hoa fee by the end of August & it would be fine. So far by this time I had paid 6/22 43.00-7/02 43.00-8/20 43.00. The 8/20 payment I had not received a statement yet because we never receive them until the 21st to the 25th of the month. The next statement I received was for September after I had mailed out payment. Therefore I used the statement & mailed out another 43.00 9/14 2015. So far at this point I felt like I should be paid a month in advance. Because the payments that I mail in take any where from 10 days to 20 days to post to my account I felt this would work out good. But then my next statement they added on a rebill fee of 10.00 & a late fee of 15.00 now showing am due for 68.00. When I called in I spoke with a male that ID himself as [redacted] on 9/24 He said they had not received the payment that I had mailed in on 9/14 & refused to waive the 25.00 in fees. He then said they can not control the mail & that I need to pay on line. I went on line & found that the check that I mailed on 9/14 that [redacted] said they had not received on 9/24 per that phone call had cleared my bank account on 9/23. There is no way I will ever be current with this company. When I tried to pay on line there was a fee of 1.95 to use my checking account & over 3.00 to use a credit card. I want this matter resolved. I have excellent credit & I always pay my bills on time. This Company has serious issues with mail. I can mail from Montana to Gilbert, Avondale or Phoenix on a Friday & it is always received no later than a Tuesday. 3 days max. They are stating that their online payments take up to 5 days to post. They only want recurring payments that are automatically taken out of your checking account each month at no charge. Extremely bad company to do business with. Very sad because I have no choice to do business with them. I tried to work this out with the office Manager Renae Bevins but never received a response from her. Her voice mail stated she would return the call within 24-48 hours. That was on 9/24/2015.

Review: I never received a warning notice about a violation, only the second notice with a $25 fine which I appealed online per the instructions in the letter and then a week later I received another letter for a $50 fine. I emailed the association manager on May 6 and did not received a response or so much as an acknowledgment until I emailed him again on May 20 where I was told he emailed it to the compliance person on May 6 which I would like to see proof of. He then told me he drove the property and the weeds appear to be smaller and lower than in the second, my first, notice which shows that they were taken care of my my tenants landscaper as was mentioned in the email. I was then told that they never received an appeal. Finally, on 05/22 I received another notice with a $100 fine after being instructed to appeal and the acknowledgment by the manager that the letters were in fact sent too close together. Issues such as this have occurred before and were deemed to have been the wrong house and after speaking to neighbors and driving the neighborhood when in the area, they have violations as well but have stated they have not received notices which leads me to believe this management company can see that I have an out of state address and finds this house as an easy target which I take as harassment.Desired Settlement: I expect the fines be removed on the grounds that I warning notice was never received, and the other subsequent notices were delivered too close together for any legitimate action to be taken.

Business

Response:

The fines in question have been waived from the account. The association appreciates the homeowner and his tenants desire to keep the home free of weeds and have demonstrated such by hiring a landscaper.There were two fines totaling $75.00 posted to the account for the weeds. Both of those fines have been waived from the account.

Review: AAM, LLC has twice billed me late fees in error. First time was corrected but this time they are hassleing me over their policy versus what is stated on the billing statement sent to me. My Statement indicates that a $5.00 Late Fee would be applied to my payment if received after 10/30/14. I always use my banks bill pay feature to pay my bill before this date as I did this month and my payment was delivered on 10/20/14 well before date on statement. Before 10/30/14 I receive another statement from AAM, LLC with an $10.00 Rebill Fee and a $13.07 Late Fee.Desired Settlement: Would like my bill to be corrected and this issue to be resolved going forward.

Business

Response:

The [redacted] Board of Directors adopted a new collection policy which we have attached for the homeowners convenience. Per the collection policy as well as the [redacted] for the community, if the assessment is not received by the 15th of the month in which it is due, it is subject to the late fee and rebill fee which is what he is disputing at this time. It is indicated that the payment was made on the 20th of the month which was past the late date.

As a good faith gesture, AAM and the Board will waive the late fee and rebill fee due to the confusion.

Review: I have had major difficulty trying to get my account current and keep it that way due to lack of people being able to communicate my balance and the company's lack of pulling the funds directly from my account as agreed. In March I received a late notice advising my payment had not beein received and I owed over $100 that included late fees and past due payments. I have had my account set up on auto pay for over a year so I was unsure why I owed 3 months worth of payments and so many late fees. My husband and I both called the 800 customer service number several times to get this figured out and was able to do so being that we were told we were set up on auto pay and we did not owe anything. I advised them I had a an invoice from them stating otherwise. They advised they would have to call me back as they could not figure it out. My husband then made several attempts to get this corrected over the phone as I do not have the time M-F while at work to be on the phone waiting on hold for 30 minutes or longer. He was then advised that the late fees would be taken off and we needed to pay the three months of $34.00 and we would start to get bills in the mail. We never received a bill and I just found out in June from another company represenative they do not issue bills. I had cancelled the Auto withdrawl as they could not seem to get that right and I can not have them debiting over hundreds of dollars from my account when they finally relaize they have not pulled the funds out in 3 months. So After again several phone calls and emails I was able to obtain my balance again and was advised that I would never of received a bill and they are not sure why I was told that. The manager in [redacted] advised I could mail my payment directly to her for processing. I mailed my check from [redacted] on 6/21/2013. I noticed the check had not posted to my account on 7/1/2013 so I sent an email asking they had received my payment and was advised they had not and that I should probably go online and make another payment to avoid any late charges. On 7/2/2013 I made my payment online. On 7/3/2013 the check posted to my account. I was quite upset and a little confused that check would hit my account the following day but as of 7/01/2013 there was no record of my payment being received and was advised by the manager if she received as of or after 7/01/2013 she would mail it back to me. I called on Wednesday afternoon 7/03/2013 to see about getting my duplicate payment refunded, I was advised that the check needed to clear my account before they could issued the check. I called my bank Friday morning 7/05/2013 to verify the check cleared then I called the [redacted] office to advise them it had. They told me they would get my check out that day. Today is Friday 7/12/2013 and I have not received my check. My husband called the office yesterday 7/11/2013 to find out when the check was mailed as I was sto frustrated to deal with them. The male my husband spoke with advised that he was not authorized to discuss the account with him as he is not on the account, that was upsetting to hear as I sent an email in March to authorize him as I was instructed to do per a phone concersation with a represenative from Arrizona. After some research the male found the email authorizing my husband to discuss any and all matters however my account was never updated to reflect this. My huband was advised the refund check was mailed out on 7/09/2013 4 days after I was advised it would be sent. He also advised my husband that all payments are sent to [redacted] for processing and are logged in thier system as being received. However for whatever reason my payment was processed and not logged correctly. I feel that the manager made a promise she was in capable of keeping by stating she could mail it back if it was received as it had been but was never documented. I do not have faith in processing payments with these people as they can not seem to process their Auto Pay correctly nor regular mail in payments. I have made payments on line but its not always conveinant as I need to have all the account inforamtion from the payment slip that I do not receive. I just want my account to reflect the correct information showing my husband as an authorized user and I want to make sure it is current and I do not accrue late fees as they do not know how to process payments correctly or ontime for that matter it took almost 2 weeks for my check to be processed. I process payments all the time and know that with our postal system not being the best it still only takes mail one day to go in between [redacted], NM and [redacted], NM. [redacted] to [redacted] should not take over 1 week.Desired Settlement: I would like my refund check for my overpayment. To make sure my husband is authorized to discuss the account as I am turning all handling of the account to him. To make sure that I do not receive any more late fees as I plan on making my regular payment online on or before the 1st of every month.

Business

Response:

After reviewing the account the refund in question was

mailed to the homeowner via [redacted] next day mail on 07/11/2013 the letter was

delivered per [redacted] on 07/12/2013. The refund in the amount of $100.00 was

cashed on 07/16/2013.

The homeowner’s husband was authorized to speak on her

behalf on 03/29/2013.

The last contact [redacted] made with our office was 07/12/2013 to

confirm if the refund was sent.

[redacted]’s account now has a $0 balance as long as she makes her

payments per her community’s collection policy she will not be charged any

further fees.

This is a HORRIBLE HOA all they know is how to collect fees. The neighborhood I am in has had increases every year and they took away playgrounds and let the grass get yellow. They let people leave their Christmas lights up all year, trash barrels outside and weeds everywhere but they make sure that that quarterly statement is always there. They also say they send you notices for violations which they dont and then charge you fees and late fees with no notices whatsoever. AVOID THESE CRIMINALS!!!!

Review: I prepaid for the months of April May and June. Billing is quarterly my last bill shows a credit balance of 173.50. Speaking with [redacted] with billing she refuses to return these funds and states I am due nothing. I closed on the home at the end of February so I should have received a refund at least for the April May and June if not for March as well.Desired Settlement: Desire outcome is to admit the error and return these funds.

Business

Response:

A check for $173.50 was issued on March 18, 2014. Please contact [redacted], Vice President of Customer Service at ###-###-#### if the check is not received by Monday, March 24.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: I am writing this letter regarding charges I received from Associated Asset Management (AAM) in regard to Home Owners Association fees for property located in [redacted], Mesa, AZ.

I purchased property in the neighborhood in March, 2013. At the time I was made aware of the HOA and corresponded with the management company. Please see the attached document which shows that they had my mailing address.

Subsequent to my purchase I never received communication from AAM until I received a Collection letter from their legal representative along with other charges and fees. I never received a billing statement nor any other communication prior to this collection letter. With this collection letter they are requestion late fees and legal fees. This is the first time I received communication about the bill.

I consider it very unethical and irresponsible on the part of AAM to request for fees and penalties when I never received a bill from them nor did they try to contact me. I would appreciate your assistance in resolving my complaint and I look forward to hearing from you regarding my problem.

I have submitted payment to them for $326.70 which is the amount owed for the HOA fees.Desired Settlement: I am willing to pay normal HOA fees but not fees and penalties.

Business

Response:

Addresses used prior to the close of escrow are not recognized as a permanent mailing address. Unless directed in writing at closing or after closing, we utilize the property address. We have changed the address to the address provided in the complaint. AAM was simply following the collection policy as established by the board of directors for [redacted]. As a courtesy, the attorney contracted by the association for collection of delinquent assessments has released the account back to us. There will be no attorney's fees due. AAM has waived the demand fee and lien fee as a courtesy in a good faith attempt to resolve the complaint. The complaint indicates that payment has been made for the assessments but since the account was at the attorney, chances are good that the payment will be returned. Please contact [redacted], Vice President of Customer Service at ###-###-#### within a week to verify the payment is received and posted. If the payment is returned, it will be necessary to remit the payment again.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

I have contacted the business, AAM, and determined the correct amount of HOA dues owed. I mailed the check today for the full amount. Thank you for helping to resolve the matter.

Regards,

Review: I have been living in an AAM HOA property for over 3 years. Almost two months ago, I needed to replace the garage door of my unit. I had the door replaced and with the only color the company had, white. I reached out to my Community Manager asking if I needed to paint the door to match the rest of the units to avoid a fine. A few days later, he replied "Yes you are correct. Please let me know if you need to know what the paint code is for your unit." Wondering why he did not provide the information in the email, I responded the same day with a request for the paint code. I did not get a response for over a week. I left voice mails, sent 3 more emails, and reached out to his Assistant. During this time, I received a notice that I would be fined if I did not promptly update the color.

Over a month later, the assistant reached out to me with the brand and color I needed. Upon shopping for the paint, I was quick to find out the brand did not make a color with that particular name. I again began the task of trying to get anyone assigned to my development to speak with me. Again I sent emails and voice mails daily. When the Assistant called me back 2 weeks later I was greeted with "Oh. I emailed you didn't I? Oops, there was someone else who was having the same problem and I thought it was you." During our conversation she informed me that she did not have the code, but if I went directly to the brand's paint store and give them the name of my development, they would know which paint I needed. After visiting two different locations, one of which was only 2 miles from my development, they had no records for our development and could not recommend the correct paint. Again, I am left to leave voice mails and emials to try and get someone to give a simple answer.

I must say I am disappointed with the level of customer service I have received from AAM. My calls and emails are returned days and sometimes weeks after I leave a message asking for basic information. Instead of an clear answer, I am pawned off on the paint company for a solution that they cannot provide. How in the span of over two months I am unable to get a straight answer for a bucket of paint is unprofessional and embarrassing. We pay our expensive HOA fees every month and I believe I am entitled to some basic customer service.Desired Settlement: I want the correct paint code called into me directly from the Community Manager.

Business

Response:

A response was sent to [redacted] on 12/11/2013. He was advised that AAM was having trouble tracking down the original paint colors from the developer. Then AAM reached out to the Superintendent for his community and AAM was advised of the correct color for his garage door. This information was conveyed to [redacted] through an email on 12/11/2013 in which he

replied with a “Thank you.”

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: I bought the property at [redacted], since that purchase, I have been confronted with many issues and have requested the HOA have some leniency on the following issue to correct the debt I was responsible for. The HOA fails to protect our community and makes $104.00 monthly from numerous customers in the area after the purchase of the homes at the same time I purchased. We have had numerous issues with security. At one point my son and I was personally robbed at gunpoint. Numerous break-ins to home in the community, car thefts, unwanted visitors and lack of upkeep have been the issues of complaint from other community members. The amount of intake should provide a better service for our community and when addressed the business denies it's ability to protect us. It's like living in a prison of constant abuse and paying for it. There are retirees and others that have difficulty with this payment because of their income but also personal everyday life problems. I addressed all this issues to the company and they refuse to stop the late fees or assist me in any manner that would bring me back into good standing. The company hired an attorney and the manager of the area at this local harasses me continuously, for example, during the SuperBowl it rained for days prior to ad during the game. I received a warning about the weeds in my yard, the caretakers could not cut or care for the yard till the rain stopped. I am disabled and there is no reason why they should harass me I know what I have to do but have had many instances that prevent me from paying and paying for late fees. I have not worked for 2 years because of PTSD and have been in the care of the VA. I do the best I can. I made an agreement with an attorney to bring the debt current but the office will not comply with my request as to where the monies on this issues are being addressed. Please let me know if this will be forwarded as formal complaints to share with petitioners against the company.Desired Settlement: Contract review of HOA requirements and lack of addressing demands by community. The need to remove the HOA from our community for lack of compliance. Reimbursement of funds for lack of care of community and lack of protection based on earnings from community. $104.00 x 12 mo.=$1,248.00 yearly x 30 homeowners=$37,440( + 15.00 late fee/mo/for late fees x 30 x 12 = $5400 at any given time from anyone of the community individual owner in a year. This is what I'll be paying for this service.

Business

Response:

As the managing agent for the [redacted] Homeowners Association we take our direction from the Board of Directors. The community manager can only make recommendations to the Board for actions and maintenance needs. It is ultimately the Board of Directors decision on what they wish to implement. The community has never been advertised or procalimed to provide security to the homeowners. The issues that were experienced with the robery, break-ins and car thefts are police issues. [redacted] programs are available in many municipalities. However, the only way [redacted] is successful is if the residents become involved and organize the program with the authorities. Our records indicate that there have been a few violation notices sent to the homeowner regarding weeds and a trash can but she has never been fined. It appears that resonable time frames were given for correction of the issues and compliance was gained during that time frame.The Board of Directors and the management company are happy to work with the homeowners and make every effort to do so prior to a delinquent account being sent to the attorney for collection of the past due amount. Now that the account is with the attorney for collections we cannot discuss the account further but we do have record that a successful payment arrangement has been negotiated with the attorney for the association.If the homeowner wishes to request the board reduce her assessment liability that is currently with the attorney she would need to address that with the Board of Directors who are homeowners themselves within the community.

Review: My husband works out of town and has been gone recently. We have a guest parking across the street from our house in which we are able to park extra vehicles. We have a white truck that we park there, which is a third vehicle so it is not used much. My husband moves this vehicle every few weeks. Our truck was there this morning with no kind of notice on it. This afternoon we noticed that the vehicle was gone. We called the police and they said it was towed for abandonment by our HOA. We have been trying to call our HOA for a few hours now and no call back. We never received a notice and the vehicle was not towed for a proper reason as the vehicle is not abandoned. I demand a full refund for whatever it will cost to get our truck back. My husband and I are very upset for this matter.Desired Settlement: Full refund of the cost to get the vehicle back.

Business

Response:

We are unable to locate the address of [redacted] in our data base. It does not appear to be a community that AAM manages. We have also conducted a name search to no avail. We are unable to assist with the information provided.

Review: I would like to start off by saying I have owned my home since 2007.and I have never had this problem. after we made payment arrangments.nov.17th. for the 144.25 I was told to pay 6 payments of 24.04 each month. added to my regular payments.which was fine. then they said I would be getting a letter to sign and return. we got it the next day. signed it and returned it the same day. which was nov.19th.today nov 24th !!. we get a letter saying that this letter is A DEMAND LETTER WHICH COST ME ANOTHER 40.00! really well why would I have to pay another 40.00 . when I had already made payment arrangments!! tried calling I was on hold for 28 min.they tranfsered three times then cut off. called back on the phone for 25 min. still no one then I can leave a message they are busy!. I leave a message no return call today. and then I wanted to file this complaint. SO THIS CRAP IS NOT HAPPING TO OTHER PEOPLE ALSO!!Desired Settlement: A 40.00 FEE TAKEN OFF MY BILL.

Business

Response:

The $40.00 demand fee was initiated the same day that the homeowner contacted us to make payment arrangements for his past due balance. The fee was charged in accordance with the collection policy for the community which is attached.However, because the association appreciates the fact that the homeowner is trying to get caught up on the past due balance the $40.00 demand fee will be waived. The association relies on the timely payment of these assessments so that they can remain current on their monthly operation expenses.