Bartlein & Company, Inc.

Thank you for taking my call todayAs we discussed, we investigated your complaint
and found that we made a number of errorsPlease accept my apology for the frustration and inconvenience that this situation has causedWe have credited your account with all late fee charges and NSF chargesIn addition, we will reimburse your aunt for bank charges caused by our errorsPlease send information on what those charges wereAs we discussed, your January and February association fees will be paid automatically from your account on February 5thThe monthly fees are $370, but a NSF charge of $which was charged in December is being credited back to you which leaves only $due for JanuaryIf you have any further problems or questions, please feel free to call me directlySincerely,
* ** *** President

The following is the reply to MsD* ***:
Dear MsD* ***::
justify;">You
recently filed a complaint with the Revdex.com disputing the
security deposit refund you receivedYou also sent an email complaining about the
charges. Please be advised that Bartlein & Company,
Incdoes not receive the funds withheld from your deposit. The funds go to the property owners to
reimburse them for the costs they incurred in addressing your obligations
We
have reviewed your refund found that the charges were properThe landlord may not charge for “ordinary wear
and tear”, but you were charged for items which exceeded “ordinary wear and
tear”
You
were charged for:
Cleaning.
When you vacated, we found grease in the oven, hair in the
refrigerator, and dirt in window tracks.
In addition, you left a couch sitting in front of the building
which had to be hauled to the dumpRepairs. When you moved in, the kitchen sink had
some spots needing attention. The sink was completely
refinished. When you left, the
sink was stained and chipped.
The window was cracked in the kitchen/dining area and
several screens were bent or partially pulled away. The window was not cracked when you moved
in. Section of your rental agreement
says, in part:
“Tenant hereby agrees to
pay for … the following: Replacement of all broken glass, and damaged or
missing screens.”
Contractor
Fee. Section of your rental
agreement says: “The "cost" of repairs, cleaning, and/or painting on the
Tenant vacating the Premises shall
include the actual expenditure (or
best estimate) for same plus
10% of the expenditure as a fee for
organizing, arranging,
estimating, and contracting for said repairs, cleaning, and/or
painting. Said fee shall be
disclosed to Tenant and labeled "contractor fee."
Rent. Under California law and the terms of
your rental agreement, you are responsible for rent for days after
giving your notice. Your notice
was given on August 25th and you were charged rent through
September 23rd
Please
feel free to call if you have further questions or concerns
Sincerely,
A*** ***
Property
Manager

Review: I found that the refund on my security deposit was too low and recently found out that they over charged for carpet cleaning and failed to provide statements for other work done. I have asked already for statements of the work done on the unit I rented from Bartlein and did not receive any for repair charges, painting charges, or a contractor fee. From the California department of consumer affairs I am entitled to this information.Desired Settlement: Since there is no documentation of the work done to the unit. I am going to ask for a security deposit check refund total of $1822.02. I was not showed any documentation of repair charges, painting charges, or contractor fee even after I asked for copies of receipts from suppliers & subcontractors used by Bartlein & Company, Inc. It did not display the hourly rate charged for your contract work nor copy of receipt of materials or supplies.

Review: This company is a scam and has been ripping off the people of Santa Barbara for years. Please read the reviews on yelp.com. They are absolutely true. L[redacted] and R[redacted] are the former tenants of 115 Bodega Lane, Apt. 13 Santa Barbara, CA 93110. We just received a portion of our security deposit back and had charges withheld that were for Bartlein to repair, clean, and paint the apartment. However security deposit is for damages and unpaid rent, not for normal wear and tear and to repair pre-existing damages that were there when we moved in. I am a professional that has paid rent her entire adult life and have never missed or had a late payment or had any portion of my security deposit withheld for any reason until now. I spent 12 hours cleaning and scrubbing the apartment and going through Bartlein's extensive checklist before I moved out and was still somehow hit with a $200 cleaning bill. On top of that they charged me $125 to refinish a kitchen sink that they had refinished when we moved in because they keep doing a poor job with this cheap stuff that wears away with regular use. They also charged me $200 to repair a "small crack" in a window that Ryan and had neither caused nor noticed. And they double charged for some of the repairs by adding on a contractor fee. There was no receipt provided for the contractor fee. They also had charged us only a portion of the last month's rent as if they had rented out the apartment as of the day we were vacating but then subsequently charged us for the full month.Desired Settlement: Please reduce the cleaning fee by half ($98) and eliminate the cracked window ($198) and kitchen sink charges ($125) as well as the contractor fee ($83). These are charges we are not responsible for and money that is lawfully owed to us. Please send a refund check in the amount of $504. This reduces the previous amount charged to clean, repair, and paint from $922 to $418. We will agree to the rent charges so long as you did not rent the apartment prior to September 23, 2015.

Business

Response:

The following is the reply to Ms. D[redacted]:

Review: They charged us for items that should not have been.1. Charged $1000.00 for paint work that was not needed,we have pictures of the way the apartment was left.2. Charged for refrigerator bar that was not damaged,it was like that when they moved in. $30.003.Charged for 3 light bulbs when only one was burned out. $15.004. Charged us for rent when we were not there, we cleaned and moved out everything on May 31st. There office was closed when we left and there was no key drop. Keys were turned in on Monday because they were closed at noon on Saturday and all day Sunday.$119.66 This apartment was in perfect condition,my wife and I cleaned and checked out everything before leaving. Only thing that was not done was the carpet cleaning,carpet was in great shape.Bathroom was cleaned but it still looked bad because of its old run down condition.5.They charged us a contractors fee of $143.50 and labor fee of $135.00 for replacing smoke detector batteries,range filter,stove pans,fridge door bar and one light bulb.Desired Settlement: Refund of $1443.00