Bentley Commons at Lynchburg

Review: My mother is [redacted], and is a former resident of Bentley Commons in Lynchburg, VA. She currently resides at [redacted].

I am her son and Power of Attorney and am making this report on her behalf - I have documentation available, but cannot see a link to attach it. Please contact me and I will gladly forward my copy of PoA, cancelled check, and Bentlley Commons' security deposit statement. They kept the original contract in their files

I have made numerous calls to the Bentley Commons facility in Lynchburg, VA in regards to the return of my mother’s security deposit ($1225.00 which was 1/2 of 1 month's rent of $2450.00) that she paid when she moved in. So far I have not been successful in having the deposit returned. Her contract stated that the deposit would be returned within 60 days of leaving the facility. She left on September 5, 2013. I have spoken with [redacted] on 3 occasions and he assured me that he would check on this and call back. He never calls back. I have left messages on his phone and requested a call, but he doesn’t return my calls. On Monday 1/13/2013 I called and asked for [redacted] (the executive Director), but she had left for the day and I left a message for her to call me regarding this matter. I called and left a message again on Wednesday 1/15/2013. She hasn’t returned my call.

On 1/14/2013 I sent an email to Bentley Commons' management group, Kaplan Senior Management at [redacted] but have not received a reply

It seems that the senior management there is avoiding their responsibility of honoring their contract. Could you please look into this and find out what the problem is there?

One personal note: while there, my mother complained that the senior staff was very cold and unresponsive, and this was one of the reasons that she was so unhappy there and chose to move out to a regular apartment. I didn’t understand why she felt that way, because everyone was so kind and helpful when she was getting moved in; but now I have had plenty of opportunities to experience the same attitudes.

Please help me settle this so my mother can put this matter behind her.Desired Settlement: Refund of security deposit in the amount of $1225.00 to [redacted] at [redacted]

Business

Response:

I will call him today and get this settled. Unfortunately I did not receive his message. I will make this a top priority today. [redacted]

Thanks,

Executive Director

Bentley Commons

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 for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: My father was a resident of Bentley Commons. The issue I have is not related to the care given there, although it was inadequate and I was informed by Bentley Commons I had 30 days to move my dad because they could not meet his needs although. The issue is that I requested a reimbursement for the month's rent he did not live at the facility. The administrator indicated to me that the counter in his apartment was damaged by a coffee pot he had placed on the stove top and moved to the counter. This should have never have happened since I had requested weeks prior to this his oven be disconnected and it was agreed to be done in a meeting with my daughter. If this had been done, there would not have been any of the damage they claim cost over $800 to repair. The burned spot on the counter was less than the size of a quarter. I contacted Bentley multiple times and their corporate headquarters and they would not respond to my emails or telephone calls. Again, I was not satisfied with their care, but that is not the reason for the complaint. My father is a WW II veteran who is living on the proceeds of his home so he can be cared for and I am afraid he will run out of money and this $800+ they owe to us would help extend his care. The administrator at Bentley Commons has not been honest with me or numerous occasions. She has told me things that I know for a fact is not true. I believe she did this in an attempt to keep the money owed to us. I just want to get the refund for the days my dad was not a resident so I can use that money toward his future care.Desired Settlement: All I want is the refund for the time he was not a resident at Bentley Commons. They made false promises when I moved my dad to the facility and I do not care about that now because I know what the facility is truly like now. All I want is our refund. I also paid $1,000 when I moved him in and Conrad, who checked me in, told me this was to paint and clean the apartment after my dad moved. My dad was only there 6 months and I did not ask for this money back, only the rent owed to him.

Business

Response:

This is reference to a complaint received on July 11,2013 ID number [redacted]. Her father as here for approximately 6 months. During this time we had meetings with Mrs. [redacted] daughter in reference to her grandfather. We would attempt to contact the daughter about our concerns but were instructed to only talk with her (thegranddaughter). In terms of me lying to the daughter I am not sure what she is referencing since I cannot remember talking to her only the granddaughter. One of her concerns was the cleanliness of his apartment. It is our policy to do light housekeeping weekly however, the resident would not allow us to clean his apartment so we set up a routine where someone would come get him on Wednesday's between 11:30 and 12:00 to take him out to lunch so we could clean his apartment. There were times when the family did not pick him up so we would rearrange the time to clean his apartment so it would be convenient for the family. He also had a cat that he was unable to take care of which we addressed with the family. In reference to the counter top being burned we did disconnect the stove but the resident had owned his own appliance company for years so he knew how to plug the cord in by pulling the drawer out and plugging the stove back in. He burned three different coffee pots because the family continued to bring a new coffee pot and coffeemaker in after we requested they not bring them in. The resident did love his coffee so we set up where the resident would come to the dining room and have coffee given which he would take back to his apartment. When he stopped doing that we delivered coffee as well as all his meals to his apartment. It is the policy of Bentley Commons to charge a room delivery fee for all other residents unless they have a physically illness which prohibits them from coming to the dining room or they are contagious. I have enclosed pictures of the damage to the apartment and as you see there were three burn holes in the counter top. The carpet was destroyed to the point we had to replace the carpet. I have also enclosed the invoices and a copy of the Admission Agreement. It is stated in the admission agreement any damage done will be charged to the resident which we did by holding his refund. According to our records Mr. [redacted] apartment was vacated on April 24, 2013 which would leave 6 days he could have received a refund for. The cost per day of his apartment was 124.93 which would have been a refund for 749.58 the total cost of the repairs was 810.75. So according to our records we do not owe Mr. [redacted] any refund in fact there is an outstanding balance of 67.17 which we wrote off. lf you have any questions please feel free to contact me @ ###-###-####.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer 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.[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]Regards,[redacted] I saw the pictures provided by Bentley Commons. There was a coffee stain on the floor that could have been steam cleaned, but I have no idea what the black stain was on the floor that apparently warranted new carpet. The boxes shown in the middle of the kitchen floor was trash that one of the staff members at Bentley Commons told us to leave and they would pick up. I am surprised Ms. [redacted] is taking the cost of carpet out of my dad's refund since I paid a deposit when he moved in and [redacted] told me it would be for painting, cleaning, and replacing carpet if needed. Ms. [redacted] is not being honest when she is talking about the coffee makers and stove. My dad was an appliance dealer for many years, but he also suffered from dementia. He started to pour milk into his coffee maker instead of water because he was confused. I replaced that with another and he poured sugar and water in that one. I did purchase a third drip coffee maker and wrote instructions how to make coffee. That is the one he placed on the stove top and that was done only once. The day he did that, I received a call from Bentley Commons to make me aware of the situation and at that time I asked why the stove was connected because the breaker was to be off as previously discussed with [redacted] and in a care meeting with my daughter. Ms. [redacted] told me she would check with [redacted] on this, although he was no longer employed there. Ms. [redacted] asserts my father, who had arthritis and was 90 years old could get down on his knees, pull out the stove drawer, crawl down far enough to plug it back in on multiple times. First of all, this would have been physically impossible for this 90 year old man and if he cannot work a coffee pot due to the dementia I hardly think he would know how to do all of this to plug the stove in. I was told the breaker was going to be cut off and if this had been done, the stove would not have worked even if it was plugged in. I did not purchase another coffee maker after this incident and thought we had made arrangements for him to have coffee in his room, but this was only delivered twice and when I went down to check why he was not getting this, the staff member in the kitchen told me that they did not provide that service. Ms. [redacted] also indicated my father could not care for his cat. The email you sent was the first time I had heard this. He gave the cat food and water daily and the litter box was always clean. There was no pet damage and I do not know why this would be applicable, but I must say her comment on this is a total fabrication as is her other accusations. I received an email from Ms. [redacted] on April 4th indicating that her and [redacted] (the nurse) thought it would be a big mistake to place my dad in a nursing home and I then received an eviction notice without an explanation why. I attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] multiple times by phone and she was never available and would not return my calls. When I personally went to Bentley Commons I was told she was not available. I am not one to file complaints, but when someone has dementia it is similar to dealing with a child. Just as I would not want any of my children taken advantage of because of their inexperience, I do not want anyone to be taken advantage of because of their mental status. My brother visited my father and he summed it up when he stated the care my dad received at Bentley Commons was similar to a caged animal where they came in and threw food in the cage. After moving my father, I am more aware of the quality care that can be given to someone with dementia and the poor care he had been receiving. That is not the issue, but I am only asking for the money that is due to him.

Business

Response:

This is response to a complaint we received from Ford [redacted] family. My response stands and we only adhered to the signed contract we have with the [redacted] family. Thanks, Debra BeamerExecutive Director Bentley Commons [redacted] ###-###-####Fax ###-###-####

Consumer

Response:

Hi [redacted]I found the paperwork from Bentley and it indicates the $1,000 is non-refundable and is a community fee, which is not what I was told by [redacted] when I moved my dad in. This is what I get for not carefully reading all of the paperwork and trusting them when they are telling me what the paper is for and flipping through it to get me to sign it. I cannot tell you the number of papers pushed at me to sign that day and I never received signed copies. This was an extremely stressful time so I guess this is my fault. I am 100% sure [redacted] told me this was to cover painting, carpet, etc. when my dad moved out and [redacted] told me whenever my dad moved out that they would do everything and we would just have to move the furniture out. It really is not the $1,000 I paid that I am seeking, but the monthly fee I paid for my dad and they will not refund for the time he was not there. I know of the things Ms. [redacted] has falsely said and I assume I will never get that money back. I can only hope that she treats future residents and her own parents better than my dad was treated during his time there and they will keep a line of communication open with family members unlike they would do with us. Thank you for your assistance. Best,[redacted]