Charleston Management Corporation

I'm not pleased with the property management [redacted] with Charleston Management. Since I bought my home at 5501 Chivalry Court, Knightdale, she has been sending me notice after notice on changes that I need to make on the exterior of my home. The first was, I needed to paint my shutters to match my front door, in which I did comply. Then she sent a letter of violation that I needed to change my front door to match everyone else on the development. I argued that one other resident who purchased his house has tone same door, but she said he was grandfathered and if I do not replace the door I'll be fined $100 a day. I tried to explain to her that I bought the house as is and that there was nothing stating in the closing documents that I was coming into any violations nor that I have to change the door once I take ownership, I did I would not have purchased the home. A few weeks ago I got a $3000 fine for not painting my shutters, when I emailed her about that she said she made a mistake and it was for the door ($100 a day for the month of August). Also, a few weeks ago I was corresponding to [redacted] at Charleston Management about my fence I'm requesting to replaced she mentions in the email that I'm being fined for my storm door, in which, I was never informed. How can someone be fined if they weren't informed of his or her violation? Last week I went door-to-door to 15 residence my development who have the same storm door as I do and no one has relieved a notice nor fine. I feel that this treatment that I am receiving from [redacted] at Charleston Management is harassment. She has demonstrated that she is the sole decision maker in this whole ordeal and I refuses to speak to me in person. I did receive a letter back in July inviting me to speak to the board in regards to my front door but I was ill, that's when he fines started. I have since then requested a meeting but no reply, she said she sent a letter to my attorney but he has not mentioned any such letter. I tried speaking to her n person but she refuses to speak to me and that I have to seek legal council.
Today, October 16, when I open my mail from [redacted] at Charleston Management, there was a bill for $3000 for a violation for having a trailer parked on my property, not for the storm door or front door. I don't own a trailer nor has one ever been on my property. At this point, I am convinced that [redacted] at Charleston Management is being a typical corrupted property manager who is erroneously abusing her power and I want it noted and stopped!

I have been living at [redacted] since 2003. I 2013 I did not pay my homeowners fees because I had returned to college and had financial problems. A lien was placed against my property on July 12, 2013 for not paying my HOA fees. I received several notices and I was unable to pay the fees. I received a bill from [redacted] HOA fees from Charleston Management on Nov 6, 2013 stating that I currently owed 1,470.72 which would include Assessment fees, delinquent fees, legal fees and 410.00 HOA fees for 2014.(the statement stated that the bill was 1/1/2014.) I sent a check #[redacted] in the amount of 1,470.82. In the memo I stated that this would be full payment which would include all legal fees, late fees, 2014 assessment fees.. PAID IN FULL. The check cleared my account on Nov 26, 2013. The house was released from lien on 2/3/14. This was the first information that I had received since Charleston Management Corp cashed my check on Nov. 26, 2013. On or around Feb 8th, I received a statement from Charleston Management Corp stating that I now owe more attorney fees, assessment fees and 2014 HOA fees. The statement was dated for Jan 12,2014 due date for the fees was 1/1/ 2014 although it was not received until Feb 8, 2014. I am disputing all of these fees. This homeowners association continues to tack on fees because they know that there is nothing that a homeowner can do to dispute them. They can keep billing you regardless of whether the bill is paid in full or not. They then send out bill requesting more money. I am disputing the 173.00 bill, I do know that this company will continue to bill for bogus charges because they can.Account_Number: [redacted]Desired SettlementI would like Charleston Management Corp to review the bill and see that I do not owe them anymore money. On the check that they cashed, I stated PAID IN FULL for assessment fees, all late fees, all attorney fees, all delinquent fees and 2014 fees. I would like them to reissue a bill stating that the balance is now 0. Business Response We are very sorry the owner's experience with the Association has not been to his satisfaction; however, the Association has not failed in its execution of its collection policy. Collection issues are, by nature, emotionally charged as owner's become delinquent and are frustrated with the resulting actions and costs.I will respond to this complaint by explaining the timeline of events and correspondence between the HOA, owner and the collection attorney's office. As a point of information, Charleston Management is hired by homeowner associations to administer services such as financial management, physical plant management as well as consultation services - within this we facilitate collection of assessments.The owner's HOA collects assessments (also know as 'dues') once a year with a due date of January 1st and considered delinquent if not received by the 10th of the month. Delinquent accounts incur a monthly late fee for each month they remain in arrears.The owner received numerous pieces of correspondence for his 2013 assessment and had multiple opportunities to set up a pay plan or to contact our office on the matter. The owner's first contact was in June after the account had been sent to the collection attorney.Timeline:November 2012 - Annual billing statement for 2013 assessment issued.January 2013 - Late notice issued. Notice states amount owed and encourages owner to please contact our office with any questions and how to pay by credit card and e-check.February 2013 - Second late notice issued containing same verbiage.March 2013 - Demand letter issued by our office. In addition to a breakdown of the amount owed the letter states: "You can avoid the payment of additional administrative fees and attorney's fees by paying the outstanding balance within fifteen days from the date of the mailing of this letter." The letter also includes, "If you wish to discuss this matter, including the possibility of a payment plan, please contact the Accounting Department at [redacted] or at the email address below within 15 days."The owner did not pay nor contact our office at any time, April 2013 - The file (owner's account) was sent to the collection attorney. June 3, 2013 - The attorney issued a demand letter to the owner.June 4, 2013, 1:35pm -The owner's wife contacted the attorney's office and stated she was under lender foreclosure and that if she makes payment arrangements and the lender forecloses, what's the point and she stated if she can't pay her mortgage what makes us think she can pay her dues. There was no request for a payment plan.July 12, 2013 - The attorney filed a lien and sent all correspondence to the owner. September 30, 2013 - The Association's attorney received a letter from the owner's attorney requesting a settlement and offering a payment of $380.00 (original assessment due in January) to pay the account in full. At the time the balance owed was $1015.72. October 3, 2013 - The Association's attorney sent a letter rejecting the offer.October 21, 2013 - The owner sent in a $660 payment to the attorney asking if this amount was acceptable. October 24, 2013 - The attorney sent the payment back to the owner's attorney and stated the payment was being returned because it was not payment in full and the owner now owed $1085.72 and this amount needed to be paid in full by October 31, 2013 to avoid additional expenses. November 4, 2013 - The owner's attorney contacted the Association's attorney asking for an itemization of the $1085.72. November 5, 2013 - The 2014 annual billing statement order was sent to a third party to be printed and mailed. In addition to the annual assessment the statements also include any balance on an owner's account at the time the order was processed.November 8, 2013 - The billing statement for the 2014 assessment was issued to each owner. The owner's statement for $1470.72 included the 2014 assessment of $410 and last delinquent balance in the system of $1060.72 (which at the time did not reflect the most recent collection fee).November 15, 2013 - The requested itemization (from November 4) was supplied and also noted that the amount now owed was $1,293.72, which needed to be paid in ten days of the date of the letter.November 26, 2013 - A check dated November 21 was received, through the automated lockbox, for $1470.72. As of October 24 the owner was advised of the amount owed through month's end. This amount did not include the 2014 assessment. The owner through his attorney, by requiring an itemization, caused additional attorney charges on his account. The itemization was provided on November 15 with a balance owed of $1293.72, which also did not include the 2014 assessment.The owner already knew his debt was higher when he knowingly attempted to take advantage of the situation by paying the lesser amount via the automated lockbox.The owner's $1470.72 check was applied to all dues, late fees and legal fees in arrears. This left a credit on the owner's account which was then applied to 2014 assessment though it did not pay the 2014 assessment in full. The owner is simply being billed for his outstanding 2014 annual assessment balance.The Association stands by all collection costs that were incurred to obtain payment for this debt as all efforts were done within the HOA's collection policy, all laws and in good faith. Had the owner simply contacted our office to set up a payment plan nearly all costs related to the collection could have been avoided. However, without payment or contact from the owner the Association had no option other than to take efforts to collect the debt - as any business would. Our office would be happy to supply all documentation to support the above information.HOWEVER, in a genuine effort to resolve this matter for all parties, the Association is willing to waive 3 late fees on the account in the amount of $75.00 which would bring the amount owed by the owner to $123.00 to pay his account in full through December 31, 2014.This payment of $123.00 must be in our office no later than March 9, 2014. If payment is not received the Association will continue to pursue the amount owed on the account and the agreement to waive the $75.00 will be rescinded. Our office provides a password secured website where owner's can access their accounts so they can see any and all activity. The owner has registered for the site and is able to view his account online anytime he chooses. As all efforts were made in good faith to collect the debt within the collection policy, all laws followed and no erroneous fees were added, we ask that this complaint be dismissed.Final Consumer Response 1. I do not feel that I was treated fairly. But as I was informed by my attorney, a homeowner association can charge and do anything that they like because they have the power to place a lien against someone's property. 2. If I had the money to get on a payment plan, I would have done that at that time.3. I do not have access to the homeowners fees and account because I was dropped over a year ago because someone hacked my account. 4 I will mail the requested amount 123.00 today and pay this bill which I have already paid in order to be done with them hopefully for the remainder of 2014. Or until I am billed again for fees which where previously paid.Final Business Response We will address each of the owner's numbered counter replies:1. We are sincerely sorry that the owner does not feel he was treated fairly. Unfortunately he did not make not contact until after the file went to an attorney for collection which results in a negative reaction to all actions by the Association. However, his non-payment and lack of response to all notices and letters left the Association with no other course.Please know an association CANNOT "charge and do anything that they like" as noted by the owner. This is inherently false. An association's collection authority is bound by General Statute and the Fair Debt Collection Act. Whenever possible all efforts are made to avoid lien placement and collection costs.2. We understand that the owner had limited funds earlier in the year. However, simply neglecting to respond to collection letters is not a responsible course of action. If the owner had contacted our office and explained his situation it is very likely reasonable terms and timelines could have been established to avoid additional fees and actions. 3. Our system shows the owner as a registered user under the same email he has listed in the complaint. If, however, he is having trouble accessing his account he may contact our office and a Customer Service Administrator will be happy to assist him in resolving the matter.4. We are glad that the owner has accepted the Association's settlement offer. As noted in our original response, once the $123 payment is received the owner will be current through 2014.

Charleston management group is the worst HOA that I have ever had to work with. They are incredibly rude on the phone and difficult to get into contact with. Recently they charged me $45 for a landscaper being sent to my home when I was not there which they cited as a violation for not allowing them to enter the property. While I was not there. They claim our property was not in compliance with weeding and edging from March. From March to July 22 we weeded and edged at least 7 times. The most recent of which was July 20 before putting our home on the market on the 23. When we called to talk to them about this they were irate from the start of the call and not cooperative at all. I am happy to have left the area. Their incompetence and lack of professionalism will bring down the value of the houses they represent.","neg-1

Charleston management group is the worst HOA that I have ever had to work with. They are incredibly rude on the phone and difficult to get into contact with. Recently they charged me $45 for a landscaper being sent to my home when I was not there which they cited as a violation for not allowing them to enter the property. While I was not there. They claim our property was not in compliance with weeding and edging from March. From March to July 22 we weeded and edged at least 7 times. The most recent of which was July 20 before putting our home on the market on the 23. When we called to talk to them about this they were irate from the start of the call and not cooperative at all. I am happy to have left the area. Their incompetence and lack of professionalism will bring down the value of the houses they represent.

Paid a bill in full, then received charges including the same 3 months later with charges including late fees. I received an invoice from Charleston management on 3/21/14 stating that I owe January bill along with past due charges and April bill which totaled to 198.00. Payment needed to be made 15 days within date of invoice if not further actions will be taken. According to them invoice was dated 3/17/14 and I made payment on 3/24/14 of 198.00. Since I made payment within time frame I thought everything was current until July bill. I did not receive any other information from Charleston management. I received invoice from Charleston management on dated 6/23/14 with a total of 160.00 due within 15 days of date of invoice before further action will be taken. This invoice was billing me for month of April with late charges. I contacted office the night of 6/24/14 when I received invoice via email asking or clarification because I already paid for April. Office replied to email on 6/25/14, stating that yes invoice in March did include April bill but by the time I made payment further charges were incurred so payment was applied to those further charges and if I go on my account online I will see how payment was applied. I then called office and spoke to someone about my situation, she took my message and told me that accountant will contact me. Accountant contacted me and left a message stating that payment was received after further actions were already taken therefore payment was applied to those charges so April payment was never paid. Basically I made a payment based on an invoice I received and according to that invoice I was still within the payment window, however, further action was still taken and when my payment was applied differently from what the invoice stated there was no further documentation explaining how my payment was applied and an April bill was never sent separately so I was unaware of the bill. I cannot pay a bill I am unaware of and I needed a summary of changes to my charges since they are stating now that is in fact what happened. As far as I am aware I paid my account in full because I paid within the 15day grace period and charges were applied wrongfully applied to my account. I am contacting the Revdex.com because I have contacted company several times and I am still being told the same thing, yet none of them seem to want to understand my point. Please help, I would like to have this matter taken care off. thanks Desired Settlementupdate my account to current status because my payment was made on time. My next quarterly bill should be the July bill due in July, which I have not received yet. Business Response We are very sorry the owner's experience with our firm has not been to their satisfaction; however, I do believe our office has not failed in its execution of their association's policy. Collection issues are, by nature, emotionally charged as owner's unintentionally become delinquent and are frustrated with the resulting actions and costs.I will respond to this complaint by explaining the time line of the events and the correspondence between the owner and our office.The owner's Homeowner Association collects assessments quarterly (January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1) with them being delinquent if not received by the 15th of that month. Delinquent accounts incur a $10.00 monthly late fee each month they are outstanding.The owner received several pieces of correspondence regarding the dues for January 2014:-Nov 2013, notice of the 2014 assessment issued-Jan 15, 2014, late notice issued. Notices encourage owner to contact our office and provide information on paying by e-check or credit card.-Feb 15, 2nd late notice issued with same information.-March 5, April quarterly billing statement issued, stating the owner's delinquent balance at the time of the mailing ($109) plus the April quarterly assessment ($89) for a total of $198.-Mar 17, demand letter issued, noted a balance of $179 ($109 balance plus $10 March late fee and $60 demand letter cost) and clearly did not have the April assessment.The letter contained the verbiage: "You can avoid the payment of additional administrative fees and attorney's fees by paying the outstanding balance within fifteen days from the date of the mailing of this letter." The demand letter also states, "If you wish to discuss this matter, including the possibility of a payment plan, please contact the Accounting Department at XXX-XXX-XXXX or at the email address below within 15 days."*The owner made no payment nor contacted our office prior to March 24.-March 24, owner made a credit card payment of $198 (the March 5 billing statement) but ignored the March 17 demand letter.*The March 24 payment resulted in a credit balance of $-19 through March 31. When the April assessment of $89 was charged on April 1 the balance became $70.*In the complaint the owner states "...I thought everything was current until July bill. I did not receive any other information from Charleston management." This contention is not accurate.-April, late notice issued on the $70 balance-May, late notice issued*The owner did not respond to either late notice prior to receiving the June demand letter.-June, demand letter issued-June 25, 12:09 AM, Owner sent email to our office.-June 25, 9:10 AM, ten minutes after opening the office the email was responded to-June 25, Owner the called our office and left a voicemail-June 25, Accounting Director returned voicemail within several hours and left voicemail-June 25, 7:26 PM, owner sent another email-June 25, at some point during the day the owner submitted Revdex.com complaint before speaking with Accounting Director-June 26, morning, owner made several calls to office-June 26, 11:10 AM, Accounting Director responded to calls and left voicemail stating she would be available again June 27-June 27, voicemail for Accounting Director -June 27, morning, Accounting Director returned voicemail and spoke to the owner. After explaining the timeline of collection events the matter was quickly resolved wherein, as a good faith gesture, our office agreed to waive late fees and the June demand letter charge and the owner paid the outstanding assessments. Our office provides a password secured website where owner's can access their accounts so they can see any and all activity. The owner has registered for the site and is able to view their account online anytime they choose. At the time they made payment the owner was able to access their account to see the balance. Our office has provided the owner the opportunity and the tools for them to know, at any time, their account's activity.We are very sorry that this incident has occurred and wish for the owner to avoid the same in the future. We encourage the owner to view their accounts online so they know exactly what is owed. Considering our attempts to respond to the owner resulted in voicemails, we do not believe the owner gave us the opportunity to resolve this matter before they submitted the Revdex.com complaint the very same day they first attempted contact with our office. On that basis alone we believe the complaint should be dismissed.Consumer Response I have spoken with the company since then, and although my conversation with the account director was reasonable. I believe that I kept getting the run around until this complaint was filed. Actually, while speaking with one of the representatives of the firm and asking several questions before she would switch me to voicemail. She raised her voice several times and then switched me to voicemail anyways while I was asking her to watch her tone while speaking with me. I do not believe that, that one representatives actions reflect everyone else in that office because everyone else has been very polite to me. I do ask the association to make a change in the way the billing is made. If a late charge has been charged and payment has been made, maybe a receipt of payment and how payment was applied should be sent out to homeowner so that such situations could be avoided in the future. I wanted to write once a resolutions was made to dismiss the case, however, I wanted to wait just to be sure that retaliation was not taken against me. I do not believe that it is coincidental that I received two letters of violation, the next day after speaking with the accountant. I will dismiss the case, since a resolutions has been made and I already made payment on the account. I urge that association to remember that they are dealing with human beings who care about their property as well, and when a problem occurs do not easily dismiss people but to try to solve the problem along with them. Thank you,

Employing Incorrigiable Representatvies. Who choose to follow whatever guidelines they see fit.We have 2 HOA dues that we pay to Charleston Management. I received an email that one of my accounts was past due on 11/22. Advising I had 15days to comply. My wife called on 12/3/2013 at 11:45 am and was advised not only was this account past due but on another account it was past due and now a lien was placed on our property. My wife was then transferred to a Representative that could not answer a basic question as to why one account is receiving emails about being past due and the other is not. Representative immediately became defensive and told my wife "she was not the owner of the property so she was not going to discuss anything with her". My wife stated to her she was authorized and she needed to check the records and answer the question. The representative was on speakerphone. So I witnessed her nasty, crude and unprofessional behavior. My wife did not swear or personally disrespect this young lady. My wife did became upset only because the representative refused to help and answer a very important question about the email notification. This not at all to say we do not owe the money. We actually had no idea this was not paid. I mailed a payment back in September to clear the payment and any late fees. Just as we reacted quickly to the email about our monthly account being past due, we would have done the same for this account that now has a balance of $444.00 from $292.00. Due to the way we travel, if a payment that we sent out was not received and if email notifications are suppose to be sent on both accounts. Then we would have known this prior to being forwarded to an attorney and placing a lien on our property. My wife is never able to receive any type of customer service or assistance from Charleston management. She is authorized to speak on the account. I added her in addition to the fact this is her home as well. My wife also left a message for supervisor to call back concerning the matter and has not received a call back. The website states "Unlike other HOA management companies in the Raleigh-Durham area, when you call the Charleston Management Corporation, you'll speak to a highly-trained and motivated staff member." This is absolutely false!Desired SettlementI am asking for a refund of these legal fees of $102.00 that again could have been avoided if the same procedure that was used on [redacted] place account were used on [redacted] place account. Business Response We are very sorry the owner's experience with our firm has not been to his satisfaction; however, I do believe our office has not failed in its execution of his association's policy or in our interactions with his wife. Collection issues are, by nature, emotionally charged as owner's unintentionally become delinquent and are frustrated with the resulting actions and costs.I will respond to this complaint in two parts; first the owner's delinquent account situation followed by the accusations in the complaint.Delinquent Accounts:The owner's home belongs to two Associations, the [redacted], [redacted] Place HOA which has semi-annual dues due January 1st and July 1st and the Sub-Association has monthly dues due the first of each month. The owner purchased the property in March 2010 and has been consistently late with payments to both accounts for which our office has consistently sent late notices and demand letters. Supporting documentation can be provided. One of the statements is that our office follows whatever guidelines we see fit. I assure you this could not be further from the truth as we take our role very seriously in the collection process and do not submit someone for collection without following stringent policy. The collection policy has always been the same for each association the owner is a member of along with 90% of all others we manage. The first month an owner is delinquent a late notice is mailed, the second month delinquent a late notice is mailed, the third month delinquent a demand letter is mailed and emailed (if we have a valid email address) and the fourth month the file is turned over to the attorney for collections. For the account at [redacted] Place HOA that was sent to the attorney for collection, after two late notices our office mailed a demand letter on 9/22/13 and emailed the same demand letter on 9/25/13, since there was no response to the demand letter the account was turned over to the attorney for collection on 10/22/13. For the account for the sub-Association The [redacted] at [redacted] Place after two late notices a demand letter was mailed on 11/22/13 and emailed on 11/26/13.Our office provides a password secured website where owner's can access their accounts so they can see any and all activity. The owner has registered for the site and is able to view his account online anytime he chooses. We also provide online payment through credit card which is a fee based option or e-check which is a free option. Our office also offers automatic bank draft where we can draft his dues, both monthly and semi-annual so they would never be delinquent provided the necessary funds are available.I feel our office has provided the owner the opportunity and the tools in order for them to be able to know exactly what is going on with their accounts at any time without having to even contact our office. The owner states they travel, however, as they have access to view and pay their accounts online the owner could have logged on to see the account status. Additionally, if he sent a payment in September that would have been the first physical payment he has issued for an extended period because the owner has been paying by e-check directly to his account. Accusations in the complaint:The owner states that the entire phone call was on speaker phone. However, I question that because if he was and our office questioned if the women on the phone was authorized (as she is not on the account or deed) why didn't he speak up and state who he was and that she had authority to speak to us? In fact, the women who spoke to our office initially identified herself as the actual owner (assuming she felt his name may be considered male or female) and didn't even give her name. We knew immediately that she was not the owner as he is a very well known [redacted].The accounts receivable representative did her best to try to explain the situation and go over the account information but she was continually interrupted and talked over so that she really could not get the information across. The owner's wife became very confrontational and was accusing our office of not properly sending notification and stating we were not doing our job, etc. She also called my staff derogatory names and my representative did get frustrated because she was not allowed to fully explain the situation without being interrupted or told she was doing her job wrong. The owner's wife ended the conversation by saying that my representative "was special" and she wanted to be transferred to the supervisor's voicemail. I am the supervisor and I did return the voicemail the morning of December 4th. I left a voice mail at phone number supplied wherein I asked them to contact me to discuss the matter.The legal fees will not be refunded as our office followed the collection procedure for the Association. The owner had proper notification of the dues and had notification when the dues were delinquent. The owner also has access to the website where he can view his account and pay at any time. The owner still owes for accrued legal fees because when he made a payment on the account not all legal fees were posted. He is aware of this because his wife stated she received the lien letter from the attorney which had the total amount owed included in the letter. We are very sorry that this incident has occurred and wish for the owner to avoid same in the future. We encourage the owner to become current on both accounts and then set up automatic draft for each of them to avoid any chance of being delinquent in the future.