Dabco Property Management

Review: This complain is in regards to [redacted] at Birch Hill Apartments. I moved out on 6/17/2013. [redacted] is charging me $743.07 to replace the vinyl in the master bedroom. The invoice they sent to me stated the total cost to replace just the master bedroom was $1,109.05. When I spoke to the office manager at the main [redacted] office she said that the $743.07 was for 67% of the total cost to replace the vinyl in the master bedroom. When I moved into the apartment the vinyl flooring in the whole apartment was not new and had wear and tear which I noted on my move-in-checklist. On my move-in-checklist I marked that the flooring in the master bedroom was not okay. According to the Washington State Renter laws RCW 59.18.260, "No such deposit shall be withheld on account of normal wear and tear resulting from ordinary use of the premises." While I did provide [redacted] with a copy of my move-in-checklist signed and dated by myself, I never received a copy with notes they made on my move-in-checklist about the condition of the apartment when I moved in. When I spoke to the office manager at the main [redacted] office to find out if they took into consideration my move-in-checklist and that I lived in the apartment for three years when charging me to replace the floor that was well worn when I moved in, she told me that she did not have my file and that she would get my file from Birch Hills and review my checklist. She then called me back and left a message saying that she was sending me pictures and a receipt that should clear up why I was charged for the flooring. The pictures I received didn't state where in the apartment they were taken. The copy of the invoice they sent to me says they repaired a seam in the hall to bedroom three at no charge. I lived in a two bedroom apartment. I'm not even sure that the invoice belongs to the apartment I lived in because there is no bedroom number three. [redacted] needs to consider my move- in-checklist and that I lived in the apartment for three years according to renter laws.Desired Settlement: I would like the vinyl replacement charges dropped. I would like a copy of the move-in-checklist with the notes the office manager made when I moved in, in accordance to Washington State Law RCW 59.18.260. I would like a break down on how [redacted] came up with charging me 67% of the flooring cost and a detailed receipt that says the cost of the vinyl per square foot, since the master bedroom is 126 square feet. I would also like to know why the invoice I recieved had a bedroom number three listed?

Business

Response:

[redacted], I am writing to respond to the case number listed above. I have mailed the move out information to you as of 12/29/13. In it is a copy of all work that was need to restore this apartment for [redacted]. [redacted] has been sent copies as well.

Response to Desired Settlement:

We will not be refunding the cost of the vinyl. The damage is clearly visible in the pictures. Flooring is based on a ten year prorate. This floor is 3 years old so the damage charge to the tenant was 67% of the total cost. The explanation on the miss print of “bedroom 3” is also included from [redacted].

In this packet is a copy of the original Property Condition Report with the comments made that she is requesting.

Please feel free to forward this packet of information to the tenant, all originals are in her permanent file at the [redacted] office for her review.

Sincerely,

Review: On July 3rd I recieved a bill dated and post marked June 26th I received a $300.88 bill for damages done to my old apartment. And today, 10 days later I was told that the bill is in collections because it has been unpaid for more than 14 days.

I have multiple issues with this, obviously it is not even old enough to put to collections. Also, I believe the damages to be grossly inflated and much higher than fair market value. The damages were from normal wear and tear; while a few was from hanging TV's. Apparently, that damage totals $1100 worth of work and cleaning for DABCO; who stated "multiple large patches"Desired Settlement: I want a few things:

The bill to be adjusted to it more accurately reflects the true repair costs.

An immediate cancellation of all debt to collectors, and letters sent to credit bureaus.

A letter sent to my federal employers office stating the debt was incorrectly sent to collections.

This is putting my job at risk, I am pursuing a few more avenues for resolution.

Business

Response:

[redacted] ~

I apologize as I misspoke in the message I left you yesterday regarding your account.

Your security deposit settlement statement was mailed on 6/26/15 and if the balance is unpaid after 14 days your

file is sent to our in-house collection office. It is not sent to an outside collection agency unless our people are

unable to secure payment.

Please put your specific concerns regarding your deposit settlement in writing so that I can research and address them.

You can send me an email or send a letter to me at:

[redacted]

Again, please accept my apology for giving you incorrect information regarding your account.

Sincerely,

Property Manager

Providence Court Apartments

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received, your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Revdex.com,

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

I sent a response email 5 days ago listing the grievances I have with their damage assessment. However, they have yet to respond to my email. I believe that they are hoping to tell me that the debt being "wiped" and me oweing $0 is sufficient. But I know that there was not $1100 in damages to the apartment. When I get access to a scanner I will scan the photos of damage sent to me so that you will also be able to see it was just small spackle marks and scuffs to the wall. In addition, they took ~$200 for not having plastic blinds dry cleaned. Which I beleieved to be an error in the lease because you don't get plastic blinds dry cleaned.

Review: To Whom It May Concern,I suspect my story is like so many before me. I lived at Aspen Village apartments for one year from May 2012 to May 2013. During that year, I was hardly ever there, so when I left, the apartment was basically in the exact same condition as it was when I moved in.When I moved out, however, I went through the apartment with the condition report that they provided and meticulously restored the apartment as closely as possible to its original state. I spent over 12 hours cleaning and I didnt miss anything! All of the areas they list on the condition report as areas commonly missed were my highest priority. I even found areas in that apartment that hadnt been attended to in years, and cleaned them. When I was done, I took pictures of the apartment and all of the areas that were the most time consuming. The apartment was clean when I moved in, but it was 100 times cleaner when I moved out. It was immaculate!Imagine my surprise when I discovered that they had deducted $137.00 in cleaning fees from my security deposit, a total of 5 hours of labor. I have several years of experience in property management working in the hospitality industry, and I knew that was impossible. Even on the off chance that I missed some small detail, there was no way a two person team would have needed to spend 5 hours of combined labor, or even hour for that matter. Furthermore, they were unable to provide any evidence that it actually took that amount of time. After pleading my case with the apartment manager, their motives became clear. They never had any intentions of returning my full security deposit to begin with.I insisted that they refund the money. At first they refused, but even after pressing the issue, and providing them with the pictures I took, they only agreed to return half of the charges, and they did so reluctantly. Its not about the money though. Its about integrity, decency and respect. These people dont show any indications that they possess these values. I am submitting this letter to the Revdex.com because I believe this organization has deceived a lot of people in this community. I am not the first and I wont be the last.Finally, there is one other issue worth mentioning. They claim that they sent me a portion of my deposit back and it never arrived. After waiting several weeks, they are now telling me that in order to reissue the check; they are going to charge me a ridiculous $50 fee. I have no way to confirm how often that happens. I only mention this in the event that other people come forward under similar suspicious circumstances.In conclusion, it is my opinion that DABCO Property Management is an unethical organization, with business practices that lack moral fortitude. They continuously charge each new resident for years worth of natural wear and tear on the apartment that no reasonable person would even consider mentioning on a condition report when they initially move in. They deliberately exploit these oversights as a basis for charging excessive and unjust cleaning fees in order to make a profit, without actually making any changes to the condition of the apartment. This intentional deception is a practice otherwise known as Fraud. I want to encourage everyone and anyone who has had a similar experience with this company to come forward, contact the Revdex.com and tell your story. It needs to be heard. Sincerely, Previous Aspen Village Resident (Apt. [redacted]; 5/2012-5/2013)Desired Settlement: I want $317.14 (this includes the $179.64 they originally owed me and the $137.50 cleaning fees that they charged, without the $50 reissue fee). In addition, I want them to initiate a policy that allows all residents to have the chance to challenge any charges before they are applied, allowing the residents to have a chance to see for themselves specifically what they are actually being charged for and give them the opportunity to resolve any issues before fees are applied.

Business

Response:

In response. I have looked at the complaint and file for Mr. [redacted] In looking at his move in property condition report he stated "Very Clean-Thank You!" "The livingroom carpet is slightly worn in a couple of spots, hardly worth mentioning." "There is a small ding on the master bedroom door, barely noticeable but worth mentioning." All of the boxes for each items was marked "ok". I would be happy to provide this information to your office, Mr. [redacted] already has a copy of the report. At move out the cleaning inspector, on the same report, noted several things not ok which means they needed to be cleaned. Dabco paid the cleaning crew for 5.5 hours of time to clean this apartment. In trying to work with Mr. [redacted] our cleaning supervisor reduced the hours for Mr. [redacted] to 3, a loss to Dabco of 2.5 hrs. There was definately more than 3 hours of time spent to bring this apartment back to standard. In looking at all of the charges for this apartment Mr. [redacted] was charged for 1 appliance bulb, and 2 burner trays and only $15.00 for maintenance time. He was NOT charged for any "normal wear and tear" items. They are listed on the move out sheet, but no charges were past on.

We mailed Mr. [redacted]'s move out refund to [redacted]. This is another Dabco Property which just opened in March. I must admit that we have had problems with the USPO trying to get them to deliver mail at this new address. When I checked with the Post Office, for our tenants, they told me they were holding all of the mail until they could get someone to deliver and get locks on the mailboxes. I tried for 4 months to get them to deliver. I have no idea where Mr. [redacted]'s check is at this time. It was mailed out the middle of May. Since we don't have the check in hand, I have go to the bank and do a "stop payment". This is a charge that is passed on to us from the bank which is passed on to the tenant. This is a standard charge whenever we need to do this process for whatever the reason.

I will be happy to provide any additional information if need.

Dabco Property Management

Consumer

Response:

DABCO has a two person team and charged me over 5 hours of labor to do what exactly? It was a completely empty apartment in pristine condition. They have yet to provide any evidence that there was anything left to do in that apartment that required more than a few minutes to complete. Moreover, there are no indications that they made further improvements to the condition of the apartment beyond what I had already done. I have pictures of everything that took any significant amount of time at all.

Review: charged $750 to paint 75% of the apartment (of the same color) and to wash the blinds. 10 days after receiving notice, the bill was filed to collections

Business

Response:

05/04/15 chk# [redacted] - May prorated rent 191.00 382.00

06/01/15 Pro-rated June rent ~ 15 days 382.00 764.00

06/25/15 Maintenance 35735 15.00 779.00

06/25/15 Maintenance Supplies 35735 90.00 869.00

06/25/15 Cleaning 6 hrs 150.00 1,019.00

06/25/15 Carpet Cleaning 134.00 1,153.00

06/25/15 75% full repaint (multiple large patches 361.88 1,514.88

06/26/15 :Deposit Credit -450.00 1,064.88

06/26/15 Last Month's Rent Credit -764.00 300.88

This is what these tenants were charged. I'm very confused by his numbers and what he thinks he they were charged. We have apologized for the mistake on saying we turned it over to collections. That was just a case of wrong apt. #. At this point, this apartment HAS NOT been turned over to collections. These charges stand.