E. V. Bishoff Company

We have received the complaint filed by Mr [redacted] of [redacted] and l haveinvestigated the same and can offer you the following information [redacted] is a tenant on the 12th floor of a 21-story building located in downtown Pittsburgh.A large investment is being made in the Investment Building that includes the installation ofentirely new elevator equipment that will service the buildingAs you can imagine, this work isextensive, time consuming and expensiveBelow are the events and conversations that havetaken place betw**n [redacted] and E.VBishoff Company over the months this project hasb**n in progress: [redacted] expressed concerns with some of the elevators being shut down or takenout of serviceCity Manager [redacted] sat down with [redacted] to explain the timeline and processof repairs so he was aware of what the project would entail [redacted] explained that E.VBishoff Company was fully modernizing the elevators,not just repairing themWe would be employing service elevators to k**p clients, andtenants moving during the time the main elevators were being worked upon and wealso had elevator operators available to provide continual service.l [redacted] left this m**ting appreciative of being kept up to date and informedOver the next few w**ks, [redacted] would express frustration with the projectE.V.Bishoff Company offered to move [redacted] to one of our other buildings inthe downtown, where rent is more expensive, but we would not be increasing his rent[redacted] passed on this offer [redacted] countered by asking if he could move to a smaller suite on the same floor toreduce his rentThis signaled to this office that his frustration was not so much With theelevator modernization project, but that his true motivation was more in line with a n**dor desire to reduce his overall rent structureE.VBishoff Company offered to move [redacted] to a smaller, lessexpensive suite in the Investment Building if we could find a replacement tenant for hiscurrent space [redacted] passed on this offerTo provide better service and to insure the elevator modernization project moved alongin an expeditious manner, the elevator company we contracted with moved theirdowntown office into the Investment Building so the Project would continue to runsmoothly and operate efficientlyWhen [redacted] voiced his continued concern, E.VBishoff Company offered onceagain to move his officeWe also offered him 50% more space than he was currentlyoccupying on a pro bono basis if he wanted to relocate [redacted] passed on this offer.During these w**ks and months, existing leases are being renewed and existing clientscontinue to expand in the Investment BuildingIn 2017, we saw lease renewals and 11new leasesTo date in 2018, we have lease renewals and new leasesThis suggests tous that our actions of k**ping tenants informed as to the investment being made in theInvestment Building along with the management of the elevators and the building as a wholeis being viewed as being not only adequate but as responsive and actually driving newbusiness into the buildingwhile maintaining the existing client base in the buildingPlease f**l fr [redacted] to contact me should you have any further questions.Deborah D**Legal Administrator

The case has not been closedThe video footage for that date has not yet been releasedYour company linked the two parties together but failed to provide the evidenceI've sent emails, the company [redacted] have sent emails and we have not received any responseEmail sent 02/02/16, 02/09/16, 02/19,No responseHow can a case close if you are not assisting with providing the evidence? That was the only thing we asked of your company, [redacted] has no problem working with me but we need the video footage

Dear Dispute Resolution Officer:We are in receipt of the subject claimWhat occurred in the Hamilton Garage is one parking client said that another parking client bumped into his vehicle while parked in the garageHe called our office and we pulled up the footage from our camerasWe were unable
to ascertain an actual hit of one vehicle into another, but we were able to isolate which van the one client indicated hit himOur solution was to put the people involved together to identify what happened and to work it outIt would seem that by investigating their respective cars it would be possible to determine what took placeAdditionally, I am told that a Police report was filed that should be of some assistance. All cars that come into the garage do so at their own risk and we feel we have complied with all reasonable expectations in this situationHaving said that, we are happy to do more if it is required, but at this point we don’t know what else we could doTherefore, we feel that this matter has been properly addressed and closed

Good afternoon, per our conversation, attached is the summary of the incident and the snapshot. Thanks,Marianne

We have received the complaint filed by Mr. [redacted] of [redacted] and l haveinvestigated the same and can offer you the following information. [redacted] is a tenant on the 12th floor of a 21-story building located in downtown Pittsburgh.A large investment is being made in the...

Investment Building that includes the installation ofentirely new elevator equipment that will service the building. As you can imagine, this work isextensive, time consuming and expensive. Below are the events and conversations that havetaken place betw**n [redacted] and E.V. Bishoff Company over the months this project hasb**n in progress:. [redacted] expressed concerns with some of the elevators being shut down or takenout of service. . City Manager [redacted] sat down with [redacted] to explain the timeline and processof repairs so he was aware of what the project would entail.. [redacted] explained that E.V. Bishoff Company was fully modernizing the elevators,not just repairing them. We would be employing service elevators to k**p clients, andtenants moving during the time the main elevators were being worked upon and wealso had elevator operators available to provide continual service.l. [redacted] left this m**ting appreciative of being kept up to date and informed.. Over the next few w**ks, [redacted] would express frustration with the project. E.V.Bishoff Company offered to move [redacted] to one of our other buildings inthe downtown, where rent is more expensive, but we would not be increasing his rent.[redacted] passed on this offer.. [redacted] countered by asking if he could move to a smaller suite on the same floor toreduce his rent. This signaled to this office that his frustration was not so much With theelevator modernization project, but that his true motivation was more in line with a n**dor desire to reduce his overall rent structure.. E.V. Bishoff Company offered to move [redacted] to a smaller, lessexpensive suite in the Investment Building if we could find a replacement tenant for hiscurrent space. [redacted] passed on this offer.. To provide better service and to insure the elevator modernization project moved alongin an expeditious manner, the elevator company we contracted with moved theirdowntown office into the Investment Building so the Project would continue to runsmoothly and operate efficiently.. When [redacted] voiced his continued concern, E.V. Bishoff Company offered onceagain to move his office. We also offered him 50% more space than he was currentlyoccupying on a pro bono basis if he wanted to relocate. [redacted] passed on this offer.During these w**ks and months, existing leases are being renewed and existing clientscontinue to expand in the Investment Building. In 2017, we saw 22 lease renewals and 11new leases. To date in 2018, we have 5 lease renewals and 2 new leases. This suggests tous that our actions of k**ping tenants informed as to the investment being made in theInvestment Building along with the management of the elevators and the building as a wholeis being viewed as being not only adequate but as responsive and actually driving newbusiness into the building. while maintaining the existing client base in the building. Please f**l fr** to contact me should you have any further questions.Deborah D**Legal Administrator

The case has not been closed. The video footage for that date has not yet been released. Your company linked the two parties together but failed to provide the evidence. I've sent emails, the company [redacted] have sent emails and we have not received any response. Email sent 02/02/16, 02/09/16, 02/19,2016. No response. How can a case close if you are not assisting with providing the evidence? That was the only thing we asked of your company, [redacted] has no problem working with me but we need the video footage.

Review: E. V. Bishoff Company has turned the heat(gas lines) off in our offices. I sent them an email on 4/13 that our heat was not working. On 4/15 I was sent an email by the office admin that the issue would be forwarded to the building maintenance. On 4/16 the office Admin sent another email stating "The heat has been turned off for the cooling season." I still have no heat and have never heard from the maintenance person ([redacted])The temperature still drops into the 30's and 40's this time of year and it is not the decision of the landlord to decide weather or not we have heat.Desired Settlement: Turn the heat back on

Business

Response:

The customer has a lease contract with [redacted] Properties Inc., managed by E.V. Bishoff Company, to rent warehouse storage space. He does not have a lease with City Properties Inc. for offices or office space. In said lease there exists a clause that states the premises are “to be used and occupied only for the storage and recycling of computer equipment and related computer system refurbishing activities.” The lease does not state that the Lessor will provide for heat. As such, our company maintains only that heat to keep pipes from freezing. The clause is clear and outlines that the lessee is to use the premises as warehouse storage and no provision has been made for its use as office space nor for the provision of heat.

Review: I am renting a house from the company. They have failed to address serious issues with the house I am renting. I notified them of issues when I moved into the house back in March of 2014. One of the main issues is a severe mice infestation that they refuse to address. I decided to with hold rent payments starting in July of 2014 and put the money in an escrow account until the issues were addressed and fixed. I informed them that I would be terminating my lease as of August 31st, 2014 if the issues were not fixed. The issues have not been address. Today, they made an unauthorized charge against my bank account.Desired Settlement: I want all the money refunded back to my that was charged illegally. Furthermore, I want my security deposit refunded to me.

Business

Response:

The customer is making false accusations. At the time she wrote the complaint, our company had recently notified her, and the personal guarantor on her lease, that her file was being sent to our legal counsel to collect their unpaid rent balance.

The customer signed her lease on February 25, 2014. The term of the lease was from March 1, 2014 through February 28, 2016. At the time of the lease signing, the customer signed-up for her rent payments to be automatically deducted from her bank account by our company on the first of every month. Further, she signed-up for her MasterCard credit card to be automatically debited if the funds were insufficient in her bank account.

The customer’s financial troubles quickly became apparent. The first rent payment was scheduled to be automatically deducted from the customer’s bank account on March 1, 2014. On February 28, 2014, the customer contacted our company needing to pay by money order because there was going to be insufficient funds in her bank account which she attributed to her “ex-husband”. She did not actually pay the first month’s rent until 3 weeks later on March 20, 2014.

The customer did not begin to make complaints against the company until after she felt she was no longer financially able to afford the premises. After moving in to the premises, the customer submitted her move-in inventory checklist. She did not mention any of the issues listed in her complaint to the Revdex.com on her move-in checklist. In fact, on the checklist she noted next to nearly every area in the house that it was in “Great Condition”.

However, a short four months into the lease, she contacted our company on July 14, 2014, asking to terminate the lease early. Her rent payment had been returned for insufficient funds and she owed a total of $1,142.40. She had not made any complaints regarding maintenance or any other issues to our company prior to that date. In her email dated July 14, 2014 she states, “There are a few reasons why I need to terminate early, but the main reason is that I am a single mom and I can’t afford to heat the house in the winter. It is over 800 for a fill and I would be filling the tank every 2 months because of keeping the house warm for my newborn. I tried to get heating help from the state and I don’t qualify.” Our company responded sympathetically to her financial difficulties and let her know that she could send a letter giving us permission to re-lease the premises and we would work quickly to find a new tenant, but that she was responsible for her lease until a lease with a new tenant for the place was signed. By this point, since she was already behind on her rent payments our company contacted her personal guarantor on the lease, her mother.

On July 16, 2014 the customer wrote another email stating, “I spoke with my mother today, it seems there is a little bit of a misunderstanding somewhere. I will be paying the rent this month I just have to wait until I get paid. Ever since I was in the hospital for my daughter I haven’t been able to get caught up. I also wanted to mention that the reasons I want to get out of the house isn’t just that I can’t afford it. There are other reasons as well…” The tenant then for the first time makes the complaints that she made in her letter to the Revdex.com, after she was behind in rent and notified that she would be held responsible for the lease until a new tenant was found. Our maintenance person immediately tried to contact the customer in order to inspect the premises and respond to her concerns. He called, emailed, and even left notes on the door, but the customer would not respond. Finally, when the customer allowed him to enter the premises, there was no evidence of any mice anywhere. As a precaution, the maintenance person placed sticky and batted traps throughout the premises. No evidence of any mice has ever been found. The maintenance person corrected and repaired every valid issue that was brought to his attention. However, some of the complaints in the customer’s email upon investigation could not be substantiated.

In the meantime, the customer’s neighbors had been making calls to the local police department complaining that her dogs were barking incessantly and creating a disturbance. She was never there and had presumably already moved in with her boyfriend which is where we were told she currently resides.

Through the remainder of August our maintenance man continued to try to contact the customer and made repeated offers to inspect and repair any problems with the premises. She would not respond to his messages and was not at the premises. We even offered to send an exterminator to appease her, but she did not respond to attempts to make arrangements.

Finally, our maintenance person was able to catch-up to her while she was vacating the premises on September 1, 2014. She gave him permission to do an inspection. Upon his inspection, he discovered that there was no propane left in the tank. She was also 3 months behind in her rent.

As of September 9, 2014, she still has items in the premises including large furniture. We have sent a letter of abandonment to her and submitted her file to our legal counsel to collect the unpaid rent balance. This is an unfortunate situation of a customer and a personal guarantor entering a lease agreement, defaulting on the agreement by non-payment, and then trying get out of their responsibility under the lease agreement by making false accusations.

Consumer

Response:

There is no further action required on your part. I wanted to document the problems presented and let others know not to deal with this company. My lawyer will advise me from this point forward.