Dear Mr***,
I am responding on behalf of Mr*** Gassen
We have reached out to the Homeowner, requesting a face to face meeting with myself and MrTim *** our Director of Operations. It is tentatively scheduled for Friday, June 3rd at 1:pm. The Homeowner wants to conduct this via conference call and we have asked the Homeowner to come to our office to meet with us to review his complaint
Management is waiting for a response from the Homeowner. You can contact me directly in the future if you prefer, n***@gassen.com or ###-###-####. Thank youNancy ***, CMCA, AMS
Gassen Company
I am rejecting this response because:
The answer is not satisfactory and full of inaccuracies because
Nancy just took over the account from someone that I corresponded with on this
issueFirst there was only one dog in the rental house that’s subject to this
complaintThe dogs were in another unit and were satisfactorily removed from
the premises by the deadline that was givenOne of the tenants was unable to
get one dog out by the deadline and I agreed to pay the $fine for one dog as
in the Association RulesThe Board President knows that and that’s why they
billed me $for June of and I paid itGassen applied the dog payment
to another house even when there were sufficient instructions to apply the
funds to pay the dog fineIf there were dogs they would have billed for $
but they billed me $
I have provided evidence to Gassen showing that there was
never a meeting that approved the change from $per dog per month to $
and $which was billed to my accountIf the reason Gassen charged two and
three hundred fine was based number of dogs we can verify that there was one
tiny dog and come to the same conclusion that Gassen is responsible for legal
fees
My account would not have been past due if Gassen had used
my dog fines and applied it to the rightful account and if Gassen had not
continuous continued to put late fees on my account before the payment due date
of the 15thThe late fees were reversed because they were wrongly
charged; the misallocated payments for fines need to be applied to the right
accountFor June and July I paid $per month with instruction to pay the
$fine for the dog and $for dues per unitThe dog was removed at the
end of August and I authorized the Board to verify and they didMy total fines
are $for June, July and August
Please provide a copy of the rules that were used to charge
me more than $per monthI don’t want to repeat myself, but without the
negligence of Gassen for billing me late fees at the wrong time and the
misallocation of the dog fine payment to a wrong account which made the subject
property appear to have a $balance instead of the correct $there would
never have been a need to take my account to collection
I also requested a detailed invoice from your attorney showing
the work they performed for $1,in their collection effortsAs you know
these are Gassen affiliates
I am available to discuss this matter with Gassen and I
think a conference call would serve better to try and come to a resolution
Nancy is new to this whole thing and I sympathize with her
I will accept a response when the meeting has taken place
and when a resolution has been achieved
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2014/10/30) */
I am writing to respond to the claims made by Mr*** in his letter to your agency regarding ***
First of all Gassen is the managing agent for the Jonathan Association and one of our contractual
obligations is
to collect the duesWe send statements, collection letters to all accounts which show a balance dueAs of October 27, ***'s account has a balance due of $This is for dues from -to current
Secondly, yes there was a lawsuit that was resolved in November A copy of the settlement agreement is enclosed for your referenceThis agreement was mailed to all the residents in the Jonathan with a request for payment back in Mr*** has not made any payments on his account to date which has resulted in the account being delinquentMr*** is correct that all monies owed before were to be forgiven and they have beenSee enclosed ledgersHe is only being billed for current
Thirdly, he references Gittleman Company being responsible for resolving this issue unfortunately,Gittleman has not managed the Jonathan since so this would explain why they were unable to assist him and since this lawsuit was not settled until there could be no attempt to collect until after this time periodThat being said we have made attempts to collect the outstanding balance since 2013, nearly years and have yet to receive any payment
Another allegation that Mr*** makes is that he spoke to me in January and February of I
don't recall any messages or inquiries from him(All our calls are logged and was unable to find any from Mr***)Most importantly, just became the Property Manager for this Association in August of so I would not have been the point of ContactMr*** also makes reference to contacting my supervisor, a man, and indicated that neither he nor I responded again, I was not the manager at this time and do not recall hearing from Mr***
Lastly, in regards to Mr***' s requested resolution I will be calling Mr*** to explain why he has a balance due which does include the adjustments per the settlement agreement and that a lack of response does not negate his responsibility to pay his duesI don't feel that the late fees should be
waived as the account is in severe arrears
In closing, I believe that I have proven that Mr***'s claim is unwarranted and should be discardedThank you for your consideration
Regards,
*** *** ***
Gassen Company
________________
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 9, 2014/10/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I have left *** a voicemail not having any idea why she would not call me after responding to this complaintShe makes any number of incorrect statements
I received a letter from *** *** at Gittleman Management in November of regarding the lawsuit settlement, but *** indicates that Gittleman has not managed this since which is obviously erroneous
Obviously if *** just started with Gassen in August 2014, she took over for the person that I was dealing with in January and February and it was this person's manager (the male whose name I do not remember) who I involved and who told me that he would engage her and get it resolvedNever heard from either of them after that message
I have been trying to pay this bill since late and had asked for the balance due incorporating the lawsuit discount when Gittleman was managing the propertyThis was around the time that Gassen took over and I then heard nothing until I received a bill in January I called Gassen and left numerous messages, only to be blown off even after engaging the manager
*** response is incredibly combative when all that I have been asking for is the correct balance due, a breakdown of the fees, and all late fees removed and cannot even get a phone call returned
Since *** is new, hopefully she can resolve this, an issue that has gone on since without resolutionI have left her a voicemail since she did not call me and will wait for her return callUntil I get a response and the requested information, this case should remain open
Final Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2014/11/03) */
I just wanted to follow up with you and let you know that Mr*** and I have resolved his issues and if you note below he's asked that I contact you to let you know about the resolutionI believe that you can close this case as resolved without merit
***
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/27) */
Thank you for reaching out to Gassen Company with your concerns
It is our policy to respond to homeowners and maintenance issues within hoursAll efforts are made to answer any questions or concerns the homeowner may have
Management does not have any documentation of Jeff leaving a message for our office, although we have multiple e-mails which we have responded to, per our policyIn additional to the personal attention to Mr***, we have submitted an average of emails per month to all owners in an effort to keep them informed of various projects
With respect to the door closer, unfortunately it was my misunderstanding of which door had the problemI was under the assumption this door was repaired based on previous work ordersOnce I realized this was a new issue, the work order was placed and fixed the next dayI apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused the homeowner
With respect to the leak, *** Plumbing and Heating was initially contacted on March 12thOn March 13th a tech arrived to investigate the leak which was traced to the above unitThe plumber caulked the effected space as the water could be wicking between the two unitsI was notified on Wednesday, March 18th the area was still leakingOn March 19th the plumber was unable to locate the sourceLate afternoon, Friday, March 20th after entering various units, a temporary patch was madeAt that time Management was informed that the water would need to be shut off for the "plumbing stack" units on Monday, 23rd for approximately hoursAs a result, Management submitted a notification to these homeowners letting them know of the disruption in serviceAs it turned out the water was shut off to many units by *** without notification to ManagementThe repair was made by 2:that afternoon and water was restored
Regarding the A/C chiller being turned on, it is not typical for the chiller to be turned on in the early part of MarchManagement consulted with Air-Tech, a professional H/V/AC company and the Board and based on their recommendations it was decided not to turn on the chillers2-homeowners had issued complaints regarding the temperatures in their unit (during the few days of warm weather); there are units in this community
As management is notified of any maintenance issues, we will assess the problem, notify the proper vendor, acquire approval, if necessary, and follow through with the vendorUnfortunately, management cannot control the scheduling of our vendors although we do put forward our best effort to ensure repairs are made timely
We would like to reiterate Gassen Company's commitment to customer service for all homeowners within the AssociationGassen is preforming per the contract with the Homeowner Association and we will continue to strive to exceed the client's expectationsIn efforts accomplish this we do welcome feedback from all owners
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/04/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Gassen mentions their hour response time in the beginning of their reply to this complaint, but in the past year, I have found they frequently do not respond within hours--sometimes it takes more than two weeks and multiple communication attempts to elicit a replyI have the documentation to back this up
Now that I submitted a Revdex.com complaint after multiple terrible experiences with this company, Gassen then has the rather curious timing of failing to notify me of a water shutoff for a leak I have been reporting and asking about for the previous daysThis shutoff prevented me from showering or even brushing my teeth before leaving on Monday morning
Retaliatory? I just submitted a Revdex.com complaint the previous Thursday
Why would they not simply notify the entire building when there is going to be a water shut off that was scheduled in advance? That is how water shutoffs were handled in this building in the pastNo one is caught by surprise when everyone is notified--but that wouldn't be very retaliatory would it? I've asked around the building but have not been able to find any other residents that were unaware of the shutoffThe readers of this complaint can decide for themselves if this was a retaliatory action by GassenAt the end of the day, how is it possible to trust a company that treats customers like that?
Then there is the mistake noted by Gassen in their response regarding which door needed serviceApparently, I need to re-post all of the communications I have written to GassenIt is extremely unlikely that a competent person would mistake the door I was referring to in the original communication I sentAgain, delays and poor service with nothing but excuses and apologies afterwards--in my experiences, that is the Gassen way
Gassen speaks to the AC chiller not being turned on so earlyThat goes to show they do not understand the building they are managingNormally our chiller is turned on significantly earlier than it was this yearI can also prove that I am not the only resident that had to send requests (for weeks!) to get the system started (I am writing from a four-pipe building--so it's not like they had to turn off the heat)Of course, Gassen knows more about what it is like living here than we (the residents) do--even though they only have one year of "service" on this propertyReally, why would they even care when services get turned on or off? It would seem from my perspective that they are intentionally trying to make life as miserable as possible for residents in lieu of actually doing any timely work
Let's not forget about the door repairs eitherThe original complaint was regarding three problems with an old panic bar--loose and rattling, loud banging when opened, and loss of 90% of the paint due to excessive wear and tearWhat did they do to fix it? They tightened the bar so it doesn't rattle in its frameI suppose I should compliment them for achieving 33% effective serviceYet again, they really stretched themselves to ensure our community has well-maintained common elementsApparently, worn off paint and loud, worn out mechanisms are perfectly acceptable to them--especially when the original complaint notes the chronic loss of sleep this is causing due to the noise in my unit
It looks clear that no amount of writing on the Revdex.com's site is going to change anything with this companyTheir record of complaints (make that now--just in the past three years) with (make that 12) unresolved to customer's satisfaction speaks for itselfI'd call that a pattern of poor customer service--certainly not emblematic of an "A" rated companyConsistent with the chronically lousy service I have experienced
Considering the complaint history, you may wonder why I would even bother to report against Gassen...If you are considering Gassen to "manage" your condo community, I suggest that you run, not walk, to the next available optionI sincerely believe your residents will thank you if they have any idea of what it is like to deal with this company on a regular basis as a customer
Moving forward, I will continue to notify our board of directors of the problems with this "service" company and avail myself of other appropriate avenues to get problems resolvedIn summary, my learned-the-hard-way advice to anyone looking for a management service company would be to avoid Gassen!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/04/14) */
Mr***, while I understand Mr***'s frustration I can assure you that Gassen Management never retaliates! We are here to serve our clients, sometimes situations are out of our control as was the case herePlease advise Mr*** to contact me directly if he has any other challengesI left Mr*** a message weeks ago offering my assistance as well
*** Gassen CEO/Owner of Gassen Management
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/11/14) */
***response has been scanned in and converted to text below (original document is available using the online complaint system)
Gassen Company received the above referenced complaint regarding its management of Countryside West
Condominium Association ("Association")This letter constitutes Gassen's response to Dr***' complaint
Dr*** reside in the Countryside West condominium communityCountryside West is an apartment-style condominiumDr*** greatly oversimplifies the facts of this situation, which began when the owner of the unit below Dr***' unit notified Gassen of water damage to her ceiling, directly below Dr***' bathroomWhile several contractors did inspect Dr***' toilet and bath area, Dr*** misstates the conclusions of the contractor engaged by Gassen to investigate the matterDr*** repeatedly pressed the contractor for a definitive cause of the water damageAs we have advised Dr***, the contractor in fact said that, when he arrived at the property, Dr*** had already removed his toiletThis significantly and adversely affected the contractor's ability to perform diagnostic testing to determine the source of the leak to the unit below, which was also part of the reason the contractor would not state with "100% certainty" (as Dr*** requested) the cause of the leakThe contractor did note that the toilet had been installed (by Dr***) improperlyThe contractor was unwilling to state a definitive cause without completing an exhaustive investigation involving removal of tile and additional fixturesDr*** would not allow the more expansive investigation
Since that time - and since Dr*** filed his complaint - Dr*** scheduled a plumber to put a new toilet in his homeNeither Gassen nor the Association objected to him doing soThe Association intends to do further investigation of the matterTo the extent the damages to the unit below are deemed to be the result of leaks from Dr ***' unit (as we believe to be the case), the costs of repairing that damage will be assessed to Dr***' account with the Association, as permitted under the Association's governing documents and applicable state law
It is unfortunate that Dr*** felt it necessary to file a complaint with your office, particularly since the issue is still under investigationGassen and the Association take his complaints seriously, and take particular exception to his accusations of "harassment" by GassenGassen's intention has always been to determine the cause of the leak and remedy the damage caused by the leakThat remains Gassen's intention
If you have further questions or concerns regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/11/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Toilet still not functional
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/12/04) */
Gassen Company received Dr***' November 24, 2014, response to Gassens response to his the above referenced complaint regarding its management of Countryside West Condominium Association (Association)This letter constitutes Gassens response
Dr***' November 24, 2014, to Gassens initial response was simply, Toilet still not functional." Gassen has never objected to Dr*** installing a toilet in his home (or reinstalling the toilet he removedGassen has now further confirmed with its vendor that there is no reason Dr*** cannot install/reinstall a toilet in his home
Thank you
Very truly yours, ***
*** Attorney at Law
I contacted this association management, (Gassen Companies) about the broken sign at the entrance of the development..After a while I had to contact them again just to hear from the lady, Hmm, We never knew about that problemI notified her this was my second callIt still is broke after several monthsTheir own statement on a piece of their letterhead states: "The Association is committed to maintaining your neighborhood in a manner that is both aesthetically pleasing and protective of property values" They seem to collect the dues from the residents, However, they fail in taking care of such small matterAll these negative reviews show this company is not up to the values and standards of the quality which they appear to mirror on their website and profilesI wish the Gassen Company perform better management practices in the future
I am rejecting this response because: it was not even written by Gassen, it was written by the collection company (lawyer Matthew *** ***This complaint is not against him and it does not address the calculations of the debt with adequate proof of what they are for nor
does it acknowledge or propose a solution or outcomeThe response does defame us with accusations of harassment for using freedom of speech against bullies like his firm and for having the audacity to contact you and other consumer protection agenciesAs Gassen didn't bother to respond to you themselves, you can clearly see that they do not even respect the Revdex.com and what they do for consumers (referring to it as harassment)I am in contact with the MN Lawyers Board of Professional Responsibility and they seem to be interested in how this is taking placeMatthew *** *** retaliated against us for sharing what had happened with you by having us served AGAIN with an amended lawsuit showing A higher amountSo much for Revdex.com protection.
Also Revdex.com why don't you have the legal action against Gassen companies on their page on your site? The United States Justice Department charged them with discrimination and Gassen entered into a consent order LESS THAN A YEAR AGO! Google itHow can they have the Revdex.com rating that you gave them with THAT horrible history?
All Gassen has to do is respond to my complaint and not have someone else write up drivelAlso I would appreciate a solution possibly being presented instead of again more drivel
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2014/04/21) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (full version is available using the online complaint system).
Gassen Management is not responsible to make the rules at the Villages of Eagle Lake. Our role and...
responsibility is to enforce the rules with the homeowners that are made by the association. In the even a renter resides in a unit, it is the responsibility of the renter to identify their concerns with the homeowner who in turn notifies management. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to provide a copy of the Rules and Regulations to their renters for compliance. The section of the rules for winter parking is printed twice in the manual to ensure all residents understand the guidelines. It is provided below for your reference.
Winter Parking: Any vehicle in violation of these rules may cause the snow removal contractor to cease plowing in the area. This is unacceptable and the vehicle may be towed without notice. We are not eager to tow any vehicles. It is important to allow the plows to get into all areas. With any snowfall exceeding two (2) inches there will be: No parking in guest parking until the area has been completely plowed. No parking on garage aprons between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or until the area is plowed full width.
The major storm occurrence on April 3-4 was highly publicized so residents in the Twin Cities were informed of this upcoming event. The rules and regulations do not specify which months out of the year snow removal is performed. The snow vendor, as an agent for the board, has the authorization to tow vehicles if they hinder snow removal activity in the visitor parking lots on the property. GroundsCare exercised their authority to tow the vehicle to clear an open pathway down the center of the finger street for access. The vendor performed within their contract time restraints to first "open up" the roadways to the completion of the plowing in the development.
The Association stands by the Rules and Regulations and has no obligation to reimburse a resident for violation.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2014/04/21) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The reasons this is completely unacceptable is for multiple reasons. First, they are attempting to enforce rules that are not within the time frame stated which would be winter, furthermore they are attempting to place blame on us as residents for not watching the weather channel. Sorry I have better things to do with my time. They have continuously pushed blame on other resources such as the landlord, the city, the police department and the board. Clearly stating in their response it is their duty to enforce the rules I have a hard time understanding how it is I have 100 of emails from them saying they can't enforce the rules it's the boards job to do so. They and other residents have harassed and discriminated against us for almost 3 years with excuse after excuse. We continue to document their lies and negligence and will continue to do so as they are starting to get their stories mixed up. Side note: there is nothing in the rules we have from their previous employee (the property manager) that it's the job of the plow company to plow just the main drive. We also, have photos from the date in question that they cherry picked the cars that were towed. The next day they said "I can assure you that we would not have residents cars towed". Now they say they did. I think anyone can see why this company is a nightmare to work with. They have NEVER, not one time followed through on the rules they have in place and are continuously back tracking on everything. They can't keep employees so we never know who's going to respond to requests and issues. They (and the board) are solely responsible for turning this neighborhood into a ghetto and it's bad management and even worse business practice to start towing residents vehicles IN THE SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/11/06) */
I am in receipt of your letter dated October 24, 2014 regarding the above referenced case
number. While I understand Ms. [redacted] frustration with having to purchase resale documents in order to sell her home, please note that our pricing...
is competitive with other management companies in Minnesota.
Gassen Company provides this service to our clients as required by the State of Minnesota on behalf of the board of directors. In order to ensure accuracy, we spend a significant amount of time and resources preparing the website for ease of use as well as staffing hours for those clients - who prefer to order these documents over the phone. Over the years we have complied pricing comparisons and made sure we are charging a fare price for these documents.
Your letter states Ms. [redacted] is looking for a full refund and an apology letter. Ms. [redacted] received the information required to sell her home so I do not see why a full refund or apology is warranted. However, I am willing to provide a 25 refund to show Ms. [redacted] I understand her frustration with the cost.
Please let me know how Ms. [redacted] feels about our offer at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
[redacted] Gassen Company, Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/11/06) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Mr. [redacted],
I am not very happy that you even brought up the fact that I received information required to sell my home, seriously? Do you even know or are you fully aware of how I was treated by 2 of your employees ([redacted] and [redacted] I can send you the emails directly so you can see how they did treat me, do you want them? Do you honestly think when a customer of yours sends an email with multiple questions (listed in bullet point format) that that warrants an email telling me to go to such and such a website with no explanation. I have never received an apology for how I was treated. I would hope that you would reconsider your offer. I would really like an apology along with a full refund to make amends for the way that I was treated and for your companies lack of customer service. Thank you, [redacted]
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2014/11/26) */
I am in receipt of your letter dated November 18, 2014 regarding the above reference case. Again, I have researched the complaint from Ms. [redacted] and found that [redacted] actually filled out the dues current letter for Ms. [redacted]. Please see the attached e-mails Where the communication between Ms. [redacted] and [redacted] appears to be excellent and Ms. [redacted] is thanking [redacted] for her service. Ms. [redacted] originally sent an e~mail to Mr. [redacted] who, as the Association Manager doesn't handle the resale documents; as a result he forwarded the e-mail from Ms. [redacted] onto [redacted] to process.
As you see, there is no foundation for an apology letter or refund. However, I am still Willing to provide Ms. [redacted] With at $25.00 discount for any misunderstanding even though We processed
Ms. [redacted] request the same day [redacted] received it.
It is my expectation this case is closed as satisfied based on this response and the enclosed emails.
Sincerely,
Gassen Management
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/03) */
I am responding to a complaint filed by [redacted] who lives in the Devonwood Association that Gassen Company has been hired to be the management agent for by the Board of Directors. Attached please find copies of all the...
correspondence sent to [redacted] for the charge of wood replacement she is referencing. Additionally the claim that she does not have railings on her unit is not true; the porch / patio on this unit is screened in and it does have a railing along the outer edge of the patio.
The Board completes wood replacement each and every year on a number of buildings and sends correspondence to owners with the total that is due to the Association allowing 90 days for owners to pay.
Gassen Company feels as though we have provided [redacted] with all the necessary correspondence and documentation regarding this matter; if there is anything else she is requesting, please do not hesitate to contact me directly and I will promptly provide it to [redacted].
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2015/03/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They have not included the letter of april 2014, This letter has been requested several times and has not been produced and it is the one in great question as it tells in details what we as homeowners are to pay. I would like a copy of this letter as proof that I may have misread the letter
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2015/03/16) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (original document is available using the online complaint system).
I am responding to the response from the Homeowner regarding this matter. The attached letter was also sent to all owners who were having wood replacement work done on their homes this past spring summer season on April 14, 2014.
We have provided this owner with all the documentation she has requested over the past year regarding the wood replacement matter.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter and please feel free to contact me directly should you need any additional information. I can be reached at [redacted] or via email at
[redacted]@gassen.com.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2014/11/18) */
The Board of Directors removed the S50.00 fine on November 3, 2014 see attached. The Board of Directors apologizes for any misunderstanding.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 9, 2014/11/19) */
(The consumer indicated he/she...
DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As I mentioned, Gassen Company needs to send 2 letters of apology one for me in Texas and one at the mentioned address to my tenant for the lies and the stories Gassen/[redacted] made up and when I spoke with the board of the association they admitted that Gassen lied and never shared my issues with them, therefore an apology letter is needed from Gassen for their dishonest business practices.
thanks,
[redacted]
see attached
The letter dated April 21, 2016 from the Revdex.com regarding ID [redacted], has been received in the Gassen office. As stated in the previously provided response, the Board of Directors of Huntington Cove HOA will not remove the $65.00 in legal fees from the account of [redacted]. This is a decision by the Board of Directors of Huntington Cove HOA to Gassen Company.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/06/23) */
I am writing in response to the complaint you have received from [redacted] regarding this matter.
The Board of Directors of the Devonwood Association has approved the roof and skylights to be replaced on Mr. [redacted] building as...
well as another building at Devonwood; this is starting on June 29th. The Board has worked very diligently to obtain bids and approve one in a timely manner to move forward with this roof replacement project.
Per the documents of the Association, interior damages not covered by the Association insurance policy do fall back onto the owner through their individual HO6 policy. Additionally skylights are an owner matter to be responsible for as well, and this expense will be billed back to Mr. [redacted] after the roof replacement project is completed.
We have been in constant contact with Mr. [redacted] by giving him correspondence backup for the past 3 years and answering numerous emails from him and his real estate agent.
Please contact me should you have any additional questions or need any additional backup regarding this information.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2014/07/03) */
Thank you for speaking with me this morning. This will confirm that We have been retained to represent Gassen Companies ("Gassen") in connection with the above-referenced matter concerning the complaint filed by [redacted] ("Mr....
[redacted]"). Please direct any future correspondence regarding this matter to our attention.
Mr. [redacted] resides at 4207 Lakeside Avenue North, Apartment 228,' Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419-3825 ("the Property"). The Property is part of a common interest community commonly known as The Beach Condominium ("the Association"). The Association was created in 1980 pursuant to the Minnesota Condominium Act, Minn. Stat. ?515. Gassen manages the Association.
Minnesota has enacted the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, Minn. Stat. 515B
Certain sections of MCIOA apply to the Association, including the laws related to the resale of units. Minn. Stat. 5158.1-102 and .4-107. By law, a seller of a unit in a common interest community is required to provide a prospective buyer with the following documents: (1) the common interest community's Articles of Incorporation, Declaration, Bylaws, and Rules and Regulations; (2) any amendments or supplemental declarations; and (3) a resale disclosure certificate from the association dated not more than 90 days prior to the date of the purchase agreement or the date of conveyance, whichever is earlier. Minn. Stat. 515B.4-107(a). The Association may charge a reasonable fee for furnishing this information. Minn. Stat. 515B.4107(d).
Gassen agrees with Mr. [redacted] that copying the Articles of Incorporation, Declaration, Bylaws, and Rules and Regulations generally requires minimal effort. But Gassen strongly disagrees with
Mr. [redacted] regarding the amount of time and effort required to prepare a resale disclosure statement. By law, the resale disclosure certificate must contain all of the following information:
The name and address of the common interest community that the unit belongs t0;
The address of the unit being sold;
A description of the common interest community's common elements and limited common elements licensed to the unit being sold;
Whether the Declaration, Bylaws, Rules or Regulations include a right of first refusal or other restraint on the free alienability of the unit being sold;
The amount of annual assessments, special assessments, and unpaid assessments, fines, or other charges allocated to the unit being sold;
Whether the common interest community has approved a plan for levying certain common expense assessments against fewer than all the units, along with a description of any such plan;
A statement of any additional fees or charges other than assessments payable by ? unit owners (i.e., late payment charges, user fees, etc.);
Whether the common interest community has approved any extraordinary expenditures for the current and two succeeding fiscal years, and which have not yet been assessed;
A description of the components that the common interest community is responsible for repairing and/or replacing, and the amount of money held in its
reserves for the same;
The most recent regularly prepared balance sheet and income and expense statement of the common interest community;
The current budget of the common interest community;
A statement of any unsatisfied judgments against the common interest community;
A statement of any pending lawsuits to which the common interest community is
a party;
A disclosure of the common interest community's insurance coverage, and the
elements of the property that are covered by its insurance policy;
Whether the current unit owner has been informed by the common interest community's board of directors that (i) that any alterations or improvements to the unit or to the limited common elements assigned to it violate any provision of the declaration; or (ii) that the unit is in violation of any governmental statute, ordinance, code, or regulation;
A statement of any remaining term of any leasehold estate affecting the common
interest community; and
Any other matters that may materially affect the occupancy or use of the unit, or
the unit owner's obligation with respect to the unit.
it typically takes several hours to prepare a resale disclosure certificate for a unit owner. Gassen must review and compile information from the Association's Declaration, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations, financial records, budget, property records, and insurance policy. It then must draft the resale disclosure statement in the statutorily proscribed form. Gassen's charge is reasonable in light of the time it took to prepare the resale disclosure certificate. Stated simply, Gassen has complied with MCIOA and all other applicable state laws, and categorically denies Mr. [redacted]'s unfounded allegations that it has overcharged him.
[redacted] is a respected property management company that has spent over 40 years building a positive reputation for diligently serving its property management and maintenance clients. Under Minnesota law, it is unlawful to engage in defamation of another's character and reputation. Defamation consists of: (1) a statement that tends to injure reputation; (2) communicated to another; and (3) that the speaker knew or should have known was false. Mr. [redacted] has made false statements that [redacted] "uses predatory practices against homeowners" and "abuse(es) vague language in state law to charge severely inflated rates for simple documents." These false statements damage Gassen's reputation in the community and among its customers. Gassen will vigorously protect its reputation, and reserves all claims it may have against Mr. [redacted] based on these defamatory statements.
Thank you for your attention to this letter. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Very truly yours,
[redacted] PLLC
t
y. ~
[redacted] T. [redacted] Attorney at Law
cc: [redacted] (via e-mail only)
[redacted] (via U.S. Mail)
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2014/07/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Gassen management has paid an attorney to restate what I said in an elongated version to give the appearance of Gassen earning their money. Anyone can write a long description of anything.... I could say I drank a glass of water, or I could use a paragraph filled with adjectives explaining the water and its temperature and how clean and crisp etcetera to make it seem like alot bigger deal than it is.
Mr. [redacted] threats of a defamation suit is not surprising. I have letters from other issues I have had with Gassen where they try to strong arm the little guy by threatening counter legal action as well. The only reason they did not pursue the previous issue is that my attorney had contacted them and let them know that they were actually in violation of state law on the issue.
If Mr. [redacted] or his client can PROVE that their fees are reasonable then I would be happy to change my statement, but the reality is that they cannot, and that is the problem with the law. It is subjective. They can only give their opinion and i'm not surprised that their opinion is that it is a reasonable fee. My opnion is that it is NOT. Although Mr. [redacted] took the time to try to intimidate me with state statutes on defamation it is not a fact (and would need to be in order to be false) that Gassen is not using predatory practices and abusing the vague language in the state law.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Final Business Response /* (1000, 12, 2014/07/23) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (full version is available using the online system)
I am in receipt of your most recent letter dated July 9, 2014 regarding the above mentioned case number. As we have previously stated, our fees for resale documents are not out of order. In fact, they are competitive with other management companies in the industry. Also, the process to compile and submit accurate information to our clients selling their homes takes a lot of time and expertise to ensure a successful sale.
It is my hope you will close this case as satisfied.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
CEO
Gassen Company, Inc.
Hello,
My name is Nancy [redacted] and I am the Association's Manager since April 1, 2016. Prior to this date, the Association contracted with Gassen Company for monthly financial statements only. Mr. Gassen requested I respond to the complaint. I have attached recent...
correspondence to Mr. [redacted]. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors and the Management Agent (Gassen Company) to follow the Association's governing documents (Articles of Incorporation, Declaration and Bylaws). Mr. [redacted], being a former President of the Board of Directors is aware of the legal responsibility, obligation and due diligence that the Association must follow.
Mr. [redacted] apparently had two dogs and dogs are not allowed at the Association, this is a violation of the Association Rules. Mr. [redacted] was fined for non-compliance of the Association Rules.
It is my understanding that his account was past due and because of the dog issue, legal counsel was necessary to try and resolve this matter. That apparently did not work. Per the governing documents, legal fees can be charged back to the owner's account.
It is the intention of myself and of Mr. Tim [redacted] our Director of Operations, to contact Mr. [redacted] and request he meet with us face to face to attempt to resolve his disputes. This will require cooperation from Mr. [redacted].
Please contact me with any additional questions regarding this claim. We hope this response is satisfactory and that you will close the complaint. Thank you.
Nancy [redacted], CMCA, AMS
Gassen Company
###-###-####
n[redacted]@gassen.com
I am rejecting this response because:
Dear Mr. [redacted],
Thank you for taking the time to look over this case. I'm definitely not satisfied with their response. I understand their justifications for their behavior, and the excessive attorney fees that come along with that. The issue I have is that on their original letter informing me about the painting project, there wasn't a date of when the payment was due. It seems unethical to hire a third party to collect the debt (which correspondence from the attorney ended up costing more than the actual painting bill) when there wasn't an official invoice with a due date to begin with. I've lived in this townhouse for six years under Gassen, and I've never missed a monthly association fee; considering that I pay them $2,500/year, you'd think the least they could do is call or email me reminding me of the painting bill, instead of hiring a debt collector. From the time they sent the original letter up until they hired the debt collector, only about four months had passed (since I've consistently paid my association dues, that should indicate to them that I'm not trying to evade the painting bill). If there had been a due date, I would have paid it by then; if I had known they were going to hire a debt collector and incur unnecessary attorney fees, I would have paid it to prevent that. I have paid the painting bill in its entirety along with legal fees, and now all I am asking for is to get my $65 back.
Thanks again for your time. I hope that Gassen can see my perspective on this.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/03/26) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (full version, including attachments, is available using the online system).
This letter, and all attached documentation, is being sent to you in response to a consumer...
complaint (Case # [redacted]: [redacted]) that was received by me at my office on March 26, 2014. The complaint reads as follows: "I was told that my town home would be advertised on several websites in order to rent. From what I could find it was only advertised on Craigslist. I had one serious interest in the place in 3 months. Once I didn't accept her application, there was no contact from the broker and no additional showing of my place".
The consumer was notified that multiple advertisement websites would be used and this did occur in accordance with the agreement between her and Gassen Company. The attached documentation will show that the property was in fact advertised on more websites, besides Craigslist.com, including, but not limited to: Postlets.com, Hotpads.com, Mypads.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com, Yahoo.com, Oodle.com, Livelovely.com, Enormo.com, Trovit.com, Zumpit.com, Backpages.com, and more.
The consumer states that "I had one serious interest in the place in 3 months. Once I didn't accept her application, there was no contact from the broker and no additional showing of my place". Please refer to the email documentation dated February 3rd, 2014 showing a response that I wrote to the potential tenant that the property owner decided not to allow that person to rent the property due to her lack of ability to meet income requirements/credit score/satisfactory rental history as well as the property owner and the prospective tenant having been previously acquainted. After this prospective tenant's interest was turned down by [redacted] there indeed was communication between myself and her, contrary to her complaint, on numerous occasions by email on 2/6/14, 2/7/14, 2/10/14, 2/11/14, 2/19/14, and 3/3/14 (when she notified me that she would be terminating Gassen Company's services). There were also multiple other interested parties in her property that she denied, via email, due to their having pets as well as the prospective tenants not being willing to pay the advertised rent price of $1100 because the prospective tenants claimed they were able to find other properties that were better value for same or less of a monthly rent price ([redacted] was notified of this in writing and by phone). In regards to the consumer complaint claiming that there were no additional showings of her property beyond the February 3rd declination of the prospective tenant that applied, there were, in fact, 5 more showings which occurred on 2/6/14, 2/8/14, 2/11/14, 2/24/14, and 2/28/14 (email documentation of appointments scheduled with prospective tenants provided).
The Consumer's Desired Resolution section of the complaint reads as follows: "For the amount that I was charged, I should have done my own advertising. This company received a lot of money to only advertise on Craigslist. This went on for three months and not one serious lead. Upon the termination of the contract, I was able to rent my place in less than three days and that was using Craigslist". The Client/Consumer, [redacted], signed the Leasing Contract (see attached) with Gassen Company and then terminated the contract knowing full well that she was going to have to pay a termination fee equal to 50% of the advertised rent price at that given time (see attached email documentation of [redacted]'s termination email and acknowledgement of termination terms). As stated above, shown evident through email communications from the advertising sites and leads produced from said sites, and screen shots of said advertising sites it is shown that the client's ([redacted]) was in fact advertised on many more websites than just Craigslist.com. Upon termination of the contract [redacted], in accordance with the Leasing Agency Agreement, paid a termination fee of 50% of the advertised rent price equal to $550. The Leasing Agency Agreement, regarding termination, states the following: "Owner may terminate the Agreement by giving Gassen at least fifteen (15) days prior written notice. If the Property is not leased at the time Owner terminates the Agreement, then Gassen shall be entitled to a termination fee equal to 50% of one full month's rent to be paid under the Leasing Agreement, and Gassen shall also be entitled to reimbursement of all expenses by Gassen on account of the Property". Gassen Company, and myself as its' representative, did not charge the client, [redacted], for expenses (gas reimbursement, labor, insurance, etc.) (per section 3, page 2, lines 1 and 2, of the Leasing Agency Agreement) and only charged the client for the 50% of one full month's rent as the termination portion of the Leasing Agency Agreement stated. The termination fee charged, and paid by the client, is in accordance with the Leasing Agency Agreement that was agreed upon by all parties at the onset of the agreement. Additionally, there is record, should it need to be provided, that there were 13 individual trips (12/3/13, 12/20/13, 1/13/14, 1/16/14, 1/17/14, 1/20/14, 1/24/14, 2/3/14, 2/6/14, 2/8/14, 2/11/14, 2/24/14, 2/28/14) made to the property throughout the course of the business relationship with [redacted] in order to show her property to prospective tenants.
Gassen Company, and myself as its' representative, was not notified of any questions or disputes regarding whether or not the property was advertised on multiple sites. If I would have been notified of the client's doubts as to whether or not the property was being advertised on multiple sites I would have happily provided this information without question. If there is any additional documentation, statements, or other materials needed for resolution please let me know.
Consumer Response /* (3000, 12, 2014/04/10) */
I would like to have an itemized accounting of cost of advertising on Craigslist, etc. as well the other items that justify the charge if $550.
Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2014/04/16) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (additional documents are available using the online complaint system).
Please find attached to this email is a copy of the Leasing and Management Agreement Contracts that were entered into with[redacted] (the consumer). On the bottom of page l of the Leasing Agency Agreement it specifically states that "Owner may terminate the Agreement by giving Gassen at least fifteen (15) days prior written notice. If the Property is not leased at the time Owner terminates the Agreement, then Gassen shall be entitled to a termination fee equal to 50% of one full month' s rent to be paid under the Leasing Agreement, and Gassen shall also be entitled to reimbursement of all expenses incurred by Gassen on account ofthe Property." Therefore, per the Leasing Agreement's terms, the consumer,[redacted], was charged the 50% termination fee when she chose to terminate the agreement. As a show of good will Gassen Company did not pursue[redacted] for any additional costs including but not limited to labor, insurance, mileage reimbursement, or advertising.
AS mentioned inthe previous letter, which is attached to this e-mail, Gassen Company made multiple trips (13) to the property in order to conduct showings to prospective tenants on the property owner's behalf. The property, according to Mapquest.com, is located 60.75 miles (l hour and 6 minutes travel time) from Gassen Company's office. At 13 trips and the average mileage reimbursement of $0.5l/mile the total eost of mileage reimbursement would come to $402.77. At 13 trips to the property , taking 1.1 hours each (not including the time taken to Show the property which is an average 30 minutes), with a remaining $147.23 leftover from the $550 termination fee (after the $402.77 is deducted), the consumer is basically being charged $10.29/hour ($147.23/14.3 hours). This $10.29/hour plus the $402.77 does not cover all of Gassen Company's costs of business on this transaction as it does not cover employee insurance, employee Salary, etc. Gassen Company, per the Contracts that were signed by the property owner, had the ability to request the $550 termination fee and still request reimbursement for any additional Costs but Chose not to and to only process payment from the consumer at the 50% termination fee.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/08/28) */
I have attached a copy of the homeowner ledger which identifies was charge against the account and each payment that has been applied. The charges are reflected as Monthly fee ort Special assessment and the payments are reflected as...
Lockbox Payment received and appear as credits ($). I have also attached copies of the payments as provided by the homeowner. You will note that both payments in question are applied against the account. Money order #[redacted] in the amount of $240.00 was applied on February 10, 2015. Cashiers Check # [redacted] in the amount of $240.00 was applied on the account on March 10, 2015.
I believe the problem exists because the homeowner often times sent in payments that resulted in credit balances, in effect paying ahead. You will note on the homeowner ledger no payments were received during the months of April or May 2015. Effectively those months were paid by the credit balances until the next payment was received on June 25, 2015.
Although I do not know the intent of the homeowner when making payments I suspect at some point in time they felt they had paid ahead for the months of May and June when in fact they had not. When asked to provide documentation of the payments they sent in the two (2) payments which are in fact applied to their account.
We will gladly waive any late fees incurred, which to date amount to a total of $45.00. However thisa does still leave a balance due on the account. If there are other payments the homeowner feels were not applied to the account yet cashed all I need is a copy of the front and back of the check and we will reserach further.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/08/31) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This association has not told me how much I owe them specifically. Only generic information has been relayed, and no further contact has been made by the association. I would also like to inquire about the $500.00 credit that was discussed verbally roughly 30 days ago.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2015/09/08) */
The consumer has stated that a Mr. [redacted] made reference that the account had over a $500.00 credit. There is no Mr. [redacted] that works in our office so I do not know who would have made this statement. However if you view the attached homeowner ledger, which I have again attached, there were various times when the consumer did in fact have a credit balance. The credit balances are noted by numbers in parenthesis. The credit balances were caused by the consumer making additional payments against the account. There was in fact a credit balance as of March 10, 2015 in the amount of $588.61 which appears on page 3 of the homeowner ledger. The credit balance was then used up during the months of April and May. Contrary to what the consumer is stating there was no $500.00 credit as of 30 days ago. Again this is evidenced by the attached homeowner ledger.
By removing the $45.00 in accumulated late fees the balance due as of this date $239.39. I am uncertain if this is what the consumer is asking for with the statement "this association has not told me how much I owe them specifically". The recurring monthly association fees are $246.00 per month which the consumer must be aware of since they have sent in $246.00 for the past few months.
Revdex.com Response: In response to the complaint filed with the Revdex.com the following information is being provided to a complaint filed by [redacted]. A meet and greet meeting was called with the Board of Directors and Gassen Management...
on September 21, 2016 at 6:00 pm. At this meeting were the three board members for [redacted] and Steven [redacted] & Terry [redacted] representing Gassen Company. This meeting was to introduce Gassen Company to the Board of Directors for the Association. [redacted] had just engaged Gassen Company on September 1, 2016. At this meeting Gassen Company was there to hear the concerns of the Board of Directors based on their past experience with [redacted] Property Services. Gassen was there to let the Board of Directors know what we were going to do for the association. [redacted] Properties did not provide Gassen Company with much of any kind of transitional paperwork upon the termination of [redacted] Properties. Steven & Terry explained what we would attempt to do to recover any of that paperwork as well as any legal action that may need to take place. Items discussed: Board concerns, attempting to locate Phillip [redacted], attempting to locate past association documents, any legal actions needed, whether or not the association had insurance, monthly property visits, violations and violation letters, monthly board packets (Manager Reports), the proposed 2017 budget and the approval of the 2017 budget. Association By-Law # 25 States that The meeting to be public unless. Meetings may be closed to discuss the following: A. Personnel Matters B. Pending or potential litigation, arbitration or other potentially adversarial proceedings, between owners, between the Board or Association and Owners, or other matters in which any Owner may have adverse interest, if the Board determines that closing the meeting is necessary to discuss strategy or to otherwise protect the position of the Board or Association or the privacy of all Owner or Occupant of a Unit; C. Criminal Activity arising within the Common Interest Community, if the Board determines that closing the meeting is necessary to protect the privacy of the victim or that opening the meeting would jeopardize investigation of the activity. At the public board meeting on November 22, 2016 there were a number of homeowners present and they had many valid concerns for the Board of Directors. The home owners were told at the beginning of this meeting that there would be a homeowner open forum at the end of the meeting for them to voice their concerns. [redacted] interrupted the meeting within the first 15 minutes of the meeting and was asked to wait until the end of the meeting. He stated that the Wright County Sheriff would be showing up. When asked why he declined a response. At this point the meeting was being interrupted by many homeowners. I (Steven) asked people to understand that the homeowner’s concerns involved [redacted] Properties and the past Board of Directors. I then explained what the current board and Gassen Company had done to correct the concerns. [redacted] attempted many times to point fingers and to incite homeowners to speak up against the current board. I again attempted to explain to the owners what was being done to correct the past issues. I asked in public forum if a reserve study had been completed to anyone’s knowledge. [redacted] stated “Yes” by a private person or company. I asked many times as to whom that was. I was told by [redacted] that he would let me know in private. I have requested in two separate emails from [redacted] the name of the person or company that provided the reserve study and have not received any response to date. As far as financial documents that are available to homeowners those documents are available to ALL homeowners on the Gassen Website. That was also stated at the public meeting. Sincerely. Steven [redacted] Association Manager
Dear Mr***,
I am responding on behalf of Mr*** Gassen
We have reached out to the Homeowner, requesting a face to face meeting with myself and MrTim *** our Director of Operations. It is tentatively scheduled for Friday, June 3rd at 1:pm. The Homeowner wants to conduct this via conference call and we have asked the Homeowner to come to our office to meet with us to review his complaint
Management is waiting for a response from the Homeowner. You can contact me directly in the future if you prefer, n***@gassen.com or ###-###-####. Thank youNancy ***, CMCA, AMS
Gassen Company
I am rejecting this response because:
The answer is not satisfactory and full of inaccuracies because
Nancy just took over the account from someone that I corresponded with on this
issueFirst there was only one dog in the rental house that’s subject to this
complaintThe dogs were in another unit and were satisfactorily removed from
the premises by the deadline that was givenOne of the tenants was unable to
get one dog out by the deadline and I agreed to pay the $fine for one dog as
in the Association RulesThe Board President knows that and that’s why they
billed me $for June of and I paid itGassen applied the dog payment
to another house even when there were sufficient instructions to apply the
funds to pay the dog fineIf there were dogs they would have billed for $
but they billed me $
I have provided evidence to Gassen showing that there was
never a meeting that approved the change from $per dog per month to $
and $which was billed to my accountIf the reason Gassen charged two and
three hundred fine was based number of dogs we can verify that there was one
tiny dog and come to the same conclusion that Gassen is responsible for legal
fees
My account would not have been past due if Gassen had used
my dog fines and applied it to the rightful account and if Gassen had not
continuous continued to put late fees on my account before the payment due date
of the 15thThe late fees were reversed because they were wrongly
charged; the misallocated payments for fines need to be applied to the right
accountFor June and July I paid $per month with instruction to pay the
$fine for the dog and $for dues per unitThe dog was removed at the
end of August and I authorized the Board to verify and they didMy total fines
are $for June, July and August
Please provide a copy of the rules that were used to charge
me more than $per monthI don’t want to repeat myself, but without the
negligence of Gassen for billing me late fees at the wrong time and the
misallocation of the dog fine payment to a wrong account which made the subject
property appear to have a $balance instead of the correct $there would
never have been a need to take my account to collection
I also requested a detailed invoice from your attorney showing
the work they performed for $1,in their collection effortsAs you know
these are Gassen affiliates
I am available to discuss this matter with Gassen and I
think a conference call would serve better to try and come to a resolution
Nancy is new to this whole thing and I sympathize with her
I will accept a response when the meeting has taken place
and when a resolution has been achieved
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2014/10/30) */
I am writing to respond to the claims made by Mr*** in his letter to your agency regarding ***
First of all Gassen is the managing agent for the Jonathan Association and one of our contractual
obligations is
to collect the duesWe send statements, collection letters to all accounts which show a balance dueAs of October 27, ***'s account has a balance due of $This is for dues from -to current
Secondly, yes there was a lawsuit that was resolved in November A copy of the settlement agreement is enclosed for your referenceThis agreement was mailed to all the residents in the Jonathan with a request for payment back in Mr*** has not made any payments on his account to date which has resulted in the account being delinquentMr*** is correct that all monies owed before were to be forgiven and they have beenSee enclosed ledgersHe is only being billed for current
Thirdly, he references Gittleman Company being responsible for resolving this issue unfortunately,Gittleman has not managed the Jonathan since so this would explain why they were unable to assist him and since this lawsuit was not settled until there could be no attempt to collect until after this time periodThat being said we have made attempts to collect the outstanding balance since 2013, nearly years and have yet to receive any payment
Another allegation that Mr*** makes is that he spoke to me in January and February of I
don't recall any messages or inquiries from him(All our calls are logged and was unable to find any from Mr***)Most importantly, just became the Property Manager for this Association in August of so I would not have been the point of ContactMr*** also makes reference to contacting my supervisor, a man, and indicated that neither he nor I responded again, I was not the manager at this time and do not recall hearing from Mr***
Lastly, in regards to Mr***' s requested resolution I will be calling Mr*** to explain why he has a balance due which does include the adjustments per the settlement agreement and that a lack of response does not negate his responsibility to pay his duesI don't feel that the late fees should be
waived as the account is in severe arrears
In closing, I believe that I have proven that Mr***'s claim is unwarranted and should be discardedThank you for your consideration
Regards,
*** *** ***
Gassen Company
________________
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 9, 2014/10/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I have left *** a voicemail not having any idea why she would not call me after responding to this complaintShe makes any number of incorrect statements
I received a letter from *** *** at Gittleman Management in November of regarding the lawsuit settlement, but *** indicates that Gittleman has not managed this since which is obviously erroneous
Obviously if *** just started with Gassen in August 2014, she took over for the person that I was dealing with in January and February and it was this person's manager (the male whose name I do not remember) who I involved and who told me that he would engage her and get it resolvedNever heard from either of them after that message
I have been trying to pay this bill since late and had asked for the balance due incorporating the lawsuit discount when Gittleman was managing the propertyThis was around the time that Gassen took over and I then heard nothing until I received a bill in January I called Gassen and left numerous messages, only to be blown off even after engaging the manager
*** response is incredibly combative when all that I have been asking for is the correct balance due, a breakdown of the fees, and all late fees removed and cannot even get a phone call returned
Since *** is new, hopefully she can resolve this, an issue that has gone on since without resolutionI have left her a voicemail since she did not call me and will wait for her return callUntil I get a response and the requested information, this case should remain open
Final Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2014/11/03) */
I just wanted to follow up with you and let you know that Mr*** and I have resolved his issues and if you note below he's asked that I contact you to let you know about the resolutionI believe that you can close this case as resolved without merit
***
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/27) */
Thank you for reaching out to Gassen Company with your concerns
It is our policy to respond to homeowners and maintenance issues within hoursAll efforts are made to answer any questions or concerns the homeowner may have
Management does not have any documentation of Jeff leaving a message for our office, although we have multiple e-mails which we have responded to, per our policyIn additional to the personal attention to Mr***, we have submitted an average of emails per month to all owners in an effort to keep them informed of various projects
With respect to the door closer, unfortunately it was my misunderstanding of which door had the problemI was under the assumption this door was repaired based on previous work ordersOnce I realized this was a new issue, the work order was placed and fixed the next dayI apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused the homeowner
With respect to the leak, *** Plumbing and Heating was initially contacted on March 12thOn March 13th a tech arrived to investigate the leak which was traced to the above unitThe plumber caulked the effected space as the water could be wicking between the two unitsI was notified on Wednesday, March 18th the area was still leakingOn March 19th the plumber was unable to locate the sourceLate afternoon, Friday, March 20th after entering various units, a temporary patch was madeAt that time Management was informed that the water would need to be shut off for the "plumbing stack" units on Monday, 23rd for approximately hoursAs a result, Management submitted a notification to these homeowners letting them know of the disruption in serviceAs it turned out the water was shut off to many units by *** without notification to ManagementThe repair was made by 2:that afternoon and water was restored
Regarding the A/C chiller being turned on, it is not typical for the chiller to be turned on in the early part of MarchManagement consulted with Air-Tech, a professional H/V/AC company and the Board and based on their recommendations it was decided not to turn on the chillers2-homeowners had issued complaints regarding the temperatures in their unit (during the few days of warm weather); there are units in this community
As management is notified of any maintenance issues, we will assess the problem, notify the proper vendor, acquire approval, if necessary, and follow through with the vendorUnfortunately, management cannot control the scheduling of our vendors although we do put forward our best effort to ensure repairs are made timely
We would like to reiterate Gassen Company's commitment to customer service for all homeowners within the AssociationGassen is preforming per the contract with the Homeowner Association and we will continue to strive to exceed the client's expectationsIn efforts accomplish this we do welcome feedback from all owners
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/04/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Gassen mentions their hour response time in the beginning of their reply to this complaint, but in the past year, I have found they frequently do not respond within hours--sometimes it takes more than two weeks and multiple communication attempts to elicit a replyI have the documentation to back this up
Now that I submitted a Revdex.com complaint after multiple terrible experiences with this company, Gassen then has the rather curious timing of failing to notify me of a water shutoff for a leak I have been reporting and asking about for the previous daysThis shutoff prevented me from showering or even brushing my teeth before leaving on Monday morning
Retaliatory? I just submitted a Revdex.com complaint the previous Thursday
Why would they not simply notify the entire building when there is going to be a water shut off that was scheduled in advance? That is how water shutoffs were handled in this building in the pastNo one is caught by surprise when everyone is notified--but that wouldn't be very retaliatory would it? I've asked around the building but have not been able to find any other residents that were unaware of the shutoffThe readers of this complaint can decide for themselves if this was a retaliatory action by GassenAt the end of the day, how is it possible to trust a company that treats customers like that?
Then there is the mistake noted by Gassen in their response regarding which door needed serviceApparently, I need to re-post all of the communications I have written to GassenIt is extremely unlikely that a competent person would mistake the door I was referring to in the original communication I sentAgain, delays and poor service with nothing but excuses and apologies afterwards--in my experiences, that is the Gassen way
Gassen speaks to the AC chiller not being turned on so earlyThat goes to show they do not understand the building they are managingNormally our chiller is turned on significantly earlier than it was this yearI can also prove that I am not the only resident that had to send requests (for weeks!) to get the system started (I am writing from a four-pipe building--so it's not like they had to turn off the heat)Of course, Gassen knows more about what it is like living here than we (the residents) do--even though they only have one year of "service" on this propertyReally, why would they even care when services get turned on or off? It would seem from my perspective that they are intentionally trying to make life as miserable as possible for residents in lieu of actually doing any timely work
Let's not forget about the door repairs eitherThe original complaint was regarding three problems with an old panic bar--loose and rattling, loud banging when opened, and loss of 90% of the paint due to excessive wear and tearWhat did they do to fix it? They tightened the bar so it doesn't rattle in its frameI suppose I should compliment them for achieving 33% effective serviceYet again, they really stretched themselves to ensure our community has well-maintained common elementsApparently, worn off paint and loud, worn out mechanisms are perfectly acceptable to them--especially when the original complaint notes the chronic loss of sleep this is causing due to the noise in my unit
It looks clear that no amount of writing on the Revdex.com's site is going to change anything with this companyTheir record of complaints (make that now--just in the past three years) with (make that 12) unresolved to customer's satisfaction speaks for itselfI'd call that a pattern of poor customer service--certainly not emblematic of an "A" rated companyConsistent with the chronically lousy service I have experienced
Considering the complaint history, you may wonder why I would even bother to report against Gassen...If you are considering Gassen to "manage" your condo community, I suggest that you run, not walk, to the next available optionI sincerely believe your residents will thank you if they have any idea of what it is like to deal with this company on a regular basis as a customer
Moving forward, I will continue to notify our board of directors of the problems with this "service" company and avail myself of other appropriate avenues to get problems resolvedIn summary, my learned-the-hard-way advice to anyone looking for a management service company would be to avoid Gassen!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/04/14) */
Mr***, while I understand Mr***'s frustration I can assure you that Gassen Management never retaliates! We are here to serve our clients, sometimes situations are out of our control as was the case herePlease advise Mr*** to contact me directly if he has any other challengesI left Mr*** a message weeks ago offering my assistance as well
*** Gassen CEO/Owner of Gassen Management
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/11/14) */
***response has been scanned in and converted to text below (original document is available using the online complaint system)
Gassen Company received the above referenced complaint regarding its management of Countryside West
Condominium Association ("Association")This letter constitutes Gassen's response to Dr***' complaint
Dr*** reside in the Countryside West condominium communityCountryside West is an apartment-style condominiumDr*** greatly oversimplifies the facts of this situation, which began when the owner of the unit below Dr***' unit notified Gassen of water damage to her ceiling, directly below Dr***' bathroomWhile several contractors did inspect Dr***' toilet and bath area, Dr*** misstates the conclusions of the contractor engaged by Gassen to investigate the matterDr*** repeatedly pressed the contractor for a definitive cause of the water damageAs we have advised Dr***, the contractor in fact said that, when he arrived at the property, Dr*** had already removed his toiletThis significantly and adversely affected the contractor's ability to perform diagnostic testing to determine the source of the leak to the unit below, which was also part of the reason the contractor would not state with "100% certainty" (as Dr*** requested) the cause of the leakThe contractor did note that the toilet had been installed (by Dr***) improperlyThe contractor was unwilling to state a definitive cause without completing an exhaustive investigation involving removal of tile and additional fixturesDr*** would not allow the more expansive investigation
Since that time - and since Dr*** filed his complaint - Dr*** scheduled a plumber to put a new toilet in his homeNeither Gassen nor the Association objected to him doing soThe Association intends to do further investigation of the matterTo the extent the damages to the unit below are deemed to be the result of leaks from Dr ***' unit (as we believe to be the case), the costs of repairing that damage will be assessed to Dr***' account with the Association, as permitted under the Association's governing documents and applicable state law
It is unfortunate that Dr*** felt it necessary to file a complaint with your office, particularly since the issue is still under investigationGassen and the Association take his complaints seriously, and take particular exception to his accusations of "harassment" by GassenGassen's intention has always been to determine the cause of the leak and remedy the damage caused by the leakThat remains Gassen's intention
If you have further questions or concerns regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/11/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Toilet still not functional
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/12/04) */
Gassen Company received Dr***' November 24, 2014, response to Gassens response to his the above referenced complaint regarding its management of Countryside West Condominium Association (Association)This letter constitutes Gassens response
Dr***' November 24, 2014, to Gassens initial response was simply, Toilet still not functional." Gassen has never objected to Dr*** installing a toilet in his home (or reinstalling the toilet he removedGassen has now further confirmed with its vendor that there is no reason Dr*** cannot install/reinstall a toilet in his home
Thank you
Very truly yours, ***
*** Attorney at Law
I contacted this association management, (Gassen Companies) about the broken sign at the entrance of the development..After a while I had to contact them again just to hear from the lady, Hmm, We never knew about that problemI notified her this was my second callIt still is broke after several monthsTheir own statement on a piece of their letterhead states: "The Association is committed to maintaining your neighborhood in a manner that is both aesthetically pleasing and protective of property values" They seem to collect the dues from the residents, However, they fail in taking care of such small matterAll these negative reviews show this company is not up to the values and standards of the quality which they appear to mirror on their website and profilesI wish the Gassen Company perform better management practices in the future
I am rejecting this response because: it was not even written by Gassen, it was written by the collection company (lawyer Matthew *** ***This complaint is not against him and it does not address the calculations of the debt with adequate proof of what they are for nor
does it acknowledge or propose a solution or outcomeThe response does defame us with accusations of harassment for using freedom of speech against bullies like his firm and for having the audacity to contact you and other consumer protection agenciesAs Gassen didn't bother to respond to you themselves, you can clearly see that they do not even respect the Revdex.com and what they do for consumers (referring to it as harassment)I am in contact with the MN Lawyers Board of Professional Responsibility and they seem to be interested in how this is taking placeMatthew *** *** retaliated against us for sharing what had happened with you by having us served AGAIN with an amended lawsuit showing A higher amountSo much for Revdex.com protection.
Also Revdex.com why don't you have the legal action against Gassen companies on their page on your site? The United States Justice Department charged them with discrimination and Gassen entered into a consent order LESS THAN A YEAR AGO! Google itHow can they have the Revdex.com rating that you gave them with THAT horrible history?
All Gassen has to do is respond to my complaint and not have someone else write up drivelAlso I would appreciate a solution possibly being presented instead of again more drivel
I would like to know if you or anyone else is getting accessed for expensive projects and seems like they are mismanaged money.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2014/04/21) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (full version is available using the online complaint system).
Gassen Management is not responsible to make the rules at the Villages of Eagle Lake. Our role and...
responsibility is to enforce the rules with the homeowners that are made by the association. In the even a renter resides in a unit, it is the responsibility of the renter to identify their concerns with the homeowner who in turn notifies management. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to provide a copy of the Rules and Regulations to their renters for compliance. The section of the rules for winter parking is printed twice in the manual to ensure all residents understand the guidelines. It is provided below for your reference.
Winter Parking: Any vehicle in violation of these rules may cause the snow removal contractor to cease plowing in the area. This is unacceptable and the vehicle may be towed without notice. We are not eager to tow any vehicles. It is important to allow the plows to get into all areas. With any snowfall exceeding two (2) inches there will be: No parking in guest parking until the area has been completely plowed. No parking on garage aprons between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or until the area is plowed full width.
The major storm occurrence on April 3-4 was highly publicized so residents in the Twin Cities were informed of this upcoming event. The rules and regulations do not specify which months out of the year snow removal is performed. The snow vendor, as an agent for the board, has the authorization to tow vehicles if they hinder snow removal activity in the visitor parking lots on the property. GroundsCare exercised their authority to tow the vehicle to clear an open pathway down the center of the finger street for access. The vendor performed within their contract time restraints to first "open up" the roadways to the completion of the plowing in the development.
The Association stands by the Rules and Regulations and has no obligation to reimburse a resident for violation.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2014/04/21) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The reasons this is completely unacceptable is for multiple reasons. First, they are attempting to enforce rules that are not within the time frame stated which would be winter, furthermore they are attempting to place blame on us as residents for not watching the weather channel. Sorry I have better things to do with my time. They have continuously pushed blame on other resources such as the landlord, the city, the police department and the board. Clearly stating in their response it is their duty to enforce the rules I have a hard time understanding how it is I have 100 of emails from them saying they can't enforce the rules it's the boards job to do so. They and other residents have harassed and discriminated against us for almost 3 years with excuse after excuse. We continue to document their lies and negligence and will continue to do so as they are starting to get their stories mixed up. Side note: there is nothing in the rules we have from their previous employee (the property manager) that it's the job of the plow company to plow just the main drive. We also, have photos from the date in question that they cherry picked the cars that were towed. The next day they said "I can assure you that we would not have residents cars towed". Now they say they did. I think anyone can see why this company is a nightmare to work with. They have NEVER, not one time followed through on the rules they have in place and are continuously back tracking on everything. They can't keep employees so we never know who's going to respond to requests and issues. They (and the board) are solely responsible for turning this neighborhood into a ghetto and it's bad management and even worse business practice to start towing residents vehicles IN THE SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/11/06) */
I am in receipt of your letter dated October 24, 2014 regarding the above referenced case
number. While I understand Ms. [redacted] frustration with having to purchase resale documents in order to sell her home, please note that our pricing...
is competitive with other management companies in Minnesota.
Gassen Company provides this service to our clients as required by the State of Minnesota on behalf of the board of directors. In order to ensure accuracy, we spend a significant amount of time and resources preparing the website for ease of use as well as staffing hours for those clients - who prefer to order these documents over the phone. Over the years we have complied pricing comparisons and made sure we are charging a fare price for these documents.
Your letter states Ms. [redacted] is looking for a full refund and an apology letter. Ms. [redacted] received the information required to sell her home so I do not see why a full refund or apology is warranted. However, I am willing to provide a 25 refund to show Ms. [redacted] I understand her frustration with the cost.
Please let me know how Ms. [redacted] feels about our offer at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
[redacted] Gassen Company, Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/11/06) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Mr. [redacted],
I am not very happy that you even brought up the fact that I received information required to sell my home, seriously? Do you even know or are you fully aware of how I was treated by 2 of your employees ([redacted] and [redacted] I can send you the emails directly so you can see how they did treat me, do you want them? Do you honestly think when a customer of yours sends an email with multiple questions (listed in bullet point format) that that warrants an email telling me to go to such and such a website with no explanation. I have never received an apology for how I was treated. I would hope that you would reconsider your offer. I would really like an apology along with a full refund to make amends for the way that I was treated and for your companies lack of customer service. Thank you, [redacted]
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2014/11/26) */
I am in receipt of your letter dated November 18, 2014 regarding the above reference case. Again, I have researched the complaint from Ms. [redacted] and found that [redacted] actually filled out the dues current letter for Ms. [redacted]. Please see the attached e-mails Where the communication between Ms. [redacted] and [redacted] appears to be excellent and Ms. [redacted] is thanking [redacted] for her service. Ms. [redacted] originally sent an e~mail to Mr. [redacted] who, as the Association Manager doesn't handle the resale documents; as a result he forwarded the e-mail from Ms. [redacted] onto [redacted] to process.
As you see, there is no foundation for an apology letter or refund. However, I am still Willing to provide Ms. [redacted] With at $25.00 discount for any misunderstanding even though We processed
Ms. [redacted] request the same day [redacted] received it.
It is my expectation this case is closed as satisfied based on this response and the enclosed emails.
Sincerely,
Gassen Management
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/03) */
I am responding to a complaint filed by [redacted] who lives in the Devonwood Association that Gassen Company has been hired to be the management agent for by the Board of Directors. Attached please find copies of all the...
correspondence sent to [redacted] for the charge of wood replacement she is referencing. Additionally the claim that she does not have railings on her unit is not true; the porch / patio on this unit is screened in and it does have a railing along the outer edge of the patio.
The Board completes wood replacement each and every year on a number of buildings and sends correspondence to owners with the total that is due to the Association allowing 90 days for owners to pay.
Gassen Company feels as though we have provided [redacted] with all the necessary correspondence and documentation regarding this matter; if there is anything else she is requesting, please do not hesitate to contact me directly and I will promptly provide it to [redacted].
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2015/03/03) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They have not included the letter of april 2014, This letter has been requested several times and has not been produced and it is the one in great question as it tells in details what we as homeowners are to pay. I would like a copy of this letter as proof that I may have misread the letter
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2015/03/16) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (original document is available using the online complaint system).
I am responding to the response from the Homeowner regarding this matter. The attached letter was also sent to all owners who were having wood replacement work done on their homes this past spring summer season on April 14, 2014.
We have provided this owner with all the documentation she has requested over the past year regarding the wood replacement matter.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter and please feel free to contact me directly should you need any additional information. I can be reached at [redacted] or via email at
[redacted]@gassen.com.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2014/11/18) */
The Board of Directors removed the S50.00 fine on November 3, 2014 see attached. The Board of Directors apologizes for any misunderstanding.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 9, 2014/11/19) */
(The consumer indicated he/she...
DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As I mentioned, Gassen Company needs to send 2 letters of apology one for me in Texas and one at the mentioned address to my tenant for the lies and the stories Gassen/[redacted] made up and when I spoke with the board of the association they admitted that Gassen lied and never shared my issues with them, therefore an apology letter is needed from Gassen for their dishonest business practices.
thanks,
[redacted]
see attached
The letter dated April 21, 2016 from the Revdex.com regarding ID [redacted], has been received in the Gassen office. As stated in the previously provided response, the Board of Directors of Huntington Cove HOA will not remove the $65.00 in legal fees from the account of [redacted]. This is a decision by the Board of Directors of Huntington Cove HOA to Gassen Company.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/06/23) */
I am writing in response to the complaint you have received from [redacted] regarding this matter.
The Board of Directors of the Devonwood Association has approved the roof and skylights to be replaced on Mr. [redacted] building as...
well as another building at Devonwood; this is starting on June 29th. The Board has worked very diligently to obtain bids and approve one in a timely manner to move forward with this roof replacement project.
Per the documents of the Association, interior damages not covered by the Association insurance policy do fall back onto the owner through their individual HO6 policy. Additionally skylights are an owner matter to be responsible for as well, and this expense will be billed back to Mr. [redacted] after the roof replacement project is completed.
We have been in constant contact with Mr. [redacted] by giving him correspondence backup for the past 3 years and answering numerous emails from him and his real estate agent.
Please contact me should you have any additional questions or need any additional backup regarding this information.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2014/07/03) */
Thank you for speaking with me this morning. This will confirm that We have been retained to represent Gassen Companies ("Gassen") in connection with the above-referenced matter concerning the complaint filed by [redacted] ("Mr....
[redacted]"). Please direct any future correspondence regarding this matter to our attention.
Mr. [redacted] resides at 4207 Lakeside Avenue North, Apartment 228,' Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419-3825 ("the Property"). The Property is part of a common interest community commonly known as The Beach Condominium ("the Association"). The Association was created in 1980 pursuant to the Minnesota Condominium Act, Minn. Stat. ?515. Gassen manages the Association.
Minnesota has enacted the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, Minn. Stat. 515B
Certain sections of MCIOA apply to the Association, including the laws related to the resale of units. Minn. Stat. 5158.1-102 and .4-107. By law, a seller of a unit in a common interest community is required to provide a prospective buyer with the following documents: (1) the common interest community's Articles of Incorporation, Declaration, Bylaws, and Rules and Regulations; (2) any amendments or supplemental declarations; and (3) a resale disclosure certificate from the association dated not more than 90 days prior to the date of the purchase agreement or the date of conveyance, whichever is earlier. Minn. Stat. 515B.4-107(a). The Association may charge a reasonable fee for furnishing this information. Minn. Stat. 515B.4107(d).
Gassen agrees with Mr. [redacted] that copying the Articles of Incorporation, Declaration, Bylaws, and Rules and Regulations generally requires minimal effort. But Gassen strongly disagrees with
Mr. [redacted] regarding the amount of time and effort required to prepare a resale disclosure statement. By law, the resale disclosure certificate must contain all of the following information:
The name and address of the common interest community that the unit belongs t0;
The address of the unit being sold;
A description of the common interest community's common elements and limited common elements licensed to the unit being sold;
Whether the Declaration, Bylaws, Rules or Regulations include a right of first refusal or other restraint on the free alienability of the unit being sold;
The amount of annual assessments, special assessments, and unpaid assessments, fines, or other charges allocated to the unit being sold;
Whether the common interest community has approved a plan for levying certain common expense assessments against fewer than all the units, along with a description of any such plan;
A statement of any additional fees or charges other than assessments payable by ? unit owners (i.e., late payment charges, user fees, etc.);
Whether the common interest community has approved any extraordinary expenditures for the current and two succeeding fiscal years, and which have not yet been assessed;
A description of the components that the common interest community is responsible for repairing and/or replacing, and the amount of money held in its
reserves for the same;
The most recent regularly prepared balance sheet and income and expense statement of the common interest community;
The current budget of the common interest community;
A statement of any unsatisfied judgments against the common interest community;
A statement of any pending lawsuits to which the common interest community is
a party;
A disclosure of the common interest community's insurance coverage, and the
elements of the property that are covered by its insurance policy;
Whether the current unit owner has been informed by the common interest community's board of directors that (i) that any alterations or improvements to the unit or to the limited common elements assigned to it violate any provision of the declaration; or (ii) that the unit is in violation of any governmental statute, ordinance, code, or regulation;
A statement of any remaining term of any leasehold estate affecting the common
interest community; and
Any other matters that may materially affect the occupancy or use of the unit, or
the unit owner's obligation with respect to the unit.
it typically takes several hours to prepare a resale disclosure certificate for a unit owner. Gassen must review and compile information from the Association's Declaration, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations, financial records, budget, property records, and insurance policy. It then must draft the resale disclosure statement in the statutorily proscribed form. Gassen's charge is reasonable in light of the time it took to prepare the resale disclosure certificate. Stated simply, Gassen has complied with MCIOA and all other applicable state laws, and categorically denies Mr. [redacted]'s unfounded allegations that it has overcharged him.
[redacted] is a respected property management company that has spent over 40 years building a positive reputation for diligently serving its property management and maintenance clients. Under Minnesota law, it is unlawful to engage in defamation of another's character and reputation. Defamation consists of: (1) a statement that tends to injure reputation; (2) communicated to another; and (3) that the speaker knew or should have known was false. Mr. [redacted] has made false statements that [redacted] "uses predatory practices against homeowners" and "abuse(es) vague language in state law to charge severely inflated rates for simple documents." These false statements damage Gassen's reputation in the community and among its customers. Gassen will vigorously protect its reputation, and reserves all claims it may have against Mr. [redacted] based on these defamatory statements.
Thank you for your attention to this letter. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Very truly yours,
[redacted] PLLC
t
y. ~
[redacted] T. [redacted] Attorney at Law
cc: [redacted] (via e-mail only)
[redacted] (via U.S. Mail)
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2014/07/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Gassen management has paid an attorney to restate what I said in an elongated version to give the appearance of Gassen earning their money. Anyone can write a long description of anything.... I could say I drank a glass of water, or I could use a paragraph filled with adjectives explaining the water and its temperature and how clean and crisp etcetera to make it seem like alot bigger deal than it is.
Mr. [redacted] threats of a defamation suit is not surprising. I have letters from other issues I have had with Gassen where they try to strong arm the little guy by threatening counter legal action as well. The only reason they did not pursue the previous issue is that my attorney had contacted them and let them know that they were actually in violation of state law on the issue.
If Mr. [redacted] or his client can PROVE that their fees are reasonable then I would be happy to change my statement, but the reality is that they cannot, and that is the problem with the law. It is subjective. They can only give their opinion and i'm not surprised that their opinion is that it is a reasonable fee. My opnion is that it is NOT. Although Mr. [redacted] took the time to try to intimidate me with state statutes on defamation it is not a fact (and would need to be in order to be false) that Gassen is not using predatory practices and abusing the vague language in the state law.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Final Business Response /* (1000, 12, 2014/07/23) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (full version is available using the online system)
I am in receipt of your most recent letter dated July 9, 2014 regarding the above mentioned case number. As we have previously stated, our fees for resale documents are not out of order. In fact, they are competitive with other management companies in the industry. Also, the process to compile and submit accurate information to our clients selling their homes takes a lot of time and expertise to ensure a successful sale.
It is my hope you will close this case as satisfied.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
CEO
Gassen Company, Inc.
Hello,
My name is Nancy [redacted] and I am the Association's Manager since April 1, 2016. Prior to this date, the Association contracted with Gassen Company for monthly financial statements only. Mr. Gassen requested I respond to the complaint. I have attached recent...
correspondence to Mr. [redacted]. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors and the Management Agent (Gassen Company) to follow the Association's governing documents (Articles of Incorporation, Declaration and Bylaws). Mr. [redacted], being a former President of the Board of Directors is aware of the legal responsibility, obligation and due diligence that the Association must follow.
Mr. [redacted] apparently had two dogs and dogs are not allowed at the Association, this is a violation of the Association Rules. Mr. [redacted] was fined for non-compliance of the Association Rules.
It is my understanding that his account was past due and because of the dog issue, legal counsel was necessary to try and resolve this matter. That apparently did not work. Per the governing documents, legal fees can be charged back to the owner's account.
It is the intention of myself and of Mr. Tim [redacted] our Director of Operations, to contact Mr. [redacted] and request he meet with us face to face to attempt to resolve his disputes. This will require cooperation from Mr. [redacted].
Please contact me with any additional questions regarding this claim. We hope this response is satisfactory and that you will close the complaint. Thank you.
Nancy [redacted], CMCA, AMS
Gassen Company
###-###-####
n[redacted]@gassen.com
As
I am rejecting this response because:
Dear Mr. [redacted],
Thank you for taking the time to look over this case. I'm definitely not satisfied with their response. I understand their justifications for their behavior, and the excessive attorney fees that come along with that. The issue I have is that on their original letter informing me about the painting project, there wasn't a date of when the payment was due. It seems unethical to hire a third party to collect the debt (which correspondence from the attorney ended up costing more than the actual painting bill) when there wasn't an official invoice with a due date to begin with. I've lived in this townhouse for six years under Gassen, and I've never missed a monthly association fee; considering that I pay them $2,500/year, you'd think the least they could do is call or email me reminding me of the painting bill, instead of hiring a debt collector. From the time they sent the original letter up until they hired the debt collector, only about four months had passed (since I've consistently paid my association dues, that should indicate to them that I'm not trying to evade the painting bill). If there had been a due date, I would have paid it by then; if I had known they were going to hire a debt collector and incur unnecessary attorney fees, I would have paid it to prevent that. I have paid the painting bill in its entirety along with legal fees, and now all I am asking for is to get my $65 back.
Thanks again for your time. I hope that Gassen can see my perspective on this.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/03/26) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (full version, including attachments, is available using the online system).
This letter, and all attached documentation, is being sent to you in response to a consumer...
complaint (Case # [redacted]: [redacted]) that was received by me at my office on March 26, 2014. The complaint reads as follows: "I was told that my town home would be advertised on several websites in order to rent. From what I could find it was only advertised on Craigslist. I had one serious interest in the place in 3 months. Once I didn't accept her application, there was no contact from the broker and no additional showing of my place".
The consumer was notified that multiple advertisement websites would be used and this did occur in accordance with the agreement between her and Gassen Company. The attached documentation will show that the property was in fact advertised on more websites, besides Craigslist.com, including, but not limited to: Postlets.com, Hotpads.com, Mypads.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com, Yahoo.com, Oodle.com, Livelovely.com, Enormo.com, Trovit.com, Zumpit.com, Backpages.com, and more.
The consumer states that "I had one serious interest in the place in 3 months. Once I didn't accept her application, there was no contact from the broker and no additional showing of my place". Please refer to the email documentation dated February 3rd, 2014 showing a response that I wrote to the potential tenant that the property owner decided not to allow that person to rent the property due to her lack of ability to meet income requirements/credit score/satisfactory rental history as well as the property owner and the prospective tenant having been previously acquainted. After this prospective tenant's interest was turned down by [redacted] there indeed was communication between myself and her, contrary to her complaint, on numerous occasions by email on 2/6/14, 2/7/14, 2/10/14, 2/11/14, 2/19/14, and 3/3/14 (when she notified me that she would be terminating Gassen Company's services). There were also multiple other interested parties in her property that she denied, via email, due to their having pets as well as the prospective tenants not being willing to pay the advertised rent price of $1100 because the prospective tenants claimed they were able to find other properties that were better value for same or less of a monthly rent price ([redacted] was notified of this in writing and by phone). In regards to the consumer complaint claiming that there were no additional showings of her property beyond the February 3rd declination of the prospective tenant that applied, there were, in fact, 5 more showings which occurred on 2/6/14, 2/8/14, 2/11/14, 2/24/14, and 2/28/14 (email documentation of appointments scheduled with prospective tenants provided).
The Consumer's Desired Resolution section of the complaint reads as follows: "For the amount that I was charged, I should have done my own advertising. This company received a lot of money to only advertise on Craigslist. This went on for three months and not one serious lead. Upon the termination of the contract, I was able to rent my place in less than three days and that was using Craigslist". The Client/Consumer, [redacted], signed the Leasing Contract (see attached) with Gassen Company and then terminated the contract knowing full well that she was going to have to pay a termination fee equal to 50% of the advertised rent price at that given time (see attached email documentation of [redacted]'s termination email and acknowledgement of termination terms). As stated above, shown evident through email communications from the advertising sites and leads produced from said sites, and screen shots of said advertising sites it is shown that the client's ([redacted]) was in fact advertised on many more websites than just Craigslist.com. Upon termination of the contract [redacted], in accordance with the Leasing Agency Agreement, paid a termination fee of 50% of the advertised rent price equal to $550. The Leasing Agency Agreement, regarding termination, states the following: "Owner may terminate the Agreement by giving Gassen at least fifteen (15) days prior written notice. If the Property is not leased at the time Owner terminates the Agreement, then Gassen shall be entitled to a termination fee equal to 50% of one full month's rent to be paid under the Leasing Agreement, and Gassen shall also be entitled to reimbursement of all expenses by Gassen on account of the Property". Gassen Company, and myself as its' representative, did not charge the client, [redacted], for expenses (gas reimbursement, labor, insurance, etc.) (per section 3, page 2, lines 1 and 2, of the Leasing Agency Agreement) and only charged the client for the 50% of one full month's rent as the termination portion of the Leasing Agency Agreement stated. The termination fee charged, and paid by the client, is in accordance with the Leasing Agency Agreement that was agreed upon by all parties at the onset of the agreement. Additionally, there is record, should it need to be provided, that there were 13 individual trips (12/3/13, 12/20/13, 1/13/14, 1/16/14, 1/17/14, 1/20/14, 1/24/14, 2/3/14, 2/6/14, 2/8/14, 2/11/14, 2/24/14, 2/28/14) made to the property throughout the course of the business relationship with [redacted] in order to show her property to prospective tenants.
Gassen Company, and myself as its' representative, was not notified of any questions or disputes regarding whether or not the property was advertised on multiple sites. If I would have been notified of the client's doubts as to whether or not the property was being advertised on multiple sites I would have happily provided this information without question. If there is any additional documentation, statements, or other materials needed for resolution please let me know.
Consumer Response /* (3000, 12, 2014/04/10) */
I would like to have an itemized accounting of cost of advertising on Craigslist, etc. as well the other items that justify the charge if $550.
Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2014/04/16) */
[redacted]response has been scanned in and converted to text below (additional documents are available using the online complaint system).
Please find attached to this email is a copy of the Leasing and Management Agreement Contracts that were entered into with[redacted] (the consumer). On the bottom of page l of the Leasing Agency Agreement it specifically states that "Owner may terminate the Agreement by giving Gassen at least fifteen (15) days prior written notice. If the Property is not leased at the time Owner terminates the Agreement, then Gassen shall be entitled to a termination fee equal to 50% of one full month' s rent to be paid under the Leasing Agreement, and Gassen shall also be entitled to reimbursement of all expenses incurred by Gassen on account ofthe Property." Therefore, per the Leasing Agreement's terms, the consumer,[redacted], was charged the 50% termination fee when she chose to terminate the agreement. As a show of good will Gassen Company did not pursue[redacted] for any additional costs including but not limited to labor, insurance, mileage reimbursement, or advertising.
AS mentioned inthe previous letter, which is attached to this e-mail, Gassen Company made multiple trips (13) to the property in order to conduct showings to prospective tenants on the property owner's behalf. The property, according to Mapquest.com, is located 60.75 miles (l hour and 6 minutes travel time) from Gassen Company's office. At 13 trips and the average mileage reimbursement of $0.5l/mile the total eost of mileage reimbursement would come to $402.77. At 13 trips to the property , taking 1.1 hours each (not including the time taken to Show the property which is an average 30 minutes), with a remaining $147.23 leftover from the $550 termination fee (after the $402.77 is deducted), the consumer is basically being charged $10.29/hour ($147.23/14.3 hours). This $10.29/hour plus the $402.77 does not cover all of Gassen Company's costs of business on this transaction as it does not cover employee insurance, employee Salary, etc. Gassen Company, per the Contracts that were signed by the property owner, had the ability to request the $550 termination fee and still request reimbursement for any additional Costs but Chose not to and to only process payment from the consumer at the 50% termination fee.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/08/28) */
I have attached a copy of the homeowner ledger which identifies was charge against the account and each payment that has been applied. The charges are reflected as Monthly fee ort Special assessment and the payments are reflected as...
Lockbox Payment received and appear as credits ($). I have also attached copies of the payments as provided by the homeowner. You will note that both payments in question are applied against the account. Money order #[redacted] in the amount of $240.00 was applied on February 10, 2015. Cashiers Check # [redacted] in the amount of $240.00 was applied on the account on March 10, 2015.
I believe the problem exists because the homeowner often times sent in payments that resulted in credit balances, in effect paying ahead. You will note on the homeowner ledger no payments were received during the months of April or May 2015. Effectively those months were paid by the credit balances until the next payment was received on June 25, 2015.
Although I do not know the intent of the homeowner when making payments I suspect at some point in time they felt they had paid ahead for the months of May and June when in fact they had not. When asked to provide documentation of the payments they sent in the two (2) payments which are in fact applied to their account.
We will gladly waive any late fees incurred, which to date amount to a total of $45.00. However thisa does still leave a balance due on the account. If there are other payments the homeowner feels were not applied to the account yet cashed all I need is a copy of the front and back of the check and we will reserach further.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/08/31) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This association has not told me how much I owe them specifically. Only generic information has been relayed, and no further contact has been made by the association. I would also like to inquire about the $500.00 credit that was discussed verbally roughly 30 days ago.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2015/09/08) */
The consumer has stated that a Mr. [redacted] made reference that the account had over a $500.00 credit. There is no Mr. [redacted] that works in our office so I do not know who would have made this statement. However if you view the attached homeowner ledger, which I have again attached, there were various times when the consumer did in fact have a credit balance. The credit balances are noted by numbers in parenthesis. The credit balances were caused by the consumer making additional payments against the account. There was in fact a credit balance as of March 10, 2015 in the amount of $588.61 which appears on page 3 of the homeowner ledger. The credit balance was then used up during the months of April and May. Contrary to what the consumer is stating there was no $500.00 credit as of 30 days ago. Again this is evidenced by the attached homeowner ledger.
By removing the $45.00 in accumulated late fees the balance due as of this date $239.39. I am uncertain if this is what the consumer is asking for with the statement "this association has not told me how much I owe them specifically". The recurring monthly association fees are $246.00 per month which the consumer must be aware of since they have sent in $246.00 for the past few months.
Revdex.com Response: In response to the complaint filed with the Revdex.com the following information is being provided to a complaint filed by [redacted]. A meet and greet meeting was called with the Board of Directors and Gassen Management...
on September 21, 2016 at 6:00 pm. At this meeting were the three board members for [redacted] and Steven [redacted] & Terry [redacted] representing Gassen Company. This meeting was to introduce Gassen Company to the Board of Directors for the Association. [redacted] had just engaged Gassen Company on September 1, 2016. At this meeting Gassen Company was there to hear the concerns of the Board of Directors based on their past experience with [redacted] Property Services. Gassen was there to let the Board of Directors know what we were going to do for the association. [redacted] Properties did not provide Gassen Company with much of any kind of transitional paperwork upon the termination of [redacted] Properties. Steven & Terry explained what we would attempt to do to recover any of that paperwork as well as any legal action that may need to take place. Items discussed: Board concerns, attempting to locate Phillip [redacted], attempting to locate past association documents, any legal actions needed, whether or not the association had insurance, monthly property visits, violations and violation letters, monthly board packets (Manager Reports), the proposed 2017 budget and the approval of the 2017 budget. Association By-Law # 25 States that The meeting to be public unless. Meetings may be closed to discuss the following: A. Personnel Matters B. Pending or potential litigation, arbitration or other potentially adversarial proceedings, between owners, between the Board or Association and Owners, or other matters in which any Owner may have adverse interest, if the Board determines that closing the meeting is necessary to discuss strategy or to otherwise protect the position of the Board or Association or the privacy of all Owner or Occupant of a Unit; C. Criminal Activity arising within the Common Interest Community, if the Board determines that closing the meeting is necessary to protect the privacy of the victim or that opening the meeting would jeopardize investigation of the activity. At the public board meeting on November 22, 2016 there were a number of homeowners present and they had many valid concerns for the Board of Directors. The home owners were told at the beginning of this meeting that there would be a homeowner open forum at the end of the meeting for them to voice their concerns. [redacted] interrupted the meeting within the first 15 minutes of the meeting and was asked to wait until the end of the meeting. He stated that the Wright County Sheriff would be showing up. When asked why he declined a response. At this point the meeting was being interrupted by many homeowners. I (Steven) asked people to understand that the homeowner’s concerns involved [redacted] Properties and the past Board of Directors. I then explained what the current board and Gassen Company had done to correct the concerns. [redacted] attempted many times to point fingers and to incite homeowners to speak up against the current board. I again attempted to explain to the owners what was being done to correct the past issues. I asked in public forum if a reserve study had been completed to anyone’s knowledge. [redacted] stated “Yes” by a private person or company. I asked many times as to whom that was. I was told by [redacted] that he would let me know in private. I have requested in two separate emails from [redacted] the name of the person or company that provided the reserve study and have not received any response to date. As far as financial documents that are available to homeowners those documents are available to ALL homeowners on the Gassen Website. That was also stated at the public meeting. Sincerely. Steven [redacted] Association Manager
Please let me know if you need anything else from us.
Thank you,
Tim [redacted]
COO
Gassen Company
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