MBK Southern California Residential Inc

[redacted]Revdex.com[redacted]
[redacted] RE: Case No: [redacted]        [redacted]        [redacted]
       [redacted]Dear Ms. [redacted]: My name is [redacted] and I am...

counsel for MBK Homes. I am responding to the BetterBusiness Bureau Complaint which I received this morning. Revdex.com sent the complaint to a Michael[redacted]. Unfortunately, Mr. [redacted] has not been employed by MBK Homes for many years andthat is the reason that your correspondence was only brought to my attention this morning. I am requesting that you update whatever records you maintain regarding MBK and notethat [redacted] is the person to whom such correspondence be directed as she is the DivisionManager of Homeowner Relations and Customer Care. The gist of the complaint is that Ms. [redacted]' elderly mother was apparently attempting toaccess some dishes on a shelf of unknown height when the shelf apparently became dislodged,allegedly causing her to sustain bruises, broken glasses and an injury to her forehead. Thiscertainly suggests that the shelf and the dishes were at a height that may have been well beyondthe safe reach of an elderly woman. As the correspondence admits, this is a thirteen year old home. The home has been out ofwarranty for several years and MBK has no control over how the shelves are loaded, unloaded,maintained, reset at different levels or accessed by anyone, including elderly people or youngchildren. The correspondence suggests that the author believes that deteriorated clips or loosenedholes in the side of the cabinets may have been the cause. Homeowners at some point have tounderstand that moveable items such as shelving cannot be monitored or maintained by thebuilder during years of varied use by the owner. The occupants are in a position to observe,alter, upgrade or replace items such as shelves and clips as they make specific use of theirshelving and store their household items. The shelving in cabinets is a maintenance item on athirteen year old home. MBK has not had similar complaints from other homeowners in this neighborhood. Ms.[redacted] advises that she has not heard of shelves collapsing in the kitchen, ever. Although mypersonal experience may not be relevant, I have experienced collapsing shelves when the clipsare not reinserted properly as shelf height is altered to accommodate the occupants' needs, orshelves are overloaded, or clips simply get worked loose and need to be reinserted tightlyperiodically during many years of getting bumped around. The flexibility of adjustable shelvingalso creates a need for maintenance and care that fixed shelving does not require. Respectfully, the [redacted]' story about what was on the shelf has mutated. Originally, thestory was that there were just a few ice cream dishes on the shelf. This story later changed to theshelf being full of her mother's antique china. MBK has reviewed the walkthrough notes and the customer service history. Althoughthere was an issue with hinges, it was addressed many years ago this is in not related to theshelving. There are absolutely no records of any complaint regarding the shelving in thesecabinets from MBK's customer service records maintained over the last ten years. Those recordsdo memorialize the fact that as a courtesy, MBK even provided service at this home beyond theten year maximum warranty, which is out of the ordinary. None of the walk through notes, callsor notifications involved shelving clips. In my home, I have a similar issue on one of our kitchen shelves where the shelfsupporting clip wore a larger hole in shelf frame and became unstable. When I realized this, Imoved the shelf one set of holes down and bought new clips at the hardware store. No one at MBK, and perhaps Mr. [redacted], knows exactly what kind of leverage orpressure her elderly mother was placing on the corner of the shelf when she was trying to extractdishes that were obviously well above her head. I have witnessed both my elderly father and myyoung children bump the shelves around when they are attempting to extract something that isover their heads, and two years ago we rearranged our storage to keep heavy things that they arelikely to access within safe range of their abilities, even if it was a bit inconvenient for my wifeand I. MBK is sorry that this has happened to Ms. [redacted]' mother, but does not feel that thisaccident, even as described by Ms. [redacted], is the responsibility of MBK. If you have any further questions or would like to discuss this matter with me, my contactinformation is set forth below. Thank you for taking the time to review MBK's response. Very truly yours, [redacted], Carlson & Haluck, LLP