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Address: 2650 S Hanley Rd Ste 200, Brentwood, Missouri, United States, 63144-2559
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CAR REPAIR EXPENSE DUE TO ERRATIC EXIT GATE
< https://youtu.be/-GR09QvnBis >
We are tenants at the West End Terrace Apartments, a property of Mills Properties, located on 4466 Greenwich Court, St. Louis, MO 63108. The property has a gate that is operated by a code panel. The gate is set to open for 30-seconds for the vehicle or individuals to exit safely. This has been confirmed by the local staff and has been our experience.
While exiting the property on Oct 13, 2019, we opened the gate and proceeded to exit. In about 5 to 6 seconds as the vehicle reached the gate, the gate closed upon the vehicle damaging the fender. The video and the time counter confirm that. We have a Right to Exit the Property Safely, and that's all we were doing. There was No Time To Safely Exit before the gate charged forward. This is not a video game. We can't take such risks with ourselves and family exiting the complex. Such an incident is traumatic; it has real financial and emotional costs. For the past few months, we have been trying to explain our viewpoint and connect with Mills to pay for the repairs. They told us to have our insurance company contact theirs for security video evidence. Our insurance company finally received all the evidence and told us it was Not Our Fault. Mills insurance company refuses to pay. We would like the Mills Properties to pay for the ~$700 it will cost us for the repair-related expenses. We should not be stuck with this bill, which is unfair and unjust. It is not the first time that this gate has been erratic, and foam padding is required to save vehicles and people. We didn't violate any rule. Where is our fault in trying to exit safely? This gate jeopardized our safety. There are eye-witnesses as well. Accidents happen. Mills should kindly do the honorable thing now and pay for the expense caused by its errant gate. We have spent too much time and effort chasing this claim for something that should have been immediately resolved fairly.
As indicated by the resident, in October 2019, the
resident’s vehicle was damaged as the result of the gate closing while they
exited the property. This was the second
incident with this resident. The first occurrence was two months prior in
August of 2019. At that time we reviewed
the gate’s operation and determined that the gate was operating properly. Although we felt we were not at fault for the
damage, as a courtesy, Mills reimbursed the resident for all expenses related
to the damage of the vehicle.
Two months later, in October 2019 this resident’s vehicle
was damaged a second time while attempting to exit the property. This is the
subject of this complaint. We again reviewed the security footage and requested
a service call by the gate’s vendor to review the gate’s operation. The vendor’s
review determined that all sensors and the gate’s operation were functioning
properly. We have not recorded any other
complaints by residents whose vehicles have been damaged by this gate and feel it
is the resident’s actions while exiting the gate that caused the damage.
The resident is now requesting Mills to cover the repair of
this second incident. Since the
resulting damage appears to be the result of improper use rather than faulty
machinery, Mills rejected the request to pay for the second repair. The resident’s insurance company, ***, did
reach out to subrogate the expenses and they were referred to our claim’s
examiner. *** was provided all
information we had regarding the gate operation and security footage of this
incident. Although the resident claims
*** indicated to them it was “not their fault”, after ***’s review of the
supporting evidence, *** response to our claims examiner was “We do not
have enough information at this time to place the apartment complex
at-fault. Our claim is still open, and
we will review new evidence as it is presented”. Written documentation received from *** to
support the above statement to our claim’s examiner has been provided to the
Revdex.com.
Although the resident states there are witnesses or possibly
other information to support their point of view, at this time we have not
received any further evidence to change our opinion that we are not at fault.
Additionally, *** has made no further follow ups with our examiner to provide
additional evidence to reverse their opinion.
We empathize with the additional costs the resident has
incurred now that this has happened a second time, but we do not feel additional
compensation is due. Our courtesy to pay for the initial repair is fair. Our vendor’s inspection supports the gate
operates within the safety parameters. In this situation we feel that these
damages are the result of the resident’s actions and not the machinery.
If the resident can provide additional documentation to
refute the current findings, they should forward it to their insurance agent,
***, who can review and follow up with our examiner. We are open to reviewing any new information
provided.
I submitted my response.I provided 2 attachments.But it seems only Photo 2 was attached.Photo 1, as referred to in the response, was not attached.I've provided that with this email, and it will be very helpful if you can attach it to the response to make it complete.Thanks & Kind regards
Complaint: ***
These examples are just to show that the gate can indeed act weirdly and unexpectedly, just like it did on the incident day, and to reset the notion that the gate acts fine at all times. It doesn't.
I am rejecting this response because:
it doesn't address the issue. Below, I submit a response to the filing made by the business and provide further evidence of the inconsistency of the gate.================
Dear Mills Properties,Thank you for your response.Since we don't know the name of the person writing, we have to address you as Mills Properties. Based on what you had written, we have touched upon key elements that further prove that the gate can operate inconsistently at times just like it did on the incident day.PREVIOUS INCIDENT (July 8, 2019)Last time, Mills Properties eventually decided to pay for the repairs after noting that the resident could not have done anything to avoid the incident. The incident report is in Revdex.com records (***) and can be reviewed if required.CURRENT INCIDENT (Oct 13, 2019)The incident video is the complete record of the incident - from start-to-finish.
In the video, you can clearly see the resident followed all the guidelines of your office, enter the code, wait for the gate to open, and exit. There was no delay or standing on the resident's part after the gate had opened. What did we do wrong from your guidelines that would have allowed us to avoid this incident?We tried to exit in the same manner that you would have done.It's inaccurate and unfair to say it's our driving. Kindly note, it was the gate that struck the vehicle, not the other way around, and the video doesn't show anything reckless or risky on our part. The gate closed without giving sufficient time to exit. Please be mindful, and as can be seen in the video, that there is an active pedestrian sidewalk immediately outside the gate. Thus, one cannot try to zoom out in the few seconds before the gate closed in the incident.
SAFE EXIT USING SAME PROTOCOL
To illustrate that it was the gate that didn't give sufficient time to exit, here's a recent link of us exiting using the same guidelines, punch the code, wait for the gate to open, and safely exit while being mindful of the sidewalk. As you can see, it was a safe exit with the gate remaining open for sufficient time, instead of jumping too early like it did on the incident day and crashing into the car.
***GATE IS FREQUENTLY OUT-OF-SYNCTo say the gate functions normally is not true. Frequently, it acts inconsistently, and is out-of-sync. This can be seen in the examples below.Example 1 --- The Gate is supposed to remain closed every day from 6 pm in the evening till 8 am next morning, besides Sunday or public holidays when it's closed all day.
Here's a 90-second long video link of the exit gate remaining open over this past Sunday, Feb 16, when it should have been closed. The gate closes typically after a vehicle or person exits in about 20 to 30 seconds. On this day, the gate was open all night. In fact, it was even open all night Sat and we believe even Fri too. Just to show, gate issues happen for whatever reason.
***Example 2 --- Attached is a photo from two days later of the same gate on Tue morning, Feb 18, around 7 am. The gate was protruding out and stuck about one-fourth of the way. We don't know how long it had been like that, but we have seen such instances before as well. Imagine how nervously one has to cross the gate when it's protruding out menacingly, as shown in the photo, hoping that it won't wake up and crash into the vehicle. Once again, gate issues frequently happen.
RUBBER BUMPER TO MINIMIZE DAMAGEThis month, Feb 2020, a rubber bumper was installed on the gate. For whatever reasons it was done, one thing that the bumper will do is to protect people and vehicles when the gate deviates from normal behavior. This bumper would have saved our vehicle or caused less damage when the gate struck it in Oct 2019. Most likely, some issues with the gate and your desire to create a safer environment must have prompted this safety precaution. For if the gate always operates appropriately and safely then there is no need for such a bumper.
CLOSING REMARKSWe observe the rules and play fairly. If we had bumped into the gate due to our reckless driving you would have approached us to pay for the repair, and that would have been fair. Here, we have a right to safely exit while following normal procedures. We observed these procedures and were struck by the gate. As we have shown in various examples, the gate is susceptible to errors. At the same time, the incident video clearly shows us driving in an orderly and cautious manner. It is not fair to be stuck with a repair bill and be told that it's not the gate but our driving which is at fault, a contention not borne out by the video. Trying to enter and exit safely should not be a game of chance. We hope Mills Properties and their representative here will kindly do the fair thing. Respectfully
This gate
is set with a 7 second delay before the closing action commences. If nothing
passes in front of the eye, which is stationed in accordance to proper
guidelines for motorized gates, within 7 seconds of opening, the gate begins to
close. This eye operates like a garage
door sensor and will retract if an object breaks the site line. Additionally, safety features of the gate
hold the gate in the open position should anything interfere with the line of
site or the gate’s operation.As the security footage shows with the October incident,
after the gate opened, the resident delayed exiting by about 3 or 4 seconds
then creeped forward. Although they pulled forward some, it was only enough to
place the nose of their vehicle in the gate’s path but not far enough to
trigger the sensor. Had they continued to pull forward instead of stopping in
the gate’s path, they would have crossed the sensor’s path and the gate would
have stopped immediately and retracted.In the second video the resident shot for comparison, the
vehicle pulls far enough forward to trip the eye thus the gate did not close
until the vehicle exited the eye’s path and the 7 second delay commenced. In January
2020 as part of the gate’s general maintenance schedule, new gate rollers were
installed. The weekend in question the
gate noticed resistance against one of the rollers. This was enough to trigger the gate to the
open position and hold in the open position. The gate was set to shut off and
held in open position to avoid any further damage until the issue could be
fixed by a 3rd party gate repair company. Last
October when this incident was reviewed with the gate repair company and their
inspection indicated the gate was working properly, the PM had inquired if
there were additional safety settings that could be looked into. The company
offered an option to install a rubber pressure sensor on the gate itself. These
sensors were installed as an additional safety measure for both vehicles and
pedestrians and not because of a malfunctioning gate.We
empathize that the resident has again damaged their car as a result of how they
exit the parking lot, but our review
shows that the gate’s operation and its safety features were fully
functional. Additionally, a review by
their insurance company provided a 3rd party perspective of the
incident and found we were not at fault. Our goal is to make sure these gates are safe and
functioning properly to protect our resident’s, guests, their personal
property. With respect to the resident, we still find no cause on our part to
warrant reimbursement of these costs.
We reject the Offer by the business, and provide more evidence that others also found the gate responsible, and clarify the misstatements.MARCH 3, 2020Dear Madam/Sir:All the evidence exists in the video of the incident. There can be clarifying questions, but other than that we all see the same thing and this live evidence is irrefutable. Anyone viewing the video has to make a judgment based on the factual evidence in the video, and answer the key question, Did the vehicle had sufficient time to Exit Safely? 1. Since you state, "after the gate opened, the resident delayed exiting by about 3 or 4 seconds then creeped forward," then kindly use the time displayed on the video counter to advise us all from what time onwards did the 4-second delay begin on the part of the resident. Furthermore, I hope you will agree that "creeped forward" is a highly relative term. Besides, it has to be framed in the context that there is an active sidewalk immediately beyond the gate. 2. The various instances of the gate not performing as it should have were offered by us in our earlier message as only examples that the gate can have mechanical or other issues at times. It's not an infallible piece of machinery, and that's understood. The bumper should thankfully minimize or avoid such damage in the future.3. We had not gone to our insurance company first but had gone to your office for we knew the video would corroborate our belief that the gate closed prematurely. It was your office that refused to share the video and asked us to go through our insurance company (Geico) to obtain the video evidence. At your behest, we approached our insurance company to obtain the relevant evidence and that's why it has been nearly 5-months since the incident.4. There are only 2 outside, unbiased, unvested, unrelated, and credible parties involved - *** and Revdex.com.A) In your last message you noted, "a review by their insurance company provided a 3rd party perspective of the incident and found we were not at fault." This is not a fair account of what *** wrote to you in the Jan 7, 2020 letter that you posted on the Revdex.com forum.At that time, *** had only said the following: "We do not have enough information at this time to place the apartment complex at-fault. Our claim is still open and we will review new evidence as it is presented."How you extended *** inconclusive statement to your conclusion that *** "found we were not at fault," is for you to examine and perhaps explain. But it is an unfair and inaccurate representation. B) As we had mentioned earlier, we don't need an outside expert to interpret what is clearly very evident in the video.But nonetheless, let the record show that *** investigators, who decide on such accidents almost daily, found the gate responsible for the incident after examining all evidence including any delays, which you say occured. Another letter was sent to your office representative by *** on Feb 27, and the same is attached.In the letter *** noted "We have received new video evidence that shows the gate appears to have closed prematurely causing damage to *** vehicle."*** was inconclusive earlier in the Jan 7 letter for it had an unclear understanding of whether the gate operated as an automatic sensor gate or required a code panel to operate. C) The gate provided Insufficient Time to Exit. That is the conclusion drawn by *** from their analysis.Since you have reposed faith in the judgment of the 3rd party, to mention it in your message, "...a review by their insurance company provided a 3rd party perspective of the incident...," would you now kindly put the same faith in accepting this 3rd party's conclusion. At times, opposing parties can find some elements of truth in the way they view an incident. It's hard to put ourselves in another person's shoes. A huge corporation versus an individual is never much of a contest. We hope Mills Properties can rise and do the fair thing and not put the burden on an individual.Thank you for your time.Sincerely,Tarun
We have respectfully
reviewed all information presented in this dispute and have determined that all
safety protocols of the gate were operating properly. Although we can
understand the resident’s perspective on this situation we decline
reimbursement to them for the damages to their vehicle while exiting the gate.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because the business has been judged culpable for the incident through video evidence, circumstantial evidence, and the Insurance company investigation. But it chooses to ignore and offers the same defense that the gate operated safely, without being able to precisely show withing the body of evidence where the resident was at fault.
========
MARCH 17, 2020Dear Mills Properties Representative,It is becoming clear that as all the arguments of Mills Properties have been proven incorrect or misleading, the best defense is to blame the other party. A simple truth escapes your reasoning that indeed if "the safety protocols of the gate were operating properly," the incident would not have occurred. You have not shown any proof of the resident's error. Mills Properties is damaging other people's property, blaming them, and then trying to walk away.
That's not the Mills way and I'm sure founder Bruce Mills and CEO Kirk Mills would not approve of conducting business in such an unfair manner.Let us review the instances of misrepresentation and fault.1. You said that *** wrote "a review by their insurance company provided a 3rd party perspective of the incident and found we were not at fault."It was Proven Wrong and *** never said that.
2. You said that "after the gate opened, the resident delayed exiting by about 3 or 4 seconds then creeped forward."The video Proves It Wrong. There was no 4 second of standing still after the gate had opened.3. A maintenance bumper was installed in Feb 2020, subsequent to the incident in Oct 2019. It only underscores the fact that the gate's operation in its present state was considered less safe. After all, why would Mills Properties spend money on installing a safety feature on the gate if it "determined that all safety protocols of the gate were operating properly."4. *** accident investigators reviewed the incident and clearly noted the Gate's operation was at fault as "it closed prematurely." How can an investigator be more clear than that - the gate "closed prematurely," *** clearly noted.Only the Batmobile had a chance that day to blaze away and that is no guarantee either.5. You never answered our question. Earlier you had continued to bring up *** in your responses and mischaracterizing how they were absolving Mills Properties from culpability for this incident. Then you learnt that *** finished the review and actually found Mills Properties gate responsible for the incident. *** took its time investigating and did a thorough job.So why not accept *** professional judgment now? How does one even challenge that in a court of law or opinion?After all, wouldn't *** have the expertise to offer this informed opinion.Let it not be thought that Mills Properties is just expedient in the way it operates, with no principles that morally anchor it in the community.
You told us to go through the insurance channels and let them get the evidence and see where it goes. We followed your advise. The judgment came out against you.At some point, Mills Properties has to stand for the principles of fairness and integrity.Sooner or later in life, we will all take our own turn being in the position we once had someone else in. Such is life. And I hope you're treated fairly then.Sincerely
We have reached out
to the Revdex.com for direction on what the next step should be for resolution of this
incident as we have reached an impasse on this complaint between ourselves and the resident.
(video footage of incident)
We're tenants at the ***, a property of Mills Properties, ***. The property has a gate that is operated by a code panel. While exiting the property after opening the gate, our vehicle had to stop for a pedestrian. In the meantime, the gate closed and slammed the car. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the car did not lurch forward and strike the pedestrian. The gate should not close if a vehicle or individual is in its path. It's a hazard. We requested the Office for payment of repair to the car, which would run around $800 to $900, based on estimates and rental for the period.
Everything is documented by video footage from the site, but the Office is being dishonorable coming up with strange explanations and refusing to pay for the damages its gate has caused.
As a tenant, we should have the right to safe entry and exit, and any damage caused as a result of an improper setup of the gate mechanism should be compensated for by the property owners/managers. Fortunately, there were no personal injuries to vehicle occupants or pedestrians.
We are happy the resident’s reaction time allowed her to stop her vehicle and avoid hitting the pedestrian who was crossing the drive path.
The gate’s line of sight eye, if triggered, should have prevented the gate from closing. Review of the footage indicated that the vehicle had stopped just short of the sight eye and the gate did not register the object until contact was made. Although the gate’s safety feature prompted the gate to retract upon impact, it unfortunately did cause damage to the resident’s vehicle.
The gate has been inspected and all security features are properly working. This incident was simply an accident.
We do support our property manager’s decision, based her initial assessment of the situation and Mills procedures, to decline payment of the expenses as the situation was not the result of fault by Mills. However, after further review, we do conclude that there was nothing this resident could have done differently to avoid what occurred.
Because this incident was not the fault of any party directly, we do empathize with the resident’s perspective, and Mills will cover expenses related to the damages to her vehicle. We will work with the resident on coordinating these repairs.
Very nasty and infested units at the park val apartment facilities. Unprofessional management practices and corparate agents that lie to avoid fixing problems. Management insensitive and made me feel discriminated against and hired a afro American woman that made it worse. I have been living there since june 2018 and have had 4 major visits from Rotter pest control for bedbugs. The hallways are foul and wreak order throughout the building.
No plans to renew lease??
We are sorry to hear you have been unhappy with your residency at our *** Apartments community. We acknowledge that your apartment was treated for bedbugs as a result of an issue stemming from a neighboring unit. Bedbug protocols require more extensive treatment than periodic pest control so treatment of them can be considered “major”. As bedbugs are an issue we take very seriously, to monitor this situation, *** was requested to make follow up calls to your apartment home to check for any bug activity. The records indicate that of April 17, 2019 there has no bedbug activity in your apartment home. We offered a concession for out of pocket expenses you incurred for a stay at a hotel during the April treatment of your apartment home, however, we are still awaiting a copy of the detailed receipt of that stay to support the expense. If you can provide that receipt, we will kindly offer you the concession we extended for the inconvenience this situation has caused.
As for the additional concerns you have regarding the state and odor of the common hallways, we do not see any deficiencies currently. Reviewing your work order history, it appears that any work order requests you submitted online for us to attend to were responded to the same day as they were reported. We do not see any requests you submitted regarding any issues with the common hallways you indicated in this review. As a result, we were not given the opportunity to address and correct your concerns.
*** Apartments takes all matters very seriously when reported by our residents so we can find resolution. We work to treat each resident respectfully and courteously. Please reach out to the Property Manager to discuss any additional issues you have.
I signed a lease to be out of my apt April 14 2019 and now Mills property is telling me I needed to give them 60 days notice or I have to pay more day.
I signed a lease 5 months ago and told them I would be out April 14 2019. That is what a lease is. If I needed to stay longer I could see that giving them notice So when I went to pay till April 14 on March 27 2019 they had me sign a paper for notice of 60 day and pay all of April 2019. If not they would send it to collections And I will probable have to pay May 2019 also. I was not given any notice in my mail or handed to me about this but they say its in the lease. I gave them 5 months notice when I signed my lease. This to me is consumer fraud and a way for them to get rich on other peoples dime
Why did I need to sign a lease ?
On November 24, 2018 resident signed a lease for an apartment at ***. The term of the lease was from November 17th, 2018 to April 14, 2019. As per the terms set forth in section 20 of our lease, notice of termination of the lease is required to be submitted in writing no less than 60 days in advance of the expiration date. As a courtesy, the apartment will send a notice to the resident advising them of the expiration date prior to the 60-day notice requirement. This notice advises the resident of the expiration and outlines the terms of termination or renewal options. Notice by the apartment is not required but written notice of the expiration was sent to the resident on January 22, 2019.
Lease terms stipulate that if written notice is not given prior to 60 days before the lease ending date indicating the resident’s intent to vacate, a charge equal to 2 months rent is assessed and the resident is required to still vacate the premises on the lease’s expiration.
On March 27, 2019 when the resident went to pay her rent, she verbally gave notice of her intent to vacate her apartment on the lease expiration date as she indicated in her complaint. This notification was made only 19 days prior to the lease end date breaching the covenant of the lease conditions and therefore the resident was subject to the 2-month rent termination penalty for failure to provide timely notification.
The resident indicates that Stanford was required to give her notice of the lease termination which we did but we were not required to do. The resident indicates in her complaint that she was informed the terms of termination were stipulated in the lease, which they are. Resident’s indicates she signed the lease and by signing the terms sheet it stipulates “By signing the Terms Sheet and Lease, each Resident acknowledges that he or she has received, has read and agrees to all the provisions of the Terms Sheet, the *** lease – Terms and Conditions, Etc., and all other agreements included in the definition of the “lease”.” Resident indicates that by signing the current lease she indicated her intent to vacate on the lease’s expiration date but the lease and lease terms she signed does not stipulate the notice to vacate only the lease provisions and terms of the current lease contract.
*** does acknowledge, upon review of the lease terms and conditions sheet the resident signed, that the resident failed initial the early termination clause. Although this clause has no bearing on the failure to give notice to vacate, we understand that all sections of the lease terms, even if not specific to this situation, were not fully executed.
*** supports the position that it is the resident’s responsibility to adhere to all terms of contract for which she is signing and failure to understand the document’s conditions rest solely on the resident. *** has provided the written obligations of performance under this lease and the resident should be familiar with them prior to signing the contract. The lease outlines duties and responsibilities required by both parties.
*** is willing to waive the 2-month failure to notify fee on good faith due to the resident’s missing initials on the early termination fee section of the lease terms, but *** position that the additional fees are due are clearly supported within the lease verbiage and not an attempt to defraud the resident.
On December 29th 2018 we left our apartment to go to the store. Upon locking the door, we felt the lock slip and could not unlock the door. We were locked outside of our home, in the snow. I called our leasing office and a woman answered and said she could not help and we would have to call maintenance. After an hr of waiting someone finally came to try to get us in our home. After finding out that the lock was totally stuck, he attempted to drill the lock out. Once the lock was drilled out, it was discovered it was STILL stuck. The man then had to physically kick our door in breaking the door and frame. He attempted to bind the door back together with 2 bolts and a bracket. However, this caused a major issue in safety as you could see that the door was not secure. He stated "you will get a new door next week". Long story short, two weeks goes by and I call to follow up on the issue. No answer of course so I leave a message. I get a call back shortly after and am greeted with "hello are you looking to get into one of our apartments" Clearly my voice mail was ignored and their main focus was getting others into their units. I explained why I called and she stated that she would email the maintenance manager. Another week goes by and guess what happens, our door gets stuck AGAIN! I called the office and spoke to dontez who has been amazing to work with, and he said that if my fiance could not get the door open to call back. My fiance went home tried the door with no luck and tried to call the office. No answer. Tried to call again, no answer. Finally he walked up to the office and was told the reason they did not answer is because they are all in meetings at this time... 1st - companies supposed to hold meetings in the beginning or end of their shift? Especially if the meetings require ALL staff. 2- when my fiance explained the situation, he was asked for his name, she then asked for his ID, and lastly asked for his social... Again 1st of all- you have A PHOTO ID!! YOU CAN SEE WE ARE RESIDENTS! why was my fiance harassed for extra information that WAS NOT NEEDED! Finally they sent the a superior maintenance man along with the man who kicked in our door to our unit. The superior aggressively yelled at him and said "you never kick in a damn door!" At that time, this behavior was not and will not be welcomed in our home. Period. Long story short they left our home and did not do anything to fix the issue. a few more weeks go by with multiple calls made to the office to report this issue. Finally Febuary 2, I called the office because the APP to pay rent was down. She explained that others were also having this issue and suggested refreshing or trying again later. ANOTHER long story short, our payment went though ONE day late because of the delay in the app. The next day I open the door to leave, and there is a late fee notice on our door. So its simple to come and leave a note on our door ABOUT A PROBLEM THAT WAS REPORTED TO THE OFFICE, but cant seem to come out to replace the door. Frustrated and fed up, I called and refused to pay the late fee. We have NEVER been late on rent and WILL not be late on rent for the remaining of our stay. The did waive the late fee as a "courtesy" and was told that the apartment manager Jesse would be by to look into the matter further. *** comes by and states that he will have someone come by and replace the lock. The next day, a man came by and tightened the screws that were already on the lock. DID NOT replace, just tighten. That very night, we were no longer able to even lock our door, this was another HUGE safety issue. A message was left on *** phone. The next day while I am home sick with the flu, I hear someone pulling and jiggling the handle on our front door. I look out the peep hole and see a large male trying to open the door. I yelled through the door "who is it" no reply. I yell louder "I SAID WHO IS IT" he stops jiggling the door for a moments then aggressively continues to open the door. I finally fling the door open, and I see tools on the ground. If I did not see this and just took action to protect my home, because of the lack of communication that someone was coming over, would I be in the wrong? instead of fixing the issue he hands me a can of WD40 and walks off. I told my fiance about this and he tried to call the office and yet again no answer. He walks over the the office and asks why this was handed to me? They had NO record of sending anyone to our unit, had no idea who it was, or why he did this. ANOTHER HUGE SAFETY ISSUE!!!!! Jesse states that he will be right over to fix it himself. Before Jesse arrives, the man who they had no record of sending over COMES BACK! My fiance asked him if someone sent him over and the man states "no" my fiance asked why he came by and again the man ignored my fiances questions. At this point again, we have the right to defend our home but we did not decide to take this route. Jesse finally comes and the maintenance man was acting very strange and aggravated. *** finally replaced the lock himself and stated that he would have the whole door replaced. We made it VERY clear that we did not want any unexpected visits from maintenance because of all the run ins we have had. He agreed and even went as far to say that this specific maintenance man was told to not even come into our building again. This past Sunday comes around 2/10 and around 530-6pm, we here more giggles on our door and someone pushing and pulling. I look out the hole and see a different man playing with the door, again scared and confused on who it could be, I did not open the door. The man never knocked just played with the handle and then left. I looked out the window and saw his van was labeled as a door man. This concerned me that a sub contracted company would just show up and do this but I didnt think anything of it till my fiance called me monday 2/11 and stated that there are 2 men in our apartment and our door is wide open. AGAIN NO CALL TO TELL US ANYONE WAS COMING! I was beyond furious. I called *** and asked for the head quarters number. Instead of giving me the number, the lady puts Jesse on the phone. I explained what happened both days and he said he would have the maintenance supervisor come by and speak with my fiance about what happened and why we were not notified. Guess what? THAT NEVER HAPPENED! We contacted Jesse and explained we want this situation to be made right as we have heard enough "im sorry's" in the past two months to last a lifetime. We also reached out to corporate who finally called my fiance today to simply say "we wish this didn't happen and were sorry" this is not acceptable in the slightest. Not only were we living in an apartment that we could not easily get in and out of, causing a fire hazard, but also a safety issue, and risked having our things taken.
When the resident originally went to the office to report the issue with the lock, they were given the maintenance emergency number which is protocol when an incident occurs after hours.
When the maintenance tech was dispatched and arrived at the resident’s address it was determined that one of the pins in the lock had broken off inside of the bolt leaving the bolt jammed into the striker plate of the frame. The door was pried open with a bar once the lock was drilled out. The maintenance tech used a metal plated lock cover which has (6) 2” long screws along with 3 sides of metal to secure the lock back into place. This piece is specifically made for the application for which it was used.
We cannot comment regarding the statement that the resident indicated the maintenance tech would have the door replaced that week as we were not present for the conversation, however, when the technician left, the door was in working order, secure and the lock had been replaced and rekeyed.
On 1/15/19 the office was notified that the lock which was replaced on the door was sticking (meaning the key was not working smoothly). The apartment could still be accessed but the key needed to be wiggled in the lock to get it opened/closed. We had received the resident’ voicemail regarding the lock issue. However, we do receive a large volume of calls and the team member mistakenly called back the incorrect number in our call log when this resident received the call back. On 1/15/19 the maintenance supervisor was e-mailed regarding this concern and the work order was placed in our system.
When the resident’s fiancé went to the office to discuss the matter he was asked for his ID or Social Security number as standard protocol when responding to “lock out” situations to insure the safety and security of our residents.
Mills agrees that explicit language should never be used by any employee at any time, especially in front of a resident, and this will be addressed by our staff. The maintenance team rekeyed the door and tested the key which was working at the time of their departure.
We show no record of any calls or maintenance tickets being submitted by the resident in our system during the weeks following 1/15/19 until 2/6/19.
The property manager spoke to this resident on 2/6/19 regarding the payment system and the issues they were having. We acknowledge other residents were having similar issues and the late fee that was posted was waived. The resident had indicated she had called the office on 2/3 but no one answered so she did not leave a voicemail.
On Thursday 2/7/19 one of our maintenance techs came by and changed out the tumbler inside the lock. The tumbler lock is a lock mechanism that uses pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key. The following day, on Friday 2/8/19, our maintenance tech went back over to the unit and sprayed WD-40 on the lock to help lubricate it. This was a step that he had forgotten to do the previous day. He did not need to enter the apartment. The tech left the can on the ground by accident. After the property manager went over to the apartment the tech was getting ready to enter the building to get his can of WD-40 he had left on the floor outside of the apartment. We did not open a ticket for the WD-40 as the technician was only returning to retrieve it since he had forgotten it.
The property manager left the residence at about 2:30pm on Friday, 2/8/19, and contacted the door company to see when they would be able to come out to replace the door. At 5:45 pm that same date, 2/8/19, our property manager e-mailed the resident stating he would contact them on Monday once he had heard from the door company to see when they would be out to replace the door.
We acknowledge that the resident stated they did not want any future unexpected visits from maintenance and our property manager agreed the specific tech would not be back.
On Sunday 2/10/19 the door contractor had come out to check the door size to know what they would need to order. The property manager had not been in contact with the door company prior to this so was unaware that they had dispatched so quickly to have it resolved. We came to find out that there was no need to order a door as the contractor had one available that was not needed from a previous job so the 3-5 day wait to order a new door would not be necessary. The door installers came out to replace the door at 8am the next day, Monday 2/11/19. The property manager had not been in the office since 5:45 the previous Friday night and had not made it to the office by 8am on Monday. At that time, he was unaware the installer had been out, measured the door and had been able to start the door replacement.
The property manager did speak with the resident the morning of 2/11/19 and provided the corporate number as well as a way to get a hold of corporate through the *** website.
The maintenance supervisor did stop by the unit and spoke to both installers but because of the debris in the hallway from the installation was not able to get by so did not speak directly to the resident at that time.
As of 2/13/19 the property manager has spoken to the resident who apologized for this situation and indicated she was thankful for the help provided by the staff and the property manager throughout the process. She was happy the door had finally been replaced.
Mills does see that at times there were miscommunications especially with respect to the installers being dispatched before we were aware and able to notify the resident and we take responsibility that.
At all times we feel the door was in complete working order at all stages but decided to replace the door to be more aesthetically pleasing in the end. At no point we feel there was an issue securing the residence nor a problem with opening/closing the door regarding fire issues.
Work orders were entered each time the resident called and spoke to staff or left a message and we dispatched our techs to address the issue. All our incoming messages are tracked but we do not show a record of all the calls the resident indicated were made.
In summary, while we do feel the communication could have been better between our staff and this resident, in the end the concerns were addressed. The resident now has a brand-new door and lock. After speaking with the resident on 2/13/19 she was thankful and happy to have the new door replaced so quickly from Friday afternoon to Monday morning. Unfortunately, we had not received any communication from the vendor between Friday and Monday morning to notify the resident they would be coming to replace the door that Monday morning.
While we do understand their frustration, at no point do we feel there was an issue with safety or fire hazards regarding the door. The tools and products used on the door were standard for every application in which they were used.
We would never risk the safety of any of our residents at any time.
I MOVED OUT. WHEN I MOVED OUT ON THE DATE MY LEASE WAS UP I WAS TOLD THAT MY ENDING BALANCE WAS ZERO AND I WOULD GET MY SECURITY DEPOSIT MAILED BACK TO ME. I THEN WAS TOLD THE ACCOUNT WENT TO COLLECTIONS AND THE PROPERTY WAS BOUGHT OUT BY ANOTHER COMPANY. WHEN I CALLED THE COLLECTION AGENCY I AM BEING TOLD MULTIPLE DIFFERENT THINGS. I ASK FOR A SUPERVISOR AND NO ONE IS CALLING BACK. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO BUY A HOUSE AND DONT BELIEVE I OWE ANY BALANCE
We have received your complaint and will contact you directly to help resolve this issue. Thank you!
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
They have not reached out to me
Sincerely
Revdex.com 211 N. Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63102 [email protected]
RE: Complaint *** To whom it may concern,
*** has reviewed the information in the resident’s complaint. Upon review of the resident’s file it appears the lease the resident signed was to terminate on January 3, 2016. The resident has indicated that at the time of her move out she was told her balance was $0 and the security deposit would be returned.
According to the resident’s ledger the last payment received from the resident was made on November 9, 2015 in payment of the November rent charges. At that time, a late fee for the late payment of the November rent was outstanding on the ledger.
Our records do not show any additional payments being made by the resident after this payment which include the November late fee, December Rent, December utilities and the corresponding late payment fees for these outstanding balances.
Our notes indicate that in the beginning of December 2015 the resident had indicated the desire to sign a Promise to Pay for the outstanding charges. On December 14, 2015 the property office contacted the resident on the cell phone number on record to follow up on the Promise to Pay and to find out when the initial payment would be received and the Promise to Pay signed. A voice mail was left but we do not show any documentation the call was returned, nor the Promise to Pay signed nor any payment made.
Because the lease was due to terminate on January 3, 2016 there was prorated rent for those days which posted to the resident’s ledger. When the resident returned the keys, she indicated that she had moved out on December 31’ and the property refunded the prorated rent for January which does show as a credit on the resident’s ledger. However, at that time the ledger shows no adjustment for the outstanding December balances that were due which the resident claims would have zeroed the balance.
In addition to the December outstanding balance there were additional damage fees of $110 assessed to the account. Per the lease terms, the security deposit was applied against the damages and outstanding charges. Therefore, no deposit was available for refund.
The resident has indicated she was “told” she had a zero balance on her account at the time she vacated the apartment, but our records do not show this. We do show that we granted a 3-day credit for the January prorated charges upon her indication she vacated the unit on December 31,2015. As per the terms of the lease, changes or amendments must be in writing. I can find no documentation to support the claim she had a zero balance when she left this community.
The past due amounts were forwarded to collections, as per our protocol, when balances are left on a resident’s account after lease termination. The file was sent to collections on January 25, 2016. This property was sold in July 2016 but that had no bearing on the collection issue.
If the resident can provide the documentation she received from the property indicating her account was, or should have been adjusted to a zero balance, or can provide a copy of a cancelled check in payment of the December outstanding charges, we will be happy to review it. If our records are in error we will coordinate any necessary items to resolve the issue quickly.
As of today, upon review of the resident’s ledger and our records, the amounts turned over to collections at the resident’s lease termination appear to be a valid debt and the security deposit was applied per the terms of the lease.
I want to resolve this problem amicably.. Problem: I Found out that the job I came to St. Louis for was ending, but I did not know when. I spoke with the property manager Julie, I asked fro multiple ways to help if I indeed was leaving prior signing this years lease. For 3 months she and I would correspond and she finally gave a area manager named ***. Who is what I am complaining about. At the time of lease renewal 7/14/18, I wrote on the lease that I was leaving at the end of August. After receiving no HUMAN help. Today I find out, that Mills Properties is expecting me to pay over 1800 dollars and has already decided to sue or send to collection agency. This is ridiculous. The Missouri Complied Laws ( Rental/renters ) states, that if I find myself in a special circumstance that I am suppose to ask the community property to help, instead, all I am getting is policy and procedures that the company wrote, so only the company can maneuver... I am moving out 8/25/18, I have already had a walk through, ad because I informed the property on the Lease Renewal dates 7/11/18.. I will not be paying any other funds outside of the last of the utilities. at $210.00. Dollars. I hate that this property has over 60 something units and when one person ask for some help they are so money hungry and non humanitarian that what I asked for as a solution he has been saying no to everything. He stated that if he did it for me, he would have to do it for everyone. THAT is simply some (expletive removed).
I wont my bill cleared with this company. I should not owe any funds.
When this resident was deciding whether or not to renew her lease based on the possibility of an employment transition, both the property manager and regional manager spoke with her and clearly explained her options to her, that she had the option to sign a month to month lease or sign a full contract, and explained what her obligation would be if she decided to sign a full contract lease term, including the early termination fee and 60 day notice she would be required to give. She was given options to accommodate her employment circumstance by being offered the month to month lease term option with only a 30 day notice to vacate until she knew her job status. She chose, after being made aware of both options, to sign a full contract lease term because she did not want to pay the higher price of a month to month renewal. Every effort was made to clarify her options and notify her what the policy would be with a full term contract, and after weighing her options, she chose the full term contract. We apologize that the resident does not feel that these fees should apply to her, but efforts were made in advance to assist her in her transition and we are unable to further accommodate her requests. Thank you.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: The statements is not true. I asked per on the lease, that I be considered as given notice on 7/11/18. Also the site manager tried to help me, by reciting the policy as stated in the above response. Nothing was given as a exception to help me, in knowing for over 4 months that I was leaving at the end of August. Why not allow me to pay July at the 1300.00 which is what I asked. And the same for August. Considering that I spoke 6 different times asking that they is some exception. Once again, I spoke with and small claims judge in rental/ tenant courts. As per the rental laws of Missouri, the property can decide to amend and help residents. This property chose not help , stating, that If I help you I ll have to help all the residents. The property is correct, that I chose to renew the lease because MY job was not releasing a date of departure. Why would I opt to pay $ 1500.00 a bucks a month and I wasn't sure what was happening. Once things got closer to knowing I kept speaking and asking for help. I offered to pay 1300 for August and possible September if I were still there.
But as far as notice Mills property has had notice since April verbally and June on email and again formally in writing in July. I have those emails and its on the lease. I put in the appropriate notice. I will not be paying 2 months of something that I didn't use. And there are other units open, so renting my unit will take the same time if not less to rent back out, so Mills is not out of any cash for that unit.
This property is all about gaining what they can from the resident not about being Human and caring for the people. As I stated, I don't owe this company any funds, And I want to clear my name in that State. I notified the manager and the area manager that I was leaving at the end of August. And I did. 2 verbally and 2 on paper. Please clear my name of any bills owing to Mills. Legally I did what you asked. I notified you.
The site manager ***, has confirmed with me the day she completed the walk thur, that she came to *** many times, asking the questions that I was trying to get help with, before things got this far. Multiple emails and conversations. She ( ***) states; that she explained that I wanted to pay $1300 for the month, that I tried to ask *** , I tried to offer just one more month before I signed the lease and all were met with No. Even once I signed the lease and wrote on the bottom of the lease, I asked again that I be allowed to pay just August and move. *** said that she asked *** , He said no!
THERE is NO reason that I should be accommodated. In some fashion!
Sincerely
Since my time living at Stanford Place Apartments (left in 2017) I have come to learn from many other former Mills residents in the St. Louis region that Mills Properties are often viewed as high-rent slumlords, whose residents had many of the same complaints that I did - namely maintenance requests and equipment are grossly inefficient and expensive (such as A/C unit and thermostat were so outdated in my apartment that my electricity bills for a small 1000 sq foot apartment were close to $300 a month!), and the staff is unprofessional (or maybe just incompetent) when dealing with so-called “valued” residents. I lived at Mills Properties’ Stanford Place Apartments for 4 years from June 2013- June 2017, and was an exemplary resident and neighbor of the Stanford Place community - paying on-time rent (unlike many others in the community) every month of my lease for a total of over $55,000. I vacated the residence 10 days before my lease was actually up - and generously gave notice to Stanford Place so they could have an early opportunity to begin renting my apartment early to someone else. To provide a background on my main issue I want to address: On Monday, February 20, 2017, I received an e-mail from Martha Jarka which indicated I could decide whether to renew my lease in May. I decided during the month of March that I was going to seek a new residence elsewhere. On April 10, I provided notice to *** (via e-mail), that I would not be renewing my lease. On April 24, while I was in the leasing office *** asked me whether I was planning on renewing, and I informed her that I would not be renewing and that I had already e-mailed them on April 10, stating as such. *** asked me to resend the e-mail, which I did that same afternoon upon arriving home. My lease expired on May 31. After April 24, as I was moving out of the apartment early, I was then informed that since I did not provide a “60-day” notice, that I would be charged significant amounts of money more ($350 plus a $140 utilities bill somehow - which was also never communicated to me). Literally the last time I had signed a complete lease and sat down with management had been four years earlier, and there was literally no notice or anything to me about giving them 60-days notice. You would think management would provide notice to their residents of a policy like this, but there was NEVER any notice. This money, close to $500, was taken from me - charged when I was NOT EVEN LIVING IN THE APARTMENT. What is even more egregious is that *** directly stated to me in an e-mail that they provide the 60-day notices to all their residents about their leases expiring. There was literally zero e-mails or communications from Mills Properties staff about this, and when I asked *** in writing multiple times to provide the notices she claimed were sent to me, she had no proof whatsoever and all she could do was restate the fine print in my lease I signed 4 years earlier. Management could have literally provided me notice at any point over the lease renewal process (which I did THREE separate times), and at no point from January 2017-on when I discussed renewal with staff of Stanford Place was the "60-day notice" communicated to me. I am happy to provide all my e-mail communications on this issue as well. It is my opinion that Mills Properties often engages in egregious, unfair, and grossly deceptive business practices. You would think a valued resident (for years) who paid over $55,000 in rent on-time to Stanford Place and kept their apartment in excellent condition would have been extended a little professional courtesy on matters such as these the lease came to an end. To quickly address two other issues about Stanford Place. Their A/C units and other appliances are so grossly inefficient to the point that I had to beg for my air conditioning to be fixed multiple times. My electricity bill because of these issues came out to $300 many months when an apartment that size (1000 square feet) should have been roughly half that. Also, in December 2016, my dog and I were attacked (without any provocation) by another resident’s dog while on Stanford Place property. The resident’s dog (which was a rescue and part wolfhound) stood near waist-height and weighed well over 100 pounds. The attack resulted in a trip to Urgent Care and numerous stitches to my upper arm and leg. At the time, I did not report this incident to Stanford Place because the owner was extremely apologetic and covered my urgent care bills, but in retrospect I should have. There was supposedly dog size-limit policy at Stanford Place, but it obviously wasn’t enforced, otherwise there would have been NO resident on the property with a dog that big and that dangerous.
We are sorry to hear about your poor experience. While we understand that you are no longer a resident, your opinion is important to us and we want to thank you for being with our property for 4 years. We are improving our maintenance teams with on-site training and certification classes. Also, a majority of our apartments have undergone renovations and upgrades to our equipment. Regarding your renewal notice, I’m not able to look up your account based on your profile, but every lease agreement states that the property requires a 60-day notice to vacate. If you would like to speak with the regional manager about this in more detail, you can reach her at ***. Lastly, we are so sorry to hear about your dog incident. While we do not have a weight or size limit for our residents’ pets, we do have breed restrictions.
Numerous issues about this apartment. The carpet is needing to be replaced. They came out only to clean it. More issues I'm willing to discuss with the corporate.
The property manager has been in touch with the resident as well as the new maintenance manager. They have scheduled to fix an issue between the carpet and vinyl as well as clean the carpet. The property team is in contact with the resident and is working to accommodate her requests.
I was there last week. I looked at the website for their hours. They closed at 6 and I got there around a 5:15pm. I stood in the lobby for about ten minutes before realizing I needed to walk in closer to the offices. I looked to my right to see 2-3 employees having the time of their life talking in the back. I was finally noticed by a woman who approached me.
I said that I wanted to look at their 2 bedroom style apartments. She walked past me and over to a nearby computer and then back up to me and said, "It is 5:27 and we stop doing tours at 5:30. Would you come back tomorrow instead?" I was like, I have to work tomorrow but maybe Friday (which I did not). She said, "Ok." I left.
So, there were several employees and nobody cared enough about customer service to actually take the time to properly greet me. And then, after standing there for about 5 minutes, to say that it is 5:27 but they stop tours 3 minutes from that time.
And, she did not ask my name or to schedule an appointment. I was not offered any floor plans or given any verbal pricing information.
I left.
What horrible customer service! I tried contacting the Mill's Property but it is impossible to get through to anyone without leaving my name and number. I tried for several days to reach someone but nothing.
Hello *** We apologize for the poor customer service that you experienced at one of our communities. We have reached out to the community to address this issue as it is not our policy to leave customers waiting in the lobby without assistance, especially when we are not busy. We do halt giving tours at 5:30, however, we will evaluate this as a company to determine the best path forward. We appreciate your feedback and plan to incorporate it into making customer experiences better in the future. We value customers like you and we are truly sorry. Thank you again.
Thank You for the response to this matter. But, if your tour at stopping 30 minutes prior to closing hours and from a customer perspective, the tour hours should be listed on the website. But, all of that aside, the rep walked past me to look at the computer and say that we stop tours 3 minutes from now, come back the next day?? She didnt offer and appointment, take down any of my info or ask what I was looking for, dates, or even offer any floor plans and costs and all of that with 33 minutes before closing. They only seemed to care about waiting to leave or talking amongst themselves. RUDE!!
I became a resident June 2017 and fell behind on rent payments. I signed an agreement to pay $765 by February 16, 2018 that did not include the February late fee of $125. However, I did pay $905 by the due date which was $15 over the balance. Later I received a statement saying I owed an additional $65 due to your miscalculation. I should not have to pay extra due to your error.
The property manager has reached out to the resident and resolved this complaint. They agreed to waive the $65 balance. Thank you.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
They have agreed to waive the $65.00 fee due tp the promise to pay agreement signed and filed, the paperwork and bank statements showing proof of payments, but they failed to give me my $15.00 credit due to over my over payment the is shown on the same paperwork.
Sincerely
The resident's ledger is attached. The property manager sat down with Mr. and went over his entire ledger from move-in day and compared payment receipts to ledger. There was no over payment of $15 made, as shown on ledger. The ledger shows the $65 credit given and the payment he made after to get him to a zero balance. The property manager has tried to reach out to him again but he has not responded.
I have lived in a Mills Property apartment for almost 7 years. I was recently sent a renewal notice dated 1/9/18 telling me what a great valued resident I am and 3 days later after having a very congenial conversation with the New Leasing Manager they evidently drafted a letter stating that they were not renewing my lease and they were exercising a clause referenced Page 6 That states - Resident hereby acknowledges that Company reserves the right to terminate this lease for any reason, with or without cause. The letter was on my door when I came out to go to work on 1/19/18. When I called and talked to the New Leasing agent ***, she advised me the reason was that they had complaints. I said I have never received a complaint or notice of one in the time I have lived here. She would not even tell me the nature of the so-called complaint so I escalated to the Regional Manager a woman named ***. She said she would look into it eeventhough *** led me to believe they had already talked *** did not seem to know much about it. This was 1/22/18 and was promised a return phone call by the end of the day. I got an email stating there were recent complaints but again no details and that they were going to excersize this ***. I have been a model tenant and have put up with a lot from the staff and tenants. They don't want to hear complaints about tenants or the shoddy repairs and inferior materials that create further and on-going problems. A year ago after back to back events of a tenant in an adjacent building leaving their dogs alone and barking so loud it sounded as if the doors and windows were open myself and another tenant called the police. This was 2 Saturday nights in a row some of the most beautiful weather and after no relief I called the emergency maintenance line and requested he call the Leasing Manager and he said hae had no way to get ahold of them and I replied what if there were an emergency like Earthquake, fire, flooding, etc. And I told him in an emergency he ahold to be able to get ahold of them. I was then told that they didn't think they could make me happy and were not renewing my lease. I went and talked to the Leasing Manager at the time *** and advised would keep my mouth shut period whether I was right or not. She renewed me a probation period. Mind you I have never had a complaint form another tenant brought to my attention. Then I was renewed again for 6 months and now with no advance notice or telling me even the nature of the supposed complaint they are exercising a ***. They did some upgrades to my apartment last year as they said couldn't help raising the rent but could do some upgrades. I found out recently that my neighbor below me pays considerably more than I do monthly for less apartment and amenities (upgrades). I believe this is nothing more than move me out and up the rent. People need to be aware of these clauses. May be legal but I would not nor do I believe most people would enter into a business agreement with this kind of autocratic clause that they can end your lease without provocation or any notice or reason in order to rectify. When *** was the Assistant Leasing Manager she never returned phone calls or put in maintenance requests with any consisitency which I brought up to *** several times so I believe this is an abuse of power and a retaliation for pointing out her very poor business practices.
Unfortunately, this resident has received multiple complaints of abusive verbal behavior from other residents as well as aggressive verbal behavior towards on-site associates. Due to these complaints and this behavior, the property manager sent him a non-renewal letter on his last lease term. Due to needing time to find a new apartment, he was given a grace period of a 3 month lease term to find a new place to live upon his request. This manager is no longer with the company and this time period has ended and while we apologize for the confusion with the new staff sending him a renewal letter, it was corrected and the non-renewal letter was sent afterwards. The resident has been aware of his non-renewal since he first received it his last lease term in 2017 and was aware his grace period was to find a new place. He has continued to try to extend this period, but has been given ample time to find a new place to live. This grace period will no longer be extended and the resident will need to vacate his apartment on the date his lease term ends on April 9, 2018.
I am in a lease at *** in St. Louis Mo.
My unit has had sewage back up happen 3 times during my time here, displacing me from having a place to live. The office has been very rude and non responsive to my concerns. I finally got approval to move to another unit on Friday,however now I can not get any response from the office to complete the paperwork and get me moved, Again more days being displaced out of a home at no fault of my own.
We apologize for any confusion with the transfer. When the resident came to transfer to her new unit, she did not have renter’s insurance for the new unit, which is required at all Mills properties. She also did not have electric or gas service transferred into her name. The property manager reached out to her to explain that these items were needed and she said she would have them by the end of the day to sign her new lease paperwork to move in. The resident came in January 9th with all items completed and was able to sign her lease paperwork and move into her new apartment.
For the past two months I have been contacting the maintenance line about my water not getting hot and they'll tell me the pilot is going out and has to be relit. Every time I report the issue it'll take the maintenance team a day or two to respond and the next day or sometimes the day after I'll have to call and complain about the same issue. There is an amenity of 24 hour maintenance, so I am unsure why I have to wait a full day and on the weekends I have to wait until Monday to be serviced. I spoke with the assisted manager, supervisor of the maintenance team, and the ladies in the resident center about them replacing the part that is not working properly on the hot water tank, however they still have not done anything to permanently resolve my issue. So for the past two months I have not been having hot water on a consistent basis. The members of the maintenance team enters the apartment even though I state I don't want anyone entering if there isn't a response at the door. I want to point out that in order to relight the pilot on the hot water tank it does not require them to enter the apartment. I have been walked in on twice by members of the team and I was not properly clothed. I complained about them entering the first time it occurred and it happened again after I put in the complaint. I do not feel comfortable nor safe with the men taking advantage of their power. I attempt to contact the property manager and I'll get her assistant who takes my information down to give to her and I still have not received a response from her. I called to have a print out of my work order history and they made an excuse saying their system was down and they'll contact me once it's up and running and I have not received a call back. There is no reason that as a resident I should not be receiving the full amenities the complex has to offer and have to deal with anyone entering my apartment without my permission.
After reviewing the resident's work orders, we were able to confirm her maintenance requests for hot water. Each time the request was entered, the maintenance team member responded well within 24 hours (or same day). The pilot light was re-lit and hot water tested. They also found in one instance the shower head was clogged, causing back pressure on the moen stem, which was fixed as well, and tested with hot water being 120. As of 12/29, the maintenance supervisor did agree to replace the water heater per the resident's request and this has been completed.
My complaint is about unfair business practices, particularly concerning a collections notice I received stating that I owed a month's worth of rent for the month AFTER I moved out after 4 years of living at *** Apartments. It also included more than $500 in additional fees without any definition of what these fees were for. The notice says I am not to contact *** again, for example, for an explanation, but that I am to work directly with the collections agency. This is particularly frustrating because I was a good tenant and paid my rent on time (except for a few times when I was a couple days late, although I always paid my late fees without complaint). There is a circumstance that *** management may use in justifying the extra month's rent: I decided to move out after a terrible experience with my downstairs neighbors (noise late at night, people coming and going, trashy apartment and back porch and bed bug and cockroach infestations) and said I could leave before the 90 days were up since I had decided to buy a property in another neighborhood. I was told I would be charged for the full 90 days so I decided I would maintain my tenancy and come to use the washer and dryer during the final month since I had to purchase new appliances for my new condo. I was later contacted and told that someone was interested in moving into my apartment and management asked if I would be willing to move out early, in which case I would not be charged for November's rent (the final 30 days of my 90-day notice). I officially moved out on Oct. 30, but due to a rib injury, it took me longer than expected to get back to clean out the apartment. I kept the management apprised of what was happening, and was finally out with my keys left in the freezer as I had been instructed on Nov. 3. During this time, I received no notice that our verbal/email-backed agreement would change because of the additional days it took for me to move out (in other words, that I would be charged a full month's rent for the 3 days in November). I never received a notice that rent had been charged to me, and never received a notice of any kind that additional fees would be levied against me. I received no notification from management about these matters when I moved out, and had no idea about any of the charges until I received the collections letter.
After reviewing her ledger and speaking with the property manager, some of the items the resident mentioned are not accurate. The resident was not charged a full month of rent in November. She was only charged 2 days ($90.66) through November 2nd, the day she officially turned in her keys and vacated the apartment, as she mentioned. The other fees that were charged were her utility billing, which is mailed to her each month (it is charged in arrears so she received her final statement at time of move-out) and the extra cleaning and carpet replacement charges. The condition of her carpet was irreparable (due to stains and pet odor) and her apartment was not cleaned upon move-out. There was a $60 charge for cleaning and the total invoice for the replacement of the carpet and pad was $1057.80. Mills uses a third party company to manage move-out/post move-out charges. This is included on notice and move-out statements to all residents. Residents have 30 days to pay or make payment arrangements with *** before they are officially in collections, as is stated on the letters they send to residents. The property has worked with the resident on numerous occasions, including the non-renewal of the neighbors 5 months before she moved out as well as working to find a new resident for her apartment when she stated she needed to move out because her condo was closing sooner than expected. We apologize she was unable to clean the apartment due to her situation, but through our email contacts, she understood that leaving the apartment in good condition was a requirement upon move-out. We are willing to deduct the $60 for the additional cleaning from the total costs. We will contact *** so they are aware she is now responsible for $1241.58, however, her account cannot be paid with Mills; she will need to contact *** to handle payments.
This apartment complex allows maintenance workers to enter your apartment without work order. Staff roam freely through your personal belongings. I caught a maintenance guy sneaking in my apartment with a key and he ran and left when he seen I was still home.
Several people from the team spoke to this resident as well as the regional manager. After speaking with the maintenance team, it was made clear that this was simply a mistake made by a maintenance team member who misunderstood his task due to a slight language difference. The key the maintenance man had was for vacant units only and was not able to open this resident's door, however, the door was unlocked, so the maintenance man entered to check if the unit was vacant to throw out the item that he had been tasked to clean up. When he saw the unit was not a vacant unit, he left. The resident has been informed and apologized to and the locks have been changed as she requested. There was no roaming through belongings or ill intent and we sincerely apologize for the confusion.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: The maintenance staff member entered my apartment and The door to my apartment was not unlocked . My boyfriend asked the guy why he was there and the guy responded “i was picking up trash” after asking what trash the guy left my apartment and ran out of the building. This conversation was never mentioned in his interview. The trash the guy was supposed to pick up was outside no where near my apartment and a few days later was still there. The property manager did an investigation also and she reported back to me and said the maintenance guy told her that A man had opened the doorfor him. He told her he struggled with the door and realized the key did not work, then also realized the door was open , and that is when a man opened the door for him. Still no mention of the conversation about him “getting trash” Witch is not true and is also a totally different story than the one submitted. The guy did not struggle with the door he came right in!The regional manager also changed my story and didn’t reference my police report to make sure she had the story straight. She said this was all a human mistake but if so why didn’t the guy report the incident. And why haven’t management given me something in writing about this incident I was never .apologized to I was never listen to and was lied on and told everything thing I had reported was a lie and I was not easy to deal with so the situation is over! I had a staff member call me because he found one of my complaints in the printer. After telling him about the situation and he told me the same maintenance guy did this to his wife he was from another country and he didn’t not know what this guy does thi. after the regional managers interview his story was completely changed, and my story was disregarded and The regional manger told me I lied about what the guy had told me she even lied about what I had told her. She did not have my exact words so how could she conduct a proper investigation?
Manager didn’t even want to give me their bosses number but with some patience I still found the through other avenues. These people are trying to cover something up and it is not safe. If this guy has so much language difficulties and obviously can’t read a work order he should not have a job where he only has to read work orders. This was no mistakes this was a burglary. Also a violation of my 4th amendment rights .
Sincerely
The resident called emergency maintenance on the date of the occurrence and they apologized to her. The regional manager also listened to her at length and apologized. The maintenance technician is able to read work orders; this was a one-time mistake that was verbally given to him and he is aware of it as is the entire team, as well as the resident's locks being changed, and as previously clarified, the key he had could not unlock her apartment as it was for vacant units. There have been no other instances of this occurrence by him nor has any of our staff suggested that. Due to the verbal and physically abusive behavior the resident has exhibited when the office associates and regional manager have tried listening to her statements, as well as when the police arrived on the day of the occurrence, as well as when trying to change her lock as she requested, we do not feel there is anything more we can do to resolve this matter. If the resident does not feel she is able to reside in the community any longer, the community is happy to discuss lease termination options with her.
I moved in October of 2016 and have had the absolute worst experience with any renting situation I have ever experienced in my life. To start, our rent was to be $845 for a 2 bd apartment and halfway through signing our lease an extra $75 a month of fees were tacked on and we had already signed the lease so it was too late to back out. We complained countless times about horribly maintained grounds for our dog as well as unreal loud upstairs neighbors to never get a response. The water heater leaked and ruined multiple items due to mold and there response was to put a fan in the closet until I moved out 2 weeks later..and for the cherry on top we were completely screwed out of our security deposit. We gave them $300 per person and $300 for a pet deposit. They claim that half of that is non refundable so they can clean the apartment once we move out which I completely understood. When it came time for the security deposit it took them an entire month to mail it to us and I was expecting a $450 check, they sent a check for $63. All of these bogus charges for 75 day fees for water, trash, sewer, electric and gas. We didnt even have a gas unit. I have fought tooth and nail to get my deposit back only for them to basically tell me tough luck. So now all I can do is try and save the next sucker from moving to this JOKE of an apartment complex. Consider yourself warned.
I have reviewed your file. Per your lease and account ledger you did pay $845 per month for rent. There was no increase midway through the lease. At move in you paid a $150 security deposit and a $150 pet deposit for a total deposit of $300. Residents are responsible for utility payments. Electric and/or gas are set up by the resident and billed directly to them. You do not have any electric or gas charges on your ledger. Water, sewer and trash are billed through the property and are billed in arrears so that's why at move out your final charges are for 75 days. The final water, sewer, trash bill equaled $85, which was deducted from your security deposit. A final walk through was conducted at your apartment to determine any move out charges. There was a total of $125 in damage charges therefore leaving you with a $62.74 refund. As of 11/1 per your conversation with our accountant we are refunding you an additional $27.26 for a charge for one day of rent that we have agreed to refund you. You will receive that in the mail within 30 days.
That is a complete lie. We were told when we moved in that 1/2 of our deposit was non refundable so that you guys can pay for the cleaning once we move out. So for me, my brother and the pet deposit you received $900 from us and we went not once but twice to speak with *** to make sure we were getting our security deposit it once we moved out. He informed us both times that as long as we're turned in that signed piece of paper letting you know we were moving out and the apartment was clean then we would be fine. I expressed my concern about the carpets that were stained from walking in the apartment. He also informed me then that you would clean the apartment out of the non refundable portion. Not one person told us about those 75 day fees. You charged us twice for a utility fee and twice for water, sewer and water waste. This just tops off an absolutely horrible renting experience and I have personally turned away several possible tenants to deter this happening to anyone else. I actually needed that deposit to put down on my new apartment and to be expecting $450 and to receive $90 is just a slap in the face. After months of unanswered complaints with neighbor issues and maintenance just ignoring requests from replacing doggy bags at the waste stations or picking up debris around the apartment so I can walk my dog. I am attaching the notice you sent out with the charges. Unless we receive a full refund I will continue to turn away as much business as my brother and I can and leave as many reviews as possible to warn any future residents not to expect any of there deposit back and the hassle it is to live in your complex.
I HAVE LIVED ON MILLS PROPERTIES FOR TWO YEARS THE *** APARTMENTS AND TOWNHOMES PROPERTY IN PARTICULAR. THERE IS A NEW PROPERTY MANAGER JESSIE BERGER WHO IS DISHONEST AND LAZY. I HAVE NOTHING BUT ISSUES WITH MY LIVING AND LEASE RENEWAL SINCE SHE BECAME MANAGER. I HAVE TRIED REACHING OUT TO HER SUPERVISOR AND HER SUPERVISORS BOSS AND HAVE YET TO MAKE CONTACT OR RECIEVE A CALL BACK.
I sent this to the regional manager for *** who informed me that she had already spoken to the customer today and they agreed upon a 30 day notice instead of the standard 60 day notice required on our lease, so we believe this complaint has been addressed and resolved. Thank you.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely
and *** were extremely rude. I contacted the property to confirm that they had received a request from another apartment complex and they were very very impolite and even hung up on me. I asked *** for corporate contact information and she declined to give me that information and suggested that I go to Google to look it up. I asked her what the correct spelling was of her name was and she said that I didn't need to know all that. When I asked to speak to the manager she asked me what my problem was(?)and she also mentioned that her manager does not take calls from people but I can leave a voicemail. After searching for the information on Google as I was rudely suggested to do, I found nothing except a local phone number. I contacted the number and only got voicemails, so I'm not sure if this is a legitimate company anymore. If indeed it is it legitimate company, I would suggest no one ever rent from the Mills property because of their lack of cus***er service and not to mention the properties are unfavorable.
This customer called Pavilion requesting information about a previous resident, not having been a resident herself. This is against our policy and also illegal. Our property representative tried to explain this to the customer as well as asked her to have the actual former lease holder call to request the information, however, the customer was not happy with this response. We apologize if the customer felt this was rude, however, we are unable to complete this request. A representative from our corporate office has reached out to this customer to try to further explain and apologize for any confusion in this matter.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I asked general questions to the leasing agent and did not get proper responses. I think the problem is that the customer service is so bad that it makes the employees defensive au***atically so their job is full of stress. I advise that the company take more of a customer friendly approach to usher in new applicants. The screening of management calls, lack of manager presence and berating tone of the staff members are extremely toxic to any business. However, I still seek the corporate contact information as I'm not convinced this company is legitimate. It seems like the staff is operating under the same impression.
Sincerely
The community property manager and corporate regional manager have both called this resident at the phone number provided and left messages with their contact information. The customer has not answered or called back. Unfortunately, at this time, we feel there is nothing else we can do to resolve this customer complaint. We cannot give the customer the original information she was requesting due to fair housing and privacy regulations and we cannot find out what else the customer may want/need as we cannot get in contact with her. Thank you.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I have not received a phone call. Also, the organization is just poorly organized not to mention lacks customer service. The Mills company conducts business by channeling emotions instead of focusing of the needs of the customer. The way I was treated was unprofessional and uncalled for. I would encourage the staff to review the customer feedback listed online that very much supports my statement. This company treats customers horribly and has no real interest in servicing their residents.
Sincerely
Recurring mold issues causing asthma and allergy issue for myself and my child. Destruction of property from mold.
The issue that the resident is referring to is from two years ago. The resident was previously transferred from this apartment. The property has been in contact with this resident to explain that due to the length of time since the incident and the lack of evidence, no monetary compensation will be given.