Seashore Realty Group, Inc.

SeaShore Realty withdrew funds from my checking account for $200 in what they are calling damages without communicating those damages first.Re:Vacation at [redacted] rented via SeaShore Realty from June 14 - June 21st, 2014. Damage insurance was purchased for $45.00 with original reservation. During our travel down we realized that we were running late and called the office to make sure they knew that. No one answered and we left a message. No one returned our call. We got to the resort after 5 pm and obtained our keys and information from a lock box. Upon arrival to the condo,there was a dryer full of clean rugs, etc which had been left by ???the cleaning crew or the former people who rented the condo?? We removed them and placed them on a shelf in the laundry room. We brought our own towels and bed linens as we prefer to use our own and removed their bed linens and placed them in a closet in each room. A rocking chair on deck was wobbly - as the arm had pulled away from back of chair. We did not report that as it was a typical issue for furniture left out in the elements. Upon checkout on June 21st- we went over the check out list carefully.We left the keys, etc in the lock box as there was no one manning the check out desk (about 8:30 am) We returned to our homes in [redacted] after what we thought was a great vacation. On June 29th, I was doing my online bill payment and banking and happened to see a pending charge of $200 by SeaShore realty. Since it was a Sunday afternoon, I immediately emailed [redacted] at SeaShore as I fully expected this to have been a mistake. I had not received ANY communication that there had been a problem or that we were going to be charged for anything. We have been vacationing at Topsail for over 20 years and have NEVER had any damages charged to us. Our family group is all adults and we are all very respectful of others property. She returned my email indicating that there were several problems noted upon our check out. 1) a missing throw from the living room 2) broken furniture on the patio and 3) Feces on a comforter requiring professional cleaning. I was very upset to receive this message and responded that I had to contest those damages and would like to speak to someone by the end of Tuesday (July 1st). I did receive a call from a [redacted] on Monday at 5:05pm. After a 15-20 minute conversation I found that he was not very helpful and was actually rather dismissive of me and argumentative on occasion during our conversation. I understand that they probably have damage issues quite often by vacationers but I certainly did not feel heard or respected by him. He kept stating we should have purchases damage insurance (which we did). I explained that we did not use the comforters in the condo (in addition that we had only ADULTS making the feces issue ridiculous!), we never even saw a throw in the living room and the deck chair was broken when we arrived. My belief is that whoever inspected the condo before our arrival did not do a very good job of it. They obviously missed several things that we are being blamed for. He indicated his surprise and disbelief that we hadn't been contacted about the damages until I CAUGHT them taking the charge out my checking. Who knows if or when they would have contacted me if I hadn't caught it on line? I asked if they had any pictures as proof of our damage and he stated that he did not. At the end of our conversation, he said he would need to do further investigation and would call me back within 24-48 hours. The next day, I emailed [redacted] and [redacted] to refer them back to our original reservation which included the insurance).It is now 7 days later and I have not heard any more from anyone at SeaShore Realty. As I told [redacted], I am extremely disappointed at their lack of communication, their charges without notification, and their unwillingness to effectively listen to my concerns. If we had done the damage we were accused of - we would have reported it and happily paid for the expenses necessary. Integrity is important to us. Desired SettlementThe settlement we would like to see is 1) Return of the $200 as we truly are not responsible for the damages. 2) an apology for lack of communication when the initial funds were removed from my account and during the past week. I have NEVER felt the need to report a business to the Revdex.com before. In fact this is the first time I have ever felt that a business appears to have been negligent in their communication of a potential problem and inflexible in their view of the situation. Business Response Seashore Realty Group, Inc. acknowledges the charges to the tenant's ([redacted])credit card in the amount of $200.00. The tenant has stated accurately the damages that were reported by the property inspector after the tenant vacated the unit.The tenant references a conversation in which she states " He kept stating we should have purchases damage insurance (which we did)." She is correct and she was told that she had purchased the damage insurance in the phone conversation that she references with [redacted].The reason for the charge to her credit card in the amount of $200.00 is that per in her rental agreement it clearly states that to make any claims with the damage insurance, then the tenant must report those damages prior to check-out. The tenant did not report any damages.Further each tenant of Seashore Realty Group, Inc. including [redacted] receives instructions in their check-in package stating to please report any damages that may be found upon check-in. The check-in package also contains a form/checklist that the tenant is requested to complete at check-out. This one page form contains among other things space to report any damages to the Property, accidental or otherwise. The referenced damages were not notated in the check-out report. No damages were reported during the term of the reservation by the tenant. Since the tenant failed to report the damages, and knowingly knew about some of the damages as stated in the complaint, any damage insurance claims are void due to the non-reporting by the tenant.The charges to the tenant in the amount of $200.00 were minimal and do not reflect the full cost of the damages.Seashore Realty Group, Inc. provided full written communication in all aspects of this vacation reservation. The tenant references late check-in and early check-out. Written instructions were provided to the tenant for the possibility of both.Seashore Realty Group, Inc. is a property management company that manages properties owned by third parties to tenants. The subject property is a condominium located in the [redacted] and owned by an individual family. As manager for the property it is our duty to market, advertise, and manage the property for short term vacation type tenancies on behalf of the Owner. This includes inspecting the Property after each tenant/guest vacates the Property and to assess charges to any tenant in the event that damages are found. Seashore Realty Group, Inc. is NOT in the practice of charging tenants for damages. In fact, thus far in the 2014 season, and after approximately 1,000 reservations, Seashore has assessed less than $1,000.00 in total charges for all guests/tenants in 2014. The majority of our tenants report any damages accidental or otherwise as requested per their reservation documents.The owner that we represent suffered monetary/property damages during the term of the referenced tenancy. The owner as well as Seashore Realty Group, Inc. believe that the charges of $200.00 are reasonable and more than fair and do not intend to make any refunds.