Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Apartment Review Site

Here's my review on apartmentratings.com.

Emails with K- T- (Richdale Group)

Below are emails that I received from Richdale. I had already been having 4 months of issues with them when I finally got switched over to another agent there, who at first sounds like she plans to be helpful, then shows how she was intending to manipulate me into signing a contract that would remove their need to pay me the rest of the money they owe me, when I tell her I'd prefer to not sign that contract, she then ignores every email I send.

I received notice that my issue was transferred to another agent, I responded the same day.

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Paul to K- 6/11/08

Thanks for taking over my issue. I'd been having a very difficult time with J-, refusals to answer questions that I've been asking for 3 months now, he'd ignore my emails until I'd follow up a week later asking again for the information and then only getting partial responses. It has caused quite a bit of frustration, so I'm very glad to be dealing with someone else. :)

As for calling, I'd prefer to keep the communication done through email for the purposes of documentation. I'd had things told to me over the phone by J- that he later changed/forgot and I'd like to keep the trail.

I'll give you a run down of the events (pardon the length!):

When I moved in, there were many issues that I'd reported on my move-in sheet, including damage to one of the miniblinds in the living room. I let a number of the smaller things go thinking "if this passed their move-out inspection, then I'll be fine if it is still in the same condition when I leave."

During the time I was living there, I noticed very dark dust or possibly mold in the air ducts stuck to the vents, especially in the master bedroom. Also while I lived there I had a large rug in the front room and it had a bad habit of shedding. I would occasionally gather the fibers and just stuff it under the rug and clean it later on.

A few weeks before I moved out the sprinkler in my office started to leak. I reported it to maintenance, they came out and checked it and had to call the sprinkler company. When I came home the day the sprinkler company had been there, there had been a hole cut in the dry wall around the sprinkler with chalk all over the ground and the chunk of drywall just sitting on the desk. The solution in the sprinkler was quite bad smelling and had soaked into the carpet and padding.

I moved out at the end of February and had scheduled the maid service to come late on the 29th. An employee called me around noon on the 29th and asked if they could tour the apartment early since there was a tenant scheduled to move in in only 4 days, rather than the usual 2 weeks. I agreed but added "The maid has not come yet." She told me it wouldn't be a problem.

When I got my deposit check, it had deductions that shouldn't have been there. I was charged for the damage to the dry wall, for the replacement of 3 of the miniblinds, for photographs of cat fur and the rug fuzz and for air duct cleaning.

When I asked him to explain the damage to the miniblinds, he fabricated answers. He first told me that one of the slats was missing from the blind because at first glance of the photo, it does look like that. But the slat was perpendicular to the camera and against a white background but you can clearly see that it covers the strings and casts a thin shadow. The rug fuzz (which would have been gone had the worker not come before the maid) was labeled as a "stain" and while there was no charge for the "stain," I was still charged for all of these photos of: cat fur, rug fuzz and damage to the miniblinds. My contention is that if the damage to the miniblind was already reported on my move-in sheet, I should not pay for the photo of the damage when I move out. Likewise, I should not be charged for pictures of fuzz/fur that would have not been there had the workers come after the maid came.

When I first was talking with J- on the phone he told me that he could offer an $80 settlement which I turned down because I didn't just want part of the erroneous charges back, I wanted them all. He then later said that since I was already getting money back that it would have to go to committee and he'd call me the next day. A week passed without hearing from him before I contacted him again, his claim is that he left a message on my machine... the number he gave was one digit off from my actual number.

I get a settlement offer in the mail for about $52 with no explanation of what was included, how the number was derived, or why it was lower than the offer over the phone that I'd already turned down. I emailed him some questions and they went unanswered. At that point I felt my only course of actually getting anything done and having the right amount refunded was to take Richdale to small claims court since I was being deliberately ignored by the staff. The settlement offer was dated, but due to J-'s refusal to respond to my questions, I wouldn't sign it. He never had even acknowledged that the damage was on the move in sheet.

I have not been able to cash the original check for about $142 since by endorsing it the stamp on the back states that I agree that I've been paid in full, which I don't. That check is good for only 90 days and was issued on March 12 so it will have expired before this is resolved.

My most recent unanswered request was for a fax of the receipt for the air duct cleaning. His claim was that it had to be done for pet odor, but by his own admission, that was localized to one spot in the living room where the padding had to be pulled. Originally I wasn't even contesting the air duct because I don't believe I have any photos of the mold/dust that had been coming out of the slats. The air ducts definitely needed to be cleaned, but they needed cleaning before I moved in and I don't feel that the normal wear-and-tear expense should have to be footed by me.

So, that leaves us where I would need the original amount (on the now-expired check) reissued with the addition of the rest of the erroneous charges. I'd much prefer not to have to go to court over something that should be pretty easy to resolve, and I'm very hopeful that now that it's out of J-'s hands, something may actually be done about it.

By the end, it became more about the principle of it all; there was clearly an error and he simply refused to address or resolve it. I felt I'd been a good tenant (reporting gushing water leakages on the main floor which, had it not been stopped early would've caused much more damage to people's property, reporting broken/fallen lights, reporting missing sprinkler heads causing geisers, closing hallway windows during rain storms, etc) and had been pretty happy with Breckenridge, all the way until I had to start dealing with J-.

Thanks, sorry about the length!
Paul


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K- T- to me 6/12/08

The check that you have can be cashed. When a final determination is made, and if additional refund is calculated a separate check along with a settlement agreement will be issued. I hope that having this is writing will make you feel more comfortable cashing the check. I am reviewing your notes below, as well as talking with the property and committee. I will have a response for you by June 20, 2008. I apologize for the delay. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by telephone or E mail. I do respond to all inquiries. K- T-

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Paul to K- T- 6/12/08

K-,

Thanks for the quick response. After receiving some legal advice, I would prefer to receive a new check that did not have the stipulation of it being payment in full on the back (or I would sign a check with that statement if it were a new check that covered the deductions that had been taken out in error).

The check is a legal contract and by signing it, I would remove my ability to pursue the issue in court if that's where it ends up, and your statements in an email nullifying said contract may not hold up in court. I don't mean to be difficult, I just don't feel comfortable with my signature below that statement. I hope you understand.

Thanks,
Paul

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K- T- to me 6/12/08

That is fine. I will make a quick resolution to you questions. Again, I do apologize for the delay.

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Me to K- T- 6/26/08 (I gave her 2 weeks before replying)

Is there any response yet?

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K- T- to me 6/26/08

I apologize for the delay in responding. I have had numerous files to review and it is taking some time. I am waiting to get invoices from the property.
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Me to K- T- 8/1/08 (more than a month from her last email)

K-,

You promised I would have total resolution by 6 weeks ago. What is the hold up? Now it's been over a month since you said you were waiting on invoices. How long can it take to get the invoices?

I moved out at the end of February; I want my deposit back.

By the end of next week there will be resolution or I will be taking Richdale to court.

This is really getting to be utterly ridiculous,
Paul

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NO RESPONSE FROM RICHDALE!
Me to K- T- 8/28/08 (almost a full month since my last email, 2 months from her responding to me)


K-,

On the Richdale Group website, the address is listed as:

10040 Regency Circle, Suite 200
Omaha, NE 68114

Who should I put as the ATTN line for the Notice to Defendant?
Paul

PS You actually had me going, I really thought you were going to help me and that the problems I'd experienced with Richdale were unique to J- V-. Your refusal to answer my questions or resolve the issue when I've allowed you more than sufficient time indicates that the problem isn't unique to J- but is systemic. I was originally thinking (after I'd started talking with you) that my reviews for Breckenridge were going to have a happy ending where everything got resolved.

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Me to K- T- 8/28/08

On Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 9:21 AM, K- T- wrote:
>> That is fine. I will make a quick resolution to you questions. Again, I do apologize for the delay.


Were you lying? That was written 2.5 months ago and still nothing is resolved. [Tragic event removed] so things got a little thrown off track for a while but unless you have a resolution to all this, I'll be taking you to court, once I file you will be required to produce the documents I've requested during the discovery period. In addition to the money that Richdale has already acknowledge was deducted IN ERROR, Richdale will also foot the bill for the filing fee. It's in Richdale's best interest to resolve this out of court.

I'll be calling you to confirm the address for where to send the Notice to Defendant. I'd originally thought that J- was just a bad employee, but seeing how you've chosen to ignore me for weeks and your refusal to actually resolve an issue that should be relatively simple, I can see that Richdale as a company, not just J-, has a policy to screw over tenants once they've left with no sense of doing the right thing. There needs to be public records of the rulings against your company so I can reference them when I file with the BBB and any review site I can find.

You had me going, I really thought you were going to resolve the issue. I was going to rewrite my negative reviews with the updated information showing how it was just the one bad apple. But you're worse than J-, he would at least respond to my emails (sure he didn't include the information I requested, but at least he didn't ignore me).

Paul
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** It's now January 2009 and I haven't heard a word. **
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Me to K- T- 1/30/09

I submitted my claim with the BBB today, if no resolution comes through that, then I'll file with the courts.

While Richdale's initial mistakes may have been accidental, your decision to ignore me is 100% deliberate.

How do you sleep a night knowing that you are stealing people's hard-earned money that Richdale has acknowledged it has no claim on?

Richdale charged me for stuff they admitted they shouldn't have, why is it so hard to just give the money back? I still have the work order for the sprinkler company, the photos of the fuzz I was charged for, the photos of mini-blinds that are on the faxed copy of my move-in sheet showing the damage already listed... Why would you think Richdale has a claim to that money when all the documents show otherwise? Why can't you just right the wrong?

Paul
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ANALYSIS:

So, some very important thing to notice is that K- :
1) Wanted me to sign the check.
2) Told me it would be ok and that having an email telling me so should make me feel better.

A check is a legal contract between two parties. Most people don't think of it like that because they're so common, but both people sign it and the signatures allow the transfer of money and bind you to any agreements stated on the check. The stamp is designed to prevent you from getting your money back. In law, this stamp accomplishes "Accord and Satisfaction". By signing it, you are releasing them from repaying the full amount and only have a limited time window to reverse it (and give the money back) once you realize what you did. If you do not do it within the specified time window, you have to then additionally prove "Affirmative Defense" which shifts the power to their side, and they know it!

My signature on that check would have significantly more weight in court than to show up with an email where she said I could sign it but not be bound by that term.

There are 2 explanations for why she did this:
1) She thought she was being nice and thought her email changing the terms of the contract would be sufficient.
2) She knew the signature on the check would hold up in court and dissuade any further action.

If she thought she was being nice, then she doesn't really know her job very well since I'm sure they've had other issues with the signature under the "Accord and Satisfaction" statement has gotten them out of issues. This would mean that their worker is incompetent.

Considering that as soon as I stated that I would *not* sign the check she discontinued any more correspondence with me, she exposed her plans. It was their last effort to seal up the matter and prevent me from pursuing it further in court while trying to look nice and pleasant. When I got some law advice and was instructed "IT'S A CONTRACT! DO NOT SIGN IT!" they had no more need to continue the charade and stopped responding.

They were attempting to manipulate me into waving my rights away based on a promise that would not hold up in court. These people are devious liars.

====[Update: 7/23/09]====
Getting the BBB involved was the best move and I wish I had done it much sooner! Getting them involved finally escalated the case within Richdale and even though they refused to email me me any more because I was posting the emails publicly by that point, they called and asked what I wanted back, which is when I sent this email, they sent some check indemnification forms which were ultimately not required since I had my original check (with all the bogus deductions) and sent it back to them and they sent me a replacement check with a break down of all the charges and refunds. I got notice from the BBB that Richdale considered the matter closed and gave me the option to respond if I disagreed. Then I waited a while after the check cleared before updating any of my reviews or blogs.

Intro

Hi, I'm a former tenant of Breckenridge Apartments in Omaha, NE. It's located on 160th & Center. The owning company, Richdale Group, is a deceitful, greedy company and I strongly advise against renting from any of their properties. This blog will detail how they have deliberately cheated me out of money which they have even acknowledged they owe me but refuse to pay.

They attempted to get me to endorse a check, the signing of it would have forfeited my right to the rest of the money they had erroneously taken out of my deposit. They acknowledge they were wrong to have deducted things but refuse to pay me anything and as soon as I declined to endorse that check, wanting a new check written for the full amount before I blindly trusted them to follow through, they said it would be no problem and they'd handle it within a week. They then immediately ceased all communication with me. This was many months ago and they continue to ignore my emails asking for status and resolution.

In Omaha, Richdale properties include:

1. ALPINE VILLAGE APARTMENTS
7100 South 86th Street, LaVista, NE 68128
2. BRECKENRIDGE APARTMENTS
15950 Wright Plaza, Omaha, NE 68130
3. BRISTOL SQUARE APARTMENTS
3110 North 97th Street, Omaha, NE 68134
4. EMBASSY PARK APARTMENTS
9045 Burt Street, Omaha, NE 68114
5. INWOOD VILLAGE APARTMENTS
8220 South 87th Street, LaVista, NE 68128
6. KENSINGTON WOODS APARTMENTS
1323 North 108th Street, Omaha, NE 68114
7. LATVIAN VILLAGE APARTMENTS
3002 Paddock Road, Omaha, NE 68124
8. LIONSHEAD APARTMENTS
1414 North 108th Street, Omaha, NE 68154
9. THE BILTMORE APARTMENTS
11525 Decatur Plaza, Omaha, NE 68154
10. THE INVERNESS APARTMENTS
8220 S 87th Street, LaVista, NE 68128
11. THE VANDERBILT APARTMENTS
11233 Decatur Plaza, Omaha, NE 68154

This blog contains relevant emails / phone summaries from their office showing a pattern of deceit and/or incompetence on their part with the ultimate goal to steal my money.

Look forward to my videos that I'll be posting to YouTube! The public needs to know about how this company treats their tenants!