This letter is to register a formal complaint against Ridgewood Village Apartments in San Diego, CA regarding poor business practices, the manager, Olivia Fogle and her supporting staff. Olivia Fogle stated we would not be charged for anything in making this transfer which is why we elected to stay with Equity residential. We now fear we may have made a mistake.
We were on time, paying tenants at this property for 6 years. We worked closely with Ridgewood Village management when we determined the need to relocate for personal reasons.
Olivia Fogle, manager, and her staff appeared to be working with us regarding this relocation. We elected to stay with an Equity Residential Property because Olivia explained that transferring in excess of 50 miles was approved per company policy with no penalties (email attached).
We provided a 60 day notice in addition to the required 30 day written notice stating our move date of 6/3/10 based on a move in date at the new property of 6/5/10 (documents attached).
Not only did management, Olivia, acknowledge the date, but maintenance supervisor, Betto, conducted a “pre” walk-through 2 weeks prior to our move.
We vacated, as promised, on 6/3/10, leaving behind only normal wear and tear. Repair requests made in the 6 years we lived in the apartment were generally denied. We requested replacement cabinets which were peeling, new carpet and paint which were denied. The explanation was that our unit was up for renovation once we vacated and they would not perform any upgrades while we still occupied this apartment. We even offered to do some of the repairs ourselves and were denied due to company policy. Mandatory repairs i.E. Washing machine, etc. Were used replacements from vacant units.
After complying with all management requests and moving as promised, we later received a $295.00 invoice. The water bill was expected because it obviously bills 30 days behind, but this was also prorated and estimated based on prior usage through our original lease end which was 6/19/10 and the apartment was rented prior to that time. We do not believe we have any responsibility for water usage after 6/3/10.in addition, we were charged for 3 days rent, 6/1/10 – 6/3/10 and an $85.00 cleaning charge which we have since been told would have deducted from our security deposit had we had one, which we did not.
The 3 days rent is unreasonable based on the verbal and written agreement with Olivia Fogle and an $85.00 cleaning charge for an apartment that was left extremely clean with only normal wear and tear and, according to Olivia, was slated for renovation regardless of it’s state seems inappropriate. This property reneged on both a verbal and written agreement which we find very discouraging.
Also, during the past year, it has been increasingly difficult to contact anyone in the office by phone or in person. This would go on for several hours or for an entire day which exceeds normal property showings, off-site meetings or lunch hours. We would also leave messages for Olivia either with one of her staff or on an answering machine that were never returned. When we questioned this, she simply stated she never received them.
We believe that an investigation of the management and staff at this property should be conducted and should also include how residents are treated at move out. We recently discovered the Equity website where residents can comment and were astonished at the number of negative claims that mirrored ours. We were just simply naïve and believed that the issues we had were not being addressed due to our apartment being slated for renovation, when in fact, we were not the only dissatisfied residents.
We could not, in good conscience, let this go without reporting it. We understand that what you choose to do with this information is at your discretion.
In closing, we would like to state that we paid the $295.00 invoice under duress and are including what this property, along with Equity Residential uses as a mission statement:“Our goal is to ensure that every resident is satisfied”.
In their email signature the above is noted along with their email address and the following: “Equity Residential - how home should feel”.
Sincerely, Paul & Leslie Wingo
0 comments