Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I leased a house from Buffington properties until December 1, 2022. The address is *******************************************************************. In the fall of 2022, there were two different leaks in the house due to ruptured underground pipes. On November 17, 2022, I texted ****** at Buffington properties an image from my water bill showing the high water usage and told her my water bill that month was $728.00. ****** at Buffington Properties texted me on November 17, 2022, "I will get you a copy of the repair bill they should be able to work with you on bringing that down."I have since texted ****** requesting the repair bill receipt and she has not acknowledged these requests. I was left paying the large water bill and never received any comment on my requests or copies of receipts for repair. Attached is the same image sent to ****** at Buffington Properties.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/09/2023

  Several copies were sent to the tenant via **** to the last known address at the time.  That is the home she was leasing.  She was informed that she had a check and receipts mailed to her but she had not put a forward address on file with the **** so it was sitting in the mailbox where she used to live.  It is a federal offense for me to remove any mail from a box that is not mine.  She stated she had moved to Palm Harbor but refused to go get her mail.  I explained i could not do anything about that check until it is retuned.  I have not received anything back from the mail and did not hear from her again until this week via text message asking for another copy to be mailed to her new address,

  That has been sent and there is nothing further I can do for her.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/09/2023

   
  Complaint: 19558623
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I am not requesting assistance from the BBB over the return of my deposit check.  This is the item Buffington Property is referring to.  As you will see from my complaint, this issue has to do with the receipt for repair of broken plumbing on two occasions, causing massive water loss and a large bill from ************* utilities.  I had on previous occasions texted to request when I would receive the receipt that ****** from Buffington Properties had told me she would provide in a text she sent me 11/2022.  I have never received any reply to when she would send the receipt and have until this time not received it.  There is no reason to believe she ever mailed it.  She never emailed it or texted it to me either.  At this point, I do not know if the repair bill was ever paid therefore leaving no receipt to give me.

  The response from Buffington Properties is disappointing because it has nothing to do with the receipt for repair work at **************************************************************  Please don't let this company distract from the issue of their never sending the receipt and my having to pay a very expensive water bill due to poor conditions in this rental. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 03/14/2023

  It is apparent that ***** misunderstands my response.  I have mailed the Receipt for repairs for the plumbing have been mailed to *****.  There were multiple bills that were paid in regards to the multiple issues with the slab leak that occurred over a period of a couple of months.  Once the 1st leak was fixed and we were about to fix the floors by replacing tile, there was another leak that needed to be addressed in the same area.  That leak had to be fixed and at one point we needed to get leak detectors there to find a leak.  I was waiting for the bills so that I could pay them, them get them to her.  I did mail them to the home she was renting but again, I cant control the ***** ***** contacted me March 8th 2023 telling me she had not received the receipts for repair to the plumbing yet.  She then gave me her mailing address and asked me to resend them to that address.  I told her I would.  Those were mailed to that address Thursday March 9th, 2023.  It appears that she contacted me just before or just after making this complaint.

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/14/2023

   
  Complaint: 19558623
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  At this time, I have not received any receipts at my current *** box.  However, if I receive the receipts, that is not the end of this situation.  Because I had to pay the exorbitantly high water bill and close the account, due to moving, I have to submit the receipts for the ********************* ******************** to review.  A representative from the ******************** told me there is no guarantee that I will be refunded.  Had I received a receipt promptly while I was a customer of the ********************, a reduction of my bill would have been very likely.

  As ****** from Buffington Properties pointed out, she mailed the receipts to my last known mailing address.  However, the *******************************************************, ** address was not my mailing address. She asked me in December 23, 2022 to send her my address at 1:39 PM.  On 1:45 PM she texted me "Never mind I found it."  Since my mailing address was on my rental application, I believed that was what she "found".    

  ****** is now stating to the Better Business Bureau that the address she "found" was the address to the house I had been renting but had vacated one month prior.  The only mail I received from Buffington Properties was a shorted deposit refund, mailed to a house she knew I no longer lived in.  This has been an incredibly frustrating process, particularly since the first realization of broken pipes at the house occurred September 7, 2022.  Had ****** from Buffington Properties treated me in a professional manner and did the right thing by their tenant we would not be having this back and forth now.  I feel the only recourse left to me in attempting to get Buffington Properties to do the right thing is by going through the Better Business Bureau.  

  I will repeat, until the ********************* ****************** refunds the amount I had to pay due to the pipe leaks at the house managed by Buffington Properties, I do not want this complaint closed.  If The City refuses to reimbursement, then I believe Buffington Properties is responsible for reimbursing me. 

  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 03/29/2023

  Attached you will find the multiple plumbing bills for the property you leased from Buffington Property Management.  These bills were mailed to you but unfortunately it appears you never received them and they were never retuned to the office.  Another piece of mail lost in the matrix!

  According to the lease and the ******* Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, the tenant was and is responsible for the plumbing maintenance as well as all utilities.  Please see the attachments

  I am hoping that with these bills, this tenant will get the relief she is seeking.