ComplaintsforHome Rental Services Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  03/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We were issued unjustified charges when we moved out of the property on **** ******* ****** ****** ***** MO ***** This included charges for defective items that were not broken by us, and the cleanliness of the house, which was full of bugs and debris when we moved in. They sent us "before" photos of the property, and we asked to see timestamps on the photos It was at this point that the company sent the bill to a collection agency, even though we were in the midst of discussing a resolution.

  

  Business response

  04/17/2023

  The address that was in the complaint, **** ******* ****** ****** ***** ** ***** is not a property that we have ever managed.  With a little research on my part I found that **** *** ********* rented the property at **** * ***** ****** **** **************** ******* **** ****** ********* The house underwent a $15,000 make ready in 5/2021, which included a full interior paint, yard clean up, installation of all new flooring throughout, and house cleaning. Upon move in, **** *** ********* indicated they did not feel the house was as clean as they expected it to be. On 11/9/2021, we sent a vendor to do additional cleaning as the house had been vacant since the last cleaning in May of 2021.
  
  Upon move out, our inspection photos showed
  a light in the living room which had been pulled from the ceiling
  ·various walls throughout the house which were gouged or where the sheetrock was torn
  a pile of trash left at the curb
   leaves littering the yard, floors, appliances, vents, drawers, and cabinets which were not cleaned
  Drip pans on the stove were dirty
  Furnace filter was dirty
  Four of the blinds in the house were damaged
  A light globe in one bedroom had been removed
  Two smoke detectors had been removed from their brackets and deactivated. Per the lease agreement, there is a fine of $75 per disabled smoke detector.
  The total move out charges came to $1568.20. Once the security deposit of $1145 was applied, this left a balance owed by the renters of $423.20. When they received this statement, the renters stated the dome light in the living room fell during moving and claimed it was an issue with the installation. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, the owner agreed to refund that charge of $39.20, bringing their balance to $384.00. We also provided photos of the areas where charges were assessed at this time.
  On 11/9/21, shortly after their move in, the renters received a copy of the move in inspection. The instructions were for them to review the inspection and add any notes they wanted to add to document the condition of the house at move in. They were to return that by 11/16/21. It does not appear they returned that, thus accepting everything documented in our move in inspection was accurate.
  Upon further dispute of the move out charges after the above communication, the renters were offered the opportunity to settle their balance for $194.80. This email was sent on 2/20/23 and stated the following:
  We do not have any discrepancies as we have an invoice for the vendor showing the cleaning was completed on 11/9. We also have pictures of the condition of the house at move in versus move out. The owner feels the charges are justified. However We, in the interest of closing this matter they are willing to forgive the $150 fee for the two disabled smoke detectors if the remaining balance of $194.80 is paid in full by 2/28/23. You can make that payment through your portal. Send me an email to let me know when that is paid and I will make the $150 adjustment and show your balance as $0.
  No payment was received from the renters. Home Rental Services had, at this point, provided sufficient support for the damages charged to the renters. In addition, we acquiesced to one of the charges and made an offer to remove another once payment was made. Since no action had been taken by the renter to clear their debt, the matter was turned over to collections.
  We have tried to work with **** *** ********* about these charges since December of last year.  The communication has been clear and well documented with photos, invoices, written inspections and numerous emails.  The damages were clear as were the amounts charged to correct the issues.  They were offered another $150 reduction in the charges but they needed to pay the remaining balance in full by the end of February.  They did not pay the remaining balance as they said they would so they were sent to collections.

  Customer response

  04/17/2023

  *** ****** ** ** ******** **** ****** ** * ****** *** **** **** ** * ****** *** *** *** ********* *** ********* ** ** ****** ** ******** **** ********* **** ** ****** ** ******* ********** ********** ********
  I am rejecting this response because:

  There was no cleaning crew that came in an the date claimed. The business has ignored my request to see an invoice proving the services allegedly rendered. Also, when we moved in, the yard was not kept there was debris and trash in the yard, including a full sized dog bed. All windows in the house were also filled with dead wasps- we had to clean thos ourselves.

   

  In addition to this, many of the charges issues are far above the actual cost and labor to repair. Once again, the business has multiple times ignored my request to seeing any invoices. At one point they told me that they factored in the owner's time inspecting the property, which is not something I should be paying for.

  Lastly, the business consistently took months to reply to our messages. We would have gladly complied with the $150 final charge, but at that point it had been over a month since the last reply. It is unreasonable for the business to penalize us when the lack of communication was primarily from their side.

  
  ******** **** *******

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