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:08/19/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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 and my son have been charged expenses that violate Texas Property Code 92.001(4), charges for normal wear and tear, such as painting walls and carpet cleaning, are not permitted. We have requested a detailed explanation since it is unclear what we are being charged for that is beyond normal wear and tear. The explanations that came in the move out statement are vague and the images they sent are too small to determine what they are charging for. I have sent multiple contact requests through their portal, direct emails, and called and have not received a response. They have now sent a notice that they will send to collections if not paid within 10 days.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/13/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  Since September 2023 we have been charged $13.50/** for rental insurance even though we have provided the necessary proof of insurance forms. We have sent several emails, left voice mails and gone into the rental office but the company has not responded and/or removed and repaid the monies as promised. The fee is attached to the rental bill and I am unable to ******** the rental portion I owe excluding the fee.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/06/2023

  Type:Billing 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.

  We contacted the Cottages in June 2023 to work with us on a sublease for my sons apartment, they agreed to help us locate a subletter but also highly recommended we source one ourselves. We presented 3 options to them between July 6th and August 15th. The first two applicants were denied and the 3rd we went 2 weeks trying to contact them with no return calls to either party to get the forms completed before move-in and school starting. Despite our efforts their failure to return our calls and the subletters calls (left messages and tried to contact through online chat) led to us having to pay $742 extra beyond the sublease transfer fee (total paid was ***** to get out of the lease or 16% of the total lease value) . They refused to work with us on this issue and would not allow the subletter we found to move in until all fees were paid. This is already questionable practice as they charge you for a full month from Aug 1 to Aug 31 but do not allow move in until after Aug 18th. We did ask them to cancel the lease due to the reasons my son would not be able to return to school. They were not willing to work with us. I am only asking for partial adjustment of the rent and move in fees (Since we did not move in) to be fair to all parties.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/28/2023

  All of our leases are 12 "term" leases meaning that it is two weeks short of 365 days in order for us to paint, clean and fix anything before new residents move in.  In the student housing industry, this is common practice and is why the move in date is mid-August before Fall classes begin as outlined on the first page of the lease.  As described in the lease, it is the lessee's responsibility to locate a relet that can pass the same rental criteria as they did.  As they explained, the first two applicants could not pass the same rental criteria.  We can assist those looking for a relet if there is a waitlist to offer but this is never a promise or guarantee as stated in the lease.  Furthermore, because payment for the relet fee was delayed caused delays approving the third applicant as their approved relet.  This too is common practice and we are happy that is was only the first month that they had to pay instead of the entire lease term.  It is important to note that this is an off-campus community with no affiliations with the university which means if someone decides not to go to school, that has no impact to the lease agreement and is why they were not let out of the lease for that reason. 

   

  Thank you, 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/01/2023

  Complaint: 20564375
  
  I am rejecting this response because in addition to this the company charged us a move out fee for painting and changing locks.  He never moved in, and the current tenants confirmed no painting or lock change out was done. The business has failed to respond to our ask to credit that fee. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/12/2023

  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.

  My son rents an ************** and has 4-5 roommates. There was an issue in November with a burst pipe. They were trying to charge my son over $500 in water charges for the burst pipe.. in addition, they have been charging him $70-$90 for water( as well as each of the roommates) each month! We own a ***** sq ft home with four people and pay about $40. The asst. ******* has instructed us to go to Simple Bills, the company they go through to send charges to residents. Simple Bills has been called several times as well as the ******* for 6 months. They still have not rectified the situation. Be careful of this company. Very unprofessional and are unwilling or unable to do proper business.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/12/2023

  Good afternoon. to whom it may concern we take residential matters at our property very seriously. Once I  became aware of the massive utility charge due to the balance posting on our financial tab, I instructed ********* and ******************* to reach out to simple bills in order to open a support ticket. Once the support ticket is opened the rep would then reach out to our property and my community manager would have the correct documentation to remedy the issue. I also checked the activity log in the residents account to see if any correspondence was received since November regarding large utility bills. I did not see anything, so I asked for the email correspondence the parent claimed they sent over to simple bills in order to attempt and escalate the issue. We want to rectify the situation because customer service is something we pride ourselves on, but their is only so much we can do, as certain steps and procedures need to be initiated in order for us to rectify the situation. I have attached emails pertaining to our original correspondence. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/21/2023

  Complaint: 19928238
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The response the business sent is once again just passing the buck. They are very lazy and always put it on the resident. I told the asst. *** several times we put the ticket in with Simple Bills over the phone. Simple Bills actually rectified the situation on their side and gave us a credit to our account of over $800. So, Simple Bills did their job. The Cottages are being dishonest and trying to withhold our credit. Very shady.  Being in management in commercial real estate in the past, I know you review client bills. Clearly we were grossly overcharged they just passed it through. Awful.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 04/25/2023

  Good morning. We take matters involving our residents very seriously here. I have escalated the issue in order to obtain the correct  documentation we requested two weeks ago, in order to rectify the situation. We can not *********** off a phone call was made to simple bills, concerning credits on accounts. We have to be able to provide proper documentation as of to why we apply any reversals or credits to our upper management.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/25/2023

  Complaint: 19928238
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Clearly they do not take resident issues seriously or this would not be unresolved for six months.  We did exactly what they told us to do. We created a ticket. Not until after we did so over the phone did they request an email of proof.  These are the same sad and prideful responses we previously received. Very unprofessional. Zero accountability. Simple Bills is THEIR VENDOR. I got it rectified on our side with Simple Bills. Simple Bills explained to us the apartment complex would see the credits on their side. It is ridiculous to believe they not only dont look over their monthly bills as the pass them on to residents for accuracy, but also wouldnt be able to look at the accounting. 
  As I mentioned before, being a property manager in commercial real estate, if I managed my business in this lazy, arrogant, and error filled way, I would have lost my job. Still waiting for them to fix the issue. They just need to do their job.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 04/26/2023

  Please see below 
  
  I have made contact with the individuals and provided an update on their account that is the outcome they are looking for 
  
  Please let me know if I need to do anything in addition to this 
  
  I could not add an update online so I wanted to send it directly to you 
  
  Best, 
  

  
  

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/03/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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 signed a lease promising furniture and have not received such furniture while being charged for it.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2023

  Hello , 

  
  I can confirm the resident does indeed have furniture in her unit, she is missing the dresser which was relayed to her at move in due to manufacture delays, she currently qualifies for a furniture special valued at $35 per month that already cancels out the furniture fee associated with the unit ($35) , the dispute came that she wanted the $10 discount  for the missing dresser in addition to the special , at this time we will  agree to credit for $10 per month off of the furniture package to resolve matter . We also will credit the August- January the $10 dollars monthly addition. 

  Best, 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/13/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************