Blog #36

My name is XXXXXXXXXXX and I’m currently living at XXXXXXXX Apartments in XXXXXXX. I have recently been given a notice saying my check had bounced and that I was past due rent because of that. The slip itself said the check was from Bank of America as well. I read it over a couple times and I figured it had to be an error of some sort because I had gotten online and checked my account and it said I had the money there and I DON’T have an account with bank of america (and I never have). I walked in and the lady working there told me they had no idea what happened and to check with my bank. I went to my bank and talked to the manager there and he told me didn’t know what happened himself because wasn’t any sort of withdrawal from my checking account and that even if there had been one that my checking wouldn’t be able to cover, my saving’s account still had 4 thousand in it and it would cover anything that I would have written a check for because the accounts are linked. Therefore there is no way a check should have been bouncing. He told me to try again and that maybe something got messed up along the way from the apartment side. Confused, but certain the money was there and accessible, I went back to talk with someone from the XXXXXXX staff. This time I had a different lady, XXXXXXX, who handled the issue. I told her what my bank had told me and I was going to write another check and she got to be very rude with me, telling me I probably just deposited a check in between times (which is impossible because I don’t work because I’m going to my college well over 40 hours a week and I’m a foster child so no one would ever send me money and the money in bank had been there for months now). That really put me off to begin with, but I shrugged it off. Maybe people do that a lot, I don’t know, but I didn’t like how rude she was to me for no real reason and with no justification. Then I asked her if there was anyone I could call who could help me get to the bottom of the issue because my checks randomly bouncing when I have money in the accounts is a very serious issue, especially for someone like me trying to get my credit rating up. She was very snippy (cutting me off and assuming a very hostile, condescending tone) and told me that there was nothing she could help me with and to go back to my bank because there was nothing there for me. I told her just what the bank manager told me and she continued to be rude with me with telling me I must have talked to the wrong person (when I made sure to talk to the person most in-the-know regarding money issues because I wanted the issue resolved quickly) and telling me I needed to talk to the right people. So my first complaint is just that; I don’t like being treated like I’m a liar and that I’m trying to slip under the radar by sneaking around and trying to pay my apartment fees late because I’m a sneak who doesn’t have the money (when that’s obviously not the case if you look at my bank records) and I strongly dislike being condescended to and treated like I’m stupid and that I have no idea how to deal with the problem and I absolutely hate it that, when I’m trying to look for other possible people who could help me figure out what happened, I’m once again told I’m doing the wrong thing because it’s entirely the banks fault as well as not even helping me get in contact with anyone who might be able to help fix the problem let alone trying to help me figure out the problem. That’s not the sort of attitude or treatment I, or anyone for that matter, deserve at all, especially considering I’m spending about around a thousand dollars a month at this property. I expect people who are there to help me sort things out and to help figure out problems with me rather than just give me attitude and insult me without helping in the slightest. My roommate was there throughout the wholle thing as well and he saw it all the same and he feels the same way I do about how she treated us so I know I’m not just maybe seeing things that aren’t there; she was definately very discourteous and unhelpful. Once again, the lady who was extremely rude and extremely unhelpful’s name was Erin XXXXX.

My second complaint is about how XXXXXXX has NOT gotten around to fixing up my apartment. I moved to this property early october, the 6th I believe and when I got here the apartment had been switched around three times the day before, which caused a lot of problems with my insurance, but that happens. That’s alright, that’s not the problem. But when I got here the apartment that I had been told was ready for me was NOT ready and I couldn’t get in for another 7 hours, despite it being known I was coming over a month in advance. Driving from XXXXXXX for days straight, that was an extremely huge pain. People were still working in it and tearing things up and stapling things down. But ok, that’s fine too. It happens, things get hectic, especially if previous owners mess up the apartment. That’s fine. My roommate and I eventually go tin, and things were still not ready, everything was all dusty and tape was still over everything. They said they were having someone come in and clean it up and to just bring stuff in but to keep it in the middle so she could get around to everything. She cleaned the place up but she also dripped cleaner over my new custom-made cherry table and left a series of splotches on it. That was not ok, that wasn’t cool at all. Not only that, but once she left, there were all sorts of things wrong with the apartment. I figured that things just got messed up because of last minute things happening. So I wrote them all down on the sheet they gave me and I made sure to write down about the thing with the staining the table as well. All I wanted was for the things to get fixed up and for an apology; it’s just a table after all, who cares. My uncle can make me other ones without any problem, so it’s not like it was a huge thing. As far as the list of things that needed to be fixed, one of the burners on the stove was completely in pieces strewn across the stovetop. Almost all of the light switches DIDN’T have their covers on. They have the on-off switch and nothing else; that is, you can reach in and touch the wires and even just switching the light you get shocked sometimes because they’re not covered and protected. That one right there is a pretty major safety hazard and I made sure to especially note that one on the sheet as well. What if I had a child? That’s not just dangerous, that’s life-threatening dangerous. I wouldn’t even move into the place if I had a child with me. The mirror in the more public of the two bathrooms wasn’t mounted; it’s just leaning against the wall. My door, as well as the door to the aforementioned bathroom do not close all the way. There’s at least a one-inch crack at all times. There’s a hole in my wall in my pantry that you can actually see the outside in. This hole isn’t a small one either, it’s over 3 inches around. I’m assuming it’s a ventilation cover of some sort that just never got put back on. But holes to the outside in a climate like florida’s with all the bugs = very big issue, especially in the pantry where the food is. I’ve currently taped over this hole. Another problem is that the back bathroom was plugged and it would flood if you ever hit the handle. Yet another is that none of the sliding doors to the apartment were on. Another is that there are no rods to mount shower curtains. Also, on

ly a small handful of lightbulbs worked. Other various problems were there as well but those are unimportant. I reported all of these things on the incoming sheet you fill out about the apartment’s condition. I made sure to mention the more major ones (the light switches, bathroom and the hole to the outside) especailly and to stress that they really needed to be fixed. The lady there told that they’d be dealt with. I was satisfied. About a month later and nothing had been fixed. I went back in, I talked to the manager this time and she told me that it was probably under work order and that they’d take care of it soon. Sure, that’s fine. Again nothing happened. I brought it up again the next time I brought rent in and again nothing happened. A short while later, my roommate went in as well and he talked to a maintenance man and he came in and fixed the toilets and said he’d come in to do the rest of the things, but he never came again. That’s not cool in the slightest. As of right now, only the toilets have been dealt with. I still have tape over the hole in the wall, the burner on the stovetop is still in pieces on the stove, the mirror is still sitting up against the wall, the doors still don’t shut, the light bulbs my roommate and I replaced, the doors still aren’t on as we only managed to get one on, we’re just taking baths rather than showers, and we’re just being careful about the light switches and I still haven’t recieved any sort of comment, let alone an apology for the table.

In closing, my roommate and I are very displeased with how XXXXXX has been treating us and neither of us will be considering staying here after the lease is up; we’ll find another apartment complex that will treat us better (is being nice too much to ask?) for our next term of classes and I think that the people here need to get in gear and shape up lest they lose other residents after their leases are up, too. Because if they’re like this with everyone here, they’re bound to lose residents quickly. At this point, personally, though, we don’t even care about whether or not the things get fixed; we’re college students and we’re here for class and that’s our priority; not enjoying ourselves at home. We just want rent to go through and to be fine and to just get this over with. That’s all. The only reason I’m even bothering to mention the problems with the apartment is because I really think that something should be done with the management at XXXXXXX; they’re totally not doing their jobs in some respects and they’re doing very poorly (at least in my experiences) with how they treat me as well. I think that’s worth mentioning.

============================================================

Current e-mail to the managers of the said apartment complex. I’m kinda angry today because of how this went down, heh. But I’m still postitive. I can stand the bastards for the rest of the lease, no problem. Things will work out in the end, at any rate, haha. So yeah, I’m not as bothered as I’m coming off as in the e-mail, I’m just making sure their superiors get pissed at them because that sort of treatment is bs.