Consumer complaint received 2024-06-06
Product: Debt collection — Rental debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: Rowland Avenue Management, Inc. A/KA Columbia Debt Recovery, LLC d/b/a Genesis (LA)

The following is a list of events that occurred between myself ( along with my roommate ) and XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX ( the apartment where we were residing at the time ) : My lease with XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX began from XX/XX/XXXX and had an end date of XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - My roommate and I submitted a " Resident 's Notice of Intent to Move Out '' form. Note : Management requires a 60-day notice. 

XX/XX/XXXX - My roommate and I went to the front office to ask about the form, since we heard nothing back from management. One of the office staff checked on the computer and told us we were " good ''. 

XX/XX/XXXX - My roommate and I received a " Notice to Vacate for Non-payment of Rent, Utilities, or Other Sums. '' We have been using a program called XXXX to pay our rent, and there was not enough in my account for payment. The letter stated that we owed {$2300.00}. Through checking our payment portal with the XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, we discovered that in addition to our rent and other corresponding fees, we were charged a XXXX late fee, along with rent for XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ( dates AFTER our current lease term ). And now a XXXX late fee. 

My roommate and I spoke to the assistant manager and she was able to remove the XXXX late fee, because it was wrongfully applied. But, concerning the extra rent, she told us that the apartment agreed to change our last day at the apartment to XX/XX/XXXX. She explained that since we turned in our form on XX/XX/XXXX, our move-out date should have been XX/XX/XXXX ; according to the assistant manager, XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX selected this new date as a " courtesy ''. Where XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX went wrong is by not including us in the decision, as our lease states that the move-out date can not be changed unless it is agreed upon in writing by both parties. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I sent an email to corporate 's customer service representative and left a message on his answering machine, after XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX 's management said that they were unable to do anything to remedy the situation referred me to him. 

XX/XX/XXXX - My roommate and I get a final account statement, listing charges that were already paid and showing that minus our {$700.00} deposit, we owed {$100.00}. Concerning rent, there was a charge for {$70.00}, which prior to that, the amount in question was {$270.00}. They charged {$82.00} for amenities, which are only {$82.00} monthly. It was odd that amenities were more than the rent " owed ''. There were a bunch of other items not adding up. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I emailed corporate 's customer service representative again, after hearing nothing back from XX/XX/XXXX and after multiple calls and left messages. He responded to me right away this time and we had a phone conversation about the differences in the account statement, vs the payment history that is viewable online. I later emailed him proof of the disputed charges. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I emailed the customer service representative asking about the charges. I emailed human resources to inform them of the issue ( they ended up never responding ). 

XX/XX/XXXX - The customer service representative told me that in speaking with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX management and the regional manager, they concluded that all charges are valid, and he did not offer any further explanation. This was not right, as they continued to ignore the fact that they changed the move-out date without either my or my roommate 's acknowledgement, so I went on to contact the regional manager. 
XX/XX/XXXX - I emailed the regional manager again and went through the charges toexplain to her how they were either invalid or did not add up. In reviewing everything, line by line, I discovered that the rent that was wrongfully charged for XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX  was hidden within charges that we had already paid. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received a response from the regional manager that completely ignored my explanation from the previous email. She held onto the fact that my roommate and I did not provide enough notice to move out ( as stated in the lease ). Again, this should have been brought to our attention, but instead our new move-out date was selected by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX without our agreement. The lease states that this needs to be agreed upon in writing by both parties. At the end of her email, the regional manager offered to XXXX  out the account so that no money is owed ( however, our deposit was still forfeit in this scenario ). 
XX/XX/XXXX - I emailed the regional manager again, going through a timeline of correspondence like I am doing here. I provided her with screenshots and further details about the charges to my and my roommates account with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I also provided proof of XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, as this was another charge in question. 
XX/XX/XXXX - The regional manager responded to my emails from the previous day, still sticking to her argument about all of the charges, save XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. I am still disputing the fact that my roommate and I owe for any of their other claims ( save for cleaning/damage which would be covered with SOME of our deposit... and the rest returned to us ). But let it be known, in the regional manager'sfinal email, it is at least agreed upon between both parties that my roommate and I do not owe {$100.00}, due to the fact that I provided proof of XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. {$36.00} was the new amount that the regional manager stated, so a collection of {$100.00} is wrongfully attached to my and my roommates name, either way.