Consumer complaint received 2024-08-12
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account information incorrect
Company: National Credit Systems,Inc. (CO)

The Facts I was a tenant of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  from XX/XX/XXXX ( this move-in date is stated inaccurately as XX/XX/XXXX on the final account statement emailed ) until XX/XX/XXXX, on a sublease, and when I renewed the lease from XX/XX/XXXX, until XX/XX/XXXX. 

I contacted the tenant at the time on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX expressing my interest in the apartment he posted for sublease on XXXX. We communicated about the details via email and agreed to meet at the leasing office on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX to view the apartment. Before our meeting, I called the leasing office and scheduled to meet with them on Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXXXXXX XXXX At this meeting, I toured the property, received information about the application process, paid an application fee ( {$34.00} ), and submitted an application. After meeting with the tenant on XX/XX/XXXX to view the half-moved-out apartment I expressed that I wanted to move forward with the process and he sent a drafted sublease document for my viewing later that day. The next day I replied with my intention to move in on XX/XX/XXXX, however, ultimately we agreed on a XX/XX/XXXX, move-in date. He allowed me to receive the keys sooner as he had by the apartments to prep for move-in. We met on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX at the leasing office to sign the sublease and for me to pay the security deposit. I wrote a {$1500.00} check to the tenant for the security deposit which was XXXX times the amount that the apartments required. He explained that this was for his own security considering that it was a sublease. 

The tenant agreed to leave the keys in the office so that I could receive them on Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, to clean and sanitize before move-in. I scheduled a more thorough cleaning and disinfection of the apartment on XX/XX/XXXX through the XXXX app and a XXXX XXXX  with XXXX XXXX for Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX. There was no move-in inspection checklist signed by the property XXXX or the tenant that I subleased from and myself with an agreement on the condition of the apartment or specific cleaning obligations upon move-out when I signed the sublease. 

Toward the end of the sublease, I communicated with the tenant I subleased from and proposed that he deduct the {$300.00} deposit that he paid to the leasing office from the {$1500.00} that I paid him for the security deposit so that he could be refunded. The property XXXX confirmed that {$300.00} deposit that he paid them at the start of his lease would roll over and be applied to my new lease. We agreed that he would keep the full amount of the {$1500.00} deposit that I gave him at the start of the sublease. This would reimburse him for the {$300.00} security deposit that he paid directly to the apartments for the term of his lease ( I assumed when I renewed the lease ) and cover a portion of the XX/XX/XXXX prorated rent amount of {$1200.00} that I would owe to him. I agreed to send him the outstanding amount of {$53.00} to settle the bill which I did. 

During my stay on my renewed lease, I kept the home clean, tidy, sanitized, and in good, healthy living condition. I had an area rug cleaned for the living area by XXXX XXXX on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX and they agreed to clean the XXXX XXXX area around the beds in the bedrooms at no cost. This service was provided just XXXX months before my move-out date. 

I submitted my notice of intent to vacate the apartment on XX/XX/XXXX via email at XXXXXXXX XXXX  and included a request to be advised of any damages that fall outside of normal wear and tear so that I could resolve. I also submitted a hard copy of my intent to vacate to the leasing shortly after the email and received yellow paper copy of XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX notice of intent to vacate which was signed by me and the XXXX. The document includes what is referred to as a policy which is a list of XXXX requirements regarding the refund of the XXXX XXXX. Section number XXXX states that, the resident must clean each kitchen appliance thoroughly and that the XXXX would, charge for each major appliance that is left dirty. We thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the microwave, the refrigerator ( fridge and freezer sections with all drawers removed and thoroughly washed and disinfected ), the stovetop, and the oven. Section XXXX states that, the resident shall schedule a time with the XXXX to complete the XXXX XXXX inspection. After submitting my notice, I inquired a few times about having someone do a walk-through with me before moving out of the apartment. I was told the first time that a walkthrough could be scheduled and was told later that the leasing office personnel didnt have the capacity to do walkthroughs with every tenant so my request would not likely be granted. I expressed my concerns about not being allowed an opportunity to do a walkthrough and resolve any issues. 

I officially moved out on Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX. A leasing agent told me to bring the keys in to the office the next morning on Monday, XX/XX/XXXX because the office would be closed on Sunday. I received an email on XX/XX/XXXX, with an attached untitled letter dated XX/XX/XXXX regarding the retention of my security deposit and my final account statement. Please note that I never received a hard copy of the letter only the attachment in the email. I didnt agree with the deductions listed totaling {$1300.00} and replied to the email correspondence with a written demand as the apartment was not damaged, leaving normal wear and tear upon my moving out and specifically for the reasons listed in my response which I have uploaded a copy of with this complaint. 

Efforts to Resolve I sent several certified letters to XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX disputing the charges included in the move-out statement and demanding that my security deposit be returned but didnt receive acknowledgment of receipt. I mailed XXXX letters ( XXXX certified with a return receipt requested and XXXX through regular mail ) on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX. Because the tracking halted at some point and I never received any notification that the apartments received the certified mail that had an expected delivery date of Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I mailed XXXX more letters ( XXXX certified with a return receipt requested and XXXX through regular mail ) XXXX weeks later on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX that had an expected delivery date on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, and still received no acknowledgment of receipt or response. I went to the XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with supervisors who informed me that they would contact the leasing office directly to determine if they were receiving the certified mail sent. They explained that it was possible that the XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX have received the mail but did not sign for it. As per the post office clerk 's suggestion, I mailed XXXX more letters on that day ( XXXX through priority mail with a signature confirmation request and XXXX through first-class mail ) which had expected delivery dates of Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, for the priority mail and Friday, XX/XX/XXXX for the first-class mail. 

After leaving the post office, I went to the property to speak with the property XXXX, XXXX XXXX, in person and with the intent to deliver a copy of the letter. When I inquired, XXXX confirmed receipt of my letter and sarcastically mentioned that she had received all XXXX of my letters. I requested a response to my certified letter and she expressed that my letters were basically the same as my email ( originally sent in response to the move-out statement emailed to me on XX/XX/XXXX ) and that she would not make any changes. 
I shared that I planned to proceed further with my request. XXXX told me that she could just resend the email sent ( I assumed she was referring to an email response to me on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX ) but I explained that the certified letter included details for the emailed response to the final account statement. XXXX mentioned the arrangement I had with the previous tenant from which I subleased the apartment before signing my own lease. However, her comment was unintelligible to me at the moment which is another reason why I explained that a more formal response to my request XXXX be helpful so that I can clearly understand her position on the matter and take the proper next steps. I was told by XXXX that she would put responding to my letter on her list of things to do. After our interaction, I sent a follow-up email the same day to clarify information regarding how many letters I sent and when and attached a copy of the letter as well. 

I spoke with a representative at XXXX XXXX XXXX corporate office who referred me to the central support office in XXXX and suggested that I speak with the regional XXXX XXXX XXXX and later referred to XXXX XXXX, a XXXX XXXX with XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX. I was also given a number, ( XXXX ) XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX and an email, XXXX to reach out with my concerns. I could not get in touch with anyone other than the representative at the corporate office who provided the information. I sent an email to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX expressing my concerns and providing a copy of the letter sent to the apartments but did not receive a reply. 

I received a letter from the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ), a debt collector, that was dated XX/XX/XXXX that stated that I owed {$1000.00} as of XX/XX/XXXX ( my move out date ). Please note that I was not notified of any charges until the email that I received from the leasing office on XX/XX/XXXX. I called XXXX to get more information and informed them that I would dispute the matter. I mailed a request for debt validation letter ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) to the XXXX, which was received by them on XX/XX/XXXX. In the letter, I stated my dispute claims and requested that they, provide validation of this debt including any written contracts, notices, move-in documents, move-out statements & ledgers along with any and all written communications between your client and myself as I noticed that your client submitted a move-out statement and lease but did not submit the emailed or mailed certified security deposit demand letter that they received from me. XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX did respond to their request, however, the leasing office only provided the final account statement ( which has errors regarding my move-in date ), and itemized account statement ( was never given to me ), the lease agreement ( doesnt specify guidelines for cleaning ), a move-out inspection checklist ( with an inaccurate account of the condition of the apartment when I moved out and inaccurate information such as XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX when there were XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ), and XXXX pictures that do not accurately depict the condition of the apartment when I moved out. Additionally, I can not confirm that the pictures submitted to XXXX were taken of my apartment after I returned the keys and moved out as I was denied a walkthrough with personnel from the leasing office. Additionally, a move-in checklist was not provided and management did not verify the condition of the apartment when I entered the sublease nor when I renewed the lease after my sublease. 

Ive uploaded a copy of the lease highlighting the guidelines regarding cleaning and move-out, the sublease and correspondence, the demand letter mailed certified to the Alas leasing office, the email correspondence with the final account statement, pictures sent from the leasing office XXXX that was used to justify the charges, a copy of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX my written notice of intent to vacate, email sent to corporate Regional Head, email correspondence between the original tenant and me, the results from my dispute with the National Credit Systems XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX from the post office XXXX XXXX certified letters that were maild, and all other relevant documents. 
Please view the copy of the demand letter sent justifying my position on the charges and a statement below concerning my perspective on the pictures captured. 

Statement Concerning Pictures Submitted by XXXX XXXX XXXX As mentioned before, I can not confirm that the pictures submitted to XXXX were taken of my apartment after I returned the keys and moved out as I was denied a walkthrough with personnel from the leasing office. This denial was not in compliance with the policy in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX of Intent to Vacate signed by a leasing agent/manager and myself which states that I would have an opportunity to schedule a move-out inspection and after the inspection and return of the keys I would receive a copy of the move in or move out forms. Additionally, a move-in checklist was not provided and management did not verify the condition of the apartment when I entered the sublease nor when I renewed the lease after my sublease. There was also no guidelines that detailed the nature of cleaning. I cleaned and the apartment thoroughly with the cleaning materials that I had. There were stains in/on some cabinets that did not come up when cleaned and were there when I moved into the apartment. There were small spots on the carpet but I did my part to maintain the cleanliness of the carpet as indicated by my paying XXXX XXXX to deep clean the carpet. Before calling XXXXXXXX XXXX  both times, I called the leasing office to inquire about having the carpet cleaned through the vendors that they used and I was told by XXXX leasing agent that they would ask and get back to me but I never heard back. Another time that I inquired about having the carpet cleaned I was told that they do not normally offer this option to tenets and that they have vendors that they use for make ready purposes. I inquired because I have lived in apartments that allowed me to use their XXXX XXXX vendors to clean my carpet at the discounted rate that they received as they saw it as upkeep/maintenance and encouraged tenants to have the carpet cleaned at least once during their lease. Additionally, I can not be responsible for the life of the carpet. XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX is attempting to charge me {$800.00} for them replacing the carpet with not consideration of proration to account for the time that I occupied the apartment which is unacceptable. Baseboards and walls were cleaned, the floors were swept and mopped, the carpet was cleaned and all other parts of the house were cleaned and disinfected and normal wear and tear was evident in the apartment when I moved out on XX/XX/XXXX.