Consumer complaint received 05-12-2016 about Debt collection (Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)) with Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP (CA).
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not mine

Complaint: Before I begin with my issue I want to clarify that it 's not that the debt is n't necessarily mine, it 's that I am being charged more than what is owed. There just was n't an option for me to click for unfair charges. 

I have been attempting to speak with the XXXX XXXX about this debt they are trying to hit me for. I understand that I had a lease with them and I understand that I had to move prior to the lease expiration. I am also familiar with the fact that I could be held responsible for the entirety of the lease up until the apartment gets leased again ; which by the way, the apartment got leased 13 days after I moved out. What I am not understanding of is why I am being charged for apartment cleaning charges, paint, replacement of a master bath and kitchen vanity counter, and the XXXX charges. 

So you can clearly get an understanding of why I am disputing these charges and not simply ranting like a disgruntled consumer, I want to explain the situation to you just like I have with XXXX as well as their collection agency Kimball, Tirey, and St. John. When I moved out, I took photos as well as a video of what the place looked like at the time of move out. I even provided Kimball Tirey and St. John a copy of the video. The video clearly stated XXXX XXXX as well so they could n't argue it was a move in video and not a move out. 

I cleaned, swept, vacuumed, wiped, and washed tho whole place. In the video and the photos I have, You can clearly see that the whole place is clean. Since I video taped the whole place as a visual walk through, you can clearly see that the paint on the walls is undamaged with no writing, holes, or markings of any kind. You can also see that the place is clean and there is no debris or anything to clean out in the entire apartment. The carpet is clean and free of stains. The counter in the restroom is undamaged and the counter on the kitchen has but a few tiny nicks that were already there when I moved in to the apartment. Certainly nothing that needed any replacing of any kind and definitely not at my expense. If they were going to replace it they should have done it before I moved in. Also, the XXXX charges are not even broken down so that I can discern whether they are legitimately owed or not especially considering that they had new tenants move in during the same month and those tenants would have charges as well. 

After I showed Kimball, Tirey, and St. John the video, they went back to XXXX and informed them about it. Afterwards they came back to me and told me that even after seeing the video the apartments were sticking to the charges and I owed the full amount ... I even warned Kimball, Tirey, and St. John, that I would file complaints against both of them since they now had visual proof that the charges were wrong and fraudulent. They did n't care. 

I do n't know how anybody can continue to conduct business in this manner. I am not opposed to paying what I owe, but I refuse to pay for something that I do n't owe simply because a business and their collection agency are attempting to extort money from me by damaging my credit with a fraudulent charge. 

Please help me by looking into this. I have offered to pay them for the appropriate charges as I have done since the beginning but I do n't owe anywhere near what they say I owe. Even more so since they kept my deposit of {$650.00}! 

If me having clear visual proof that the charges against me are fraudulent is n't enough to convince these companies to change their mind and collect a proper amount, nothing short of suing them will. I am hoping that you can intervene before I have to go trough a lengthy and expensive process to clear my good name.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation