Consumer complaint received 2026-01-29 00:00:00
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
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this complaint regarding XXXX XXXX XXXX and its property manager, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, for attempting to collect a fabricated and unlawfully inflated post-move-out debt through deceptive charges, false legal representations, and improper debt-collection practices. 
After I vacated the unit on XX/XX/year>, my security deposit was never returned, and I was never provided with a lawful, itemized statement of deductions within the required time. No such accounting was sent to my correct forwarding address. Instead, XXXX XXXX XXXX listed my former apartmentthe address I had just vacatedas my forwarding address, effectively preventing me from receiving legally required notices or disclosures. 
Prior to move-out, I affirmatively offered to pay in advance for any additional days of occupancy. Management explicitly declined that offer. Despite declining payment when it was offered, XXXX XXXX XXXX later charged post-move-out rent and related fees. 
The charges later asserted as consumer debt include, but are not limited to, the following : Credits Applied Security Deposit Collected : {$800.00} Prorated Scheduled Rent : {$980.00} Prorated Water, Sewer, and Trash : {$36.00} Charges Assessed TC = Trip Charge for No Entry to Unit : {$55.00} XX/XX/year> Rent : {$1300.00} XX/XX/year> Water, Sewer, and Trash : {$50.00} Late Fee for XX/XX/year> : {$80.00} TC = Service Call for Carpet Refused Service : {$150.00} Rev : Heavy Clean w/W/D : {$210.00} Rev : 5 Gallons of Paint : {$79.00} Rev : Full Paint w/Doors, Repairs : {$330.00} Rev : Carpet Replace w/Check : {$440.00} Rev : Repair Parts : {$100.00} Rev : 1.5 Hours for Repairs : {$45.00} Rev : Trash-Out Items Left in Unit : {$140.00} Rev : Legal Fees : {$770.00} Total Charges Asserted : {$3800.00} These charges are deceptive and improper for multiple reasons. First, many of the renovation charges represent ordinary turnover costs and normal wear and tear, including full repainting and carpet replacement. The unit had been freshly painted prior to move-out, yet management asserted that white primer was the wrong color and charged for a full repaint. Management also charged for complete carpet replacement despite having refused to provide maintenance for a known water leak that soaked the carpeta condition caused by their own failure to repair. 
Second, several charges are internally inconsistent or fabricated, including trip charges and refused service fees, even though access issues were attributable to management conduct and unresolved maintenance conditions rather than tenant refusal. 
Third, and most concerning, XXXX XXXX XXXX added legal fees after my move-out and after I filed a civil rights complaint against the landlord. A third-party debt collector later represented that these legal fees were based on a judgment obtained against me. This representation is false. No unlawful detainer action or other lawsuit was filed, no judgment exists, I was never served with any legal papers, and no court proceeding of any kind occurred. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX may attempt to justify the assessment of legal fees by citing a lease provision that permits recovery of such fees, but such an assertion mischaracterizes the language in the contract. The lease explicitly states that reasonable attorneys fees are only granted to the " prevailing party '' in a landlord-tenant action. This means that legal fees are owed only if the landlord is successful in obtaining an unlawful detainer judgment or similar court relief. That condition precedent was never met. Accordingly, the assessment and collection of legal fees is contractually unauthorized and factually false. 
The refusal to accept payment when offered, failure to provide a lawful itemized accounting, misrepresentation of the existence of a legal judgment, and inflation of renovation charges to manufacture a post-move-out balance constitute deceptive, unfair, and abusive debt-collection conduct. I respectfully request that the CFPB investigate XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and any affiliated debt collectors for misrepresentation of legal status, false claims of judgment debt, improper post-move-out charges, and unlawful attempts to collect a debt that was improperly created.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation