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Camden Property Trust Camden Property Trust Possible Move-out Scam Involving Carpet Replacement Fairfax, Virginia
My boyfriend and I rented a unit at the Camden facility located at 4231 Monument Wall Way Fairfax, VA from late May 2009 to early August 2009. We sublet the studio unit from a man who had resided in the unit from late May 2008 until late May 2009.
Before moving in, we requested that a walk-through be performed to assess damages from the prior tenant as per VA law. This request was made to a representative from the Camden office who assured us that someone would indeed perform a damage assessment at the time of our move-in if we so requested at that time. However, when we arrived to move-in, we were told by another employee of the Camden office that such assessments were not made and no one would be coming to do so.
Prior to move-out, a walk- through by the Camden head of maintenance was performed. We were informed at that time that our apartment passed inspection with the exception of the wall-to-wall carpeting. We were told that if we could not get the carpet clean, we would be charged approximately $600.00 to have it replaced. It was suggested that we try to clean the carpet ourselves or have it professionally cleaned.
We not only cleaned the wall-to-wall carpet ourselves, but spent $149.00 to have Stanley Steemer clean it as well and have kept the receipt to prove such. All of the wall-to-wall carpet available to us for cleaning, was cleaned and was without stain. Obviously, we could not pull the carpet up and clean the underside as the act of pulling up the carpet from the tacks securing it would have irreparably damaged it. We then notified Camden that we had the carpet cleaned when we officially checked out of the unit. At that time, we also requested that we be present at the final walk-through, but were told that it would be performed on a weekday during working hours. Since my boyfriend and I both were working full-time, we could not attend.
Camden then proceeded to replace the carpet, without prior notice of their intentions to do so, and sent us a bill for it on August 17, 2009 claiming that the UNDERSIDE of the carpet was stained with what looked to be pet urine. This is completely ridiculous and unreasonable. Wall-to-wall carpet, by its very status as wall-to-wall, cannot be cleaned on the underside as it is permanently affixed to the floor and usually covered by baseboards or shoe molding. The act of pulling it up causes irreparable damage to the carpet and so is only done when the carpet is going to be replaced.
Furthermore, we do not own pets, nor did we ever keep animals in the apartment. The previous occupant has assured us that he never had pets either and since we visited him several times before we moved in, we are inclined to believe him. We have been told by Camden's head of maintenance that the carpet was at least 3 years old. As the previous occupant lived in the unit for a little more than a year and we only lived in it for 2 months, there must have been at least one, but possibly two other tenants since the carpet was last replaced. Any of these tenants could have been responsible for the stains on the underside of the carpet. This is especially true since the complex is pet-friendly.
Therefore, it seems likely that Camden Fairfax Corner Managers had always intended to replace the carpet in our unit when we moved out, as part of the routine maintenance. The standard for a tenant to maintain a wall-to-wall carpet applies to the part of the carpet they can actually access the top. The top was clearly clean and we have pictures to support this fact.
Camden claims that checking the underside of the carpet is part of the routine check-out procedure for every tenant. The manager for the Fairfax location promised to show us check-out room condition reports and possibly pictures of the underside of the carpet from previous tenants since no condition report was filed at the time of our move-in. She also promised not to attempt to collect from us again until they had sufficiently proven our responsibility for the damages. These promises were made to us in person at the Camden office in Fairfax in August 2009. By September 1, 2009, we had not heard anything further from Camden so we mailed them a check for the remaining money legitimately owed in rent and a letter stating our refusal to pay for any damage done to the carpet. Camden did not attempt to contact us again after we issued the letter, but they did cash our check for rent. However, on November 14, 2009, nearly THREE MONTHS after our last contact from Camden, I received a notice from Hunter Warfield, a collections agency, attempting to collect $600+ on behalf of Camden.
I feel that Camden's business practices are unethical both in holding tenants responsible for the cleanliness of the underside of wall-to-wall carpeting and in their failure to properly attempt to resolve this matter with us before contacting a collections agency. Furthermore, I feel that we were targeted as victims for this scam because we were new college graduates, first-time renters, and subletting. I have now filed complaints with both the BBB and the county of Fairfax.
Be warned. When dealing with Camden Property Trust locations (or any landlord for that matter) keep written and photographic records of everything! Be sure to look up landlord and tenant laws in your city and state. Know your rights!
1 Updates & Rebuttals
stargazer2009
USAUpdate: Camden finally dropped charges
#2Author of original report
Fri, November 20, 2009
After reporting Camden to several agencies and leaving bad reviews on every website I could find, they finally dropped the charges from our account and discharged the contract. As it turn out, there was in fact another resident who kept pets in the unit before we lived there.