Complaint Review: Robinson Land & Reality Inc and Janet Daniell

This report is written in complaint of the Robinson Land & Reality Co., Inc. and its agent, Janet Daniell (AZ license # BR512652000), in regards to the termination of rental agreement at 799 Baseline Rd, Bullhead City, AZ 86442 on or about June 8, 2015.

Ms. Daniell performed a walk-through inspection on or about June 7, 2015 and verbally approved the condition of the property. She accepted a spare key (the key I was given) and agreed to allow me to leave the remaining key on the kitchen counter after I completed my cleaning. Ms. Daniell took my new address and assured me that there would not be any delay in returning my full deposit, which included 1 month rent and a pet deposit.

On July 2, 2015, after not receiving a refund for the deposit, or any communication in regards to the disposition of the refund, I decided to call Ms. Daniell to get an update. Her phone rolled over to voice mail with a message that she would not be available for a week due to the holiday.

I followed up with an email to the email address listed on http://www.robisonlandandrealty.com/, but it bounced. I took the next reasonable course of action and contacted Lynn Robinson, one of the property owners, via email. Ms. Robinson returned a brief message a day later (July 3, 2015) to let me know that the matter would be resolved as soon as Ms. Daniell returned to her office and approved the return of the deposit.

Ms. Daniell responded a couple of days later:

David. Sorry for delay. It was because of the transfer if ownership. All deposits had to be transfered and it took longer than expected. I noticed the new owner he had to get your deposit refunded. Should be any day. The key you have me for the door was not correct. And so had to have lock smith open to get key off bar Other than that. The place was in great condition

As a licensed agent, and the registered Property Manager at 799 Baseline Rd, Bullhead City, AZ, Ms. Daniell is well aware that Arizona law requires a landlord to refund a tenant's deposit within 14 days. In any case, transfer of ownership of the property is not the tenant's issue. Nor is it the tenant's issue that the landlord does not have keys or gave the tenant a second set of keys that do not work. A smart agent/property manager would have tried the keys when they were relinquished.

A hand written, personal check from a Robert J. Mackey in Lakewood, California, dated July 3, 2015 finally arrived on or about July 10, 2015. Enclosed with with the check was a Disposition of Deposits (DOD) document, dated June 15, 2015. The DOD deducted $200 for cleaning, $25 for an application fee (application to what?), and $45 for a locksmith.

Both the DOD and the check had the wrong name (misspelled). More importantly, the check was so poorly written, that Chase, the bank it was written on, would not cash it.

I emailed Ms. Daniell on July 10, 2015 to let her know there was a problem with the check. She emailed me back promptly to let me know that she notified the owner and that a new check would be sent immediately.

On July 21, 2015, after waiting another week for my refund, I emailed Ms. Daniell to let her know that the problem must be resolved with a cashier's check in a FedEx envelope by the close of business today, July 22, 2015, to avoid a formal complaint process. Again, Ms. Daniell replied to let me know that she notified the owner.  It's now past close of business and I don't have a FedEx tracking number.

Based on a hand-written note on the DOD, which included a date, it's obvious that the landlord, Robinson Land & Reality Co. Inc., received the information they needed to disburse a refund to me on June 15, 2015. They delayed until my first complaint on July 2, 2015 and then finally cut a check on or about July 8, 2015 (date of the post mark on the envelope) and back dated it July 3, 2015.

From what has transpired, I can only concluded that Robinson Land & Reality Co. Inc., Robert J. Mackey, and Lynn Robinson are not interested in fulfilling their responsibilities as landlords under Arizona law. In order to help others who might have cause to do business with Robinson Land & Reality Co. Inc., Robert J. Mackey, and Lynn Robinson, I'm documenting what has transpired as truthfully, clearly and accurately as possible.

It is my opinion that the owners of Robinson Land & Reality Co. Inc. are either incompetent, ignorant of the law, or willfully take advantage of renters through abusive contract practices. For this reason, I give my STRONG WARNING to anyone considering doing business with Robinson Land & Reality Co. Inc.