Complaint Review: GSC / Rancho Mirage Apartments - Las Vegas Nevada

General Services Corporation P.O. Box 8984 Richmond, VA 23225 Fax: (804) 327-9416 May 20, 2009 Dear Ms. XXXXXX, On advice of counsel, I am demanding that the charges of approximately $3,500.00 be removed from my credit report. I dispute the validity of these charges and require either payment or reversal of this amount. Be advised that your company has committed numerous legal violations in both the assessment and pursual of alleged damage fees. I was not sent a bill itemizing the charges within 30 days after move-out. I had to contact your office repeatedly to obtain this information, which was finally faxed to me on 7/29/08. Further, none of my questions have ever been addressed in my previous contacts. You are allowed to charge me for the useful life remaining on the components, and prorate by actual replacement cost; i.e., to levy charges, they must be accurate. (1) Blinds. I lived in the unit for five years; blinds were not new at move-in; consider life span of blinds and charge thusly. (2) Patio blinds. These were removed and given to maintenance within the first year of occupancy. I had instead curtains. (3) Resurfacing of kitchen countertop. It was indicated on my move-in checklist that it extremely worn. I am not liable for its replacement. (4) Three door replacements. I will take responsibility for the door which had the broken mirror, as a mover who thought it was mine attempted to remove it from the master closet door. Provide receipt of actual replacement item. (5) Kitchen vinyl replacement. It was indicated on my move-in checklist that it extremely worn and stained. I am not liable for its replacement. (6) Full apartment clean. I did this myself; you needed the full apartment clean after refurbishing. (7) Carpet replacement. This is the most egregious charge that has been levied. Although it is not on my check-in list, I contacted management two times to ask for its replacement (stained, old, worn, dirty, which would appear shortly after steam cleaning). Both times I was denied. Again, useful life and age of the carpet must be considered. It was certainly more than five years old. I find it exceedingly ironic and sad that during the entire tenure of my residency no improvements were ever made, but just about everything I had ever asked for was done upon departure. These damage photos show nothing more than a decrepit unit which should have been fixed up prior to my move in or during tenancy, per my numerous requests. I am willing to pay in return for your agreement to remove all information from the credit reporting agencies within ten calendar days of payment. If you agree to the terms, I will pay the stated month rent for early departure of your luxury apartments ($417.50) and you can keep my deposit of $199 in exchange to have all information related to these charges removed from all of my credit files. It will be with regret that legal action will be pursued if my request is not met expeditiously; it is disappointing that my request for arbitration through the Neighborhood Justice Center was refused by your office. Along with my damages, this will also include incurred lawyer fees. I have also located other former Rancho Mirage tenants who have suffered the same treatment, which would seem to be paving the way for a class action complaint. Sincerely, Circe Las Vegas, NV cc: State of Nevada, Office of the Attorney General Bureau of Consumer Protection 555 E. Washington Avenue, Ste. 3900 Las Vegas, NV 89101 OnLine Collections 202 W. Firetower Road Winterville, NC 28590 Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection (ref. #22212293) Consumer Response Center - FCRA Washington, DC 20580 [email protected] www.ripoffreport.com Manager, Rancho Mirage 4250 Arville Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89103 Neighborhood Justice Center 330 S. 3rd Street, Ste. 600 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Equifax Information Services, LLC (with cover letter) P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30374-0256 Experian (with cover letter) P.O. Box 2104 Allen, Texas 75013-2104 TransUnion Customer Relations (with cover letter) P.O. Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022

Nice backpedaling reply; your spin doctor needs to go back to college. (a) Charged for items that were on the move in report. Never addressed. (b) Wear and tear is not, repeat, NOT, damage. The place was a dump when I moved in, five years of use only exacerbates the condition. (c) I have found other people, who hey guess what, don't have pets but were charged for full carpet replacement. Are we supposed to fix up your dump? Let's see...if only 10 people move out per month, and you hit them with $2,000 in "damage" fees--that's a sweet, free 20 grand in your cheating pockets. How many people have you done this to that don't even speak English and don't know their rights? (d) No one tried to contact me and drop the rent termination fee. You had my cell phone number and could have left a voice mail. Indeed, the charges still reflect one full month rent. I have filed a complaint with the FTC, the Nevada State Attorney's General, and one other legal resource. We're not going to finance your makeover.

We at Rancho Mirage Apartments are troubled to hear the complaints of this previous resident. Residents are never charged for apartment damages without proper documentation. We have 17 pictures of damage for this apartment as well as the move-in inspection form the resident filled out when they moved in. We send a copy of their move-in inspection form to the resident after they move-out with our notes of charges for the apartment. We also have not sent this resident to an outside collections service. Right now this resident is dealing with our in-house department, who handles all move-out balances. It is not a practice of GSC to punish residents who break their lease early by charging them for damages, as insinuated. We do have the vents cleaned for residents who request the service, but there is no documentation of this ever being requested by this resident. The countertops did have to be resurfaced because of the many cuts and scratches present. As far as pet damage to the carpet, there was a dog living in the apartment. When we entered the apartment, the smell of dog urine was almost intolerable. There is a request for carpet replacement in the file for this resident, but replacement was denied because the damage was due to the resident and not normal wear and tear. The resident made no mention of any carpet issues on the move-in inspection form. The termination fees for breaking a lease are one half month's rent after five years of residency. After speaking to my corporate office I was given permission to waive policy and reduce her termination fees to one half month's rent because she was so close to the five year mark. We tried to call the resident numerous times to inform her of this, and never received a called back. Here at Rancho Mirage we always strive to be fair and ethical in all aspects of business. It is regretful that this resident is unhappy with Rancho Mirage. We wish they had voiced some of their complaints before they moved out so we could have properly addressed them. Rancho Mirage and GSC in no way wants any of its residents to feel they were treated unfairly. Thank You, Rancho Mirage Apartments

I received a response to my letter, as follows. Of course, none of my specific questions were addressed and charges were not itemized or justified. -------- August 26, 2008 RE: Account #0012261 - Rancho Mirage Apartments Dear Ms. XXXXX, I am in receipt of your letter dated August 14, 2008 in reference to your acccount balance of $2,512.94. I have reviewed the Apartment Inspection Form which lists the damages present at move-in and move-out and the damage photos. I will not void any of the charges but can offer to make payment arrangements with you. The damage photos that were taken during the exit inspectiopn show the condition of the carpet, kitchen countertops, etc. You did not document any problems with these items upon moving into the apartment therefore you must assume responsibility for the damage upon moving out. The balance due remains $2,512.94 for the termination fee and damages. Please contact the office upon receipt to make payment arrangments. If you would like to review the damage photos I will be happy to email them. Sincerely, XXXXXXXX Collections Manager ----- So I called to make payment arrangments (YEAH RIGHT!). Actually, I said that none of my questions had been addressed, and yes, please send along those damage photos although they are probably duplicates of the ones I took. By the way, how can I document normal wear and tear? This is so out of line and I'm tired of being screwed with by greedy corporations.