Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/22/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I kept a personal collection of bikes at my apartment complex. In summer, the Lodge got rid of my bikes. On July 7th, I received an obscure notice by email that I have never used before. This was the ONLY communication I received. On August 23rd 2023 I went found that all my bikes were gone. After inquiring to the Lodge and asking for compensation they threatened me to charge a fee on the false premise that I had a business on their property. I wasn't having a business. I had too many personal bikes and I wanted to sell the ones I didn't need. All of the bikes on the property were personal property. There were a few ******* bikes that I got from a farmer last winter, but the rest of them were my ***********. I had a few mountain bikes, a loaner bike, a road bike and a collectors bike. I wasn't planning on selling those. I never came in to their office to discuss this matter. I never rented out the bikes at the Lodge. The Lodge may be confused about a Tandem Bike Rental Business I have in ***********, but I have never stored those Tandem Bikes on the Lodge Premises. The bikes I had at the Lodge, except for the two ******* bikes, were personal bikes that I wanted to keep. My criteria for asking for $450 compensation 1.) Bikes at the Lodge were worth $450 at the time of disposal 2.) Lodge email Notice came from a different email used by Lodge 3.) ***** sent me on single email, and made no other attempts to contact me about the issue 4.) No tags were placed on my bikes, which is common courtesy of notice. 5.) The Lodge did not provide sufficient notice 6.) The Lodge did not provide sufficient time after collection. They only gave 2 weeks (during summer session) before disposal. Most apartment complexes in Rexburg will give 30 days. 7.) The Lodge Donated bikes during off session for when students go home for summer. It was not reasonable of me to check on my bikes within the time frame that they were collected and disposed of because it was summer.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2024

  Resident, *************************, reached out with a claim regarding compensation for abandoned property that was left after the completion of his lease. The resident had many bikes stored on-site. During an in-person communication with a member of our leasing team, he informed a Lodge employee that he owned all of the bikes for the purpose of renting them out as part of an entrepreneurial business venture. This was in direct violation of his lease agreement and is a breach of contract. The ********* Approved Housing Guidebook states "Students or their guests cannot conduct any commercial activities on the premises of approved housing properties, including the parking lot(s)" This includes the storage or operation of any of the resources of his business.

  On July 5th (15 days before the lease end date), we communicated with all residents that a bike audit would be performed and that any resident who had a bicycle was to come to the office to get a tag, and place it on their vehicle. Additionally, we informed all residents that any vehicle without a tag would be considered abandoned property, and donated. This communication was sent directly from our Property Manager's email address due to it's important nature. We informed ****** that, from the time of notice (July 5th, 2023), as well as after the lease end date (July 20th, 2023), more than 30 days were given before the donation of any abandoned property left here at The Lodge. All bicycles that did not have a tag were rounded up and stored on our property on August 6th, where they remained for another ***** days before donation. It was not until August 24th, 2023 that he reached out to us regarding this concern, which unfortunately was after the bicycles had been donated. In regard to ***** tenant law, sufficient notice was given in the form of an email, and it was the resident's responsibility to have read this notice, regardless it having been sent directly from the Property Manager email. We are not legally required to store belongings long-term after the lease end date. Additionally, ****** did not have any future lease at The Lodge, for which we could have inferred his return. Again, due to our attempt to contact him regarding this issue, and the sufficient amount of time, and notice, given prior to donation, we are not in violation of any ordinances or laws.

  Per the lease agreement that the resident signed on 4/26/2023, leaving property at The Lodge was in violation of the lease. Section **** states: "Upon termination of this Contract, Student will immediately vacate the premises and remove all Student's and Student's guest's property. Landlord and Student agree that if any personal or Student's guest's property is left on the premises or in any storage facility after Contract is terminated, Landlord may assess a maximum handling fee of $100 to dispose of the property. Justification of an abandoned property fee must be made in the itemization provided to Student with the returned security deposit. Landlord will make reasonable efforts to contact Student concerning the property and permit Student to enter and remove the property. Disposal of unclaimed property shall be governed by the provisions of applicable ***** law."

  As a courtesy to the resident, we did not charged the aforementioned handling fee that we are contractually entitled to charge. Per the terms of the lease agreement, we are not in violation of the contract and were well within our rights to remove any abandoned property off the premises. For this reason, we will be unable to offer the compensation requested.