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:05/17/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  On or about 2/15 I was in my pantry on a ladder putting things on the shelves when I heard a terrifying crash. A large window, frame and all, approximately 4.5’ x 4.5’ had been blown into my living room and smashed onto an end table. The 2” wide wooden blinds were all the way down and had broken the force of the fall and mitigated the scattering of glass. I called my landlord immediately to report the incident and explained what had happened. The handyman came and removed the glass and put cardboard over my window. While there he told me that the clip for the window that is used to release it from the frame for cleaning had been broken on the right side for 2 months before I moved in. About a month later I received a bill for about $250. My landlord claims that I am responsible. They accused me of breaking the window while cleaning it. None of my windows have been cleaned since I moved in on 1/20/23. I am a single mom with 3 kids, I don’t have time. It was freezing outside and Evansville was experiencing high winds at the time. I had several reasons not to open the windows. They have accused me of lying, they have accused me of trying to defraud them, and have repeatedly threatened to evict me. They have refused multiple maintenance requests dating back to 4/2/23. They have continued to threaten and harass me ever since and I can’t get them to send the handyman back. After I received the bill I saw him and asked him about it. He again confirmed that the clip was broken before I moved in. He also told me that he had put this fact in his report with a statement that it was not my fault. I asked that he explain this to his boss, and now mysteriously he never comes around any more. I am at my wits end. Aurora of Evansville helped my get this apartment through the federal Housing First program. I am eligible because I have been under a doctor’s care for two years as a result of a terrible trauma that has left me with severe ****. Do I have any recourse?

  Business Response

  Date: 05/23/2023

  The complainant is liable for the window pursuant to her lease. She broke the window, then alleged that a maintenance person told her that the window latch was broken for months before she moved in. I personally know that to be inaccurate as I personally inspect the windows to make sure that they open and close (and lock) when I go to take pictures of the property and I check the locks at each subsequent visit to the property. In fact, my last visit to the property was right before she moved into the unit and there was nothing wrong with any window clips or latches. In addition, the maintenance person who responded to the broken window (a) is not the same maintenance persons we have doing turnovers - he only does work orders, so he could not have known about the alleged latch issue months before, (b) had there been a clip/latch issue, I (or another maintenance person) would have had the matter addressed while we were turning the unit, (c) had there been a latch issue, my inspection, her inspection, or Aurora's inspection prior to her moving in would have discovered it. Finally, even if the window had had a broken latch, being locked at the top and on at least one side would have kept the window from just spontaneously falling in. Her allegation doesn't "ring true."
  

  The tenant alleges that a maintenance person stated that it was not her fault - our maintenance persons have never done that for anyone else to our knowledge - and that he made a note to that effect in her work order. We inquired of the maintenance person who fixed her window and he states that he said no such thing and there is no notation in the work order. The tenant has been loud, argumentative, and verbally abusive to our staff. She currently makes demand that we remove a non-working under-cabinet microwave, even though her lease says that we are not responsible for appliances being provided to her and that we told her we want to keep the microwave there (both for aesthetics and because we may choose to provide appliances to the next tenant and the microwave may be repairable. Plus, it hurts nothing to leave it there out of the way.) To our knowledge, there are no other open maintenance requests.

  As you can see from the attached lease, on the bottom of Page 8, the tenant agrees to be responsible for any and all damages to the unit other than normal wear-and-tear. The reason for this provision in the lease is that, many times, a tenant will do damage to the unit and then claim it was someone else - only for us to find out later that it was actually the tenant. Rather than putting that burden on us to try to prove a tenant broke something out of malice, negligence, carelessness, having a fight with a significant other, not supervising their children, having a mental episode, etc, by contract, the burden is now on the tenant to pay for any and all damages other than wear-and-tear and, since the tenant is in the best position to know if some other third-party has liability, to seek redress from that third-party if they are responsible. In this case, there is no indication (other than her unverified, self-serving statement about what she was allegedly told by a maintenance person who was not in a position to know), that there was anything wrong with the window and it is more likely than not that she broke the window and concocted a story once she was charged for it. Thus, as we have no liability, per her lease, the liability falls on the tenant for the cost of fixing the window. Also, per her lease, the subsequent payments received from her has gone to pay for the window repair (see P. 3, second paragraph under Section 1.5) and, so the window repair cost has been paid, but it leaves an unpaid rent balance, which we told her that we will have to file an eviction on if it is not paid. Pursuant to federal fair housing law, if her rent is not paid-in-full by June 5th, we will be filing an eviction on June 5th to enforce the lease. She has ignored multiple requests for payment and we have patiently explained things as best we can.

  We have never accused her of trying to defraud us, but we have told her once that she was lying - not in relation to the above matters, but when she verifiably lied about something else. We have told her that we will evict her, but we have also told her that we can refer her to various assistance organizations who will help her to get her rent paid-in-full. She has rejected those opportunities for assistance. Thus, we deny her complaint with the BBB and request that you close the matter. It appears that the matter will soon be headed to the courts to resolve, anyway.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/23/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: when I first reported the window was broken, I told the secretary exactly what I wrote in my complaint. Therefore their claim that I am lying and that I made this up after I was charged “does not ring true”. I would suggest they allow the repairman to make a formal statement to a neutral third party. He did in fact tell me that the clip that held the window in was already broken. After I was charged, he came back to remove the oven and I asked if what I remembered was correct. He said it was indeed correct and added that he thought he had put it in his report that it was not my fault. The secretary knows the truth and so does the handyman. As for the broken microwave, the kitchen’s only exhaust is in the bottom and is all one unit. The exhaust fan does not work either. I responded to an ad showing pictures of a complete kitchen, with stove and refrigerator. When I was first shown the apartment, it had a complete kitchen. When I reported that the microwave was broken, they made a huge stink about how the appliances were all supposed to be removed, including the microwave. The unit appears to be quite old and is in the only spot for me to put a new exhaust fan in. They have taken out the stove, requiring me to purchase a toaster oven and a hotplate, which is all I could afford. They have absolutely no valid reason to call me a liar. I get along with the handyman very well, and do not believe for a minute that he lied to them and denied the things he told me. He is the only person who can clear this up. This landlord has a bad reputation with the social service agencies that have assisted me, including Aurora, ECHO, Arc of Evansville, just to name a few. I am 57 years old and have plenty of people who have known me for decades who can attest to my character. I have better things to do than make trouble where I live. If I did not love my home, and did not want to uproot my 3 kids, we would just move. But we just moved to Evansville from *******, and only moved in on 1/20/23. I am baffled why the landlord is choosing to behave this way, but they are being deceptive and dishonest, both with me, my case manager, and in their response to my complaint. 
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  *** ***********

  Business Response

  Date: 05/30/2023

  We have nothing further that is material to add to our
  statement. She keeps claiming people have said or will say things that those
  people say they did not say and would not say. Plus, her unit was advertised as,
  and her lease stated, no appliances were being provided by us. Thus, we have
  nothing to add and, from our side, no where to go with it. We do, however,
  categorically deny her attempts to libel us and she is more than welcome to move
  from the unit. In all cases except hers (because we were trying to be nice and
  assist her through Aurora, who required us to issue a one-year lease), we only
  do month-to-month leases because we stand by the quality of our units (and it
  allows us to easily terminate the leases of bad apples). If she wants to move
  without penalty, she is more than welcome to go…. She been very rude and abusive to our staff from day one.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/01/2023

   
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: they continue to accuse me of lying and threatening me with eviction. They also claim that I am a problem tenant and that I have libeled them. They have that backwards as the have repeatedly called me a liar. Their employee told me on more than one occasion that the clip that held the window in place was broken prior to me moving in. I again suggest that a neutral third party interview the employee that came to fix the window, without the landlord present as to elicit an honest response. This is a reasonable request. The only reason for the landlord to object would be an aversion to the truth.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  *** ***********