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:12/03/2024

  Type:Product 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.

  Lived at heron pointe for two years and discovered mold all belongings due to moisture intrusion in the apartment. There was a hole in the exterior wall that was never caulked allowing moisture into the apartment. There was also water damage on the floor, bathroom ceiling leak and ac leak in supply closet that could have led to the mold. Heron told us insurance would pay for the items damaged and heron would pay the deductible but insurance denied the claim. We need to be compensated for items damaged by mold that could not be cleaned. We found mold in every room of the apartment. The exterior wall not being caulked was a known issue with the apartment that heron did not fix. Our neighbors as of last month was not fixed. I was also forced to clean the apartment and remove the moldy items. This has led to several medical issues. Heron will not respond to requests for what they will do for medial problems caused by mold. Heron delayed remediation of the mold so I had to throw out numerous items covered in mold and exposed myself to mold. The leasing manager went into my apartment without my consent. The leasing manager also picked mold off my dresser and try to tell me that it was not mold. They try to gaslight me that there was not an issue with the apartment. I hope they apartment has not been rented out again because this will cause other people the same issues. There are probably other apartments with the same issue and other people getting exposed and sick. All the buildings were built the same and may have foundation issues according to maintenance workers.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/30/2024

  Hello,

  After ******* reported mositure intrusion issues in her apartment the Heron Pointe staff started investigating the situation within 30 minutes. They identified the cause of the problem and when we went to address it we were constantly met with road blocks such as not having access to the apartment to address it in a timely manner. We sent and paid for all of *******s textiles items to be proffesional cleaned, we provided a temporary home and had a professional remediation company come to address any outstanding issues. We offered to have her furniture cleaned at which time ******* decided to dispose of said items. We did everything we could to remediate the situation the correct way but were constantly met with questions that we were not following proper protocol even after an air quality test deemed the apartment safe of any elevated levels. We offered to allow her out of your lease agreement as we felt nothing we did would satisfay her and returned her deposit in full. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/30/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

  I am requesting $4916 for items that could not be cleaned and were ruined from mold. 

  Heron offered to have items cleaned by maintenance staff who are not trained/certified to remediate mold. Also the items are impossible to be cleaned. Mold was found inside the head board. How was this going to be cleaned? How do you clean inside a mattress. Also the leasing manager scraped mold off my dresser and tried to tell me it was not mold. I highly doubt they would have cleaned any furniture. They would have just told me everything was not mold like the dresser. 

  Also Heron had full access to my apartment. This is just a blatant lie. I only requested to be present when the situation was being evaluated by management. Which Heron ignored and management went in the apartment without my consent/knowledge multiple times. 

  Heron lied to me several times about how the situation was going to be addressed. They told me the remediation company was not answering their phone... then it was they were out of supplies.. then it was they were out of a filter. I called the remediation company and they said they could come out immediately to address the situation. This is when heron actually started addressing the situation. They went 4 days without doing doing anything but lie to me. Heron still to this day will not tell me what filter the remediation company used that they were out of that caused the delay. They did have my items cleaned but this took days for them to let me know how this was going to be done. I was first told the mold remediation company was going to to do this but they could'nt get a hold of them. It ended up being a completely different company that cleaned my items. So this could have been done days earlier. I threw out alot of items because I did not think Heron was going to have them cleaned. 

  I also told Heron I was sick from the mold and they did not care. They forced me to clean my apartment and dispose of all the moldy furniture myself when moving out. I had no choice but to break the lease. They refused to test the hvac when there was a leak and they refused to test behind drywall when there was a bathroom leak. They told insurance company that it was faulty window that caused the moisture intrusion. But they will not say what they did to correct this window...

  They keep saying they hit "roadblocks" but wont say what these road blocks are. 

  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *******
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/29/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  The ****** ***** ********** (Land O Lakes, FL) is managed by Rane Property Management LLC. Management requires all residents subscribe to the internet provider ******. The base internet price is $40 per month. While touring the property, the leasing agent predicted the base internet package would suffice for our needs. Within weeks of moving in, I experienced the internet to repeatedly drop all together and not be a visible option to select for some time. I then selected to upgrade to a more expensive option of $70 additional per month ($110 a month for internet). Upgrading the internet did not fix the issue even though my internet usage and number of connected devices is well below what is advertised as the upgraded package capabilities. For the following 11 months, my significant other and I reported the issue numerous time to ****** Tech support and to the leasing office. During the conversation with ****** tech support, multiple speed test were conducted and screen shots forwarded demonstrating the internet dropping under light usage. It was suspected the issue was due to faulty equipment. ****** finally agreed that the issue could not be resolved remotely and a tech would have to come to the apartment. ****** then sent one of the property leasing agents as a "tech". The leasing agent does not work for ****** nor does he have the permissions to replace equipment. There was no follow up afterward. In the meantime, we have purchased a wifi device to strengthen the signal, which did not work, and resorted to purchasing a hot spot subscription through our cellphone provider as well as working from alternate locations. I requested Rane management refund the money paid for the upgrade, which the request as been passed from one manager to the next and not answered for several weeks. My concern is the issue is being ignored due to Rane Management being in the process of selling the property. See attached email for further description of issue.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/30/2024

  Hello ****, I do appolgize in the delay of repsonse on our end, I can asure you it was not be pushed off. I have gone ahead and credited your account for the unternet upgrade and removed the charge moving forward. Your upgrade will stay as is, you just will no longer be charged for it. We will also be addressing the custmer service with our IT company as customer service is the very important to us. If you have any further questions or concerns please let me know.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/30/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  Rane management responded within hours of BBB forwarding the complaint. Thank you for your assistance. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/03/2024

  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.

  The business neglected to address the following issues, which have been happening for 24 months, all related to the same neighbor upstairs:
  Cigarette smoke in apartment.
  Weed smoke in apartment.
  Police knocking at early hours to deal with domestic disturbance upstairs.
  Dogs barking unattended all hours of the day and night, like a dog daycare or something. (I did call SPCA)
  Drug use in cars, running outside the apartment.
  Retaliation for calling SPCA, like stomping around in boots to further annoy us.
  
  The business offered to let me leave my lease without a penalty charge. The business offered to give me a more expensive apartment and let me pay for the moving truck.
  
  Please help. You're my last hope.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/05/2024

  Hello, 
  
  After reviewing your account I see that we have made several attempts to transfer you to a comparable apartment at the same price at the time we offered it. We also offered to move your belongings at no charge to you as we understand this situation is not ideal and all offers were turned down as you decided to stay in your current apartment. We are doing everything we can do address the sitatuation, but as you stated in your 5 star review earlier today. You understood there are laws in which we have to follow when it comes to resident issues. Hence why we offered to transfer you to another apartment to remove you from the siutation as quickly as possible. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/05/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  
  
  The landlord was unable to resolve the matter without asking the complainant to move, and thus he be responsible for the subsequent financial inconvenience. It seems quite simple: Should the tenant who is breaking the lease terms be allowed to continue violating those terms while the complainant is asked to kindly leave? The next apartment unit he is sent to will surely have the same issue, as the management is incapable of resolving issues regarding the lease. I could make the analogy of a restaurant asking the complainant to leave when a patron lights up a cigarette - does this sound reasonable? I want a reasonable refund for the emotional distress and aggravation caused by a tenant who will not abide by the rules of the lease. Further, I'm not certain that the management asked the noisy smoking tenant to cease and desist. There is no way for me to know that they did anything at all, as the problems persisted for 24 months. I didn't get this frustrated from a week, or a month, of cigarette smoke, drugs and purposeful noise. I am writing this after 24 months. I don't care if the office staff is friendly, I want my money back.   
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** *****
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/07/2024

  *****, 
  
  We offered to move you at our expense to the same floor plan at the same price when it was offered, this was all at the expense of ***** ****** to help remove you from the situation as we knew it would be a process after this resident did not adhere to the first notices sent. It is very unlikely for this to happen in the new apartment as we are a smoke free community and 99% of the residents abide by these rules. It's very unfortunate and frustrating to our team as well when a resident does not abide by our rules and we address every situation appropriately. We do not share with residents specific detail on how a situation is handled as that would be unprofessional and we would never speak about one resident to another in that manner. As you know and have mentioned before in NYS there are laws and regulations that we have to abide by when it comes to difficult residents and we have done everything we can with what we are legally allowed to do. Again we are happy to offer you a transfer to a new location onsite and absorb the moving cost. We understand your frustration in this sitaution, however there are laws that we have to follow and its not as simple as requesting someone to leave, per NYS law every resident has rights to a home including resident who are not following the rules. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/02/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  To whom it may concern,
  
  I would like to make a formal complaint regarding ****** ****** **********, managed by Rane Property Management.
  I have been working from home, using a VPN, since October 2021, with no issues with the internet provided by the apartment complex.
  On 8/11/23 My husband and I noticed the Wi-Fi was much slower than it used to be. I could not efficiently complete my work at home, and no one could hear us when we used our cellphones on Wi-Fi. To note, we have not added any new computers, TVs, or gaming systems to our Wi-Fi. I emailed ****** ****** Apartments and requested information on how to increase my internet speed. Paperwork was completed, signed and sent back to Kayla G at ****** ****** apartments on 8/11. She stated it was received and sent to the internet provider.
  On 8/16 I reached out to ******, our internet provider, since I did not see a change in internet speed. They stated the form was never received so the request was never placed. I called ****** ****** four times in the morning since I was trying to complete my work from home. I did not hear from anyone until an email at 13:36 stating “I messaged them again to get an update, as soon as I get a response, I’ll let you know”. We never received an update.
  On 9/11 I called ****** again and spoke with Brian. He confirmed the speed change, and stated the issue with the slow Wi-Fi was due to more people on the server. He specifically recommended not to increase the speed anymore than we have as it would not resolve the issue. Because of this, I reached out to ****** ****** via email again.
  On 9/17 I received a response that my email from 9/11 was sent to the management team and someone will follow up early in the week. Again, no one from management followed up.
  On 9/21 Kayla G sent an email checking to see how our internet connection has been. She sent a picture with the number to ****** if we continue to have issues. I sent her a long response regarding my issues and never received a response back for resolution.
  On 10/4 I sent an email to ****** ****** stating I have not heard from anybody regarding my issue. I also called ****** and spoke with Brian again, he could not resolve the problem. From 8/2023-10/2023 this was my sixth call to the internet company. I even asked if someone could come on site to assess the problem and they declined, as they are based out of New York. At this point, Brian mentioned upgrading the speed, although he said not to do that during our phone conversation on 9/11. At this point I called April H********, regional property manager at Range Management. She was unavailable so I left her a voicemail.
  On 10/5 I received a call from Michael K******** support manager at ******. He said April requested that he call me to further assist. Although I called April requesting to speak to her, she never called me and asked Michael to call me instead. I discussed my concerns with him and told him I’ve been speaking with Brian. He stated Brian at ****** was newer and that is why he could not help me with my issues. Later this day Michael wrote an email, attaching ***** *********, ***** ********, ***** ******** stating, “In speaking with ***** she said that ****** ****** Office mentioned that she should upgrade. As far as I can see in the two other tickets that were opened for her that was not mentioned by us that an upgrade was needed. I’ll be reaching out to ***** this afternoon to see how the new setup is working”.
  At this time, I transitioned to a new job and was not working from home.
  On 11/6 I started working from home again. I never heard from Michael, who promised to follow up on the 10/5 email. While working from home, my internet had shown no resolution and was even worse. To efficiently work from home, I had to use my ethernet cord. I emailed everyone that was attached to the last email on 10/5.
  I received an email back later that morning saying my speed was updated to 40x40 temporarily.
  
  From 11/7/23/-11/10/23 I tracked my internet speed within an excel sheet. I tried my best to check the speed at three different times during the day (morning, afternoon, evening).
  On 11/10 I attached this excel information to ******. Apil, Karen, and Jacob. When I spoke with ****** on the phone they mentioned there was definitely a lag and they were going to look into the problem more.
  On 11/13 Robert W****** stated in an email “We are currently trying to sort out what would cause the issues with your vpn that you are seeing. We have others residing at ****** ****** that work from home, with VPNs and no issues”. This is a complete lie. I spoke with one resident in particular, who lives in the same building as me, who told me he upgraded his speed and noticed a drastic change starting in September. I think point ****** increased the wireless signal strength to its maximum setting. During this email, I asked for April H******** to call me.
  On 11/16 I requested April H******** to call me again
  On 11/28 I wrote back stating there has been no resolution and came to conclusion that I will just have to use my ethernet cord to complete my work efficiently and timely.
  On 12/1 my husband and I noticed the modem was blinking orange and I was working and using the ethernet cord. The internet was going extremely slow, even with my cord. The download speed was 8. My IT work said something was definitely wrong with my internet. I probably called ****** 10 times on 12/1. Was only able to reach one lady. She said she was going to look into the problem and call me back. She never did she I called and called again and spoke with Brian. He said the same thing, “I’ll look into the problem and provide you an update”, and they never did. At this point I called April H********, and left her a voicemail requesting to call me back.
  
  I am writing in complete frustration with this company. They have not only been unprofessional, but they have put my work on the line. This issue has not received a resolution, and it has been 4 months. I am dissatisfied that I have not been able to speak to anyone in management and I will never recommend their properties to any of our friends or family.
  To resolve my problem, I would appreciate a call from the property management and would like to break my lease with no repercussions.
  Thank you,
  ***** *******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/20/2023

  Hello, ***** had brought to our attention that she was having an issue with using her voip system for work. When working with her, she really didn't want to work with our IT companies troubleshooting to discover a proper solution. This being said, the bit of troubleshooting they were able to do allowed them to discover she was hard line connecting to the access point in her unit. Normally this extra port is turned off by default, because it is not set up to access the customers network, often it connects to our management network. She was showing us her speed tests were much higher when on our management network, and having less issues with her calls. Our IT company corrected the port settings to ensure it was working from her units network, and returned to her personal internet speeds. We had offered her a speed upgrade of 75/75 for a week to test. During that time we did not have a response from her until we returned her to base speeds again. This lead us to inform her that she would benefit from a speed upgrade. 
  We had also informed her that voip usage is best with a wired connection as wireless can be less stable and cause quality issues. She was very adamant about using her wireless for computer and voip phone system. Our IT company still believes between the upgrade and using a hard line connection for her voip would remedy most of her issues. I had been following the communication between ***** and our IT company and did not feel the need to intervene as they were handling the situation. It is also my understanding that ***** has submitted a termination for the end of April due to purchasing a home.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/26/2023

  Haley, 

  I am sorry for the issues you have experience while living at ****** ****** Apartments. I understand that the internet has been an issue during your stay and while we have tried to address it, we have been unsuccessful in resolving the issue. Because of the issues we have experience I will go ahead and remove the termination fee from your account, however I do see that you also receive a monthly preferred employer discount that will have to be paid back due to breaking your lease agreement. I have already gone ahead and made the proper corrections to your account. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/27/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/08/2023

  Type:Billing 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.

  *** ********* & **** ******* *** *** at ******** Village did not wish to renew our lease beginning December 2023 and we attempted to notify the leasing office at least 6 times in September 2023 that we were moving out at the end of November 2023. We called over & over but the answering system did not pick up and the calls were continually disconnected. We intended for the notice to be 60 days in advance. We eventually received a lease renewal on October 5 and we responded that we did not wish to renew. We paid our October rent in full. Since no one answered our calls, we had to take time off from work to go to their office due to their limited office availability. We spoke with Alex the leasing agent regarding this situation. She informed us that the office had been experiencing multiple internet and phone outages and she would have the insufficient notice fee waived. We also spoke with Margot the Community Manager who assured us she would speak with corporate and have the fee waived. We never heard back and received a bill dated 10/19 for the November rent of $1,756 and insufficient notice fee also $1,756. We proceeded to call Rane Management and spoke with April. She was very dismissive. She said she will do nothing and had every excuse in the book. She said there is no one else to speak with and that was it. This fee is outrageous, and we gave ample notice that we were moving. It is not our fault that the staff has phone and internet issues. We plan to pay our November rent once the penalty of $1,756 is waived. We also expect to receive our full security deposit back, as we left the apartment in good condition. We have been good tenants for several years and expect some courtesy when speaking with us. Please have someone get back to us to resolve this issue and remove the penalty charge.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/28/2023

  Thank you for reaching out regarding this complaint, our records show that Mr. ********* initial renewal offer was sent out on 8/17/23 and was viewed on 9/25/23. Their lease offer was resent to them on October 5th as a reminder it was still pending. We do regularly send out reminder messages to our renewals stating we require a 60 day notice (2 full calendar months) to avoid being charged the insufficient notice fee. They were given ample amount of time to give written notice that they would be vacating the apartment and received reminders. While we were experiencing some phone issues in September our email was working just fine and our office is open on Saturdays as we do understand everyone is not able to make it to the office before 5 during the week. I gave Mr. ********* several option to avoid having to pay the insufficient notice fee however he never got back to me regarding what he had decided and we still have yet to receive a formal notice to vacate form with forwarding address  so we would be able to return their deposit upon move out nor have we received keys for the apartment. I have tried to work with Mr. ********* on multiple occasion and unfortunately the story continues to change and or emails go unanswered. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/29/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  We
  absolutely did give ample notice that we were planning to vacate our apartment
  in November. We called 3 times on September 21 and 2 times on September 26. We
  even attempted to go on the portal at that time and the current lease for 22-23
  was not available to us. We were only able to view our leases for 2020 and
  2021. This is why we continually called so we could speak to a real person. We ONLY
  VIEWED the renewal offer, which is in no way legally binding. To use our
  viewing of the renewal offer as an excuse is absolutely ridiculous. We work on
  Saturdays so we could not come to the office during business hours. The
  renewal offer reminder was received on October 5th. After their
  60-day notice timeframe. No calls or attempts were made by the office before
  then to inquire about renewal for 23-24. We responded that we were not renewing
  the lease. We were then told we would receive an insufficient notice fee equal
  to one month’s rent ($1756). After
  hearing this we immediately took time off from work to go the leasing office
  where we were assured by the leasing agent, Alex & the general manager,
  Margot that the late notice fee would be removed. We were presented with a
  “notice to vacate” form after conversing with both employees, however, the form
  we were asked to sign included the late notice fee. We did not want to sign
  this as we are disputing this fee. After leaving the office, we did not receive
  any follow up as promised by Margot. She was conveniently not employed by Rane
  only a few days following our discussion.We knew we were going to
  move. We began trying to make contact with the leasing office in September. We
  did not wish to extend the lease. We feel that it is Rane Management that keeps
  changing its story. Over our 3 years of living at this property, the office
  regularly experiences phone/internet outages that makes them nearly impossible
  to reach. This should have been a very simple transaction, and we feel we are
  being extorted for one extra month’s rent. ******** Village and Rane Managment
  are entities KNOWN to nickel and dime their tenants.We
  have already moved out of town due to a job transfer. When the fee did not come
  off, we spoke on the phone with April H******** on November 6. She was very
  rude and dismissive. The ONLY option she gave us was to lengthen our lease by
  one month, from November to ending December! How is paying one extra month’s
  rent of $1,756 (which is the same amount as the insufficient notice fee) any
  option? We have vacated the apartment, and we left the keys inside as we
  explained on the phone call with April on November 6. Our story does not
  change, it has always remained exactly the same. We moved out on November 4.
  They are simply making excuses to try to squeeze an extra month’s rent out of
  us.At this time, we would like
  to pay our November rent in full. We will email our current address to receive
  back our full security deposit of $1,978 as the apartment has been
  professionally cleaned. We will do this once we receive in writing the insufficient
  notice fee is removed from our account.
  Regards,
  *** *********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/30/2023

  As per the lease
  agreement you signed and the renewal offer that was sent out, it clearly states
  our policy that we require a written 60-day notice (2 full calendar month) when
  vacating at the end of your lease term. As you stated above, you received the
  initial renewal offer on August 17, 2023, and viewed it on September 25, 2023,
  which would have been before the deadline. We do not relate that to your
  accepting the renewal offer, however it does show that you were aware of and saw
  the offer. You did submit a written notice to vacate to the office until Oct 5th.
  A notice to
  vacate could have been mailed, emailed, or dropped in the drop box located at
  the office if you were unable to contact the office by phone or come into the
  office during business hours. Your lease agreement does state we require a
  written notice so a phone call would not have been sufficient.