Anyone have experience with the Better Business Bureau?

[jpotter33]

I just filed a complaint with the BBB about an apartment complex that I moved out of in August. We just got back what was left of our security deposit, and there were just some absolutely ridiculous charges that we got on there. For example, they claimed they had to clean the carpet to remove stains, yet my wife and I vacuumed the carpet twice and literally triple-checked it for any types of stains or need to clean. They also claimed that we left items in the apartment, which again we triple-checked for. I've lived in four different apartment complexes in my time, so I know what they look for and that they usually screw you in the security deposit and consistently overcharge to make a couple extra bucks. This time just ticked me off, though, because I know they have absolutely no proof of these charges.

I contacted the office, which is notoriously difficult to deal with already, and the lady was actually helpful and said she'd start a process where we could review the photographic evidence. However, I haven't heard crap from them since then, and now they're being unresponsive to me.

So am I wasting my time filing the complaint with the BBB, or have others had good experiences using them as a mediator in these types of situations?

(By the way, this is an apartment complex that gives more leeway to pets than humans. In a two month window, I had to make 8 (!) noise complaints about my neighbor's dog that would LITERALLY, not fiuratively - LITERALLY, bark for hours on end when the owners weren't home. It was a Mastiff, too, which isn't a small dog. They did nothing about it, and said they can't force the owners to do anything about the dog barking all of the time.)

[More Banners]

BBB won't resolve your problem. The pretty much just keep a file.

[Denis998]

I know in my state (NJ). There is a law that prevents the landlord from charging for things like that. Here you can take them to court for that and sue

[Roy H.]

I think you'd be better off suing in small claims. A lot of states allow double or triple damages (here, the amount wrongfully withheld).  Even the threat of litigation may help you get your money back.

 In the future, it is always a good idea to take pictures of your own, and to have the landlord's representative do a walk-through of the clean apartment before you leave.

[slamtheking]

I think you'd be better off suing in small claims. A lot of states allow double or triple damages (here, the amount wrongfully withheld).  Even the threat of litigation may help you get your money back.

 In the future, it is always a good idea to take pictures of your own, and to have the landlord's representative do a walk-through of the clean apartment before you leave.

This -- beat me to it.  to add one other thought based on experience and experience of some friends (pre-video camera days) -- have the landlord or their representative sign a notice that they did the walkthrough with you and that if they identify anything after the walkthrough, they need to provide photographic proof of what they found.  if you can get them on camera/video during the walkthrough then that should suffice to prove that they were there and they can't come back later saying they weren't.

also, one other suggestion if possible, make sure that walkthrough happens when you turn in your keys so they can't come back and say you went back into the apt after the walkthrough and cause any damage.

may sound a bit excessive but just passing along things that would have helped based on prior incidents.

[bdm860]

Small claims is the way to go, and they are very tenant friendly.

Like the carpet cleaning and general cleaning/repair thing, they are not supposed to charge for normal wear and tear, nor can they deduct from the security deposit for that.  The longer you lived there, the more normal wear and tear to expect.  They'll have to prove that the cleaning/repair was needed beyond the normal wear and tear expected for somebody who lived in that apartment for X months/years.

They can't charge ridiculous prices for things like carpet cleaning or repair (if it did need to be done) or removing a box of baking soda you accidentally left in the fridge.  They'll need to show an itemized receipt in small claims to justify those charges, or small claims will side with you.

Another thing landlords try to do is charge a tenant for replacing the carpet or a stove or fridge that broke or that they just wanted to replace anyway.  The thing is, they can only charge for the rest of the useful life of said item.  If they had the carpet installed 4 years ago, and it had a useful life of 5 years, then they can only charge you for 1/5 of the cost of new carpet because that's all the useful life that was left.  If they haven't replaced the fridge in 20 years, but it had only a 15 year useful, and broke while you lived there, then they can't get anything from you.

Small claims is your friend here (and make sure you add the cost of filing in your claim amount of double/triple damages).  Also, don't sweat it if you didn't take pictures (though it helps), chances are landlord doesn't have pictures for the before or after either.  Lots of landlords try to take advantage of tenants like this (or just don't know the law either), the small claim courts are very tenant friendly.  Many, many resources online, and it's not a hard process at all to navigate through.

(Not a lawyer, but know Real Estate, and hang out in a lot of forums where these tenant/landlord disputes come up all the time).

[saltlover]

Better Business Bureau is an absolute waste of time for landlord-tenant disputes.  Don't know where you live, but some municipalities with large renter populations have a (smal) agency for such disputes.  That, or as others have mentioned, small claims court. Some states are very tenant friendly -- a post-rental wlak-through with the tenant's signature can be required for damage documentation, for example, and double or triple damages can be awarded.

[Celtics4ever]

I think you'd be better off suing in small claims. A lot of states allow double or triple damages (here, the amount wrongfully withheld).  Even the threat of litigation may help you get your money back.

Also amazes me how many people do not know about small claims.  It is a nice little option and your right the threat is often a enough to make someone act more honestly.

[jpotter33]

I think you'd be better off suing in small claims. A lot of states allow double or triple damages (here, the amount wrongfully withheld).  Even the threat of litigation may help you get your money back.

 In the future, it is always a good idea to take pictures of your own, and to have the landlord's representative do a walk-through of the clean apartment before you leave.

This -- beat me to it.  to add one other thought based on experience and experience of some friends (pre-video camera days) -- have the landlord or their representative sign a notice that they did the walkthrough with you and that if they identify anything after the walkthrough, they need to provide photographic proof of what they found.  if you can get them on camera/video during the walkthrough then that should suffice to prove that they were there and they can't come back later saying they weren't.

also, one other suggestion if possible, make sure that walkthrough happens when you turn in your keys so they can't come back and say you went back into the apt after the walkthrough and cause any damage.

may sound a bit excessive but just passing along things that would have helped based on prior incidents.

So, here's the thing with that - they had SUPER selective times in the middle of work days when they could do walk-throughs. It was to the point of being unreasonably restrictive for anyone with a job, because neither my wife nor I could  find a compatible time with our fairly normal work schedules for over a month.

To add on top of that, we actually did document all flaws and damages to the apartment in the presence of the co-manager of the community. Of course, about a month or so before we moved out she had a falling out with the other manager and quit.

So obviously it's a pretty shady establishment in the first place. We were moving there from across the country, so it was hard to actually get into detail about potential places we were going to rent at.