Where to begin...

If you were a renter at this apartment complex and was charged $75 for an NSF service fee, I urge you to contact the Santa Cruz District Attorneys Office and file a complaint. These people are breaking the law and must be stopped. Please refer to California Civil Code section 1719(a). I have inserted the text for those who need to know the exact verbiage.

?Cal Civ. Code 1719
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any penal sanctions that may apply, any person who passes a check on insufficient funds shall be liable to the payee for the amount of the check and a service charge payable to the payee for an amount not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) for the first check passed on insufficient funds and an amount not to exceed thirty-five dollars ($35) for each subsequent check to that payee passed on insufficient funds.?

First, I am a parent of a student at UC Santa Cruz;
Second, I am a legal professional; and
Third, I volunteer at my local Superior Court assisting pro se individuals who cannot afford legal representation for their legal matters. If you have the opportunity to volunteer in any capacity, be it translating, assisting with the legal forms, etc., it is well worth your while.

To continue, my child and her friend decided to rent an apartment at this location, filled out the necessary applications, and submitted the monies requested for a deposit to be put on the waiting list. This was in April 2003.

In late July 2003, Ginger contacted me and informed me that there was a "problem" with an NSF check and that she required we forward to her the original $50 and an additional $75 for the service fee. I informed her that I thought it was excessive and asked why she was charging $75. Ginger informed me that she could because her property mgmt. firm, Sequoia Investment Mgmt. said that it was ?perfectly legal? for them to charge this fee. I asked her to cite the legal authority that allows them to charge this fee and she asked if I "worked the law", to which I replied in the affirmative. I informed her that according to the Civil Code section 1719(a) of the State of California, her employer was fraudulently charging excessive amounts for service fees. Ginger then informed me that they would have a problem dealing with me because I worked in the legal field.

To make a long story shorts, after complying with all of their demands and being subjected to their inappropriate behavior, ie., Ginger, Eric, and Emily, they contacted me, stated that they were canceling my daughter?s rental application and after Emily yelled and screamed at me and Eric continued the verbal abuse, I was told that they were refunding all monies. That is yet to be seen.

Please note that I also contacted the Sequoia Management Investments and spoke to an individual who informed me at first that the service fee was indeed $25 that the ??$75 service fee must be an error?? and ??the only service fee charged is $25 according to the law?? and that they "...NEVER charge $75 because that would be illegal." She back-peddled and completely lied about our previous conversation wherein she informed me that she never told me any such thing. This Management group is just as much to blame as the ?property managers?, and I use the term loosely because they obviously do not know what they are doing and are certainly breaking the law.

Parents, do yourself and your children a favor and make sure that they do not rent from what I can only describe as a bunch of crooks who prey on desperate college students looking for rentals for the school year.

I have contacted the Santa Cruz District Attorneys Office and they agree with my position that they are fraudulently overcharging for their Service Fee. I am sure that they are more than willing to speak with you. Apparently, this complex was cited previously by the District Attorney?s Office, fined, and they obviously did not learn their lesson the first time.

Can anyone say UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES ACT (Business & Professions Code ? 17200) and I SMELL A CLASS ACTION IN THE MAKING'

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