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Alright, so I just finished dealing with Westbrooke in regards to my lease.
My roommate first moved in June of 2005. I moved in September 2005 for the school year. The lease continued until the end of June 2006 (12 months, 1 month free). Rent was average for the area. Throughout the year, there were no major problems. My only complaint for the 2 bedroom townhouse is that there's no fan in the full bathroom. Even with the window open (when weather permitted), and the door opened after done showering, it fills with steam and the walls got covered in mold or mildew before I even got there. The problem only got worse as time went on. I came on here and read that this is a frequent problem, and that they never do anything about it if you complain, so I didn't bother. Other than that, the rental time went pretty smoothly.
When the lease was about to end, I came back on here and did some research on how people fared with their security deposits. To my distress, many people (as you have probably seen by now) have had problems. I made sure that the place was as spotless as could be for move-out. I took pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. Thank God I did, because of course Westbrooke tried to take more money than they deserved. Be advised, that no matter what, they will take $75 for carpet cleaning (I must have missed that part when reading over the lease agreement). There were a few things that we were charged for that were understandable (albeit overpriced, but all apartment complexes do that so I can't really argue that). However, they also decided to charge us for $160 worth of things that had absolutely nothing wrong with them.
I went in immediately and complained. I made sure to bring a recording device, as I feared for the worst. I showed Employee #1 (supervisor) the pictures and she openly admitted that we shouldn't have been charged for some of the items on the list and that she would speak to the person who evaluated our apartment. I have a feeling that's BS and that this will happen to more people in the future.
Anyways, they gave me the runaround from mid/late July until today (Sept. 14). I placed follow-up phone calls, as I know they would make me take every step necessary to get my money back. I left my phone number and messages for Employee #2 (lead supervisor) or Employee #1 (supervisor) to call me back (whom are rarely ever in the office) at least 15 times. I have received phone calls back [without having to call them back to ask them what the heck is going on] ONCE. ONE TIME. They eventually got the refund approved, and it took them another 3 weeks for it to actually get to my roommate. That's right, my roommate. My roommate hadn't contacted them ONCE for this whole ordeal, but for some reason they kept losing my phone number and address. Never called me, never mailed me the check. I knew he got the check, but I've been playing dumb calling them for the past week seeing if they even knew what happened.
I complained for a good straight minute to Employee #2 (lead supervisor) two days ago about them being so incompetent, and why I'm no longer living there and never calling back when they said they would, so she promised she'd get back to me the next day. What do you know, she didn't call! I waited until afternoon the following day after that, and still no call. I had to call, surprise surprise she was not in the office, and then she called me back later on that day.
They STILL couldn't tell me what happened to the check. They know it was cut, but they have no clue where it went. I finally just told them my roommate had it, as I'm sick of dealing with these people that should never be working in customer service. Thank God I didn't renew.
To be fair, the staff IS friendly. However, they should pass their jobs on to someone who can accomplish their job requirements in an efficient, non-thieving manner. I'm surprised the Cabot group hasn't been targeted in a class-action lawsuit.
If you're already living at Westbrooke, make sure you cover yourself for everything possible when you're moving out, because they WILL try to screw you over. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. I'd love to try and help save anyone from dealing with the garbage I had to put up with.
I know at least one member of the staff reads these and replies to these. Sorry if you feel personally attacked by my review. I don't mean to be a jerk, but rather share my experiences with everyone else on the site so they can make a wise and educated decision. Perhaps Westbrooke can learn from their [many] mistakes and make their customers happier in the future. Based on past reviews, it doesn't look like there's going to be any change, but I have done my best to tell you what needs to be improved. The ball is in your court...
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Manager's Response
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From:
Manager
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Date: 10/02/2006
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Dear Resident:
Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion. Please know that no offense is taking at your comments. Contrary to your belief, your insight is welcomed as we constantly strive to make improvements to our services and we are happy that you shared your comments.
First, we are very sorry that you never alerted us to the ventilation problems you were experiencing with your apartment. We will be looking into solutions to rectify the situation and would have done so while you resided there had you notified us. We sincerely wish we had been given the opportunity to address the situation. We respond to all service requests within 24 hours time unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as parts need to be special ordered or the repair requires work by a specialized contractor.
Furthermore, we are sorry that you felt frustrated by the administrative process involved with your security process. While management and residents don’t always agree regarding deductions from security deposits, we are always willing to discuss, as we did in your particular case. The Director of the Multifamily Division, the Community Manager, the Facilities Manager and the Assistant Facilities Manager recently conducted a joint move-out inspection together to make certain that we were adhering to the same standards when evaluating security deposit deductions. It is true that our lease contains a $75 carpet cleaning fee. Our Leasing Consultants are instructed to point out this clause to our residents during lease signing to avoid any confusion.
In reviewing your comments, I spoke with the Community Manager regarding the security deposit and she told me she called you to see if you had gotten the check. She apologizes for your frustration. The Leasing Consultant who was helping you with your security deposit went out on maternity leave earlier than was anticipated. Therefore, we had some difficulties communicating the particulars of your situation. Once again, we’re terribly sorry for any inconvenience you suffered.
We are constantly looking for ways to improve operations and your comments will be helpful to us as we put policies in place to ensure such requests are dealt with in a more efficient manner. Any residents that feel that are not getting the attention they deserve are encouraged to contact our corporate office at 866-381-1500.
Thank you once again for sharing your insights with us. They were very helpful.
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