I previously posted a review about Montclair Heights entitled Not the Worst but Not Worth the high rent ; I would like to retract that; this apartment complex/management company is the absolute worst set of people I have ever had to deal with. Here is an account of what my three roommates and I have experience over the last few months: A week before we moved out I called the management office and spoke with the complex manager about the moving out process. We wanted to ensure we took the proper measures to clean and leave the apartment in the condition in which we received it and also inquire about our refundable deposit. I asked if we needed to have the carpets cleaned and she told me no, that this would be done on their end and taken out of the refundable deposit along with any other minor repairs that needed to be done. I also inquired about our final utility bills; how were we supposed to go about paying them after we had moved out. She informed me that the final bills would also be taken out of our refundable deposit. She told me to just clean the apartment and make sure it was in the same condition as we had received it when we moved in. We cleaned the apartment more than adequately and turned in our keys to the drop box as instructed.

I again called and spoke with the complex manager the next day to ensure she had received the keys I had dropped off and to make sure they didn't need anything else from us. She told me, yes they had received the keys and if they needed anything else from us she would give us a call. We were under the impression that everything was taken care of and we were done doing business with Montclair Heights.

Over a month and a half after we had moved out, my two other roommates and I began to receive harassing phone calls at work and via our cell phones from a local collections agency, IQ Data. The agent informed us we had been sent to collections by Montclair Heights due to unpaid damage, cleaning, and utility fees. Since this was the first I was hearing about this, I called the management office at Montclair Heights and asked to speak with the manager about this. I was informed by the assistant manager that the manager I had dealt with was on maternity leave and there was an interim Manager. It took four separate phone calls as well as multiple e-mails to set up a meeting time with her.

The interim Manager informed us that it is Montclair Heights procedure (i.e. Braddock and Logan Services Inc.) to send an itemized notice to the last known address of the renters informing them of any money owed not covered by the deposit. She claims Montclair Heights sent this letter to our last know address, which was our address at Montclair Heights, however, she could not produce a copy of this letter to show us it was sent. I had my mail forwarded shortly after we moved out and have been receiving my mail regularly; I never received anything from Montclair Heights. It was not stated in our lease agreement, nor were we told, that we were required to provide a forwarding address in order to avoid being sent to collections. Upon going through our file with the interim manager, we noticed several forms and places on the lease where our parents addresses were listed (these addresses were our previous residence before we moved into Montclair Heights) along with all of our phone numbers where they could have reached us. It is interesting to discover that the collections agency had my parents address in order to send a demand for payment letter, but Montclair Heights local Management Staff insisted they had no way of contacting us and they were following the protocol as instituted by the Corporate Offices of Braddock and Logan Services Inc. To quote the interim manager; We don t attempt to collect from our former tenants, we just turn them over to collections .

Montclair Heights claimed the money we owed them was for general apartment cleaning ($150), new paint($50), carpet cleaning ($180), new blinds ($16), new drip pans ($12), and our water/sewer/garbage bills for May and June ($105.55).

Upon asking for copies of all the invoices for the repairs and cleaning, the interim manager discovered we were over charged by $100 for the carpet cleaning; instead of $80 they charged us $180. Had we not questioned it, this mistake would never have been caught. We are still awaiting copies of several other invoices that she indicated she would need to request from the Corporate Offices of Braddock and Logan Services Inc. This seems odd that they would not be retained and readily available in our file along with the others. We also requested to see pictures of our unit from when the previous complex manager assessed the damages; however the interim manager was not sure if pictures were taken. In addition to never receiving any notice that we owed the complex money, we were also not provided with our final move out summary paperwork as required by our contract agreement.

Something is to be said about the agency that Montclair Heights (Braddock and Logan Services Inc.) contracts to collect money from their previous tenants. The level of harassment in which we received was absolutely asinine. At one point, my two roommates and I were receiving anywhere from one to six calls per day. IQ Data was told not to call our place of employment, yet they continued to do so which is a violation of the law. The collections agent, Mr. Nick Ferguson, not only used belittling tactics in order to try and obtain payment from us, he insulted our intelligence and twisted our words.

The manner in which Montclair Heights handled our move out process was completely unprofessional, dishonorable, and unethical. We are upstanding citizens who pay our bills on time and we were the ideal tenants at Montclair Heights. Our rent was never late and we thought we had covered all our bases upon moving out. If Montclair Heights had contacted us like they were legally obligated to before sending us to collections, we would have paid what we owed, including the $100 over charge error we have now discovered.

Now our credit along with our renter s status has been tarnished and this will follow us every time we are required to provide a credit report. The amount of time we have had to put into dealing with this debacle, including having to take time off work, and the continual harassment by the collection company, has truly taken a toll on us. I sent several e-mails and letters to the executives and CEO s of Braddock and Logan in order to get this matter sorted out. It took them over a month and a half to respond and when they finally did respond, they placed the blame right back on us and insisted we pay what we owed. If Montclair Heights had contacted us after we moved out and let us know we owed money, we would have paid it the next day; hands down! The fact that they unknowingly sent us to collections is not only illegal, but it s a completely unethical business practice. We have since paid the collections agency in order to get them off out case but will continue to peruse this matter to ensure this does not happen to future tenants.

So if you currently live at Montclair Heights, make sure you take extra measures to ensure this does not happen to you as well; here is what we suggest:

1.Take pictures of the entire inside of your unit after all your things are moved out and all the cleaning is done.
2.Insist that a manager does a walk through with you and asses any damage they feel is above and beyond the normal wear and tear; this is in your leave agreement they are required to do this! They will try and charge you for more.
3.Give them a forwarding address and have your mail forward immediately after you move out.
4.Request copies of invoices for any work they claim they had to have done after you moved out; also request the ledger of any payments they have collected from you.
5.Go over your ledger thoroughly; this is where we discovered we were overcharged by $100!
6. Expect to pay more than your original damage (Refundable and non-refundable)deposit covers; by the time they are done racking up charges, it's as if you never even had a deposit!

Finally, if you are reading this review and trying to decide whether to move into Montclair Heights, I strongly recommend you reconsider!

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