Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/27/2022

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  My daughter and her 2 friends looked for a house to rent through EC Leases in the Fall of 2019 for the following year. They found *** * ******* ** and submitted all paperwork. EC Leases then tried to start a bidding war between them and another group of girls, asking them for their "best offer" to rent the house. They told the girls that places were renting fast, so they panicked and signed the 43 page lease agreement in October 2019 under duress and without fully comprehending all of the legal language contained within the document. The original lease was 8/5/20-7/20/21, but the girls renewed the lease, despite EC Leases not fulfilling its promises to maintain the landscaping and pest maintenance and raising the rent for the 2nd year the day they moved in. After almost 2 years of living in the house, the girls moved out. A large majority of the nail holes were filled in and sanded. Much to our surprise, the girls were presented a bill for $2,084. A large portion of the bill is for normal wear and tear, such as cleaning and painting. The NC Department of Justice specifically states the landlords cannot charge for this, as it is the responsibility of the landlord. I've since learned that EC Leases is not licensed with the NC realtor commission because they are considered owner leased, so there is no oversight over their practices. They are trying to bully the girls into paying for their expenses and have threatened a 3rd party bill collector despite having no judgement against the girls. The girls dispute the charges. I have been in contact with others that experienced the same treatment with EC Leases and can share this as well.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/07/2022

  Thank you so much for expressing your concern.  We constantly accept and solicit feedback in order to provide the best homes and service in our small town.
  

  I am so sorry that the move out did not go as you expected.  We do have a very low security deposit of $200 which can sometimes lead to a balance at the end of the lease.  When you moved out, our inspection found 42 items that needed repair or attention.  We compared this list to the condition of the home before you moved in and also the move-in inspection report if it was returned to us.  After completing the review, 10 of the repairs were found to be tenant related damages that were beyond normal wear and tear.
  

  Many of the items that resulted in a tenant charge had already been identified and shared with the residents during the courtesy walk through we did before the move out date.  We also gave suggestions about doing some things yourself to reduce any future charges.  The suggestions we provided were not followed.  Many of our residents elect to work to get as much of the security deposit back and others decide to have our team do the work for a charge.  We were happy to support you and your decision either way. 

  After moving out, we provided pictures and explanations of the charges, including the cleaning the home, and your daughter’s roommates paid most of these charges, the ones in their rooms etc, and we appreciate their prompt payment.  As of today, there is a $394.67 balance remaining.
  

  We typically do not consider these items as normal wear and tear; broken refrigerator shelves, damage in fiberglass shower stalls, missing curtain rod finials, decorations taped to the ceiling that, when removed pull off the paint, and drywall repairs from LED strip lights or holes in the wall that are bigger than ? an inch.   
  

  During their 2 year stay at our home, we had 5 maintenance requests to spray for bugs and we completed the request within 24 hours 4 times and the 5th request was done on the next business day after the weekend.  Our lawn team came every 2 weeks during the growing season and leaf removal was done 2-3 times a year during the fall and winter.  We received 2 additional requests to remove leaves and both of these requests were completed within 24 hours as well.  
  

  We work hard to be fair to our residents leaving and also to our new residents moving in. We are detail oriented but have found that our quality and service is greatly appreciated by our residents.  We are not perfect and will continue to try to offer the best homes with amazing service.   I hope your daughter is doing well and we wish her the best and brightest future.  
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/07/2022

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  My main complaint with EC Leases is that they are charging for expenses that are the responsibility of the landlord.
  
  The NC Department of Justice specifically states that landlords cannot charge for cleaning or painting.
  
  Additionally, I take issue with the following contained in EC Leases' response to the review:
  
  When the girls moved out, EC Leases found 42 items that needed repair or attention.  They claim 10 of the repairs were found to be tenant related.  That leaves a whopping 32 items in apparent disrepair that the girls lived with.
  We agreed that the girls should be charged for the missing finials and the removal of the item in the shower stall.  What we took exception to was that they marked up the finial charge over 100% and they tried to use goo gone instead of a solvent to remove the item in the shower, thus, they caused the damage to the porcelain.  They also charge a ridiculous $200 for missing keys.  I recognize this fee was listed in the 43 page lease agreement, but I do stand firm that the girls signed the agreement under duress.  We were willing to split the cost with them.

  One of the refrigerator drawers was cracked.  In a follow up response to an email, they insinuated the girls did not know how to properly close a refrigerator drawer.  This in fairly insulting.  I'd like to know how old the refrigerator was because the drawers are made of plastic and do tend to wear out over time.  We should not be responsible if the drawer was at the end of its useful life.  I included the email exchange with EC leases in my complaint.

  
  They are implying there were holes in the walls bigger than ½ inch.  That was not noted on the move out bill and to our knowledge, there were no such holes.  This is the first time I am hearing about them.
  One of the dads (who happens to be an engineer and very detailed oriented) filled in and sanded a majority of the nail holes in the house as a courtesy to the landlord.  Since the girls had lived in the house for almost two years, we fully expected that they would repaint the walls. As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished, because they are claiming it wasn't done properly and are trying to charge $450 for painting, which they would have had to do anyway to cover the nail holes and for which they are responsible.

  
  With my complaint, I sent a picture of a small, superficial scratch on the floor that they are charging $200 for.  I do not have a picture of the other scratch they claimed to have to fix for an additional $200 as it must have also been pretty insignificant.

  
  They claimed to have removed leaves 2-3 times per year in the fall and winter.  With my complaint, I included pictures of the back yard, side yard and front yard that were date stamped February 24, 2021.  The pictures clearly show a side by side comparison of the neighbor's yard free of leaves and other debris whereas 110 N Harding's yard was overgrown and covered in leaves and sticks.  There was also poison oak growing in the plant beds.  The leaves in the front yard were blown into the plant beds and against the house, causing not only a fire hazard, but also a hazard to anyone who happened to step off to the side of the front stoop since there are no hand rails and the foot high drop was masked by the leaves.
  
  EC Leases has a history of charging for cleaning, regardless of the condition the house is left.  They are taking advantage of young kids and their parents who, after leaving the area, are too busy to fight the charges.  They threaten to turn over the bill to a collection agency and ruin their credit if the charges are not paid.  This type of bullying and intimidation needs to stop.  The BBB already has 3 complaints documenting this.  I know there have been more, because I recall reading them when my daughter was contemplating leasing a house from them in the fall of 2019, but that complaint is no longer listed on the BBB website. I have statements from several others that also experienced this type of treatment.  Since they are not licensed with the NC Realtor Commission, there is no oversight over their business practices, so they are able to charge for things they are responsible for.  Though they disagree with the charges from EC Leases, the parents of my daughter's 2 roommates have given into the intimidation tactics because they live out of state, are busy with other things and don't want their daughter's credit rating ruined.

  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ****** * *******

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2022

  Thank you so much for sharing your concerns with me.  I can hear that you feel upset and taken advantage of and I will do my best to help provide more clarity.  I also appreciate your desire to get to the bottom of the issue to find the truth.

  I understand that the security deposit charges were surprising and we provided pictures and an explanation for each charge that was billed to the residents.  When we were asked for more details, we sent more pictures and sent multiple email responses to provide further explanations.  In addition, we offered a $300 credit for goodwill to show our support and appreciation.

  Our maintenance record is incredibly strong and we strive to fix all maintenance issues the same day or at least by the next business day.  Over the past 2 years our maintenance team has earned 4.97 out of 5 stars from many dozen resident surveys.  As I look back over your daughter's stay with us, we responded promptly and courteously to every request we received.  Even if something was not done completely to her satisfaction, we quickly responded and made it right.  We wanted her to enjoy her home.

  We constantly are looking for contractors who can provide quality work at reasonable prices.  Many contractors will not come out for very small jobs but we have worked hard to create a team who is more than happy to serve the smallest detail while you live in the home and when you move out.  Now, of course, their labor is not free, but it is below market rate and we are happy to provide their service and labor to you without any markup.  
  
  Before your daughter moved out, we offered a courtesy walk through of the home and provided many helpful tips about how to reduce security deposit charges.  Unfortunately, these suggestions were not followed.  Our lease is a national lease that is regularly updated to meet NC law.  

  Some of the damaged items that were not considered normal wear and tear were 2 broken fridge shelves/parts (these are very expensive but we do not mark up or charge any labor to order and instal them), drywall damage from LED lights taped on the walls/ceilings, burn marks from Christmas lights taped to the walls, missing finials for curtain rods, a damaged fiberglass shower, drywall repairs, and the home was left dirty.  Each of these items needed repair in order to put the home back in the same condition that you received it.  We want to make sure the next residents had the same great experience that you had.

  We use a high quality paint in our homes and because of that we do not have to paint every year between leases.  It touches up beautifully and gives each of our new residents a blank canvas to show off their style and decor when they move in.  

  We are detail oriented but have found that our quality and service is greatly appreciated by our residents. We are not perfect and will continue to try to offer the best homes with amazing service. I hope your daughter is doing well and we wish her the best and brightest future.