ComplaintsforClark Simson Miller

• Initial Complaint

  04/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  CSMHOA over billed us $930 for late fees that never happened. and billed us for $385 for mailings they said they would not charge us for for a total of $1315 In addition in an email dated Jan 8, 2024 they wrote this "We have also removed $180 in late fees per the board's request from 9 accounts. As the late fees were run at the board's request and are deemed as valid late fees, we do not refund those to the HOA." However they failed to mention the late fees were removed because the Previous manager, ****** accidently charged people late fees twice Therefore we are asking for the $80 in late fees back for a grand total of $1395. In addition per the contract we are supposed to get an audit paid for due to these many mistakes and we are requesting that CSMHOA acknowledge that they will pay for the audit per the contract.

  Business response

  04/15/2024

  Hello Mr. *******, 
  We have reviewed the context and the history of the matters you have mentioned here. Our records indicate that the association brought these concerns to the attention of your assigned Account Specialist. As such, the Account Specialist researched, compiled documentation and submitted your requests to the Executive Team for review in late March. This complaint was submitted before the Executive Team could meet to discuss your requests. The late fees that you mention never happened, were indeed billed, thus, per the contract, CSM billed for the percentage. 
  As with any task that is not completed by a computer, there is a certain margin for human error. CSM has always, and will continue, to make every effort to correct any concerns that are brought to our attention. Again, it is unfortunate that the Association did not allow adequate time for the Executive Team to respond to your requests and provide further information, explanation or rectification. 
  Regarding the audit, the contract states that if the Association has an audit and the results of that audit reveal losses due to CSM’s gross negligence, we will reimburse said losses. We will await the results of your audit prior to any further action on this particular matter.

  Business response

  04/30/2024

  o whom it may concern,
  They state the late fees never happened. if that is the case why did they email us saying they will refund the late fees?" When in fact, our response to him stated "the late fees that you mention never happened, were indeed billed". The consumer is the one who originally alleged the late fees never happened, we stated that they did and that is why they were refunded. The attached email does not show the entire contents of the communications between our company and the consumer. Please see attached for the full email chain, which shows that we  not only addressed the consumer's concerns via our original response but we have also corresponded internally with this consumer regarding any outstanding refunds. He has not expressed dissatisfaction with our responses internally but has rejected our BBB response. We respectfully request that this case is re-closed as his claims for reopening the case are not substantiated

  Customer response

  05/05/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  CSMHOA was informed after we got our first monthly statement that the numbers were wrong. We were told in October 2023 this would be looked into. It never was. I followed up Early Dec 2023 and was told again they were working on it. I request either CSMHOA fix our monthly statements or they reimburse us accountant fees to do so or give us a refund for these incorrect statements. 

  I would like to point out that if these statements were correct in a timely manner then the approximate $2500 in erroneous fees would not have been charged to our account. 

  Think about how unfairly CSMHOA has treated our account:
  #1 CSMHOA's monthly statements had errors that wasted dozens of hours of our board's time.
  #2 CSM failed to pay our electicity bill and now we have bad credit with Duke Energy and have to pay a deposit
  #3 CSM double paid our landscaper because he issued 2 invoices repeatedly with different invoice numbers but same date. 
  #4 IT's been over 2 weeks since we closed business with you and we still have not received any of our money back. 
  CSM literally messed up every possible thing we were paying you to manage. 
  
  As far as the previous issues I am satisifed with the $930 in refund of fees, the approximate $350 refund in postage. and the waiving of the aproximate $8 in office fees. 
  However I am not happy CSM has not agreed to pay for an audit, I am positive any auditior will agree with all the mistakes and then per the contract CSM will need to pay. 
  Also requesting the $80 in charges Under ****** be returned because he erronously charged twice and the approximate $50 in fees from Duke energy to be reimbursed.

  To sum up:

  1. either correct the monthly statements or give us a partial refund

  2. $80 in fees refunded

  3. $50 in duke related fees refunded.

  4. asking again for Audit costs to appropriate credit to be issues. 

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

• Initial Complaint

  08/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am a homeowner of a property that was being managed by an HOA. On July 5, 2023, I put my house on the market, and it went under contract within a week. We had set the closing date for Aug 8th. On July 18th, 2023, I received a blanket letter in the mail dated July 13th, 2023 stating that the HOA was being transferred to Clark Simson Miller as of August 1st. The lawyers for the closing reached out to Clark Simson Miller, through their requested method of email, for a closing statement. We were told that Clark Simson Miller was indeed the HOA responsible for the financials, but couldn't provide a closing statement for 30 days. August 8th came and went and the closing had to be moved 10 days to Aug 18th. On Aug 14th, after continued no-response or action from CSM, we were then told that a statement could be generated for a **** fee. And if we needed it in 2 business days, I would have to pay $*** extra. No governing documents have been produced on this and the statement still hasn't been provided and will potentially cause the sale of the house to fall through. Incurring additional fees and problems. This HOA has significantly disrupted and caused financial impact by delaying the cost of my home.

  Business response

  09/14/2023

  ******

  As you stated, Clark Simson Miller (CSM) was hired as the financial management company for your Association as of August 1, 2023. As indicated in the letter you received regarding this change, it takes at least 30 days for the transition of financial information from the previous management company to CSM, this includes your individual account balance. When the closing statement was requested on 8/2/2023, this transition period  was explained to Shannon at the closing attorney’s office. On 8/4/2023, the closing attorney followed back up on the status of the request. We again advised that we were still in the transition period for the association and did not have the necessary information to process the request. You were CC’d on this email correspondence. The transition period was explained once again on 8/14/2023 after you followed up with our team via email.On 8/14/2023, you called into our office to have the issue escalated.
  During a transition of management companies, the new management company is at the mercy of the previous management company in terms of financial information. The Association’s records do not suddenly start at $0 because a new management company has been hired. All financial information must be transferred and at the time of your original closing, unfortunately, we did not have the financial  information yet and it is not uncommon for it to take 30 days to receive this information .Despite this, a member from our management team reached out to the previous management company directly to request the financial data specifically for your property in order to be able to provide a closing statement to you/your attorneys. On 8/15/2023, the closing statement was provided to your closing attorney via email. At this time, the closing statement has been provided. The **** fee is a standard administrative fee charged to certify the dues for closing. The $*** rush fee was not charged.

  Customer response

  09/21/2023

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

  It is unacceptable that any transfer period should infringe on a sellers ability to close.  As indicated in the complaint, the issue was raised in very early August.  It was stated that there was a house sale in flight, and that a closing statement was required.  We waited the standard 5 business days for the closing statement only to find your company was not acting on anything.  As a result, the original closing was missed and pushed out causing carrying cost expense.

  As an HOA that officially owns as of date x, you control the ability to sell.  If you are not prepared to support a sale, then you should not accept that responsibility.  But you did accept that responsibility and your standard answer for the request to close was that as a seller, I had to wait 30 days for your transfer of information so that my legally binding sale could proceed.

  I don't accept that this response resolves the complaint.  The last communication we received before the sale indicated a $*** charge would be assessed.  The transaction with this hoa caused 1 closing date to be missed causing financial carrying costs.  And further, I have a credit amount on my account that has not been refunded because I didn't send to the correct email address (request was sent to closings email address).  Very poor support, I disagree that any escalation created a situation where the $*** charge was not in scope because it was communicated that it clearly was.  And legally, I think those carrying costs incurred directly lie with this hoa company that dod not provide information in their own stated response times.

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

• Initial Complaint

  02/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Clark Simson Miller (CSM) contract with Chatfield Court ended September 30, 2022. Since that time I was told our entire history would be deleted from their files without any notice to transfer said files to the HOA. The HOA had a new property mgr, however, CSM has not issued the HOA closing funds to the new property mgr. phone calls have not been returned. The question remains where is the HOA’s money and what bank was CSM using. I was sent a zip file that could not be opened and I questioned why was it being sent to me rather than the new property mgr. the HOA board is not involved in the transition process so as not to slow or confuse the situation, however, CSM did state they were short handed as they were onboarding a lot of new clients. As board oresidrnt I am requesting proof of our closing funds, a copy of the check, bank used and when will the funds be transferred. If the funds were transferred proof of this transfer.

  Business response

  02/13/2023

  Hello. Please be aware that the accusations and complaints are false. This board member has falsely accused us in the past and we have provided documentation to the board member and the management company.
  
  
  That said, we have provided responses to each of their complaints below. We have included the original complaint and our response to each one.
  
  
  Customer Complaint:
  Clark Simson Miller (CSM) contract with Chatfield Court ended September 30, 2022. Since that time I was told our entire history would be deleted from their files without any notice to transfer said files to the HOA. 
  
  
  CSM Response:
  This is not true. Our Transitions Team worked with the board at Chatfield Court (the association) and their new property management company, HRW Property Management, to turn over all records regarding the association during their time with Clark Simson Miller. An email was sent to the new management company (HRW) on December 13, 2022 which explained that we had turned all files over to them and to let us know if there is anything they are missing because files would be purged 90 days after the transition is complete.
  
  
  Customer Complaint:
  The HOA had a new property mgr, however, CSM has not issued the HOA closing funds to the new property mgr. phone calls have not been returned. The question remains where is the HOA’s money and what bank was CSM using.
  
  
  CSM Response:
  Closing funds were mailed via Certified Mail on October 20, 2022 to the address we confirmed with HRW. We received the notification from the USPS that the check was delivered and signed for on October 20, 2022 by HRW and shows delivered October 25, 2022. Ms. ********* is aware that CSM uses CIT Bank for association funds.  The bank statement was included in the financial statements we sent out each month while the association was under contract with our firm. HRW contacted us in November of 2022 to advise they had not received the funds. We explained that per the bank’s policy, we could not get a replacement check issued for 90 days. There was no additional communication regarding the status of funds until February 8, 2023. A replacement check has been requested from the bank and will be sent to HRW upon receipt.
  
  
  This leads us to believe that HRW most likely lost the check that was sent to them, which is why they requested a new check.
  
  
  Customer Complaint:
  I was sent a zip file that could not be opened and I questioned why was it being sent to me rather than the new property mgr. the HOA board is not involved in the transition process so as not to slow or confuse the situation, however, CSM did state they were short handed as they were onboarding a lot of new clients. 
  
  
  CSM Response:
  We cannot speak to why Ms. ********* cannot open the zip file that she is referring to. Ms. ********* was copied on several emails between our Transitions Team, the Board, and HRW which included communications about the transfer of their funds. We keep the board members copied in emails like this, so they are aware of all activity that is occurring. It also ensures transparency during the transition process.
  
  
  Customer Complaint:
  As board oresidrnt I am requesting proof of our closing funds, a copy of the check, bank used and when will the funds be transferred. If the funds were transferred proof of this transfer.
  
  
  CSM Response:
  We have had some concerns over the communications we received from Ms. ********* and other members in the community. Beginning in April of 2022, we started receiving emails from other members of the community that claimed to be on the board. However, there was no proof or meeting minutes to document it. This happened again in August of 2022. As the financial management company, we have to ensure we are taking direction from the true board of directors and thus, advised the association to have an attorney review their meeting minutes and determine the true board.
  
  
  We have already provided this proof to Ms. ********** She is aware that we sent the check in October and that HRW requested another check in November as she was in CC on the email in which this matter was discussed. We are attaching the proof here and documentation that the check was mailed certified to the address provided by their new management company. We have also included the email from HRW claiming they did not receive the check, even though it was signed for by someone at their office.
  
  

  Business response

  02/20/2023

  Customer Complaint
  I was not copied on emails as I was not a part of the transitions team  
   The transition is between CSM and the new mgt team. The new mgt team told ME they didn’t receive an accurate tracking number. If the check is lost it’s been more than 90 days. I am requesting a new check be issued and a copy forwarded to me. Maya ***** informed me in all email ALL of our HOA records would be purged with no ability for backup. Mr* ***** informed me our accounts were closed and inaccessible as of September. 
  I have nothing to do with members disgruntled with CSM for which CSM had me, as board president, hire an attorney to speak to them. I cooperated  fully with CSM. My complaints were constructive and I issued praise regarding resolutions  did Ihave a responsibility to ask questions when late fees were applied and incorrectly and members complained to me?  We started off wrong because CSM listed HOA fees at the wrong dollar amount which took considerable actions to correct  I am not responsible for members threatening to sue CSM nor did I support this action or know about it until CSM informed me  my only concerns were accuracy of n fees and paying bills  our agent was changed initiallly because the first two were inexperienced  we are not here for accusations that are moot or we will be writing a book  I have emails also  
  Since the files  were closed CSM should not have sent a member a full ledger. The member did this without my knowledge. When I was informed by a member they received an email from CSM who requested a closed ledger, and threatened CSM, per usual,  for accuracy and transparency I asked to have a copy of the ledger sent to me. I questioned why would CSM even respond to this member if the ledger was closed. The response was to me and said member who was not on my emails to CSM was that I said any additional information regarding this matter would be Thru an attorney. There is no point in going back and forth. I haven’t lied or accused CSM of anything. The difficulty in obtaining the transition to HRW I was told by CSM is that they were onboarding a lot of clients. 
  I received updates/complaints really of slow cooperation only from HRW and that mgr has resigned.

  
  CSM Response:
  The purging of documents was addressed in our initial response. Our Transitions Team worked with the board at Chatfield Court (the association) and their new property management company, HRW Property Management, to turn over all records regarding the association during their time with Clark Simson Miller. An email was sent to the new management company (HRW) on December 13, 2022 which explained that we had turned all files over to them and to let us know if there is anything they are missing because files would be purged 90 days after the transition is complete. The association transitioned out on 9/30/2022. 
  The topic of late fees and paying bills is immaterial to the nature of this complaint and was addressed during the time we managed the association. 
  To our knowledge, there was no difficulty in HRW receiving information from us. On more than one occasion, we reached out to HRW to inquire/confirm that they had everything they needed for the association. Neither of these emails were answered by HRW. Emails attached. 

  
  Customer Complaint:
  I am requesting the check be re-issued. Sending me a shift and zip file that doesn’t open nor was I told the contents of the file did not help. What is in the file  please re-send  
  I contacted CSM and asked why was I sent a file. I have no idea what type of time it is. Let’s be mindful about name calling. You had no knowledge of this fake board mess until CSM told me and even then they would not give me correspondence from this fake board or names. These people wanted CSM fired and I had warned CSM there is conflict with people not wanting CSM you bet our accounts….to my knowledge 3 people started this mess.
  Going forward know that I had no knowledge, email, conversation with anyone at CSM or HRW that the check could be reissued and to be clear HRW to my knowledge doesn’t have the check.
  When when will the check be re-issued?  What bank was the check issued from and account number/bank address  if CSM has any files regarding this i would  appreciate  receipt and will pay for postage  
  I will go this route, the BBB, rather than have an attorney contact CSM. 
  I can’t add any attachments because they are in gmail. 

  
  CSM Response: 
  Ms. ********* accused us of holding onto funds that her new management company had the entire time. Since her last response, several things have come to light. We contacted the bank for a replacement check and were advised that the original check had been cashed and they provided a check image. This check image showed that the check was cashed by HRW and deposited into an account for “Carmichael Condo Association”. This information, along with the check image, was sent to Ms. ********* and the association’s new management company, HRW. This email is attached, along with a copy of the check. As stated in our original response, HRW “lost” or misplaced the association’s funds. 
  We also received an email from Ms. ********* stating that she is withdrawing her complaint due to finding “no fault with CSM”. These emails are also attached. 
  

  
  

  Customer response

  02/21/2023

  
  Complaint: 19364045
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Damali *********

  i said I would withdraw my complaint about the check. Meaning the information  I received from Anna was erroneous and that finally  I had to track the check myself after receiving no insight from either party. I found out the check had been signed for and received but this was after I contacted the BBB. As I stated I was not receiving emails regarding the transition and Anna told me she was receiving no  co-operation. When I contacted CSM during the transition i was not answered. Finally I was told CSM are slow with the transition because they are short staffed and onboarding a lot of new clients.  I received a copy if the check after the HOA lawyer the HOA attorney contacted HRW in late December. I did say sue to my research and CSM evidence I found no fault with their part in the issuance of the check. I did not have any knowledge of the check prior to my research and what was sent to Anna.. I object to being labeled a troublemaker and having to explain again I am not responsible for what members here say and write and Demand and from CSM. I had zero knowledge CSM received a false statement if a new president snd go if the board there has been no election nor have I submitted any such notice to CSM prior to the the end of our contract  I am aware some members, per CSM transcripts were threatening to sue CSM for which CSM insisted a lawyer speak to them to confirm there was no new board 

  I can only imagine the frustration of CSM being hounded for financials after the contract ended and I was unaware of this until a member told me. I was not included ll on the persons email to members that included the ledger CSM sent. Again I asked for the ledger as a matter of record.  I don’t know why CSM opened the ledger if it was closed  If CSM had not brought it up I would not have responded to that issue of their work ethic. I find fault with not being answered when I emailed transitions and accused of being a troublemaker. 
  I consider this mater closed. It’s unfortunate I was given misinformation snd it’s regretful that CSM started on a Rocky foundation with unseasoned managers and an incorrect monthly fee. I applaud the correction of CSM in giving the HOA a seasoned manager. 
  Thank you for the copy of the check and the emails to HRW explaining why the check could not be re-issued. It’s regretful members  contacted CSM on affairs not related to their accounts despite my issuing emails advising them not to do so, But the transcripts from CSM documenting these calls and complaints that had nothing to with member ledgers are greatly appreciated. 
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company charges late fees if you do not make a payment 10 days post the due date of the first of the month. Recently they have been charging late fees and I have been paying them. When I did a comparison of when Navy Federal paid them versus what they state is the payment received date, their date shows 2-3 days after they actually received this payment. This is definitely an accounting issue because of whatever employee decides to mark it on the account causing late fees to trigger past the 10th of the month. I have noted one case of this on my account but this has happened to quite a few people who live in my community of New Port at Victory. These people are veterans of the military or the service community. We already have a thief installed as our HOA president so it hurts even more to have a company misrepresent when they actually receive fund from the bank or credit union, especially 2-3 days difference. 10 days is 10 days so they need to audit and straighten this all out for our community starting January 2022 to present.

  Business response

  11/04/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/10/20) */ This homeowner is upset about late fees that have been charged to their account, and they are expressing dissatisfaction with their HOA board, which has nothing to do with our company. The board hired our company to provide accounting services including dues collections for the HOA. Occasionally, late fees to do get applied incorrectly and we always remove them. To be clear, CSM does not benefit from the homeowner paying a late fee to their HOA. This particular HOA has a grace period of only 10 days. Checks received after the 10th of the month are considered late, per the HOA's policy. We encourage homeowners to mail their checks earlier, or sign up for automatic draft. Waiting until the 1st of the month to mail the check will results in delays in us receiving the check and posting it to their account We sent an email to the BBB without a response about this request. We are requesting this complaint to be removed. This homeowner is upset about late fees on their account. CSM has not been negligent and this is not a valid complaint. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/10/22) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I have an email that states 10 days, another 5 days, and another 11 days. If BBB would like a copy I would greatly provide them. The fee I'm challenging is in June 2022. They are still dragging out any resolution. The companies reps all provide differing answers since our HOA transitioned to them in January. I have already provided my Navy Federal bill pay statement showing when the company received the amounts electronically. If I provide you their statements, you will see that they do not mark the balances paid for several days. So they technically owe me back late fees from June at least and they owe the neighborhood a proper. Problem is not resolved. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/10/24) */ We have reviewed this homeowners account. The late fees from June that he was inquiring about were removed on 10/20/2022. If the homeowner checks their account on the online portal, they will be able to verify this. The payment for June was received by the HOA's bank on June 10th. However, payments are posted to the owner's ledger the following business day because the bank does not provide us the payment details until the next business day. June 10th was a Friday, making the next business day Monday June 13th. We encourage the homeowner to submit their payment from their bank's online bill payment service a few days earlier to ensure the payment is received and credited in the proper to avoid problems like this in the future. We also have ACH draft available for free. Submitting the online bill pay a few days sooner or signing up for the free ACH draft service will prevent problems like this in the future. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/10/24) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I suggest BBB leave this complaint open until CSM provides proof of resolution or actual proof of what they are stating. Everything they are saying is not entirely true and I know myself and a few members of the HOA can provide proof of these transactions to include emails. This company is blowing off a neighborhood full of veterans and lifelong federal / state service people and using HOA rules as a way to manifest their ability to incur fees. The impact of these simple fees is their ability to leverage off their unfamiliar friendship with certain members of the board to create a lien against the property, and that is not okay. I will open a channel with the senator and representative from this district if need be. Be advised, I am not okay with their answer.

• Initial Complaint

  10/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Our HOA has used CSM for the past 18 months. The experience was satisfactory for some time, but we began to notice a severe lack or professionalism when we attempted to make changes to our vendor list. This spring we instructed CSM to discontinue recurring payments to an interior cleaning vendor as we had begun using an alternate service. Three months later, we discovered that these payments were continuing to be disbursed from our operating account. When we requested CSM reconcile this and make our account whole, their solution was to request the vendor return the funds that had been sent. The vendor is an individual, and return of funds was improbable. CSM made no effort to ensure that these funds would be returned to us or to take responsibility for the checks that had been written without our authorization. On our statements we even saw the the vendor's profile in the CSM system had been marked with a note *Do not pay*, yet multiple payments had occurred. Another issue is that our water bills have not been paid in over 6 months. The above is simply a description of poor service, but it becomes much more sever. Upon giving notice of termination for the above reasons, communication with CSM went completely dark. The firm has yet to respond to requests for transition processing, most importantly a description of how and when they are processing the return of our operating funds. They hold close to $25,000 of our HOA's money. It has been over 3 weeks, with multiple emails and phone calls going unreturned. We are concerned about the ethics and professionalism of such an organization and would strongly caution anyone who is considering entering a fiduciary relationship with them. In summary: We are continuing to request immediate confirmation of the closing out of our operating account and turnover of these funds to our HOA.

  Business response

  10/13/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/10/03) */ Unfortunately our Transitions Department did fall behind due to staffing. However, ***** did not escalate his concerns to the senior staff until late Friday afternoon. His email was received at 3:22PM ET on Friday September 30th. Please see attached PDF printout. Our offices close at 2PM on Fridays. We handled this issue first thing this morning and have overnighted all remaining funds that belong to the association. Our director of operations, ****, sent an email to the customer this morning confirming that we will overnight the funds and have asked them to provide an address for this to be completed.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩