Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/06/2024

  Type:Billing 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.

  Although the lease in relation to this complaint here is with Riner Realty, I signed the lease for the townhouse with a company called ******** ******. When I moved in I completed a “move in damages” sheet for all damages done to the apartment before I arrived. I found the house was in need of repair/maintenance soon but agreed to move in with the damages and excessive wear that was present. I lived in the town house for two years and during that time, the person managing the properties changed employment from ******** ****** to Riner Realty. I had had a working relationship with the person managing the property from a previous lease also lasting two years and had heard no complaints from that unit I lived in upon moving out (providing a history with this property manager that I treated property with respect). I had given Riner Realty a three month warning before moving out as per the lease. I left on a workday and gave them time to perform a check prior to my leaving. They refused to perform this check before I vacated the unit. I have witnesses to confirm the rental was in worn condition upon move-in, and was not in worse condition upon leaving. I feel that Riner Realty is improperly attempting to pass the cost of upkeep/maintenance onto me, after years of neglect by accusing me of damages that were either (1) non-existent upon move-out, or, (2) pre-existing due to prior routine maintenance that was not performed.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/14/2024

  I have attached the original bill sent to Ms. ****** after her move out from the property last summer, as well as correspondence from the Property Manager in my office who handled the walkthrough and property turnover.  As you will see, Ms. ****** raised complaints about the bill, and after reviewing her move in inspection sheet, which was placed with the previous management company, we removed items that were noted upon move in and sent her a revised amount due.  Ms. ****** had $425 in security deposit and $425 in a non-refundable Routine System Maintenance fee that were paid to the original landlord at the start of the lease.  We used both amounts ($850 in total) against the charges, and then sent Ms. ****** a bill for the remaining amounts.  We had not heard anything from her concerning payment of this amount, and recently sent her a final balance due notice that if the outstanding amount was not paid, we would be sending her accounts receivable to collections.  Please let me know if you have any questions after review of these attachments as outlined above.Thanks,Paul Riner, OwnerRiner Rentals

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/29/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  In the summer of 2022 I started the process to move into *** ******* ****** *** ********* ** *********** ** *****. However I had to back out because I ended up not being able to afford it. I informed them of this, and willingly forfeited my $1,050 deposit. I never moved in. Now, nearly 2 years later they are claiming I owe rent and threatening to send me to collections. This correspondence has been through email- I have not received any bills in the mail, and as stated above it’s been almost 2 years. I will add that I never changed my address to ******* ****** ** with the post office or DMV, because I never moved in at that time. Complicating this is that I did previously live at that same apartment years prior but moved out in fall of 2021. That is the whole reason I had initially chosen to come back- considered it trustworthy. I am currently on food stamps and Medicaid, my stepfather is in hospice, my mother is unemployed, and I am working part time for minimum wage. I legitimately cannot afford to pay, even on a payment plan. All I can handle is my car payment, which I am also have trouble with. I don’t think it’s fair for Riner to charge me for an apartment I never lived in, years later, when I already let them take my deposit. They still made money off me. Landlords are earning record profits right now, and working people are really struggling.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/01/2024

  BBB of Western Virginia,Ms. ******'s description of the situation concerning her move in to the townhouse is correct, except for the Early Termination Agreement that she signed with our office.  The agreement states the fee for terminating a lease early, but also outlines that the tenant will remain rent responsible until the property can be re-listed and re-leased in order to mitigate the damage to the property owner, who has an expectation that an executed lease will also include payment of rent during that term.  I have attached that agreement for your review.  As you can see, the monthly rent was prorated once the property was re-leased (in about 2 weeks, I might add) and that amount was billed to Ms. ******.  It has remained unpaid since that time.  We are engaging with a new collections agent, and this week, we have been sending follow up and final notices of balances that remain outstanding so that we can let those tenants or previous tenants know that their accounts remain in arrears.  I have also attached this letter for your review.Please feel free to reach out with any questions at any time about either document, or the original agreement between Ms. ****** and Riner Rentals.Thanks,Paul Riner, Riner Rentals

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/06/2024

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. The original response posted by Paul Riner is one that I can not accept as it did not resolve my issue. However, Riner Rentals has since contacted me privately with a balance of zero, which is a response I can accept. I have attached the email for record purposes. I appreciate the help the BBB has given me with this issue and I consider the issue resolved outside of the original response posted by Paul Riner. Regards, *** ******