FirstService Residential

December 17,
VIA Revdex.com Website
RE: Response to Complaint ID ***
Dear Sir or Madam,
Customer’s Statement of the Problem
First Service needed to have their adjuster walk through my unit to assess damage after a fire in a nearby unitThey told me to make my house keys
available to BoardI asked them to please schedule a time with me so I could lock and unlock my doors without giving my keys to anyoneI was available to meet them at 11:in the morning on the exact same day they asked to gain entryAn employee of First Service, Kim M***, said it wasn't possible to arrange a time and that First Service would use a locksmith to gain entry my home and then charge me for the locksmithThey were attempting to gain access to my unit on October 26thThe fire was on October 17thThis was clearly not an emergency or it would have happened soonerI spoke with the Director of the Board in my community, *** ***, and he assured me that he was attempting to hurry repairs along and that if I gave him a copy of the key that it would remain only in the possession of the boardSadly, they key was then given to a General Contractor who passed it onto many subcontractorsThese contractors took my key home with them each eveningThe keys did not remain within the possession of the board and my unit was not securedSeveral times I went to my house to find doors and unlocked and windows wide openThe subcontractors even told *** ***, who are employed by myself and my insurance company to leave my door openI had keys in a lockbox for *** ***I am clueless as to why a subcontractor would tell them to leave my unit unsecureThese subcontractors were hired by First ServiceI spoke with Joy B*** at First Service on Friday, December 11thShe assured me that my keys will remain with the general contractor and will no longer be sent home with subcontractorsRegretfully, my keys have already passed through many, many sets of handsI would like for First Service to re-key my locksThey had two keys which open locks on my house
Response:
FirstService Residential has discussed the concerns expressed by the customer with the Association Board President and the General ContractorWe have encouraged everyone involved to take necessary precautions to ensure a secure process with the handling of unit keysAfter several meetings and discussions, the Board President advised they would take cautious steps for the properly handling of the unit keys but would have to utilize entry rights to make necessary repairs related to the recent building fireJoy B***, Community Manager, has communicated this information to the customerIf you need further information, feel free to contact me directly
Sincerely,
Debbie B***
Director, High Rise Division
FirstService Residential Houston, Inc

We move in on March 24,Have been paying HOA fees and we are not even zone with the companyPayed at closing for HOACalled them since last week no one has contacted us back

We have had multiple conversations and emails with *** ** ***. I reviewed her account history and correspondence from the HOA's attorney's office. I left her a message last week and again on Tuesday (12/27). Today, I followed up with an email (attached to this) with her account
history and the attorney's balance due invoice. *** ** *** has not paid her HOA quarterly dues since the purchase of her home in April (quarters). Therefore, her account was sent to the HOA's attorney's office for collections, per Texas statute and the HOA's collection policy. She paid the attorney's fees and all but her fourth quarter HOA dues. By Texas law, the HOA is required to be paid first, so the attorney credited the HOA with all the past quarter dues, and the current fourth quarter when she made her payment. Thus, the attorney's office is short the 4th quarter amount ($30) because it was credited to the HOA first. I recommended to her, see attached email, that she pay the attorney's office the $so that her account will be released from collections. I let her know she is not current (4th quarter paid) with her assessments and that now that she has provided us her address in California, she will receive her 1st quarter assessment shortly. I also informed her how she can make payment for her assessments.Please let me know if you have any questions.Thank you,*** ***
*** *** *** ***

This matter is currently being handled by *** *** ***. Due to Federal Privacy Laws, we cannot discuss this matter any further

The management company did receive emails from Ms*** about the lack of back yard maintenance of a home that backs up to hersThe HOA does not inspect back yards nor do we enter the property of any ownerMs*** was advised to call *** *** *** *** *** *** to report the health
code violation for the backyardThe HOA does have the ability to force mow a back yardHowever, if the owner locks the gate or denies access there is no other action that can be takenThere are certain steps we must take before a force mow occursThe management company is addressing this issue, however due to privacy laws we are unable to release the exact details to Ms***

Good Morning- Ms***, My name is Dewanna I am one of the Accounts Receivable Coordinators For First ServiceI am contacting you about a Complaint Case that you opened with Revdex.com about the timing of submission on your paymentsI would like to first start off by apologizing for
the inconvenience that the late submission caused youIt is never First Services intention to inconvenience any of the homeowners that we are here to supportGoing in to the Assessment year we have been dealing with a difficult task of transitioning from one pay system to the nextAnd with this transition there have been mistakes made, This issue of posting late was a mistake a mistake that was out of First services control we received lots of our PO Box payments very lateWhich caused a lot of confusion and many upset homeownersWe are now partnered with an Awesome Team (*** ***) who have aligned themselves perfectly with what our home owners need*** *** is more up to speed and very much so more efficient with owners being able to see their payments and statements in real timeWe have gotten caught up at this point and with the help of *** *** things have been more helpful for you as the customer and for us as your partner to make sure everything is ok for youI do agree that it was very much so unfair to you that myself and the team I work hard with daily did not get back with you in a more timely and professional manner, so with saying that I personally apologize that I couldn’t be more proactive with support for you about the timing and the action behind why your payments were not being posted as they should haveBelow I have a screen shot of your account that shows what we have posted and what has been charged to your account. If you have any other questions or concerns please contact me directly and I will handle any issue that you may be having in a more timely manner We thank you for your concerns and feedback and hope going forward we can prove to you that your needs are our main concern Payment Received: 02/28/: -Payment Received : 03/09/2018: -Tell us why here

I haven't used the Community Pool for a long timeThe access card didn't work, so I thought it was my fault that I might accidently had the card near the phone , so I ordered new cardThe card came last week, I didn't open it until today, and 100% never been close to any electronic devices
I first called the HOA manager, she wasn't thereI called the customer service, they couldn't help me with anything, even the manager claimed if it's emergency, we could call themI requested to talk with whoever dealt with the access card, of course they said it was ManagerWhen I talked manager, she said it's not her, it's card technicianIt was back and forward
They tried to blamed on me that I had the card near the phone, then they said the door, then AT@TThe manager promised to call me when their technician had been out, but she never called backI went to the pool, and found out everybody had access, except meI called her, of course she didn't know anythingIt has been a

FirstService Residential carries out the directions/decisions of the Board of Directors of the Association. *** *** *** *** ***, while appearing to be two separate neighborhoods, are actually all within the same homeowners association and community, *** ***. The
community / Association are now in Developer Control, with members of the Association Board of Directors being appointed by the Developer / Declarant. The Board has authorized closure of the gates from 8PM to 6AM Monday through Friday and 6PM to 6AM Saturday and Sunday. The Board has reviewed the recent homeowner requests for 24/closure and has instructed management to follow the closure policy already in place. Sales personnel at the various builders within the community do not take direction from the HOA Board and / or FirstService Residential, meaning that what potential owners are told by sales teams is not in our jurisdiction / control. There is no ‘profit’ in the HOA and is actually funded by Developer loans while the community is in the development stages. Owners can request a copy of the Association financials by contacting their assigned Manager at FirstService Residential

Sent: Thursday, December 24, 1:PMTo: drteamCc: *** ***Subject: FW: Revdex.com Complaint #***Revdex.com Case #***In reference to the complaint filed regarding service issues, we provide the following responses:FirstService Residential was asked by the Board of Directors to coordinate access into all fire damaged units at *** *** for the insurance adjustor to walk through and evaluate the damage We asked the owners/residents to issue a unit key to the Board of Directors if they could not provide someone on-site during the hours of 8:00am and 12:00pm The consumer filing the complaint could not be present until 11:00am We were instructed by the Board to notify residents if the adjuster was unable to enter the unit between 8:00am and 12:00pm on that given date, it would be necessary to gain entry by means of a locksmith and bill the fees to the owners account This information was given to the consumer The consumer shared her unit key with the Board President so force entry was not necessary.FirstService Residential was not part of the conversation between the consumer and the Board President regarding the handling of the unit keyHowever, after speaking to the consumer, we did have conversations with the general contractor and the Board President making them aware of the consumers complaints and about the need to take precautions for safe handling of all unit keys The Board President and General Contractor agreed to take precautions but also stated it would be necessary to have contractors and insurance personnel enter the damaged units as necessary to make repairs. The statement made by the consumer that the contractors were hired by FirstService is not an accurate statement FirstService Residential is the managing agent for *** *** Association and takes direction from the *** *** Board of DirectorsThe contractors are hired by the *** *** Association through the direction of the Board FirstService Residential has advised the *** *** Board of Directors of the request to re-key the consumers unit Debbie B*** Director, High-RiseFirstService Residential

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint
FirstService residential assumed that the due date was made known to its customersThere was no bill provided so it would have been impossible to have known the due amount and due dateTheir online payment system, even to this date, does not reveal due date or amount dueI have attached a screenshot showing the poor business practice and lack of clarity of its payment system. In addition, the rejection of the credit by the Board of Directors was never communicated to meI have sent numerous emails to multiple parties of FirstService customer service and received no response back. I strongly urge Revdex.com considering downgrading FirstService Residential rating due to1) Fundamental flaws in their billing system 2) Lack of communication to its customers and unwilling to correct its mistakeHowever, I must thank Revdex.com for your involvement since at least FirstService has responded back to me.
Regards,
*** ***

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me

Revdex.com:This still does not resolve the fact that we are advertised as a gated communityWe need an entrance that makes our community safer; camera at exit/entrance of the neighborhood, closed gates with Ez tag access or guard-controlled gate access Your company manages the HOME OWNER association and you should properly represent the home owner, not the board of directors.
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.
Regards,
*** ***

[redacted] I do apologize you are experiencing an issue with your roof.  The board and I are aware of this matter and are discussing a plan to have this resolved. I will also follow up with a call today. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Regards, Jeanenia C[redacted]

Good Morning Mr. [redacted] My recommendation to the team was to adjust the account to reflect the amount due of $453.33. Due to the inability to get things reconciled to date I would not charge the [redacted] as they have been in contact with multiple parties at FirstService Residential to get...

this reconciled. Make the necessary adjustments, send confirmation to onsite team, and communicate with your of balance and the nature of. If not paid prior to 2018 billing finance fees will resume.

Sir/Ma'am, As previously stated, we had to receive approval from the board to refund the funds, because they are in the HOA's bank account, even if they were collected by mistake at closing.  The board approved the refunds last week.  Mr. [redacted] was sent a refund last week in the...

amount of $600.00, which included $150 as Working Capital collected at closing and $450 of paid assessments.  After reviewing additional information with the board, we issued another check to Mr. [redacted] in the amount of $280.32 bringing his total refund to $880.32.  We explained to him that he would have to contact RealManage for the $275 he paid in transfer and processing fees, since those monies are paid directly to the management company, which was RealManage at the time.    Regards,FirstService Residential

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Thanks for Mr. [redacted]'s response, I know there...

was no warranty from future engine problem but this coincidence , taking  the car to auto repair on 12/12/16 and engine seized up next day even though was told by auto repair that car was fixed and charge of 220.00 $, is very unlikely to me. Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaintThis is contradictory information from the company. I was told first hand by someone at the company that we were private property and not monitored by the sheriffs department, which is why hey hired private company. What happens after the increased patrol for the holidays. This still does not answer the question to what my HOA dues are going towards. We were informed that we were moving into a fully gated community and that is what our dues were going towards, but this is not the case. I want to know what exactly I am paying so much in HOA dues for when I am not receiving the full amenities advertised. 
Regards,

Having myself or a representative present to gain access between 8:00 and 12:00 was never provided as an option to me. I was told 9:00 am or force entry with a locksmith would be used. There is no reason they could not meet me at 11:00. I arrived at 11:15 and they hadn't even gotten to my unit yet. Also, at an informational meeting held for residents, it was explained to all residents that First Service hired the contractor and that the Director of the Board would be the liaison. I'm not the only resident who remembers this statement being made. The information  provided by First Service to my last response is not accurate. If they want to avoid getting caught up in grievances then they need to dessiminate accurate information from the beginning. Adding made-up details after a complaint has been filed is unacceptable. Theg have agreed to rekey my locks, but this response has information that is not accurate.   Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Regards,

September 1, 2015
VIA Revdex.com Website
Revdex.com
Dispute Resolution team
[redacted], Ste [redacted]
Houston, TX 77027
RE: Response to Complaint ID [redacted]
Dear Sir or Madam,
Customer’s Statement of the Problem
I am filing a complaint to report my experience with...

First Service Residential, the company which manages billing and administration services for Canyon Gate HOA which is a part of Westheimer Lakes Community in Katy, Texas. I am disappointed and frustrated by my dealings with this company. I closed on my house in late December 2014. The problem that I have experienced relates to the annual HOA assessments. Much to my chagrin, I received a collection notice from an attorney retained by First Service Residential indicating that I was late in paying my HOA assessments. Needless to say, I was quite shocked. First Service Residential sent my account to a collections attorney without ever sending me a statement for the annual assessments. I was never informed about how much was due and when it was due. I never received a phone call or letter despite the fact that the company had my contact information on record. How was I to know how much was owed, when it was due and where to send the payment if I was never informed? When I contacted Mr. Mauricio [redacted], the communiity manager at First Service Residential to resolve the issue, he informed me that the statement for the annual assessment had been sent to the previous homeowner back in 2014. I asked him why I (the current homeowner) was never sent a statement. I also asked him why I should be penalized with attorney handling fees tacked on to the original amount due when it it was clear that First Service Residential had failed to send me a statement. I have not received any satisfactory response. The POA and/or First Service Residential were notified that the property had been transferred to a new owner. The company which handled the closing, sent a transfer notice and also deposited funds into First Service Residential's account, as reflected on the statement that was sent to me by Mr. [redacted]. The statement sent by Mr. [redacted] clearly shows that First Service Residential received the transfer funds on January 16. The company was not only made aware of the new owner of the home, it had the full address for the new owner. Since First Service Residential had my name and address as the homeowner, why did the company not send a statement or bill? Is it not the responsibility of the property owner's association's servicer, First Service Residential, to notify community residents of amounts owed, changes in assessments, and due dates? It is very clear that First Service Residential's Houston office was negligent in its duty by failing to send me a statement for amounts owed. Instead, the company was quick to turn over my account to collections, without making any effort to contact me. I wonder how many other hapless residents of the Westheimer Lakes community have found themselves similarly ambushed with attorney generated collection notices and stiff penalties due to the company's failure to send out statements.
Response:
FirstService Residential has contacted the owner directly and resolved this matter amicably. This is the response received by the owner on Monday, August 31, 2015 12:55PM:
“Dear Ms. [redacted]:
Thank you for your note.
I appreciate your prompt follow-up and expeditious resolution of this matter.
It is obvious that First Service Residential is truly committed to service excellence and ethical conduct.
I will remit payment to the address noted.
Have a wonderful week.”
Our goal at FirstService Residential is to deliver exceptional service to our clients and we will keep working to achieve that goal every day.
Sincerely,
Goldie [redacted]
Director of Katy Division
FirstService Residential Houston, Inc.

October 1, 2015
VIA Revdex.com Website
Revdex.com
Dispute Resolution team
[redacted]
RE: Response to Complaint ID [redacted]
Dear Sir or Madam,
Customer’s Statement of the Problem
On 8/26/15 at 10:15am, while my wife [redacted] was...

driving out of the driveway of a gated community for [redacted] (serviced by First Service Residential) in our [redacted] at the above address, the gates to the complex closed on the vehicle causing significant damage to both the passenger and driver side sliding doors and rear panels. The damage to the driver's side sliding door has caused the door to malfunction.
Response:
[redacted] has given all of the accident information to their insurance company and are awaiting their investigation results. We are unsure at this time if the claim will be paid or denied.
Sincerely,
Debbie B[redacted] Director of High Rise
FirstService Residential Houston, Inc.