Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  09/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I rented my daughter ********* an apartment at loft 54. Apartment ****. Loft 54 is trying to charge fraudulent utility bills. It says in the lease that we were to pay the actual meter readings for the utilities. I double checked and somehow the bills are exactly the same every month which is not possible. This came to my attention when we received the final utility bill. They are trying to say they used the exact same amount of utilities when no one was in the apartment over the summer as when the kids were there. I called them 3 times and talked to someone in the corporate office. I requested copies of the actual reading for the utilities for the period of the lease. On each occasion they said they would send the information. Nothing ever arrived. The only response is weeks later we got a paper bill. I am now sure that the bills are not from the actual readings and are fraudulent. We talked to the other residents and the girls were paying more for utilities for a small apartment than I pay for a 3000 sqft house with 5 residents. If I do not receive a timely response and resolution I will be taking this up with the attorney General of Illinois.

  

  Business response

  10/18/2023

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for reaching out regarding your concerns for your daughter’s utility bills. The bills are charged from the electric company, ******, and water company, ******** ****** Electric is charged based on the resident’s usage in their units and water is a common meter for the whole building. Water is billed back based on the number of residents with Lease Agreements at the Apartment Community at the time of utility billing which is stated in the lease agreement that you had signed. The information we receive for charges are directly by the water/electric companies. Our third-party service, ****, applies the charges they receive from the electric/water company and that is what is charged to the residents account. We have requested for them to provide a bill that we can give you for more information on your utility bills, but you are more than welcome to reach out to the utility companies as well. Once we hear back, we will send this information to you. We hope to get this resolved for you and please reach out to the leasing office with any further questions you may have at ************.
  
  Thank you,
  Lofts 54 Management 

  Customer response

  10/19/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  We have been requesting this information for several months now both in writing and on the phone and have received nothing.

  It is a violation of Illinois state law to charge residents for other residents, common areas and community utilities. It states in the lease as well that utilities are charged by actual use. So dividing the water meter reading by the number of residents outside of the apartment is not a valid way to calculate the charges.

  The corporate office admitted to me on the phone that the utilities were estimates and loft 54 has made no attempt to go back and correct the charges for the actual use at any time during the lease period which is also in violation of the lease and the law.

  There is nothing about getting meter readings for a tenant that takes over 3 months. Loft 54 is intentionally trying to not supply the information in our opinion because they have not been charging anyone properly. If this is not resolved soon I will be contacting the Illinois state AG and the university to inform them of Loft 54s business practices.
  

  

  Business response

  03/18/2024

  Hello,

  
  Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. We understand the frustrations you experienced in receiving accurate utility information. We sincerely apologize for not responding to this in a timely manner, however, the last we spoke about the situation we were able to work together to get this resolved at the end of last year by providing you copies of your utility bills. 

  
  We recognize the importance of complying with Illinois state law and lease agreements regarding utility charges. We take these obligations seriously and assure you that all billing completed at the property are accurate. Should you have any further concerns or require additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at **************************. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

  
  Best Regards,
  Lofts 54 Management

  Customer response

  03/19/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  It took 6 months for them to respond to the complaint. This is an unacceptable lack of customer service similar to what we experienced trying to get copies of the utilities.

• Initial Complaint

  08/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This business uses predatory practices on minors and young adults to pressure them into executing rental contracts for their properties in Champaign Urbana. Our daughter who was 18yrs. 2 mo. and away from home as a freshman in college, signed what she thought was the start of a contract (pending a guarantor and tour of the property). We NEVER completed the full agreement, and notified them in writing multiple times that we did not want to rent the room, starting 2 weeks after the forms were started. They still insist that a minor with no income and no guarantor is liable for renting the space rather than keeping their application fee, and listing it for rent as per the terms of their contract. My daughter tried to view the apartment, but found the lobby dirty, garbage cans overflowing, numerous complaints on student chat boards, and the office representative never showed up to give her the tour. No wonder she looked elsewhere to find a better option. We have brought this matter to the attention of our attorney and will be taking them to small claims court since them will not respond to our efforts to disolve the pending incomplete contract.

  

  Business response

  08/28/2023

  Hello ****,
  
  Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. We apologize for any distress or confusion that your daughter's experience may have caused. I understand after your daughter had signed the lease agreement that you and your family decided to not move forward with for the 23-24 lease term. I'd like to clarify that our processes strictly avoid pressuring minors into lease contracts. From application submission to lease signing, all steps are facilitated by the resident. In situations where residents opt not to continue with the lease, they are encouraged to seek a relet for their space as stipulated in the lease contract. We strongly advise residents to thoroughly review the lease agreement before signing, given it is a legally binding document. After reviewing email communication, we located that we did instruct you and your daughter with the proper steps to re-let your lease agreement to be relieved of all obligations of the lease, that we did not receive a response too. We are more than willing to assist with finding someone take over this lease and your daughter has already been included on our relet list. I apologize for the situation with the tour at Lofts 54 that was not fulfilled by a staff member. We lack insight into the exact cause of this situation, however, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this caused. Again, we are more than willing to work with you in getting this lease agreement transferred to another resident. I'm deeply sorry for the difficulties you encountered with our leasing office, and we are dedicated to finding a solution that rectifies this matter for you and your family.
  
  Thank you, 

  Lofts 54 Management

  Customer response

  08/29/2023

   I am rejecting this response because: Lofts54 did nothing to respond to any emails or communication attempts made between October 2022 and July 2023. We received email after email saying "the application is incomplete" and "hurry before we loose our space." As is noted in their lease paperwork, they have the right to move forward in placing another resident in an unoccupied unit when a lease has not been fully completed or executed. We notified them that we were forfeiting the application fee with a full 10 months to exercise this right since our daughter misunderstood what she was signing and thought the contract would not be binding UNTIL the guarantor portion of the lease had been signed. Our attorney concurrs that this is also their interpretation given she has no viable income to substantiate the rental. I only received a response when I served them with a Certified Letter and legal notice regarding this issue to Cease and Desist the harrassing emails about a pending lease. We have provide them with ample notifications to proceed with Leasing the 1 bedroom space in the shared 4 bedroom unit to whomever inquires about an open space. Nothing is preventing this. The contract was never completed, and Lofts 54 has the burden of proving that they have actively tried to fill the space since notified in October 2022. We will not be paying any deposits, or releasing fees. We are not taking the space, and have legal counsel directing us to not proceed further. These are their directives with legal merit to Lofts54 having the burden in this case, not our daughter.
  
  
  

  

  Business response

  11/27/2023

  Hello ****,
  
  As we’ve stated in the message prior from application submission to lease signing, all steps are facilitated by the resident. In situations where residents opt not to continue with the lease, they are encouraged to seek a relet for their space as stipulated in the lease contract. We strongly advise residents to thoroughly review the lease agreement before signing, given it is a legally binding document. The first page of the lease under the guarantor section states the following that not providing an executed guaranty agreement does not release you from the lease agreement:
  
  “Guarantor: The Guarantor has guaranteed Resident’s duties and obligations hereunder pursuant to a separate Guaranty Agreement (herein so called) executed by Guarantor. Resident’s failure to provide an executed Guaranty Agreement shall not render this Lease Agreement invalid but shall be a default of this Lease Agreement (unless a Guaranty Agreement is not required pursuant to the Qualification Guidelines of this Lease Agreement). No Resident shall occupy the Premises without satisfying the guaranty requirements of the Qualification Guidelines of this Lease Agreement. The fact that you have not provided an executed Guaranty Agreement does not release you from your liability under this Lease Agreement and all Rent and other obligations.”
  
  Again, we have actively been looking for someone to take this space and have had a recent increase in inquiries for immediate move in/Spring move in at Lofts 54 and hope to fill this spot as soon as possible. We take your feedback seriously, and we apologize for all inconveniences caused during this leasing process with us. Please reach out if you have any further comments or questions.
  
  Thank you,
  
  Lofts 54 Management

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