Manhattan Apartments

Do not use this company. They took a deposit for a unit to secure the unit and then rented the unit to someone else. Now, six weeks later refuse to refund the deposit. Just $2250! Of course, I contacted the president. He said the "landlord has the money". At least the dog did not eat my money, or maybe the bank account is tired, or maybe the accountant has a bad computer. See a more complete complaint at the BBB.



You have been warned.

Stay away from Bruno Boudjemai! I don't know about any of the other agents, but i had a horrible experience with this one.



I would like to run down a list of events that have led up to this complaint so that you are aware of every issue surrounding it.



1. Looked at apartments with Bruno Boudjemai's assistant, Monty, on 03/26/12. Applied for an apartment that day. My rental application was rejected on 03/28.



2. On either 03/28 or 03/29 (according to my mobile phone record), I verbally requested to Bruno that my deposit be refunded. Bruno did not get back to me re: this issue.



3. I emailed rentals@manapts.com on 04/07/12. The email is as follows:



"I would like my full $2000.00 deposit refunded. My rental application was rejected by the prospective building's management company. It was withdrawn from my checking account on 03/26/12. Please contact me ASAP to resolve this issue."



Received a response from Melanie, the weekend manager the same day stating that someone would follow up with me. No one followed up with me.



4. Sent another email, this time to both Bruno & the rentals department, 11 days later, on 04/18 and received a response 2 days later from Bruno. We corresponded that I would pick up my refund 05/15. My schedule changed and I later emailed and called Bruno stating I would be in 05/14 to pick up my refund check.



5. Upon arriving on 05/14, I received a refund check for $1925.00. When I inquired with Bruno directly why I wasn't receiving the full refund, as discussed (and specified in the emails), his answer was, "Did I ever tell you that you were going to get $2000.00 back?" He then said that unless I could prove that my credit check was not paid out of the good faith security deposit, I wouldn't receive the other $75.00 I was still owed. Bruno and I NEVER discussed deducting the credit check fee from the security deposit, but all of the sudden I'm told that we did and because I didn't have any paperwork on me to prove that I didn't! He also stated that he had no paperwork showing that my credit check fee was not paid out of the good faith deposit. We both signed and have copies of a contract that states that I paid $2000.00 for the security deposit as well as an additional $75.00 for the credit check fee. Again, I would just like to say that never(!) during any of our conversations did he mention not refunding my entire deposit!



6. I had to go back to Brooklyn(!), find the contract that we BOTH signed and had copies of, and return to midtown to prove that I paid a total of $2075.00 ($75.00 of which I was already fully aware was a non-refundable credit check fee), in order to prove to Manhattan Apartments that I was still owed $75.00 Where was his copy? It's the professional obligation for the broker to keep signed contracts.



7. After all of this, Bruno decided to take $75.00 out of his wallet(!), to pay the $75.00 owed to me. I was asked, "What happened to the $75.00?!". Why would I know?!?! It is NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY to keep track of this!



8. The only way he would speak to me is if I confronted him, and not once did he attempt to correct the problem until then. He has not apologized or even acknowledged that he has done anything wrong. I asked the receptionist to call him and tell him that I wanted to speak to him and that I was in the waiting area when he was done with his current appointment, but he was too "swamped" to deal with this issue that he had created. He avoided me the entire time I was at the office.



Bruno Boudjemai is unprofessional and untrustworthy. He intentionally did not refund $75.00 owed to me until confronted with the paperwork. He has not apologized nor made an attempt to apologize for this error.