Do NOT rent with Friedlaenders!
Hi Folks,
I was so relieved to see these posts. I actually thought I was starting to loose the plot from my dealings with Charles Friedlaender. 14 months of systematic, relentless bullying and harassment. I gave written notice, followed the letter of the law, and left the place spotless (and had done quite a bit of work to improve it from its original state). I knew I had to do everything perfectly because Charles would be the kind of bully to try to retain the bond. In fact, when I gave notice he sent an email stating, "I can't gaurentee that the owners won't get nasty about the bond." Despite asking on what grounds they would object, I received no direct answer, only further intimidation tactics. I had never had an inspection (in 14 months), no grounds to believe there was any damage to the property. In fact, I advised Charles on a couple of occasions of items I had fixed (at my expense) as there was never a reply to repair requests. Indeed - the bond did become a major issue. Charles advised that he had filed charges against me with the police - charges of grafitti damage to the property and charges of "threats" to him and his receptionist. Yes - there was grafitti damage to the property - and there were photos of it in the pre-inspection report by Friedlaenders! Charles failed to respond to my advise that HIS photos showed the grafitti and I was accused of lying??? After several abusive messages from him, I advised that I wouldn't respond and would take the issue to VCAT. His lengthy reply was that he had had a private investigator look in to me (what the heck!), that I had a "very colourful history with the police", and that he was sure the last thing I needed was more trouble with the law. Despite my emails to him, he ignored my questions as to why I was investigated, on what grounds, and for any evidence of "threats" by me... Fact of the matter is, I do have a long history with the Police: I was a Police Officer!!.... Any further intimidation tactics from Charles and I responded with "there is no need for further correspondence. We can resolve this with the appropriate legal entity - VCAT.".... I have just signed the Bond Claim form. It remains to be seen whether or not Charles actually signs and submits the form, but that is not my reason for submitting this post... I have read on this site and others stories of harassment and bullying. It is WRONG that Charles continues to get away with this. To ensure that this doesn't continue to happen to tenants, I want to make a submission to the Estate Agents Resolution Service (EARS) in Victoria. I have a file worth of harassing, threatening, and highly unprofessional correspondence. Nothing will change unless people like us actually present to the appropriate agency. PLEASE contact me if you'll join me in making a submission.
