A Pennsylvania company that rented properties to many West Virginia University students in Morgantown violated the state's consumer protection laws by, among other things, charging a "non-refundable redecoration fee," a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general's office alleges.
Copper Beech Townhome Communities Twenty-Six LLC required tenants to sign leases containing many unlawful fees and charges, including collection fees, attorney's fees, fees for rent receipts, multiple check fees, excess fees for returned checks and unconscionable fees for late payment of rent, the complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court on Wednesday states.
West Virginia's consumer protection laws prohibit those types of fees, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a news release.
"Our state Supreme Court has said tenants cannot be held responsible for them even if they are written into a lease," Morrisey said.
The attorney general's office began receiving complaints about the company in June 2012, according to the release. An investigation began after at least 10 formal complaints were filed against the company.
According to the lawsuit, Copper Beech - which is headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, the home of Penn State University - engaged in unlawful debt collection practices to collect about $604,600 in redecorating fees from West Virginia tenants from 1,197 leases.
The redecoration fees would be as much as $800, according to the complaint, which was signed by Norman Googel, senior assistant attorney general of the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division of Morrisey's office.
The lease said the fee was to be used by a landlord to do touch-up painting and cleaning the apartment. It was not intended to cover any damage to a property, according to the complaint.
The company allegedly told the attorney general's office that it stopped collecting the redecorating fees from West Virginia tenants on Oct. 8, 2013. But according to the lawsuit, complaints from tenants show the fees continued to be charged to new tenants after that date.
"Under West Virginia law, a residential rental property landlord is responsible for 100 percent of all property maintenance costs, outside of actual, direct damages caused by tenants that go beyond what can be considered normal wear and tear," Morrisey said in the statement.
Copper Beech also would allegedly charge tenants "multiple check fees" whenever tenants who shared a dwelling paid by separate checks rather than a single check.
The lawsuit asks that the company be required to pay a civil penalty up to 10 times the amount of its excess lease charges to each affected customer; refund consumers all money collected through its debt collection agency; pay a civil penalty to the state up to $5,000 for reach violation of the Consumer Credit and Protection Act; close all accounts of tenants who were required to pay the redecorating fees with a zero balance, and notify the consumer credit reporting agencies to delete all information about those accounts from the consumers' credit records.
A representative from the company could not be reached for comment Thursday. The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazette.com, 304-348-1723 or @KateLWhite on Twitter.