Getting Screwed by Big Business: A Plea For Help

UPDATE:

As of today 4/17 I received the rest of my deposit! The point to all this is of course, I want my money, but I also don't want to see this happen to other people. Don't be afraid to fight it. Don't businesses always tack on late fees? My payment was 6 weeks late, where are the late fees they owe me? Anyways, my battle is over, the little gal won.

As of today it has been 18 days since I was called and informed that I would be receiving the remaining $484 of my deposit and still no check. It has been 5 weeks since I moved out. They never had to wait 5 weeks to get my rent? In fact they never had to wait at all because I paid it on time. So why am I still waiting? I will be mailing out letter two tomorrow. This is not the company to rent from. My sincere advice, steer clear of any community rented by MAA (Mid America Apartments). 
I just filed a complaint with the BBB. It seems most of their complaints are similar, hmm... Here is the link. BBB complaints against MAA Memphis Dvision

Recently, I moved out of a two bedroom apartment I was renting no longer needing that much space or the need to pay so exorbitantly for it. I moved in with one of my best friends and hope to save some money to travel the world. Here is my story of how the apartment complex which I won't yet name, although I will say it is located in Fleming Island Florida and is one of the nicer apartment communities with a large pool, many lakes, gym, hair dresser, and more.

I moved into this particular apartment 3 years ago. According to them new carpet had been laid; I had never been shown a receipt to prove that claim. For the next three years I was a model tenant, always paying my rent on time, and moving out at the end of my lease. After moving out, I thoroughly cleaned the apartment, the carpet, even the appliances which I knew they were going to "upgrade".  I even faxed them the carpet cleaning bill I had paid. Imagine my surprise when I received a certified letter from them stating they were going to keep $484 of my $760 deposit. I was floored!

I made a trip to the office where I asked for the charges to be explained. I got a story about we keep the carpets 7-10 years (bullshit) and I was deducted some wear and tear plus my carpet cleaning fee. I asked to see pictures that showed the carpet damaged beyond three years wear and tear. I was fed an excuse that their pictures were on the maintenance man's phone and he was busy, so she was unable to show me (double bullshit). She also informed me that I could file a dispute. At this point I'm thinking many things but kept my cool and walked out. I have mailed them a certified letter explaining my dispute as well as sending a certified letter to their main offices in Memphis Tennessee. I was sure to mail it certified with a signature return.

I am completely disgusted with my treatment and wonder how many others they have done this too. If they had handed me my deposit I may have considered renting from one of their communities in the future, most certainly not now. I will never recommend them either, in fact I will suggest people stay clear of them. I will also tell my story. They have lost future potential customers. Obviously, lacking business 101 skills.

I will keep my nightmare updated here. Below are my pictures. What do you think, does my carpet looked damaged?

Help me by sharing this with as many people as possible.

Update number one while I was typing up this blog post. Personnel at the office of "said" apartments called me and informed me that I would be receiving my $484 because the picture I sent in the letter displayed no damage.