Lost in the Mail?



01/17/09

Colorado Division of Real Estate
1560 Broadway #925
Denver, CO 80202
Attn:  D. Rico Munn

To distribution list via snail mail

For your convenience this document (including all attachments) is published on the Internet at:
http://www.mkgappraisal.com/letter2009_01.htm

Business as Usual

I direct your attention to this letter dated 3/2/07.  The letter is signed by Erin Toll and addressed to Virginia Gibbs at the ASC office in "ashington !C" [sic].  The letter says:

More than fifty percent of the staff and six of the seven management team staff are new to the DRE.  The new staff ensures that it will not be "business as usual" at the DRE

This sounds good.

Under the new leadership we have gone from non-existent enforcement to pathetically inadequate.  An optimist would say we are moving in the right direction.

Think I am being too harsh?  Unrealistic?

That was Then

In September of 2005, I filed 20 complaints against Colorado appraisers.  At the time, Stewart Leach was running the show at the Appraisal Division of the Colorado Board of Real Estate.  I received the standard form letter confirming receipt of 3 complaints - and nothing for the other 17.

Two months later (11/29/05), I sent a (first request) follow-up letter to Stewart.  I respectfully requested some kind of confirmation of receipt.  Were the other 17 complaints received?  Or not?

In mid December 2005, I received a form letter confirming receipt of one more complaint.  The form letter indicated my complaint was received on 11/28/05 - more than 2 months after I had mailed it.  At this point - 3 months had gone by since I mailed the 20 complaints, and 16 were still unaccounted for.  Had they been lost in the mail?

I sent a (second request) follow-up letter to Stewart on 1/09/06.  I summarized and updated the situation, and again asked the question - were the complaints received?  Or not?

I sent another (third request) follow-up letter to Stewart on March 02, 2006.  Did they receive my complaints?  Or Not?

I sent another (fourth request) follow up on May 3rd, 2006.  I said:

This is the 4th request - it's been 7 months since I mailed the complaint.  Did your office receive the complaint, or not?

What do I need to do?  Use certified mail?  Send the question on the letterhead of a local attorney?  If it will make a difference, please consider this a freedom of information request, or in the alternative, Colorado Open Meetings (Sunshine) Law (24-6-401+).

Under the circumstances, I consider your lack of response beyond rude.  Are you unable or unwilling to respond - or both?  Is this standard procedure or am I getting special treatment?

The next day (5/4/06) I got an email response from Debbie Campagnola - which said:

Mr. Rice,
The Division of Real Estate did receive your complaint against Santiago Silva.  You not receiving an acknowledgement letter was an error on the part of staff.

A few weeks later Debbie Campagnola and Stewart Leach were both fired.  Erin Toll was appointed Director on 9/5/06.

This is Now

The 2009-2010 DORA Strategic Plan (item #3) says

Complaint Resolution – Several of DORA’s divisions experienced significant backlogs of processing complaints a couple of years ago.  Through reorganization of staff and a concentrated triage effort of processing complaints, we have all but eliminated backlogs that were, in some divisions, as high as 85%.  DORA continues to work on improving its complaint resolution processes and shares best practices across divisions in order to timely process complaints.

One key learning of the Stewart Leach administration is that before you can "timely process" a complaint, you have to be able to receive the complaint.  A monthly copy of the complaint log is only meaningful if the complaints are being logged in.  Right?

I urge you to consider my recent experience - details below.  As you read my comments, ask yourself - does this sound like "best practice"?

Deja Vu All Over Again

In June and July of 2008 I filed a series of complaints with the Colorado Division of Real Estate.

I never got any kind of response to the following complaints:

Pete Nemeth (FA40039284) and Rob Gremminger (LMB100011393).  This complaint(s) is dated 6/24/08.

Andy Mitchell (FA40020422) and Demetrius Gianopoulos (FA100004301).  This complaint(s) is dated 7/01/08.

Jason Stephens (FA40021244).  This complaint is dated 7/21/08.

Peter Vincent Capra (LMB100009013).  This complaint is dated 7/23/08.

I sent a follow up letter (first request) dated 8/13/08 and asked the question - were these complaints received?  Or not?

Second Request

Rico - this is my second request.  Did the Colorado Division of Real Estate receive these 6 complaints?  Or not?

I spent (estimated) 3 hours preparing and mailing each of these complaints - 18 hours total.  I do not get paid for this work - in fact I spent about $25 of my own money to cover the postage and copy fees.

Your lack of response is beyond rude.  What do I have to do to get a response to a relatively simple and straightforward question?

Lisa Gray

I received a letter (copy attached) from the Colorado Division of Real Estate - dated 8/15/08 signed by Lisa Gray.  It's a standard form letter referencing complaint number 2008081011.  Lisa’s letter refers to “the person you have filed a complaint against”.

A few days later (Aug 20th, 2008) I sent a reply which said:

I have filed complaints against several persons.  Please be more specific.  Which person does Lisa’s letter refer to?

I sent that letter 5 months ago.  I never got any kind of response.

Lisa's letter says:

Should you have any questions about this process, please contact me at (303) 894-2369

This sounds good.

I called the number at about 9 am on Tuesday, January 14th 2009.  I got Lisa's voice mail.  I left a brief and polite message that referenced her letter and asked her to call me at her earliest convenience.  I have not received any kind of response.  Under the circumstances I'm not holding my breath.

Is this standard procedure?  Or am I getting special treatment?

Conclusion

If it is broke - fix it.  Your confirmation letters should always:

  1. Spell my name right.  Your track record is about 50%.  See for example the Lisa Gray letter dated 8/15/08.

  2. Correct spelling on the name of the person(s) named in the complaint.  Specifically, your spelling should agree exactly with the name on the license.  See for example the name Stacy McDonald butchered as Robert.  For an example of why this is important see the Zhaohui a/k/a Joe Ma fiasco.  This happens with alarming regularity.  If the DRE can't or won't be part of the solution, at least make an effort to not make things any worse than they already are.

  3. Tell me the date you received my complaint.  When I spoke up about the 2 months it took to receive my complaint - this problem was "solved" by removing the received date from the confirmation letter.  This raises disturbing questions about the integrity of the complaint log data, the people who maintain the log, and the people who use the data for self promotion.

Receive the complaint.  Log it in.  Assign case number(s).  Send out form letter.  Spell the names right.  Is this too much to ask?  Am I being unreasonable?



Sincerely,


Philip G Rice
11268 E Linvale Dr
Aurora, CO  80014
720-282-3376
phil.rice@mkgappraisal.com

ps - To all who have read this far, please take a minute and think creatively about something you can do.  Make a positive difference.  If you need help, call me at 720-282-3376 or send an email.


 

-- End of Letter --


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