twoceans.com
Complaint 350508 Details

Beware TwOceans Apartments in Coal Harbour, BC, Canada operated by Frank Crawford, Landlord and Bella Martinez, Manager.

They initially come across as friendly, honest individuals.  However, read on, then judge for yourself.

On Sunday, May 1, 2016, Frank Crawford and Bella Martinez took a prospective tenant on a tour through one of their apartments.  The only problem is that the apartment was, at the time, being rented by a young couple whom had gone away for the weekend and neither Frank Crawford, nor Bella Martinez had the permission of the young couple, nor had they notified the young couple that they would be leading a prospective tenant through their apartment. During the tour, the prospective tenant was shocked and embarrassed when he saw the young woman's dirty socks, panties and her bra strewn on the stairs leading to the 2nd floor her apartment. It is illegal in British Columbia, Canada for a Landlord to enter a tenant's apartment without permission or cause.

Several weeks later, Bella Martinez advised the prospective tenant that a 3-bedroom apartment would be available for July 1, 2016 and so she and the prospective tenant entered into a lease for a 2-bedroom apartment with a clause that provided that the prospective tenant would have the right of first refusal on a 3-bedroom apartment on July 1, 2016. Bella Martinez did not provide the tenant with a copy of this lease - claiming that she would make a copy and give it to him later.

Approximately 6 hours after the lease was signed, Bella Martinez knocked on the tenant's front door and claimed that Frank Crawford (whom at the time was in Alberta visiting his son) had taken a deposit from a prospective tenant for the 3-bedroom unit. When the tenant explained to Bella Martinez that because he had a signed lease while the other prospective tenant did not, he therefore had the right to the 3-bedroom apartment on July 1, 2016, Bella Martinez stated that the tenant's lease was "void" and if he didn't like it, he'd have to move out of his 2-bedroom apartment.

Three days later, the tenant's video surveillance system recorded Bella Martinez entering his apartment illegally (without prior notice or consent), walking throughout the unit where she was recorded shoving things in her jacket pockets.  When the tenant returned home from work and reviewed the video, he was shocked to discover $37 was missing from his bedroom bureau (6 - $2 coins; 3 - $5 bills; and 1 - $10 bill).

The tenant immediately telephoned the Port Hardy Detachment of the RCMP - reported the incident, provided the RCMP with a copy of the video surveillance of Bella Martinez and subsequently attended the Port Hardy Detachment of the RCMP and provided P.C. Vaso with a statement.  The RCMP did absolutely nothing - claiming that it was a "civil matter".

When Bella Martinez learned of the existence of the video surveillance of her illegally entering the tenant's apartment, she filed a false police report with the Port Hardy Detachment of the RCMP - claiming that the tenant had "harassed" and "threatened" her.

In the days that followed, Bella Martinez approached numerous tenants at TwOceans Apartments - claiming that the tenant in question was "wanted by the police", was a "dangerous man" was "highly manipulative" and further warned the tenants to be "careful".
On June 6, 2016 when the tenant arrived at his apartment after work, he discovered an envelop taped to his front door. In it was a photocopy of his lease with the word "VOID" written across it in yellow highlighter.  Several pages of the lease had been substituted for the original pages and there were annotations in different handwriting and pen (the Landlord's section of the original lease had originally been completed by Frank Crawford in a thick marker, whereas the later annotations were subsequently written in much thinner pen). When the tenant attended at the TwOceans Apartments rental office and asked Bella Martinez if she had altered the lease and written "VOID" across it, she exclaimed: "You're a fucking asshole!"

On June 10, 2016 Bella Martinez made arrangements with the downstairs tenant of the tenant in question - to attend at the tenant's front door with a falsified and fraudulent eviction notice (dated June 9, 2016) - claiming that the tenant had endangered or interfered with the safety of the Landlord or other tenants and giving the tenant 10 days (in actuality, 9 days - read on) notice to vacate, or he would be evicted on June 19, 2016. When the tenant answered his door, the downstairs tenant used his foot to force the tenant's door open and only removed his foot after the tenant stated repeatedly that he would call the police. The tenant reported the uttering of this false document and the forced entry to the Port Hardy Detachment of the RCMP and, once again, no charges were laid against either Bella Martinez or the downstairs tenant.

On June 11, 2016, Bella Martinez illegally turned off the tenant's electricity to the tenant's apartment while he was away at work.  When the man returned home from work, he discovered his electricity had been turned off and the food in his refrigerator had begun to spoil. The manual digital clock on the tenant's stove read: "4:07" PM.  The tenant immediately called BC Hydro whereupon Mr. Anderson of the Dispatch Office advised the tenant that the electrical meter to his apartment was showing as "active" and further that the account was "in good standing" so therefore the electricity must have been turned off by the Landlord.  The tenant checked with other tenants who advised him that their apartments had working electricity.  The tenant telephoned the Port Hardy Detachment of the RCMP and the electricity was eventually restored.  Once again, no charges were laid by the RCMP against Bella Martinez.

On June 30, 2016, the tenant emailed Frank Crawford and requested the door key for his 3-bedroom apartment as provided in the May 28, 2016 lease. Mr. Crawford refused - claiming that the right of first refusal clause had been added after the lease was signed - this, despite the fact that the photocopy of the lease which Bella Martinez had provided to the tenant on June 6, 2016 clearly shows that the right of first refusal clause is in fact photocopied while the annotation: "VOID" was written in Bella Martinez' handwriting in yellow highlighter (proving that the right of first refusal clause in fact was entered on the lease prior to its execution by the tenant and Bella Martinez who subsequently refused to give the tenant a copy of the lease until June 6, 2016).