Sierra Corporate Management A Kort & Scott Company

Fri, Mar 1, 2019 – The MHPHOA have received information from at least five (5) KSFG owned mobile home parks that residents are now being issued credits for electrical overbilling dating back to Feb 2017. These credits are labeled as a CPUC Adjustment on the Mar 2019 Rent Statements.

Example: CPUC Adjustment, SCE Credit: 2/17, 3/17, 4/17, 5/17, 6/17, 7/17, 8/17, 9/17, 10/17, 11/17, 12/17, 1/18, 2/18, 3/18, 4/18, 5/18, 6/18, 7/18, 8/18, 9/18, 10/18, 11/18, 12/18, 1/19

Many residents are receiving hundreds of dollars ($200 to $600+) in electrical credits dating back to Feb 2017. The residents have also stated that these credits do not compensate them for what they feel are the true electrical billing overcharges. They are also questioning why this wasn’t retroactive back to the time that KSFG purchased their mobile home park?

Prior to the issuance of these CPUC Adjustments on the Mar 2019 Rent Statements, residents received a letter dated Mon, Feb 25, 2019 from Trish Magnussen, Director of Operations for Sierra Corporate Management. That letter stated this...

Again, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Although it is impossible to prevent human errors completely, we have taken measures to ensure that this does not happen again.
SCM Electrical Overbilling Letter Text

There is a documented history of these “human errors” and they have been ongoing for over two (2) decades. Utilities overbilling is one of the top five complaints we receive from residents in KSFG owned mobile home parks that are master metered.

Wed, Dec 19, 2018 – During the Corona City Council Meeting on Wed, Dec 19, 2018, Ms. Margaret from Corona La Linda Mobile Home Park (owned by a Kort & Scott DBA) spoke about the electrical overbilling that residents have experienced.

During her 3 minute presentation, she stated that Sierra Corporate Management recently overcharged the residents for electrical billing for the previous five (5) months. Residents complained to Weights and Measures who allegedly issued citations to Sierra Corporate Management.

Ms. Margaret also said that the residents have not received a refund from SCM for the electrical overbilling.

She also stated that a representative from Weights and Measures indicated that Sierra Corporate Management have done this in nineteen (19) mobile home parks in three (3) counties.

Tue, Dec 18, 2018 – On January 16, 2018, the City of San Jose, Department of Housing, Rent Stabilization Program was contacted by a resident of San Jose Verde Mobile Home Park regarding park safety concerns, utility billing, and park management. On February 26, 2018, Program staff met with the resident, park management, and Weights and Measures to discuss the resident’s concerns. During this meeting, the resident raised concerns about limited access to park clubhouse and laundry room, incorrect utility charges on resident’s billing statements; incorrect meter readings for electricity, gas, and water, and CARE program reimbursements.

III. Electrical Meters

Residents also raised concern that there is a split of ground wire from the Park’s light posts that connects to individual resident’s electrical meters. Upon resident’s request, Program staff visited the Park where residents invited staff to their respective home site to view the connection between the light posts and the resident’s electrical meter. Staff noticed that when residents turned off their circuit breakers, the light post on the street also powered off, suggesting that resident’s individual meters are also powering Park utilities. At least ten (10) homes throughout the Park demonstrated this trend. Program staff referred the residents to the State Ombudsman’s Office for additional assistance.
City of San Jose, Department of Housing, Rent Stabilization Program

Note: If you own a mobile home and there is a street light on or near your lot, you should perform the above circuit breaker test to see if your circuit is powering the park’s street light. While this may be uncommon, we have found a number of California mobile home parks where the resident’s circuit is powering the park’s street light(s). These residents would normally receive a credit on their monthly rent statement for the estimated electrical costs to power the street light(s).

If you find yourself in this situation and have NOT been receiving a monthly credit, you should first assemble your evidence which would be all of your utility bills since you’ve purchased your mobile home. You should then file a written detailed complaint with park management allowing them thirty (30) days to respond in writing. If you’ve not received a satisfactory outcome within thirty (30) days, you can escalate your informal complaint to the CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission).

What’s it Cost to Power a Street Light in a Mobile Home Park?

Based on information available online, it’s all relative to the Watts/kWh used per month. The standard wattages for street lights in a mobile home park appear to be 35-250+ Watts with total monthly operating costs between $10.00 and $25.00+, it depends on the Wattage, the type of bulb being used, and its efficiency.

Thu, Feb 16, 2017 – Residents of Corona La Linda Mobile Home Park have been attending City Council Meetings and informing the Corona City Council that they are being overcharged for utilities (water) since Kort & Scott purchased their park in May 2015. Council Members performed their own review of the utility bills presented and told the residents they were not being overcharged. The residents knew otherwise and took their grievances, and proof, to the Riverside County Weights and Measures (W&M) office.

W&M requested the master water bills from Sierra Corporate Management and after investigation found that Sierra Corporate Management was/is overcharging residents for their water usage. SCM is now issuing credits to residents for the water billing overcharges. In one instance, a resident was credited $280 for a water calculation adjustment for the period 11/2015 through 12/2016. Another resident was credited $138 and another $110 for the same time period.

Tue, Sep 5, 2006 – Phoenix, AZ – Expensive electricity bills are hitting residents of mobile homes and recreational vehicles in Arizona especially hard.

Some of the bills are being calculated at twice the rates charged to single-family houses.

‘There are many RV parks that are flat out price-gouging their tenants, and I think it needs to stop,’ said Corporation Commissioner Kris Mayes. ‘To be profiteering on electricity in the middle of the summertime is completely objectionable.’

Some manufactured-home residents, such as Scott Yount of Tempe, are taking matters into their own hands. He flipped off the streetlight in front of his trailer and padlocked the switchbox because he thinks he was paying to light the roadway.

The 48-year-old has been living in the 359-unit Chaparral Mobile Village for nearly 10 years. He said he started becoming troubled several months ago when his bill was higher than his next-door neighbor’s.

‘I keep my AC at 80, with a floor fan on, and at night there’s maybe one light bulb and a TV,’ said Yount, who lives alone. ‘Meanwhile, they have kids running everywhere and their bills were consistently lower by at least 50 percent or more.’

Abe Arrigotti, president of the California company that manages the Chaparral park along with 28 other parks, said he did not believe that was true. ‘If it was true, we would be happy to send an electrician out to fix the problem,’ he said.

Even so, many other residents face similar billing issues but are too scared or financially strapped to do anything, said attorney William Spence, a family practice attorney from Chandler. He says he speaks with frightened mobile-home-park residents almost daily.

Mayes is now asking her fellow commissioners to help solve the problem and is seeking to implement statewide legislation to curb such practices.
Arizona Daily Star