Gabbi Redding paid $250 in March as a refundable security deposit while applying for an apartment at Timberlake Apartment Homes in Altamonte Springs. The application was not approved, and Redding says the refund did not arrive as expected. “I never received a refund or reimbursement or anything,” she said.
Timberlake advertises its security deposits as “totally refundable,” according to WFTV. Redding's messages with the property show that the refund remained unresolved for months. In May, property manager Alaina Holliday asked Redding to confirm her forwarding address so the money could be sent, according to correspondence cited by Yahoo News.
In July, assistant manager Jamaal Milledge told Redding that the refund had been escalated to the corporate office, the report said. By mid-September, however, Redding said she still had not received the $250.
Five Months of Chasing a Refund
Redding had spent about five months seeking the money, according to the report, before contacting Action 9, the consumer investigative team. Timberlake Apartment Homes is managed by Orlando-based ZRS Management, the report said.
What Florida rules say about applicant deposits
Florida’s security-deposit statute addresses deposits held under a rental agreement and tells tenants who move out to provide a new address for deposit-related notices, according to Florida Statutes section 83.49. Those move-out procedures may not directly answer how a separate deposit paid by an applicant should be handled when a lease is never approved. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also cautions that someone who pays money in advance but does not occupy the unit may not be entitled to a refund, depending on the rental agreement. In Redding’s case, the property’s advertised “totally refundable” terms were central to her expectation that the $250 would be returned.
Action 9 investigator Jeff Deal then visited the property to ask about the unpaid refund. The Timberlake manager declined to comment and asked him to leave, according to the outlet's account.
Refund Arrives After Reporter Steps In
Action 9 also sought comment from Timberlake's ownership and ZRS Management about the delay. The report said neither had responded at that point.
About a week and a half after Action 9 began seeking answers, Redding received the $250, according to the report. She said she believed the delay might have led her to abandon the claim if she had not continued pursuing it: “I think that they were hoping that I would just kind of give up and let it go and be okay with them keeping my money,” Redding said.
Complaint Records Show a Pattern of Disputes
Public complaint records provide additional context but do not establish that ZRS Management mishandled Redding's deposit. The company's Better Business Bureau profile lists 269 complaints filed over the previous three years, including 91 closed in the last 12 months. The profile says ZRS did not respond to four complaints and left 22 unresolved; it also lists the company as not BBB accredited.
Examples on the bureau's complaints page include an allegation that a $500 security deposit was withheld and additional move-out charges were added, as well as a complaint alleging there was no final determination or clear timeline. Those entries are allegations in BBB filings, not confirmed findings, and the records do not connect them to Redding's case.
Redding ultimately received the amount she says the property had promised to refund. Her account illustrates the difference between a written promise and the practical process of getting that promise honored; the available reporting does not explain why the payment was delayed.
