A Dallas woman said her complaint about shoddy maintenance at her apartment building was met with a racial slur in a Facebook message.
Thurmeka Muller, an Iraq War veteran, said she was disappointed that her bathtub had apparently not been cleaned in “years and years” before she moved into Timberlodge Apartments, despite pointing out the grime to building managers, reported WFAA-TV.
Other items in her apartment also went unrepaired, she said.
She posted a negative review on the apartment complex’s Facebook page, and then Muller was contacted by the by the page administrator to discuss her complaint.
Muller said the representative first told her to fix the problem herself, and then she said the exchanges got progressively more hostile.
“That's when they went on with the racial slur -- all capital letters, and right there on the post," Muller said. "I feel insulted (and) degraded. I feel embarrassed. Not cool – at all."
Bridge Property Management, which operates Timberlodge, called the incident "cybervandalism,” saying the complex’s Facebook account – which is run by a third party – was hacked.
“We are working with Facebook, our vendor and, if appropriate, legal authorities to determine the circumstances surround this situation,” the company said in a statement. “We intend to cooperate to the fullest extent with any police investigation into this matter.”
Muller said the hacking claim sounds far-fetched to her.
“I don’t believe that -- it’s ridiculous,” she said. “That’s the most outrageous story I’ve heard in my life.”
The complex’s community manager posted a Facebook apology to Muller and other residents – most of whom are black – after more negative reviews poured in.
She again claimed the social media account had been hacked, but she also said an employee had been suspended for three days without pay for violating company policy.
“We would like to apologize for you having to be a witness for our Facebook account being hacked and one of our employees saying the N-word,” said Franchesca Harris, community manager for Timberlodge. “Please reconsider rating us a higher star!”
Muller said she may file a housing discrimination lawsuit.
Watch this video report posted online by WFAA-TV:
