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How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

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Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#21

Post by pm24601 »

And this is why … I love California and would never move to a “business-friendly” state.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/looking.shtm...

> “The application fee cannot legally be more than the landlord’s actual out-of-pocket costs, and, in 2012, can never be more than $44.51. The landlord must give you a receipt that itemizes his or her out-of-pocket expenses in obtaining and processing the information about you. The landlord must return any unused portion of the fee (for example, if the landlord does not check your references).”

Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#22

Post by tradersam »

yaacovtp wrote: post #19

I've used Corelogic as a landlord as well. Any applicant with a reported history of non payment is a big red flag and would likely be denied. I'd compare it to very late credit card payments or a charge off. Not a scam. The employee doing the review would get in trouble for approving this application!

> Any applicant with a reported history of non payment is a big red flag and would likely be denied.

Directly from the article:

> My application was denied due to their system show that some management company filed missing rent in 2011. Which is not true I have zero collections or public records.

The point is they were lying.

Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#23

Post by ransom1538 »

wyldfire wrote: post #6

If this happens to you, you should consider talking to: 1. Your state's AG [1] 2. The local TV news 3. Local police I don't think I would call it a "legal scam," it sounds remarkably like fraud. Lots of modern fraud takes place over international VoIP calls, so the fact that there's a brick and mortar business with assets that can be seized means you shouldn't give up quickly. > Even disputing a charge on the credit…

> Even disputing a charge on the credit card — they have copies of our ID, smart.

Your credit card company will charge back that charge. AND they will make a note on the merchant's account. More than likely, when you call regarding this merchant account it will already have notes on it -- just making it even quicker.

Once, I paid 2k for a couch on Macys.com. Their delivery guys came to deliver the couch on the agreed day. On that very day - the delivery men called and told me they couldn't get it up the stairs (which was a lie, they needed keys to figure this out). I called Macys support and it was marked delivered WITH MY SIGNATURE and there was nothing that could be done. Upset - I called my credit card company. I had the funds back in my account in 24 hours.

Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#24

Post by pm24601 »

67726e wrote: post #8
hprotagonist wrote: post #3

This is why I vastly prefer to rent on handshake deals and standard lease agreements with homeowners. It's waaaay more human.

I've been burned by a major corporate rental before, and will never do that again. Moving in wasn't a problem, though the "Smart Saver" non-refundable deposit they offered should have been enough of a red flag. Once while on a week long company retreat they upgraded their payment system, which removed my payment information not only causing my rent to be late, but they then filed for eviction after only three days. T…

And this is why I love California...

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit....

> What if the landlord doesn't provide a full refund, or a statement of deductions and a refund of amounts not deducted, by the end of the 21-day period as required by law? According to a California Supreme Court decision, the landlord loses the right to keep any of the security deposit and must return the entire deposit to you.

Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#25

Post by ransom1538 »

joshuaheard wrote: post #14

Landlord here. This tenant made a mistake paying an "administrative fee" of $150, and giving the deposit ($350) without a signed lease. Though, we do charge a $50 application fee to cover the cost of the background check we run. However, if this company is indeed not intending to rent this property and only collecting the application fees, it would be fraud.

Yes it is fraud. For extra credit ensure they send you something by email AND something through usps. That is wire and mail fraud in the US which carrys absolutely ludicrous federal jail time.

Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#26

Post by nassir »

I faced a relatively similar situation when trying to rent in the East Bay. My wife and I both have 720+ credit scores as were looking to rent in the $2500 range. After going through applications at 3 places and getting rejected, I realized something was off. Our credit scores had been run multiple times and we had paid application processing fees at multiple places yet we were getting rejected. Perhaps the applicant pool is so strong that my 7X multiple on rent income and great scores won't cut it - but I find it hard to believe. Perhaps the blessing of a strong tech economy comes with the curse of arrogant and fraudulant potential landlords. Can't wait to get out of this city

Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#27

Post by kevinoconnor7 »

lysp wrote: post #16
wyldfire wrote: post #6

If this happens to you, you should consider talking to: 1. Your state's AG [1] 2. The local TV news 3. Local police I don't think I would call it a "legal scam," it sounds remarkably like fraud. Lots of modern fraud takes place over international VoIP calls, so the fact that there's a brick and mortar business with assets that can be seized means you shouldn't give up quickly. > Even disputing a charge on the credit…

It 100% is fruad.

Given what's in the Medium post, there's zero evidence for that. The author is assuming that a scam took place, but another plausible explanation is that the author had a missed rent payment on their record and the management company auto rejects those applicants. Sure, that record might be wrong, but it's still not a scam. Everything else they mentioned is pure speculation.

I think the author, if they feel strongly about this, should reach out to the local community to try to see how common rejections might be. They would also need to establish that CoreLogic is in cahoots with the management company.

Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#28

Post by wapz »

>The First place we visited Altis Lakeline managed by Altman Companies was amazing, its a brand new apartment complex with cool amenities, priced at $1400 which is much lower, compare to similar places $1600–$1700, that where I missed first red flag. Plus they had amazing special — 2 months free rent — which under normal circumstances will raise suspicion, I thought it’s a brand new property with construction done a few months ago trying to get to full capacity.

I really had trouble reading through this. I know medium isn't for writers per se but basic proofreading would have helped tremendously.

Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#29

Post by Veratyr »

> Then they made a photocopy of our ID for a file. Which again raised my suspicion, I’ve rented many apartment before and none of properties ever asked for that before signing the lease, in my head it was done deal — so I let it slip.

Seems to be normal here in the bay area. They usually do a background check too and I can't imagine that happening without ID.

Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex

#30

Post by reustle »

ransom1538 wrote: post #23
wyldfire wrote: post #6

If this happens to you, you should consider talking to: 1. Your state's AG [1] 2. The local TV news 3. Local police I don't think I would call it a "legal scam," it sounds remarkably like fraud. Lots of modern fraud takes place over international VoIP calls, so the fact that there's a brick and mortar business with assets that can be seized means you shouldn't give up quickly. > Even disputing a charge on the credit…

> Even disputing a charge on the credit card — they have copies of our ID, smart. Your credit card company will charge back that charge. AND they will make a note on the merchant's account. More than likely, when you call regarding this merchant account it will already have notes on it -- just making it even quicker. Once, I paid 2k for a couch on Macys.com. Their delivery guys came to deliver the couch on the agreed…

Are you saying they forged your signature?
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