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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

#71

Post by dottrap »

djrogers wrote: post #46
tradersam wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Or the data was wrong.

Most likely the data was wrong. The credit report industry has a 20% error rate.

See the old 60 Minutes investigation on this.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/40-million-mistakes-is-your-cred...

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

#72

Post by tedmiston »

throwaway91111 wrote: post #31
kevinoconnor7 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Well, if they don't actually rent any apartments, they misled them and people spent money based on that lie. They paid for an application that would be accepted. How is that not fraud?

> Well, if they don't actually rent any apartments

Citation needed that they don't actually rent apartments as opposed to the author of the post making this assumption without establishing it with reasonable proof.

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

#73

Post by nerdponx »

akira2501 wrote: post #33
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…

4. Go to your state legislature and try to get a bill passed. What surprises me is that CoreLogic is not bound by the same terms that any other credit reporting bureau is. There is no way any business is going to just write you a letter stating that you currently owe no money, not without talking to a lawyer first, I'd hope. If they want to impugn your credit with with this type of reporting, then it's their responsi…

What I'm hung up on is how this isn't considered outright fraud.

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

#74

Post by tedmiston »

nassir wrote: post #26

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…

> After going through applications at 3 places and getting rejected, I realized something was off.

So did you investigate what that something is? (Unclear to me)

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

#75

Post by tedmiston »

wapz wrote: post #28

>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…

I felt the same way over and over again throughout. Whether or not the author's primary language is English, it feels like it was written without proofreading or editing at all.

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

#76

Post by 35bge57dtjku »

joobus wrote: post #38
felipemnoa wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdote here: Once when I wanted to rent an apartment in a nice apartment complex they wouldn't even show me the apartment without me showing them my ID. I ended up renting the place and never had a problem.

In Texas, an ID is required to even view an apartment. Usually, they hold the drivers license at the office while you go view the apartments. It is a state law, and was put in place to prevent rapes.

Same thing happens in Seattle.

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

#77

Post by tedmiston »

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…

In college as an RA, I did detailed room audits before/after people moved in/out.

The best thing you can do before moving any of your stuff in is document any defects in detail (every single apartment has them).

The best thing you can do before finalizing moving out is to take photographs of how you left the place for evidence.

Ideally you have before/after photos to demonstrate things that may have been defective before you moved it but that you may be (mistakenly) charged for. Most people don't do this and have little recourse when the bill shows up.

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

#78

Post by gjjrfcbugxbhf »

chrisper wrote: post #40
ransom1538 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

So what will you do if it goes to a debt collector?

It won't.

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

#79

Post by floatrock »

tedmiston wrote: post #74
nassir wrote: post #26

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…

> After going through applications at 3 places and getting rejected, I realized something was off. So did you investigate what that something is? (Unclear to me)

he's saying "lots of people are probably running this scam" as an explanation his shitty experience with the shittiness that is the bay area housing market.

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

#80

Post by tedmiston »

floatrock wrote: post #79
tedmiston wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> After going through applications at 3 places and getting rejected, I realized something was off. So did you investigate what that something is? (Unclear to me)

he's saying "lots of people are probably running this scam" as an explanation his shitty experience with the shittiness that is the bay area housing market.

Ah, okay. After reading the author's Medium post, I wasn't as convinced the rest of HN that he's actually being scammed. Put another way, he has not convinced me that the issue doesn't lie in something unique to his situation or his credit report. Most of the "red flags" mentioned, as others have pointed out here, are not abnormal in (legitimate) apartment rental application processes, my own included.
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