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
#2Ask them what their minimum credit score is? If they refuse, I'd say you definitely have a legal case to recover your time and lawyer fees
Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex
#3This is why I vastly prefer to rent on handshake deals and standard lease agreements with homeowners. It's waaaay more human.
Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex
#4Whenever you have something like this please put it on Yelp! Many of us will check yelp before renting with a company.
Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex
#5I know that 'obtaining money or property under false pretenses' is a felony in at least some states. I wonder why this wouldn't apply?
Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex
#6If 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 card — they have copies of our ID, smart.
Dispute it anyways. Yes, it may flip back on you once they disclose the fact that you were there. But just stipulate it upfront that you made the purchase but the terms were unclear or that the claims that they made regarding your rejection are false.
These guys sound like they are clever enough to try and make their scheme as close to legal as possible. They made sure that the amount you're getting scammed isn't worth your time or an attorney's time. But don't let them get away with it.
[1] Texas AG consumer complaints: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cpd/file-a-consumer-com...
Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex
#7Ask them what their minimum credit score is? If they refuse, I'd say you definitely have a legal case to recover your time and lawyer fees
It's a proprietary credit system. Presumably, they have the ability to tweak the system (possibly though a separate agency under similar ownership that is able to report people with post-dated collections).
I imagine if someone is familiar enough with the law, they might find that some statutes about credit reporting are broad enough to apply to any credit system, and these people might find themselves under indictment if the right entities are alerted.
At a minimum, it's very fishy that a proprietary credit system is being used and people are finding that they just happen to have bogus entries in that system. It would be really interesting to know the total number of companies that use that system and to see the query and reporting history of each...
Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex
#8This 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. That cost me easily half a month's rent in fees to clear up because of their own technical fuckup. The only notice for the upgrade, of course, was a flyer left hanging from my door which I found when I got home along with a notice on my door. When I moved out they claimed nearly a thousand dollars in cleaning fees, with line items like "trash bag (5), $75 each," which in itself would be bullshit had I not had the place cleaned. When I tried to dispute the charges, the ever so helpful rental agents told me to pay it in thirty days or it would go to collections.
These mega rental corporations just exist to nickel and dime the shit out of everyone and will throw their weight around. You'll just spend more on legal fees, and they bank on that.
Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex
#9Any company like this is going to scam you at move out time as well. One agent told me that nobody gets their full deposit back, ever. They'll make up a list of things they had to do and give you an inflated bill for it.
Re: How I legally got scammed for $250 by an upscale apartment complex
#10If 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…
I would love to see the look on their face if one of the people they had on the hook and about to sign somehow worked into the conversation that their uncle was State Attorney General, or a local District Attorney or something like that.