My boyfriend and I are two young college students. We have been living with two other roommates while working and going to school. Recently our roommates announced they were moving. My boyfriend and I were desperate to find a place, since we could no longer afford rent on our own. We looked for almost a month, but everything seemed to be falling through.
Finally I followed a friend's advice and looked on the pennysaver online. I found an advertisement for a two bedroom townhouse in Upland for $850. I was so excited to finally find something in our price range. I called the "business" right away. A man named Julio answered the phone and told me that I could come down that same day. He said all that I needed was my ID and $180. He claimed that the $180 was for the credit check and to hold the townhouse. He said that once the rental was finalized the $180 would come out of my deposit.
I asked him to explain exactly what service his company offered if he did not directly own the townhouse property. He replied that he worked closely with the owners and property managers and that he even had a contract with this specific property owner for over four years.
Everything seemed legitimate and when my boyfriend and I got down to his office we asked to see his business license. After he showed it to us we felt more comfortable and began talking to Julio about when we would be able to view the property. He said that as soon as our credit went through we should be able to have a moving date in no more than three days. He asked us to call him the following day. We paid him and signed a contract.
The next day we called and called his business number but received no answer for hours. There was no answering machine. When we finally got someone on the phone she said that Julio was not coming in and that she would be "handling our case." I asked her when I could view the property; she said she would schedule me an appointment and call me back. She called and told me that someone would show me the "townhouse" at three - thirty that day. When I showed up to the address I was shocked to find that the "townhouse" was no more than an upstairs tiny apartment with horrible carpeting.
I asked the woman showing the apartment who had called her to schedule the appointment. She replied by saying that it was "Britney" who had called her. (Tip: I'm Britney.) I told her that I had never called her. She asked if I paid someone $180 dollars.
Before I even answered I knew that I had made a huge mistake. I asked the woman if she worked with I.E. Rentals and Credit. She said that she was a separate management company and had nothing to do with them. She told me that I had been scammed, and that it wasn't the first time she'd seen it.
Rebecca, from I.E. Rentals and Credit, had called this real rental management company pretending to be me and set up an appointment for me to view this self proclaimed "townhouse, " which by the way was way more money than I.E. Rentals claimed it would be.in fact, it didn't match their description at all. This company gets $180 dollars for lying to your face.
My boyfriend and I went to I.E. Rentals to get our money back. When we got to the waiting room there was one woman ahead of us complaining that she wanted her money back, and two more behind us. (One was screaming "Fraud!") There was a very, very large man, who looked like a bodyguard trying to intimidate the noisy woman out of the office. She was refusing to leave, but he wouldn't let up and seriously he was BIG.
When we finally got our turn to complain to Rebecca, who by the way, turns out to be the owner's wife, she was beyond rude. We told her that her business is fraudulent and we wanted our money back. She began yelling was extremely belligerent. She said that we would have to submit a request in writing and we should hear back from the owner (her M.I.A. Husband) in 10 business days.
We had only had the contract for barely a day and I told her that in California we have the legal right to cancel any contract within three days. She began to raise her voice and told me my only option was to fill out a request for a refund.
She sat right in front of me trying to intimidate me as I wrote the request. She kept "clearing her throat" and telling me to "hurry up" because she was leaving. I submitted the request and she asked us to leave. We got to the car and filed a report with the Better Business Bureau, who told us that there were already over 26 reports claiming the same thing filed against the company. She also told us that the company had only been up for a year. She told me that of the 26 reports filed, the owner denied a refund to all, and didn't even bother to respond to the last eight complaints filed against him.
Rebecca came out of the office threatening to call the police on us if we didn't leave. We explained to her that we were doing nothing wrong, and that we weren't even on her property. She began yelling and told us that if we left now she would submit our request to the owner in 2-3 days. We again explained that we were not doing anything wrong. She then yelled, "Fine, you know what? I'm telling you right now that you're request for refund is denied. You can take me to court." This all happened in the duration of a minute.
While we were in the parking lot we saw many people go into the office, including a pregnant woman and an elderly couple. It boggles my mind that I.E. Rentals and Credit, or any company could get away with something like this. It was more than just money, although I am only 18 and I did work hard for that money. It was the excitement I felt when I thought that our troubles were over because we had finally found a place to live. Now I am $180 dollars down and still have no place to live. It should not be an American custom to prey on the weak and take advantage of the desperation of people facing difficult situations.
Please, please do not help these people make money, while they cheat so many people out their hard earned money and most importantly their hope.
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