They have been charging application fees and not using the funds legally - read YELP >> Be careful as there is one other very doubtful positive review - read >>
3/28/2013These guys are a absolute SCAM!!!!
They took my $25 online and called back promptly to tell me it would be 1-2 days to get a response on a rental.
I was told when I viewed the home that no one else put in a app yet. Awesome! Or so I thought.
Considering I was just approved to BUY a home (market is in full swing so decided to rent) and had a nice amount of money saved I figured there would be NO issues in my background check.
I called to check on my app after 3 days passed and I was told they were still showing the house and it would be another day.
What?? I could see if my background came back not up to par but he even told me they hadn't looked at my app yet.
Mind you 3 days prior I had his co-part call me and tell me it would be done within two days.
Ok so I let it be and gave it two MORE days (now we are a week in) and called only to get the VM, left a message and no call back. So I call the next day and Josh answers to tell me that they had to sit down with the owner to pick a tenant out of the apps.
Hmmm how does that work? Is this not a equal opportunity for those who put in their applications? UPDATE I JUST got a call from Josh stating I did not get "chosen" by the owner.
Little did he know I have already talked to my references as well as my employer to see if anyone did a background check on me and THEY DID NOT!!! So they chose a renter without looking at MY app that was the first one put in for this house.
I am livid right now, and when I asked for a refund he told me he would "think about it and let you know"
I will chalk that $25 as a loss and be sure to warn others of this scam.
Oh and when I asked for a copy of my credit report that he claims he ran he said he couldn't give it to me...you know why? BECAUSE THEY DIDNT EVEN RUN ONE!!!
They took my $25 along with multiple others and SCAMMED all of us to make a profit. I would never ever ever recomend this place to anyone!
READ WHAT THE LAW STATES:
CAL. CIV. CODE § 1950.6 : California Code - Section 1950.6
(e)If the landlord or his or her agent does not perform a personal reference check or does not obtain a consumer credit report, the landlord or his or her agent shall return any amount of the screening fee that is not used for the purposes authorized by this section to the applicant.
(f)If an application screening fee has been paid by the applicant and if requested by the applicant, the landlord or his or her agent shall provide a copy of the consumer credit report to the applicant who is the subject of that report.
(g)As used in this section, "landlord" means an owner of residential rental property.
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/CIV/5/d3/4/5/2/s1950.6
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/CIV/5/d3/4/5/2/s1950.5
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=evid&group=00001-01000&file=780-783
(a)Notwithstanding Section 1950.5, when a landlord or his or her agent receives a request to rent a residential property from an applicant, the landlord or his or her agent may charge that applicant an application screening fee to cover the costs of obtaining information about the applicant. The information requested and obtained by the landlord or his or her agent may include, but is not limited to, personal reference checks and consumer credit reports produced by consumer credit reporting agencies as defined in Section 1785.3. A landlord or his or her agent may, but is not required to, accept and rely upon a consumer credit report presented by an applicant.
(b)The amount of the application screening fee shall not be greater than the actual out-of-pocket costs of gathering information concerning the applicant, including, but not limited to, the cost of using a tenant screening service or a consumer credit reporting service, and the reasonable value of time spent by the landlord or his or her agent in obtaining information on the applicant. In no case shall the amount of the application screening fee charged by the landlord or his or her agent be greater than thirty dollars ($30) per applicant. The thirty dollar ($30) application screening fee may be adjusted annually by the landlord or his or her agent commensurate with an increase in the Consumer Price Index, beginning on January 1, 1998.
(c)Unless the applicant agrees in writing, a landlord or his or her agent may not charge an applicant an application screening fee when he or she knows or should have known that no rental unit is available at that time or will be available within a reasonable period of time.
(d)The landlord or his or her agent shall provide, personally, or by mail, the applicant with a receipt for the fee paid by the applicant, which receipt shall itemize the out-of-pocket expenses and time spent by the landlord or his or her agent to obtain and process the information about the applicant.
(e)If the landlord or his or her agent does not perform a personal reference check or does not obtain a consumer credit report, the landlord or his or her agent shall return any amount of the screening fee that is not used for the purposes authorized by this section to the applicant.
(f)If an application screening fee has been paid by the applicant and if requested by the applicant, the landlord or his or her agent shall provide a copy of the consumer credit report to the applicant who is the subject of that report.
(g)As used in this section, "landlord" means an owner of residential rental property.
(h)As used in this section, "application screening fee" means any nonrefundable payment of money charged by a landlord or his or her agent to an applicant, the purpose of which is to purchase a consumer credit report and to validate, review, or otherwise process an application for the rent or lease of residential rental property.
(i)As used in this section, "applicant" means any entity or individual who makes a request to a landlord or his or her agent to rent a residential housing unit, or an entity or individual who agrees to act as a guarantor or cosignor on a rental agreement.
(j)The application screening fee shall not be considered an "advance fee" as that term is used in Section 10026 of the Business and Professions Code, and shall not be considered "security" as that term is used in Section 1950.5.
(k)This section is not intended to preempt any provisions or regulations that govern the collection of deposits and fees under federal or state housing assistance programs.
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