7 ms·

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 s

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 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-complaint https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cpd/file-a-consumer-com...

kbenson 10y ago
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.
- wyldfire 10y ago
  Since there really is a property there, they would probably cleverly slip their application into the "approved" pile.
  - kbenson 10y ago
    That's why you mention it before signing. Then they have to make a decision to accept your application and fees and actually rent their cash cow, or to find some other reason to reject you (for something within their discretion) prior to committing to either scam you or rent to you.
    - alexhutcheson 10y ago
      You don't want a company like this as a landlord.
  - saghm 10y ago
    Wouldn't they notice that they had no neighbors, and that literally every other apartment in the building is being shown multiple times per day?
    - kbenson 10y ago
      I'm pretty sure they rent most the units. It only takes a few empty units to run this scam, no reason not to rent the rest legitimately for more money.
      - saghm 10y ago
        Ah, okay, I just assumed that they were using the building only for the scam, not for actual renting.
lysp 10y ago
It 100% is fruad.
- kevinoconnor7 10y ago
  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.
  - throwaway91111 10y ago
    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?
    - tedmiston 10y ago
      > 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.
      - throwaway91111 10y ago
        You're asking the wrong person; I am assuming OP is not intentionally misrepresenting the situation.
        tedmiston 10y ago
        I didn't claim that he was intentionally misrepresenting the situation. It's that the author seems inexperienced in renting apartments and is jumping to conclusions as to the reason that he was denied. It doesn't seem that he has a full understanding of the situation and the process given that, as others have pointed out in this thread, he found things like having a copy of his ID made, etc a red flag while this is normal when touring and applying to rent an apartment.
ransom1538 10y ago
> 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.
- reustle 10y ago
  Are you saying they forged your signature?
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - verbify 10y ago
    Maybe it was one of those 'electronic signatures' - they're simply a scribble on an electronic device.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    I don't even have a signature. While I can do lovely calligraphy, my actual handwriting is a testament to a failed Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test. Now, that's extreme, but how many people have a stable signature now when they almost never have to reproduce it?
    - Bartweiss 10y ago
      I have been asked to 'reproduce' a signature once in my entire life. At a 7/11, buying $6 worth of food. It took 4 tries to satisfy the cashier, because my signature is completely inconsistent. I almost refused, but I was curious whether I was even capable of signing convincingly. To this day, I have no idea what drove that decision.
akira2501 10y ago
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 responsibility to ensure its accuracy.
- ben1040 10y ago
  CoreLogic claims they FCRA doesn't apply to them, because they apparently are a "wholesale" data warehouse that sells data to companies that do background checks, but a federal judge disagreed: http://www.reuters.com/article/employment-corelogic-idUSL2N17N0D8 http://www.reuters.com/article/employment-corelogic-idUSL2N1...
  - downandout 10y ago
    There is another major database called Early Warning [1] that also claims to be exempt from certain parts of the FCRA. I was an identity theft victim. After blocking credit checks at all 3 major bureaus and ChexSystems, I contacted these guys and asked them to block any reports they have on me. They essentially said that they don't have to, and won't, despite legislation allowing consumers to request freezing of credit files. I eventually got a nasty voicemail basically inviting me to sue them if I didn't like it. These specialty databases need serious regulation...it's clear that credit bureaus and those that use them are tired of working within the confines of the FCRA and are going out of their way to create databases that are exempt. [1] http://earlywarning.com/ http://earlywarning.com/
- rhizome 10y ago
  Without any kind of accreditation I wonder if there's a slander angle here.
- nerdponx 10y ago
  What I'm hung up on is how this isn't considered outright fraud.
eeeeeeeeeeeee 10y ago
Definitely sounds like fraud and I doubt it would be hard to prove. The employee who hangs up immediately likely knows what's going on or was instructed by someone higher up. These people are rarely criminal masterminds.
smileysteve 10y ago
On cc. You're not disputing that you were there (that in itself would be fraud) but you can dispute that you received services for the payment you madd.
djyaz1200 10y ago
Totally agree with advice above, this is the kind of issue the legal system is made for. Additionally I'd suggest you go file in small claims court today. Suspect they will settle just to avoid the hassle... and if you do it quick you might still get your apt. Good luck.

kbenson 10y ago

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.

wyldfire 10y ago
Since there really is a property there, they would probably cleverly slip their application into the "approved" pile.
- kbenson 10y ago
  That's why you mention it before signing. Then they have to make a decision to accept your application and fees and actually rent their cash cow, or to find some other reason to reject you (for something within their discretion) prior to committing to either scam you or rent to you.
  - alexhutcheson 10y ago
    You don't want a company like this as a landlord.
- saghm 10y ago
  Wouldn't they notice that they had no neighbors, and that literally every other apartment in the building is being shown multiple times per day?
  - kbenson 10y ago
    I'm pretty sure they rent most the units. It only takes a few empty units to run this scam, no reason not to rent the rest legitimately for more money.
    - saghm 10y ago
      Ah, okay, I just assumed that they were using the building only for the scam, not for actual renting.

lysp 10y ago

It 100% is fruad.

kevinoconnor7 10y ago
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.
- throwaway91111 10y ago
  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?
  - tedmiston 10y ago
    > 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.
    - throwaway91111 10y ago
      You're asking the wrong person; I am assuming OP is not intentionally misrepresenting the situation.
      - tedmiston 10y ago
        I didn't claim that he was intentionally misrepresenting the situation. It's that the author seems inexperienced in renting apartments and is jumping to conclusions as to the reason that he was denied. It doesn't seem that he has a full understanding of the situation and the process given that, as others have pointed out in this thread, he found things like having a copy of his ID made, etc a red flag while this is normal when touring and applying to rent an apartment.

ransom1538 10y ago

> 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.

reustle 10y ago
Are you saying they forged your signature?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- verbify 10y ago
  Maybe it was one of those 'electronic signatures' - they're simply a scribble on an electronic device.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  I don't even have a signature. While I can do lovely calligraphy, my actual handwriting is a testament to a failed Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test. Now, that's extreme, but how many people have a stable signature now when they almost never have to reproduce it?
  - Bartweiss 10y ago
    I have been asked to 'reproduce' a signature once in my entire life. At a 7/11, buying $6 worth of food. It took 4 tries to satisfy the cashier, because my signature is completely inconsistent. I almost refused, but I was curious whether I was even capable of signing convincingly. To this day, I have no idea what drove that decision.

akira2501 10y ago

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 responsibility to ensure its accuracy.

ben1040 10y ago
CoreLogic claims they FCRA doesn't apply to them, because they apparently are a "wholesale" data warehouse that sells data to companies that do background checks, but a federal judge disagreed: http://www.reuters.com/article/employment-corelogic-idUSL2N17N0D8 http://www.reuters.com/article/employment-corelogic-idUSL2N1...
- downandout 10y ago
  There is another major database called Early Warning [1] that also claims to be exempt from certain parts of the FCRA. I was an identity theft victim. After blocking credit checks at all 3 major bureaus and ChexSystems, I contacted these guys and asked them to block any reports they have on me. They essentially said that they don't have to, and won't, despite legislation allowing consumers to request freezing of credit files. I eventually got a nasty voicemail basically inviting me to sue them if I didn't like it. These specialty databases need serious regulation...it's clear that credit bureaus and those that use them are tired of working within the confines of the FCRA and are going out of their way to create databases that are exempt. [1] http://earlywarning.com/ http://earlywarning.com/
rhizome 10y ago
Without any kind of accreditation I wonder if there's a slander angle here.
nerdponx 10y ago
What I'm hung up on is how this isn't considered outright fraud.

eeeeeeeeeeeee 10y ago

Definitely sounds like fraud and I doubt it would be hard to prove. The employee who hangs up immediately likely knows what's going on or was instructed by someone higher up. These people are rarely criminal masterminds.

smileysteve 10y ago

On cc. You're not disputing that you were there (that in itself would be fraud) but you can dispute that you received services for the payment you madd.

djyaz1200 10y ago

Totally agree with advice above, this is the kind of issue the legal system is made for. Additionally I'd suggest you go file in small claims court today. Suspect they will settle just to avoid the hassle... and if you do it quick you might still get your apt. Good luck.