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...
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.
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/collections#wi...
But if I do this to though people, I'll go to jail.
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.
http://www.reuters.com/article/employment-corelogic-idUSL2N1...
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.
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.
However, if this company is indeed not intending to rent this property and only collecting the application fees, it would be fraud.
If you feel the need to run a background check on your tenants, that should be the cost of doing business
Of course those times changed and one of many reasons I stopped renting...
That sounds like a red flag with the article/author. What apartment place wouldn't do a background check and want ID to make sure they go the right person?
Most European countries have mandatory ID / residence registration so this is handled directly by the state rather than making landlords do it.
(Whether the UK counts as "Europe" is a subject of extreme controversy)
There's always the chance there's something wrong on your reports. You should get your own credit reports directly from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion; this will cost you $30-ish in CA. Make sure the reports include FICO scores, and don't settle for any non-fico nonsense (eg CreditKarma or any such competitors). For future applications, you may be able to re-use those reports for a month. It never hurts to ask.
As for us, our algorithm (at least in part to avoid illegal discrimination) is simple: we drop anyone with bad credit (maybe a small medical collection is ok, but nothing else), then sort by income descending.
The other possibility is you're giving off a difficult tenant vibe. It's hard to explain in words, but after a while, I think you get a sense of who's going to be a pita. So things like asking about apartment rules (eg no smoking, how many pets, etc) is fine; asking for exceptions to those rules can go either way. It really depends how you ask.
If this is the case, that fee won't be there.
So did you investigate what that something is? (Unclear to me)
Anyways, I do suggest people get a credit monitoring app like credit karma and negotiate with a landlord to use that if possible.
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.
Companies that want to play that kind of game don't want to play it with me. Particularly in my state (MA), the law is vastly in my favor, and I am willing and able to spend the time proving that point. I know a lot of people can't, so i'm happy enough to exact some measure of karmic equivalence.
I learned all about this in the last apartment I rented before buying a house. I was trying to work with the property management companies lawyer over how much it would cost to replace broken door (another long story), and the lawyer was of the mind that I owed them more than I had on deposit and I should set up a payment plan ASAP.
The 14 day limit passed and I got a summons that I was being sued for $1500 over the deposit for a couple of small things plus a empty heating oil tank (heat wasn't included). They said it was full when I moved in, but I produced a receipt that I paid for the tank to be filled on the day I moved in along with a voice mail from the actual landlord that said I didn't need to fill the tank when I moved out.
The lawyer immediately wanted to "settle" with them keeping the whole deposit, but I was happy to go to court. We were in front of the judge for less than a minute and they ended up paying almost 1/2 of the first year of my mortgage.
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit....
> What if the landlord doesn't provide a full refund, or a statement of deductions and a refund of amounts not deducted, by the end of the 21-day period as required by law? According to a California Supreme Court decision, the landlord loses the right to keep any of the security deposit and must return the entire deposit to you.
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.
* scanned ID
* recent bank statements
* recent pay stubs
* recent tax return or W2
* letter of employment on official company letterhead
* company office number they can call to confirm employment
* last two addresses you lived at
* letter from previous landlord
* yearly salary at least 40x (sometimes 50x) monthly rent
* ~ $100 application fee for background / credit check
* first months rent, security deposit, and broker's fee, on three separate certified/cashiers checks
Compare to when Square shuts down or rejects a seller account with no explanation or recourse, or when Google AdWords does the same. It's because they've been burned by scammers in the past, scammers who are better at looking safe and innocent than honest people. It's just more efficient for them to be draconian and unsympathetic.
I just accept that's how it is. Maybe you take your business elsewhere. You're only out $250, could be way worse, could be thousands ...
As in before we'd had the inspection...
"Oh, I hadn't finished editing from the previous tenant..."
"Why would you print it then?"
"..."
If they fraudulently deduct as part of some sort of profit-center, discover the wonderful world of small claims court. Not going to be fun but you'll win.
The "easy" solution to this, although it does have some drawbacks, is simply not to pay the last month's rent.
The only time I haven't gotten screwed over by a landlord is when we knew each other through our university alumni association.
Not paying the last months rent seems like an absolutely terrible idea (depends on local state laws I suppose, but please consult with a local renter advocate association or lawyer before trying this) and the exact sort of advice that will lead you into handing over gobs of cash to your landlord for absolutely no good reason then writing anecdotes about it till the end of time.
Also, it may depend on your State or local municipality, but usually they can't deduct normal wear and tear from your security deposit. Stuff like nails or anchors in the walls, faded paint, worn carpet, scuffed floors, broken appliances because of mechanical wear not negligence or improper use.
If an algorithm found some correlation between your "credit worthiness" (however their proprietary IP chooses to define it) and race or color of skin (or some proxy of), then using that information would be (legally) discrimination, say most legal experts speculating on a hypothetical (but bound to happen eventually) case. The fact is, yes, ML could probably discover a bunch of novel correlations that increase effectiveness by 7.8%, but since we can't really describe what "model" or way of thinking about our world the deep neural net is using, it's too easy to build a racist and discriminatory credit report. Kinda like that microsoft twitter chatbot that had to be taken down because it was learning from (and repeating) the racist garbage that a bunch of trolls were feeding it. Point is, it's a minefield.
But it's going to happen. Someone's going to try it.
And that's what the dark side of these companies like CoreLogic is: when real people's life events are influenced by the outcome of these databases, what's a societally-acceptable error rate? And what mechanisms are in place to check it?
Not saying CoreLogic is using racist ML credit bots. Not even saying the problem here is racism. I'm saying we've decided to put rules in front of credit reporting companies because, even if it's unintentional, it can lead to outcomes we all decided "you know, we have these ideals we're trying to strive towards and this isn't it." You also don't need a conscious conspiracy to output a racistbot -- microsoft didn't set out to make one, they just didn't think to build in a troll filter.
So yeah, CoreLogic isn't scamming renters out of such small amounts, but they are benefitting from an environment that allows such scams to exist.
Put another way, if there was some pending legislation that would make it harder for these scams to work (eg CoreLogic being legally obligated to also publicly report how many inquiries an inquirer has made with CoreLogic for the purpose of this specific property), do you think CoreLogic would spend lobbying money protecting their interests and preventing this at the expense of the consumer? Of course they would, reporting regulations are a huge operating expense! (wait... aren't you a company specializing in reporting...?)
That's why the author made a few swipes at the less-regulated corner of the credit report industry.
But I think you could also make a compelling argument that many of those things are accurate proxies primarily due to the legacy of more overt discrimination, and it would be difficult to impossible to disentangle that.
CoreLogic doesn't have leasing offices. I don't know if you read the article. That statement is incredibly ignorant.
I really had trouble reading through this. I know medium isn't for writers per se but basic proofreading would have helped tremendously.
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.
See the old 60 Minutes investigation on this.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/40-million-mistakes-is-your-cred...
Our tenancy law isn't perfect, but I think this is one of the things we got right.
[0] http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/buytolet/article-4032280/...
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...
The essence of the scam is they carefully let you think you're buying a car when really you're just "applying" for a loan to buy it. They collect a down payment, processing fees, etc., hand you the keys to the car and you drive off... only to get it repossessed a day or two later when "the bank denied your financing". And of course, all the money you gave them is non-refundable, as spelled out in the paperwork you signed. Then they repeat with the next sucker who walks onto the lot.
Basically if you want to rent a property here, an agency will demand that you pay their fee first(last time I paid over 500 pounds just in agency fees), so they can run a full background check on you - so you have to submit proof of your employment, proof of income, history of addresses for past 3 years, bank account details, copy of my passport to prove the right to rent in the UK, and then it's sent off to some agency somewhere which does the check.
And basically it comes back as yes/no, depending on your credit score, income, blah blah blah. If it comes back as no, you lose all the money you paid in those "fees".
It's a scam of gigantic proportions, but UK plays along because people here love "order" and being invigilated by some random rental agency seems to scratch that itch.
[0] http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/buytolet/article-4032280/...
Seems to be normal here in the bay area. They usually do a background check too and I can't imagine that happening without ID.
"She just hang up on me"
"Plus they had amazing special"
"They provide iPad on the spot"
"my wife credit score"
"At this point I hate it them."
http://www.corelogic.com/solutions/rental-property-solutions...
How do I obtain a copy of my CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions Consumer File?
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to receive one free copy of your consumer file in any twelve month period from a credit reporting agency (CRA). You are also entitled to a free copy of your consumer file if you meet the following criteria:
You have been notified of an adverse action or been denied housing or employment based on information in your consumer file within the past 60 days
You reside in a state where you are entitled to more than one free copy in any twelve month period
You suspect that your file may contain fraudulent information, or you are a victim of identity theft
You are unemployed or you currently receive public assistance
You may obtain a copy of your CoreLogic® Rental Property Solutions consumer file in one of two ways:
1) Call our toll-free number 1-888-333-2413 OR 2) Complete this form. http://www.corelogic.com/downloadable-docs/saferent-consumer...
1 (PDF): https://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/pmcdocs/TenantSelectionCriteri...
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/looking.shtm...
> “The application fee cannot legally be more than the landlord’s actual out-of-pocket costs, and, in 2012, can never be more than $44.51. The landlord must give you a receipt that itemizes his or her out-of-pocket expenses in obtaining and processing the information about you. The landlord must return any unused portion of the fee (for example, if the landlord does not check your references).”
If you have the time, sue them in small claims court. Document everything.
Edit: I see you've already posted it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/63azq8/how_i_legall...
What sucks is finding an attorney that can advise you on such matters, deal with them, and litigate them for your refund + attorney costs.
Similar to how government agencies build cases of racial discrimination in housing.
I believe CoreLogic was spun off from First American.
https://www.corelogic.com/about-us/news/asset_upload_file346...
You may want to see if you are eligible to file a claim with your renter's insurance policy.
As for CoreLogic, you will want to use all the debtor's rights laws at your disposal. All those credit reporting laws apply to them, maybe small claims court would be a good avenue. Small claims courts will usually squash any unruly practices of a landlord.
The large rental management companies can be difficult to worth with as a tenant. At the same time its easier for tenants because they have more tools at their disposal especially in collecting minimal amounts of security deposits and timely repairs. They can be difficult when trying to break a lease, return deposits, or charging misc/extra fees. Sometimes there is no way around it. You need to go into the situation understanding you will lose money.
A good rule of thumb is more amenities => more fees => more problems!