Any evidence for Realpage being a scam?

[kitten]

I think most of you guys are home-owners, but wanted to run this by you in case you had any ideas on this.

Hubby and I are moving to a new apartment. We realized the building we lived in two years ago was better for us than where we are now in terms of location, so we went there, saw some apartments, and applied. We paid for two applications at $40 each, and I wrote them a check for $80.

It took three days to hear back that we were approved, and by that time the units that were in our range had been snapped up. We were bummed, but they told us to check another building owned by their same company, and we found something we liked. The leasing agent at the second building was going to make us apply again, but we said we had already done it, and could they just use our original applications? She asked her manager, he said yes, and so we were approved. We put a deposit on the unit we want, and we'll move in Tuesday.

So in the meantime I get an invoice from something called Realpage. It's addressed to me by first name only, no last name, and they sent it to my work address. They want me to pay $65.70 for this line item - "LeasingDesk screening coverage charges (per report)."

I called the leasing agent at our apartment, and she said it didn't sound like them - they use a screening company called Kroll, and we've already paid for the screening. She said it sounded scammy.

I went to the Realpage web site. They call themselves a property management consultant firm. They look legit, but I can't tell.

I don't really want to respond to this invoice - I don't want them to have any more of my info than they've already got. Just wondering if I should be doing anything in particular about this. I'm hoping it'll go away if I ignore it, but what do you think?

[iris lily]

OP, any company that bills you for something that you didn't order is a scam operation. Let them bluster and blow about how not paying will ruin your credit report. Ignore them.

Also, I didn't realize that it is now the fashion to charge potential tenants for an "application." wow. And to charge for each apartment you look at? Double wow. It must be a landlord's market there. What exactly does that $40 cover, out of curiosity?

[fidgiegirl]

It's a screening fee, and if you aren't offered the place, it's given back (or is supposed to be). In the case of our house, that didn't even cover the company's charge to look into criminal records, employment history, etc.

[jp1]

I agree with Iris. I'd simply throw the invoice in the trash and be done with it. Truthfully I probably wouldn't even have opened the envelope if I didn't recognize them as a company I'd done business with.

Iris, I'm assuming that when the OP mentioned two fees it's because there are two people, not because they looked at 2 apartments. SO and I had to pay 2 fees, but our landlord must use a cheaper service since I think it was only $15 apiece.

[kitten]

That's right, it was $40 per applicant - even though we're married, which seems weird to me, but whatever!

Iris Lily is right though, it's definitely a landlord's market where we are...rents have gone up like crazy just since we were looking to rent two years ago. Apparently this climate was created in the wake of the housing collapse - more people unable to buy and looking to rent. At least they didn't make us pay first and last month's rent. Our pet deposit for the cat seemed steep though - $600 - $300 refundable, and $300 non-refundable!

[kitten]

Another question about this Realpage thing - would it be worth filing a complaint or contacting the BBB or anything about it? I'm just so annoyed that they thought they could pull this crap on me. I can imagine some older person who's a little muddled and doesn't have anyone to check stuff out for them, just figuring it's legit and paying it. These jerks shouldn't be allowed to get away with it!

[fidgiegirl]

That's right, it was $40 per applicant - even though we're married, which seems weird to me, but whatever

It's b/c of discrimination laws. You can't discriminate based on marital status, including the charging of the application fees. After all, you each have separate criminal and credit histories. Since a boyfriend/girlfriend or two friends would each be charged separately, a married couple must be as well. I'm no expert but we just screened our renters recently and the screening agency was very, very clear on this: that each member of a married couple must submit to the screening criteria, or it's discriminatory. Agree or not agree, that's the reason that I know!

Back to your original question - sounds scammy to me. We also got some extremely real looking solicitations in the mail right after we moved. Unethical - they were services that would look up some county paperwork for you that you didn't need, but because they made it look SO OFFICIAL - we really had to examine it super closely to be sure it wasn't truly a required thing - I am sure many, many people just send in the fee without a second thought. Sad that some people need to resort to trickery to make their money. Good job being wary.

[fidgiegirl]

Another question about this Realpage thing - would it be worth filing a complaint or contacting the BBB or anything about it? I'm just so annoyed that they thought they could pull this crap on me. I can imagine some older person who's a little muddled and doesn't have anyone to check stuff out for them, just figuring it's legit and paying it. These jerks shouldn't be allowed to get away with it!

I also wondered this about the crappy solicitations we got but we never acted. If you move on anything, keep us updated.

[bunnys]

Why don't you call Realpage and ask them to explain this charge?

I have no idea who Realpage is or if they are scammers but if this is a legitimate charge that you agreed to in some capacity and you just ignore it they could sell the debt to a collection agency and you know the rest. Judgement on your credit report.

I'm not saying pay it. I'm just saying to call them and ask and then if you don't get a satisfactory response call the BBB (btw a completely voluntary association with no regulatory powers) and ask them what they know then I'd call my local office of consumer protection.

Good luck.

[small & friendly]

I did some online search for them, too and it's hard to tell if they're legit or a scam. I'd see if there is a real phone number to contact them. However, if your local leasing agency does not recognize them, or deal with them, and you have no record of dealing with them, I'd be suspicious too, and certainly would not send any money.

There are so many scam artists anymore and with computers they can make themselves look like genuin businesses. If you don't know who they are, don't let them bully you!

[kitten]

Thanks guys! I want to tread carefully if I contact them - I probably won't give them my name if I do.

I'll let you know if I pursue this. Thx again!