ComplaintsforHubzu

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I won a bid on a house on hubzu. It took almost a year to close. During the process I found out the house had $100,000 in Liens. Bevause I was buying the house through a bank I couldnt buy the house with the liens. So I asked the seller if he could deduct the $100,000 liens from the price so that I could pay the liens myself and finance the house through the bank. The seller didnt want to reduce the price so they proceeded with the cancelation of the contract and took the house away from me and kept my ******* money deposit of $8500. Can you please help me recover that? It was understood from the beginning of the purchase on the auction that I was financing the house (I wasn't buying cash) and that I could not buy the house with liens through the bank. I asked several times if the seller would be able to take care of the liens. But they were not willing. They never even wanted to send me proof that the liens were paid! I cant believe I got scammed by Hubzu! Please help me recover ******* money deposit back?

  

  Business response

  01/11/2022

  January 11, 2022
  
  
  Via Better Business Bureau Portal
  
  *******************************
  *****************************************
  *************
  *************************************
  
  RE:  Better Business Bureau Case No. 16369125
  
  Dear ******************,
  
  On behalf of Altisource Online Auction, Inc.(AOA), I would like to acknowledge the above referenced case (the Complaint) received through the Better Business Bureaus (BBB) website on January 3, 2022.  AOA owns the Hubzu.com domain name on which the Hubzu platform is hosted. Hubzu is a marketing and technology platform that allows sellers and listing agents to market properties and manage offers. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns and assure you we have reviewed the matter fully to provide you with a comprehensive response.
  
  Assertions in the Complaint:
  
  You state that you found out that the property had $100,000 in liens.
  You state your request for credit was denied.
  The seller cancelled the contract and retained the ******* Money Deposit
  
  Investigation results:
  
  Hubzu does not hold ******* Money Deposit (***) or manage complaints regarding *** so upon receiving your complaint, we reached out to Premium Title. Altisource offers title and settlement services through its affiliate, *********************** **** (Premium Title).  Premium Title is a licensed title and settlement provider in the ****************.
  
  Premium Title provided a history of the transaction.  We were informed that you signed the contract on September 2, 2020.  On January 20, 2020, you were informed by the closing team that there were liens on the property and asked you if you would like to continue and close on the property AS IS by signing a Hold Harmless Agreement but you declined.You asked for a price reduction in the amount of the lien but you were informed during a phone conversation with the closing team that the liens had been paid.As you continued to insist on a credit, you were informed that the city confirmed that the liens were cleared so the seller would not offer any credit.Your refused to move forward unless the seller provided a credit so the seller asked to cancel the contract retaining the ****  
  
  
  
  
  Resolution:
  
  Following a thorough review and investigation of your allegations we did not find any errors in the process. The *** was charged according to the terms and conditions you agreed to when you submitted signed the agreement. The request to refund the ******* money has been respectfully denied. 
  
  Should you or the BBB have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly at the phone number or email listed below. 
  
  Respectfully submitted,
  
  *********************** | Customer Experience *********** ***************** Customer Experience Management
  *********************************************
  P: ************ | ext: ****** |M: ************
  Altisource
  P.O. ******************************************************************************************************************

  Customer response

  01/13/2022

   
  Complaint: 16369125
  
  I am rejecting this response because: When I won the back up bid it on house it was understood that I was buying the house with a loan through a bank.  My bank would not allow me to buy a house with liens. The app never stated that the house had liens initially. However there were $100,000 liens in the house.! Unfortunately the bank saw the house had existing liens and did not approve the loan. Therefore I asked if I could get the liens deducted from the price so I can pay for the liens myself and I could still buy the house through the bank. But seller declined multiple times. 
  R. ******* seem to be having comunication issues, her english was very bad, I could tell by the way she wrote her messages short and not complete. 
  I wanted to make sure she understood what was going on.  So I called her and explain the situation to her. She told me over the phone that the liens were paid. 
  I told R.*******,  Can you please send me prove or an email stating that the liens have been paid so that I can forward it to the bank and proced with the closing. But she never did! I called her multiple times asking her for a written email stating that the liens were paid but I could never get her to say that on an email. I assumed the liens were not paid. Thats why I continue to offer to pay the liens if deducted from the price so that I could still buy the house of my dreams. I didnt back up from buying the house! I went above all means to buy the house and work a reasonable price. I was not sold the house by hubzu because it had liens that were not priorly mentioned when I won the back up bid! You could not  prove that the liens were paid. You never sent it in writing! My bank was not allowing me to buy a house with liens therefore, I legally have the right to get my ******* money deposit back. I am not an investor. I am a woman in poverty that saved money for many years to be able to pay this ******* money deposit to buy my first house! Please give me my money back! Or this a scam!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

  

  Business response

  01/27/2022

  January 27, 2022
  
  
  Via Better Business Bureau Portal
  
  *******************************
  ****************************************
  *************
  *************************************
  
  RE: Better Business Bureau Case No. 16369125
  
  Dear ******************,
  
  On behalf of Altisource Solutions,Inc. (Altisource), I would like to acknowledge your rebuttal dated January 19, 2022 received through the Better Business Bureaus (BBB) website.
  
  As previously stated on the response submitted on January 11, 2022, our research shows that you were informed that the liens had been paid but you insisted in a credit which the Seller denied. You confirmed that you would not move forward if you did not receive a credit, so the Seller asked to cancel the contract retaining the ****
  
  Following a thorough review and investigation of your allegations, we did not find any errors in the process. The *** was charged according to the terms and conditions you agreed to when you signed the agreement. The request to refund the ******* money has been respectfully denied. 
  
  Should you or the BBB have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly at the phone number or email listed below. 
  
  Respectfully submitted,
  
  *********************** | Customer Experience *********** ***************** Customer Experience Management
  *********************************************
  P: ************ | ext: ****** |M: ************
  Altisource
  P.O. **********************************************************************************************************************

  Customer response

  01/31/2022

    
  Complaint: 16369125
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  As I stated before your representative ******* had a very heavy accent, and it was very hard to understand her. I asked her for a price reduction on the home because I was going to pay for the liens myself if the seller didnt pay them! Not simply because I just wanted a price reduction!  After several emails that were short and unconclusional from *******, I called her to make sure we understood each other.
   I explained to her that I wanted to buy the house and pay the liens if the seller didnt want to pay them. That was the one time she told me over the phone that the liens were paid! I asked her to send it to me in writing, because I needed something stating that the liens were paid in order close with my bank. I asked her several times to send me proof, but I she never did. 
  
  
  Like I explained to you before, In order for me to purchase the property through my bank I needed proof that the liens were paid in full! 
  
  Lets talk about the real problem here, the real problem was that the seller wanted to keep the property because during the the closing process in the pandemic the value of the home went up an extra $150,000. So youre company kept me in the dark so you can take the property from me and sell it at a higher price! This is wrong because you knew I won that house at $300,000! I really wanted to work a price to buy the house and pay the liens myself but you never were clear in your response and kept me in the dark until you took the house from me and sold it at $450,000 to another buyer! Not only that but you took my ******* money deposit as well! 
  Its wrong that you took the house from me in the first place! But its even more wrong that you took my hard earned money! The right thing to do is to give me the house back, but if its too late for that I need my ******* money deposit back! 
  Its not my fault that I didnt buy the house! Its your fault for not being clear and upfront about the liens situations so we can close! My only goal was to buy this house! And I fought for it until the very end. I didnt just back up from buying it! Return my money! 
  sincerely

  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/19/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I missed bidding and I saw that I can counter bid so I went ahead and put my information and they ask for my credit card information and I put that too. Next page is where it says place your backup bid and it says buyer's premium $1000. I went ahead and put the minimum bid they asked for and the buyer's premium changed to $24,295.00. I contacted customer service and they say its $1000 or 5%. There is no where it shows 5% but $1000 and their system is showing $1000. I have attached (uploaded) the screen shot of it. It looks like technical issue but this is not known to bidders when we put a counter bid. ******** service agent *************************** don't even want to address the issue (very rude) but another customer service agent I talk to says says he will send the issue to product support and it is not showing. Its very deceptive. I need this fixed.

  

  Business response

  12/07/2021

  December 7, 2021
  
  Via Better Business Bureau Portal
  *************************
  ******************************************************************************************************************************************:  Better Business Bureau Case No. 16232228
  
  Dear ****************,
   
  On behalf of Altisource Online Auction, Inc. (AOA), I would like to acknowledge the above referenced case (the Complaint) received through the Better Business Bureaus (BBB) website on November 22,  2021.  AOA owns the Hubzu.com domain name on which the Hubzu platform is hosted. Hubzu is a marketing and technology platform that allows sellers and listing agents to market properties and manage offers. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns and assure you we have reviewed the matter fully to provide you with a comprehensive response.
  
  Assertions in the Complaint:
  
  You state that you wanted to place a back up bid.
  You state that you thought the buyers premium was $1,000 but when you placed your bid the buyers premium changed.
  You state that the customer service representative did not want to fix the problem and was rude.
  
  Investigation results:
  We received your complaint and immediately began an investigation with the product support team. Our investigation shows that the Hubzu customer service representative provided you with accurate information regarding the bidding process and the buyers premium. On the property details page, under the section titled Property Fees, it states that the buyers premium is Greater of 5.0% of bid amount, or $1,000. The screen shot you shared shows that you had not entered your bid amount. Since a bid amount was not entered, the minimum required buyers premium of $1,000 was displaying. Once you entered your bid amount, the buyers premium was automatically calculated and updated to 5% of the bid amount. Our records show that you chose to not move forward with placing a bid, so the bid deposit hold was scheduled to be released on December 2, 2021.
  
  Resolution:
  
  We did not find any errors in the bidding process or how the buyers premium is calculated.You decided to not place a bid, so your bid deposit was released on December 2,2021.
  
  Should you or the BBB have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly at the phone number or email listed below. 
  
  Respectfully submitted,
  
  *********************** | Customer Experience *********** ***************** Customer Experience Management
  *********************************************
  P: ************ | ext: ****** |M: ************
  Altisource
  P.O. **********************************************************************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/05/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I placed a bid on a property where it is very clear that fraud was involved and the BIDDING WAS RIGGED.My account was set on auto bid to automatically increase any current bids by $1,000, up to $150,000. The last bid was mine in the mid $120k range towards the very end of the auction. A bidder, with no prior bidding, jumped in and offered $145,000. This was $20,000 more then the current bid. I immediately recognized this as fraudulent to simply drive up the price. My auto bid increased to $146,000 and immediately after the auction I was awarded the highest bid.Since it was clear the the bidding process had been manipulated, I emailed Hubzu a couple hours later and advised I had decided not to move forward with the contract and property. I also called Hubzu customer service the next day to confirm the cancellation. My real estate agent advised there was a certain department that should be contacted which is closed on the weekends. My agent contacted the department Monday morning (2 business days after the bid was awarded) and also relayed the cancellation of the bid.I called Hubzu again that same day specifically with respect to my credit card not being charged a deposit. I was assured the contract had been cancelled and my card would not be charged the deposit amount. I received an email from Hubzu confirming the cancellation of the contract. The $1,500 deposit was charged to my account two days later. I had been assured my card would not be charged. The Hubzu customer rep even mentioned something about a 5 day review period and I was within the 5 days. Hubzu refuses to refund my $1,500 deposit and states I agreed to a contract. I explained the contract should be void since fraud was involved. Hubzu customer service does not return calls or emails. The bidding history is not available on the website. I've asked Hubzu to please review and provide a copy. There has been no response to this request.

  

  Business response

  11/17/2021

  November 17, 2021
  
  
  Via Better Business Bureau Portal
  
  *******************
  *******************************************************************
  ******************
  
  RE: Better Business Bureau Case No. 27855659
  
  Dear ************,
  
  On behalf of Altisource Online Auction, Inc. ("AOA"), I would like to acknowledge the above referenced case (the "Complaint") received through the Better Business Bureau's ("BBB") website on November 10, 2021. AOA owns the Hubzu.com domain name on which the Hubzu platform is hosted. Hubzu is a marketing and technology platform that allows sellers and listing agents to market properties and manage offers. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns and assure you we have reviewed the matter fully to provide you with a comprehensive response.
  
  Assertions in the Complaint:
  
  You state that you believe there was fraud and shouldn't have been charged the bid deposit.
  You state that you were assured that your credit card would not be charged for canceling the contract.
  
  Investigation results:
  
  Upon receiving your complaint, we investigated your allegations and determined that you and another bidder continuously outbid each other throughout the bidding cycle. Towards the end of the auction you bid $126,500.00. Another third-party bidder then outbid you by $20,000 and, because you had selected to use the auto-bid feature, the Hubzu platform bid $1,000 on your behalf which positioned you as the highest bidder. The seller accepted your offer and the contract was generated. You called requesting to cancel your offer alleging that the other buyer's purpose was to raise the bids and manipulate the auction. We completed full research on your allegations and our records don't show any errors or misuse of the auction platform. We listened to the calls you had with the document processor and the Hubzu representative. You raised your objections to moving forward with the document processor and asked for a refund and you were informed that the contract would be canceled but you would need to contact the Hubzu customer service team about a refund. During the call with the Hubzu customer service representative, you were informed that the property is sold AS IS with no contingencies and that the bid deposit would be converted into a charge in the event that you backed out as disclosed at the time you entered your credit card information. You were also informed that buyers have 5 days from receipt of title information to raise any title objections.
  
  You decided to not sign the agreement which resulted in the bid deposit hold being converted to a non-refundable charge on your credit card per our Terms and Conditions.
  
  
  
  Resolution:
  
  Following a thorough review and investigation of your allegations we did not find any errors in the bidding process. The bid deposit was charged according to the terms and conditions you agreed to when you submitted your bid deposit. The request to refund the bid deposit has been respectfully denied.
  
  Should you or the BBB have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly at the phone number or email listed below.
  
  Respectfully submitted,
  
  *********************** Customer Experience *********** ***************** Customer Experience Management
  *********************************************
  P: ************************** M: ************
  Altisource(r)
  P.O. *********************************************************************************************************************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩