ComplaintsforBuildium, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  03/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We have had nothing but issues with Buildium since branching off and starting do manage others properties through our new LLC, Rightside. We have used Buildium for years for our other business ******************************* Our bank (Baselane) recently underwent a processor change, resulting in them providing us a new Routing/Account number. For the last several months, our account has been put on a processing hold and funds have been held when we send an owner draw. I think it was finally resolved last month, yet our owner still has not received his draw that we sent on 3/1. In addition, our Retail Cash account has not worked since this change. I have called and emailed, and can not get anyone to help me or respond to me anymore - I send an email on the same chain weekly -- NO ********* ***** silence. The agent originally told us we needed to Re-Apply for retail cash, but not to worry that we wouldn't be charged and that if we did they would refund. We were not only charged, but never refunded to my knowledge and Retail Cash STILL doesn't work. I was working with ****** in ***************** Lastly- We have relied on APM to drive leads to us. 95% of them are fake, people not understanding why we are calling and we have spent a ridiculous amount of money on leads that are not vetted before coming to us. Any ******* can submit this form with fake information and we are expected to eat the cost. I am beginning to think it is another competitor trying to submit so many leads that it disables others from getting them. We are highly considering offloading both businesses from Buildium. I can not believe how poor the customer support is and I am running out of excuses for our tenants / owner on why we consistently drop the ball on such important things -- Rent collection and Draws.

  Customer response

  03/16/2024

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

  

  Business response

  03/26/2024

  Hi *****, 

  Thank you for reaching out. We read every review and take your comments very seriously. We take great pride in our commitment to customer success, and we want to make sure all of our customers have a positive and helpful experience. After looking into the matter with our customer care team, here are some updates: 
  - It looks like the main issue with Retail Cash was that a duplicate application was created which led to the service not being reactivated. As of 3/16/24 *********, the company that powers Retail Cash Payments, confirmed everything is in order and our technical team is working on getting the feature re-enabled on your account, which should happen within the next week. Someone from the support team will reach out once that is all set. 
  - Now that a resolution is in progress for Retail Cash, the $199 credit will be applied to your next bill. 
  - For clarification on the ePay situation, it appears that there was a processing hold due to insufficient funds. After your exchange with our payments team earlier this month, they determined that our payments processor neglected to change something on their end, resulting in the owner draw in question not going out. This has since been rectified, and you should no longer experience any issues with ePay. We sincerely apologize on behalf of our payments processor for the inconvenience. 
  - With APM, providing high-quality leads is very important to us and we value your feedback. We have recently made adjustments to our program to improve lead quality and are continuing to adjust to support our customers. 
  

  Thank you again for reaching out and bringing your concerns to our attention.
  

  Regards, 
  The Buildium Team

  Customer response

  03/29/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  10/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a subscription for the Buildium service on July 26th, 2023 and unfortunately paid for a year in advance to take advantage of a promotion.I was unable to even configure the service to work properly, and support was virtually non-existent. I received an answer to my requests to help set up my account almost 3 months after I first purchased the subscription and was told that Buildium does not support the legal structure of my business (multiple LLCs to manage properties).I requested a pro-rated refund for the remaining time on my annual subscription and was told as per their terms and conditions they would not be issuing a refund. I read the T&Cs and they essentially make no guarantees, and provide no way for relief. Buildium could provide a completely non-function page for anyone, and they would not be required to refund anyone according to their T&C.If a product/service does not live up to its stated function/purpose, the company should provide a refund of that service because it has not been delivered as per their stated descriptions.

  Customer response

  10/26/2023

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

  

  Business response

  03/22/2024

  Hi ******, 
  Thank you for reaching out. We read every review and take your comments very seriously. 

  We have historically had customers with multiple ***s use ******************. It does require some manual work, but is within the function of the software. As advised in the support ticket response dated 8/4/2023, the workaround involves creating a property in your account to represent each ***. ***** then be able to select the *** from the drop-down when recording transactions, they will just appear in the Properties section of the list, as opposed to the Company section. ***** still be able to run reports and allocate transactions like you normally would. I would add that after you create the property, if any units were created within it, you can delete it so it wont affect the units under management for your subscription. 
  

  As you noted from our terms of use, our service is non-refundable. We understand this is likely not the message you wanted to hear, however, this policy allows Buildium to provide equal treatment to all our customers. 
  

  
  

  Customer response

  03/25/2024

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  This response, 6 months after my initial complaint does not provide any relief from the fact that Buildium failed to provide me with a working product for my needs, and their support failed to respond in a timely manner for something that was critical to financial operations.  This response is an initial indicator of how lacking Buildium's support is.  Even if what they have responded with is true, it does not help 6 months into a 12 month term, where I have not been able to use their product for my business, despite their claims that it works.  Additionally, waiting for support to respond to my initial requests took over a month and didn't provide the required information to get their product/platform working.  Even this response is lackluster, and provides no relief for my situation.  In my mind, Buildium has stolen $600+ from me because I did not receive a working product.

  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  ******

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  08/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  After much research we went with Buildium for our ******************* program. They ensured us an easy transition with our documents required for property management as well as customer service for any issues that arise from the transition. We have been paying for the program for the past 4 months and still can not use the program for what it's intended purpose is. We have tried several times to fix the issues with no solution. We finally asked for a cancellation and or refund as we have not been able to use the program. They continue to charge the card on file even after we have removed it from the system. I do not recommend this company as they do not stand behind their product or try to fix the programming problems they have.

  Customer response

  08/13/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I was finally in contact with the business in which they gave me a partial credit.  While I am not 100% satisfied, I can not continue to spend more time fighting with them to receive full compensation.  I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  07/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We have a Buildium Subscription since 2017 that allows us 5 free ePay bank accounts We submitted an application for ePay for 2nd *********************** account on 07/20/2023 ******** account was cleared for use on 07/21/2023 To establish ePay for each property our next step according to a direct email from Buildium was to ************************************ copy and paste from email:"You can enable EFT/eCheck and credit card payments for each property tied to the approved bank account.To enable your properties for epay:1. Navigate to Accounting > Banking, then click on the approved bank account.2. Select the Properties tab, then click Edit ePay methods.3. Check the box next to each property you want to enable EFT/eCheck or credit card payments. You can select one or both payment method options for each property.4. Click Save Changes.If you still experience the issue, we recommend going through the basic troubleshooting like clearing the cache and cookies by clicking the 3 dots to the top right of the browser > settings > privacy and security > clear browsing data > check the first four items(you may exclude the password item) > clear data. You may use this helpful article for your reference: ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************This did NOT work, nothing we did based on Buildium's suggestion worked. We have communicated with Buildium with NO resolution as they keep asking us to do the SAME thing that we confirmed does NOT work over and over and over again.Their system is faulty to the point where it is negatively impacting our ability to collect rent from our Tenants. We have gone back and forth with Buildium more than a dozen times with no resolution.Screenshots with Chase account that has been" ENABLED" & this 2nd *********** account with "Residents OFF". They asked us to switch "operating Account" BUT that field is greyed out and can NOT be clicked.

  

  Business response

  07/28/2023

  Hi ********, 
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to respond. The instructions you received for activating ePay are accurate, but they are for brand new accounts and properties. Based on the open case you have with our customer care team, it looks like you are trying to move properties from one bank account to another. An additional wrinkle is that the original bank account has Retail Cash Payments enabled on it. Due to the nature of Retail Cash Payments, properties attributed to a bank account with that feature enabled cannot switch bank accounts by users and would need to be handled via our teams. This aspect of the process could be communicated better in our support material, and we will work on making that more clear. 
  
  We apologize for the confusion around this. Our customer care management team has looked into this and are resolving the issue. One of our senior agents will be reaching out to you shortly if they havent already. 
  Thank you again for the opportunity to help resolve your experience. 
  
  Best, 
  The Buildium Team
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  So the company has put my personal phone number on listings on a number of home selling websites I.e apartments.com, Zillow, Westsiderentals, and Redfin. So I have been receiving over 50 phone calls and messages inquiring for homes I dont own. I have contacted apartments.com to have myself removed from the listings. They have done so. In the process they informed me that Buildium is the one that is listing my number on these inquirys. Ive never had any contact with that business whatsoever.

  

  Business response

  07/24/2023

  Hi *******, 
  Thank you for reaching out and giving us the opportunity to make things right. For context, Buildium is a property management software that companies, landlords and HOAs use to manage their portfolios. Among the services we provide is the ability for our users to publish listings to sites like Zillow, Apartments.com, etc. While the listings are originating from Buildium, the information that was transmitted came from one of the users. 

  We would like to help rectify this situation and get your number removed from any listings. One of our customer care team leads will reach out to you to get more information which will aid them in locating the listings. 

  Thanks again for reaching out, and we appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this matter. 
  

  Best, 
  The Buildium Team
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Service is non existent. Our business closed in September of 2022 and we paid for our subscription through December, while waiting for a response to several emails sent to their customer service asking how to download all of our files so we could cancel the subscription. After months with no response we cancelled the service and manually downloaded most of the documents we needed. On March 30 we needed some documents for an old client and we went to login in and they wanted us to pay for four months, I tried calling customer service and after waiting on hold they closed before getting to me, so i paid the amount thinking I would be able to call and get a refund as they charged the full subscription with all the units we used to manage. Despite me only needing to login for financial documents and not any of the rest of the service. So now I'm out over $1200 and they are refusing a refund citing the no refunds policy in the reviews below. It seems they have no problem extorting other customers and even have a history of doing so. I have documented every interaction with Buildium customer care. Looking back on this I wish I never signed up for this, its a flashy scam that offers nothing that is promised and then they lock you in and rip every ***** out of you, even after closing a business.

  Customer response

  04/20/2023

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

  

  Business response

  04/21/2023

  Hi *******, 
  Thank you for reaching out. ** partnered with our ************* team to dig into your communications and experience with the team and have a few observations and questions: 
  -** werent able to find any support cases related to downloading your data or canceling your account in the time period mentioned. ** use a ticketing system to track Support emails so we can easily refer back to them. Can you let us know what dates you sent the emails and if you received an automated email reply back confirming receipt?
  -**re sorry to hear that when you called on March 30th, you were not able to get through to a support rep. ** do track all calls that come in that are waiting and abandoned. If the call is in a queue and waiting, we don't hang up even if the phones are closed. There might have been a technical issue where the call was disconnected. 
  -Our system shows that your account was never canceled.  It was put on a funding hold when the payment method on file failed. When you signed in again and updated your payment method, you were charged for the months from when your account was locked through when you logged in, which was indicated on the main screen and email we sent regarding the funding hold  
  -To help ensure we treat all of our customers fairly,  our Terms of Use (****************************************************) indicate that we dont offer refunds. 
  

  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please reach out to us at **************************************** or ************, Mon - Fri, 9a - 8p ET.
  

  Best, 
  The Buildium Team
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We mistakenly had two tenants deposits go into a closed checking account. Buildium took the money and has refused to return or transfer the tenants deposits to an open checking account we have with them. This is not our money, but people who have rented a home from me. The original deposit occurred Jan 11th, 2023. It is March 6th and we still do not have the transfer or check from Buildium. The *********** requires I have the money in the account before paying it to the owner of the property. I have to release this money immediately. I need help with Buildium to get this money transferred. There are many email exchanges and phone calls to which they say they have the money and they will write me a check. Yet, no check has be written and the Owner of the property need the money back.

  

  Business response

  03/23/2023

  Hi ******, 
  
  Thank you for reaching out. After reviewing your case we see that this matter is still in progress: on Jan 23, 2023 we informed you that a check would be mailed, however, in subsequent communication we informed you that it was lost in transit after you advised that the check did not arrive at your address. A hold was placed on the check and a new one was processed after confirming the address it needed to be sent to. This process can take up to 2-3 weeks. 
  
  On March 20th, our support team let you know that the new check would be sent that day and the ***** tracking number was provided.
  

  Regards, 
  The Buildium Team
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  02/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Buildium is a scam and they WILL NOT RESTORE MY ACCOUNT! I've used Buildium since late 2020 to track my rental management data. Late in 2022, my payment method lapsed and there was no notification to my email about the account cancelation or a payment issue. The debit card attached had to be replaced because it was compromised. I was happy to pay the past due amount to bring it current so i could continue using the service. When i attempted to login in January i had issues and that is when i first called in. *** said he would look into it and contact me back. I never heard back from *** but after my third call it was revealed to me that customers only have 15 days to reinstate their account or it is archived and unaccessible moving forward. How can that be good for business?? At least you can offer an option to reinstate for past due amount + a fee or whatever. I would not suggest this software to any other investor since your data is not safe here!

  

  Business response

  02/22/2023

  Hi *********, 
  

  Thank you for reaching out. We understand that this is frustrating and want to provide some more context after looking into our records. It looks like we sent an email on 8/1/2022 letting you know that we tried to process payment with your information on file, but the transaction was declined and we would try two more times over the couple of days following the first attempt. After three unsuccessful attempts, we block account access.

  
  On 8/5/22 a message was posted in the application upon log in, highlighting the outstanding balance and how to enter payment information. This message was posted until October. On 10/5/22 we sent an email that your Buildium account was locked and included a prompt to log in and update payment information. 

  
  Since we were not able to collect payment, we deactivated the account on October 31, 2022, following 90 days of carrying a balance, which is included as part of the Cancellation and Termination section of Buildiums Terms and Conditions (****************************************************). Were happy to connect if youd like to chat further about our billing process and security measures for inactive accounts.

  
  Best,
  The Buildium Team
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I am trying to collect online rent payments for my property and I currently make payments online through Buildium. I decided to try and use the same online processor to receive payments and signed up for a 14 day trial. However, the 14 day trial was a static page with a bunch of bogus sample information (most of which was broken) and was not functional, so I signed up for an actual account for $14.06 for the rest of January in order to collect payments.Rather quickly I found that the site was not designed for my use case. It costs an previously undisclosed $100 to sign up for online payments (in addition to the $52 a month) and it will not accept a personal checking account for online payments, none of which was disclosed during the demo.I immediately called in to cancel my account, within the hour. After several failed attempts to reach technical support, I finally got in touch with an agent who said they will send me an email with instructions on how to cancel my account (because I didn't pay for full support) and that my account will be closed on February 1st, and Buidium has a "no refund policy."This is unacceptable. I had your service for less than an hour before I realized it sucked and you got my business through fraud. I would like a full refund.

  

  Business response

  01/26/2023

  Hi ******,

  
  Thank you for reaching out. This is a situation we take very seriously, and its not an experience we want any of our customers to have. 

  Generally, our zero-refund policy is an area where we rarely make exceptions, in an effort to treat all customers equally. However, given the fact that your subscription began and was cancelled in the same day and the account was not used in any operational way, a refund will be issued. In fact, one of our customer care agents has already reached out to you and begun that process. 

  Thank you again for reaching out and bringing this to our attention.  
  

  Regards, 
  The Buildium Team
  

  
  

  Customer response

  01/26/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  01/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I set up a demo to go over my needs for a property managing app. I told them that I own the properties personal and it wasn't under and LLC or sole proprietorship. During the demo, it was never stated that I had to have a business bank account to receive payments electronically. It doesn't make any since to have a property managing service and isn't able to take payments online. If this was stated before during the demo. I wouldn't have paid for the membership. I don't want to open another bank account I shouldn't have to.

  

  Business response

  01/24/2023

  Hi Rajanae, 

  
  Thank you for reaching out. We understand you have a concern about the business bank account requirement for ePay. This requirement is one of the factors that help to ensure that transactions conducted through Buildium are legitimate, helping to protect all parties involved from any potential fraudulent activity. We apologize for the frustration this may cause, but we want to ensure we do everything we can to protect our customers. 
  

  Our service is non-refundable (please see our terms of use here: ****************************************************). We understand this is likely not the message you wanted to hear, however, this policy allows Buildium to provide equal treatment to all our customers. 
  

  Regards, 
  The Buildium Team
  

  
  

  Customer response

  01/30/2023

  No where on your website does it state that I have to have a business back account to receive electronic payments. I spoke with ******* on the 9th of December when I scheduled my Demo, I informed him I own the property and not a business. ******* NEVER mentioned that in order to receive a epayments I needed a business account. It's advertised that even "If you own your own property this software will be great for you." The call with ******* was recorded and in the recording he never mentions I needed to have a business bank account to receive epayments. This is false advertising. Failing to disclose this information is deceitful and not honest. Most people that own their own rentals don't have a business bank account, if they don't have a LLC. This would have been the determining factor as to deciding which software I would have chosen. I even scheduled a demo to ask all of my questions and get answers. I didn't just sign up and not ask any questions. I went to the source to get answers by scheduling a demo and was still mislead. This is not fair me or another other small time property owner looking for the right property managing company or software.

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  Rajanae

   

   

  

  Business response

  03/13/2023

  Hi *******,

  We're sorry to hear that you feel we did not properly disclose the requirement for a business bank account for our ePay service. We work hard to ensure all of our sales and customer care teams are trained and that we have plenty of information on our website and in the application.  We want to make sure you have a positive experience with Buildium. You will receive a credit equal to one months subscription fee on your next months invoice. This is a one time courtesy credit. Thank you again for your feedback.

   

  Best,

  The Buildium Team

*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. ↩