Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/12/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am writing to file a formal complaint against The Flats at Leighton District by **** **** ********** about misleading rental advertisements and their refusal to refund my application fee. On 04/10/24, I applied for a short-term lease at the rental property. Its leasing system explicitly listed short-term leases as available, which was a crucial factor in my decision to apply. Consequently, I paid an application fee of $50 as part of the application process. After submitting my application, I was informed by them that they do not offer short-term leases, contrary to what was shown in their application system. Even more, approximately a week before this date, I already began the quoting process with them, during when their agents never mentioned they do not provide short-term leases. In fact, specifying the lease term length is one of the first steps in creating an applicant account on their website. Furthermore, they advertised short-term lease options on multiple rental websites, such as apartments.com and apartmentguide.com. Despite this clear misrepresentation, they have refused to refund my application fee. I believe this constitutes false advertising and potentially fraud since the property lists and advertises rentals they do not actually provide, inducing people to apply and pay fees which are then not refunded. I attach files to support my complaint: 1-quote sheet.pdf: The quote sheet generated from their system during my quoting period, which indicates that their system lists (4-month) short-term leases and allows people to apply. 2-email.pdf: Email with their agent confirming they only offer long-term leases of one year and admitting to the misrepresentation on their website on the availability of short-term lease options. 3-email.pdf: Email with their agent in which they refuse to return the $50 application fee. 4-Apartmentscom/5-Apartmentguidecom.png: Screenshot from Apartments.com/Apartmentguide.com showing the property advertises short-term leases.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/25/2024

  Hello, 

  I have provided all of the written communication that I had with ** *****. When he initially inquired, we were not aware that he was looking for a 4 month lease term. Given that this information was missing, we assumed he was in search of 12 month lease term and notified him that an apartment was available for him to apply on. After he submitted his application, we were able to see that he was in search of a 4 month lease term. My leasing agent ******* ******* notified him right away that we saw he wanted a 4 month lease term and that is not something we are offering at this time. He proceeded to tell us that he was only in search of a 4 month lease term and that if we could not offer it, he wanted a refund. Per our application criteria that all applicants sign, Security Deposits are refundable if the application is not fully approved and/or up to 72 hours after full approval. However, the application criteria form also states that Application Fees are nonrefundable. The reason for this is due to the application fee applying to the cost of the background screening. In the email communication, I did provide documentation, letting him know that unfortunately, since the screening was run, we are unable to refund the application fee.

  Per our website, it does state that we offer short term leases, however, it does depend on the time of year and the length of the lease term requested. For example, doing a short-term lease only for the Summer months would not be feasible as that is our busiest time of the year and having to turn the unit twice (before and after) would create an extra workload as well as an extra expense cost, when we could instead lease the unit for a 12 month lease, starting in May. However, in our winter months, we are able to offer a short-term lease as our unit turn scheduling allows for more flexibility and short term leases would end closer to our busy season where we have more prospects interested in renting/moving. That is why we have short-term leases listed on our website. The cost to turn the unit in May, only for it to come vacant in September (the end of our busy season) would ultimately cost more than if we rented the unit for 12 months, starting in May. We always want to create the most efficiency with unit turn scheduling, move-in demand, and expense costs for turning each unit. 

  During our email communication, ** ***** had also mentioned that are website is "false advertising." Given that we do offer short term leases, I did respond to ** ***** stating "I have been in contact with our marketing team to update the verbiage listed on the website. While our website does not provide false information, they are working to specify that short-term lease options may vary depending on the time of year."

  Please let me know if there is any additional information that you need from me! 

  ****** ****

  Property Manager

  The Flats at Leighton District

  Business Response

  Date: 08/13/2024

  We hear your frustration and have the same desire to ensure this matter is properly resolved. There are two portals within the application dashboard that may be causing confusion here. The first one is where you fill out your basic contact information and preference for when you'd like to move in, that is then sent to us as a lead for review. The fields we receive in that communication include your name, email, phone number, communication preference, how many bedrooms you're wanting, when your expected move-in date is, and your preferred rent.
  
  Once we received your request, we promptly responded and had correspondence with you regarding your interest to live at The Flats. This all occurred before the application was filled out. Our property operates similarly to many others in the area, with a 12-month lease as the default. Any other lease preference needs to be brought to our attention before the application is submitted to ensure it is available during the desired period. Our leasing agent was not aware of your request for a short-term lease as she had not received that information yet, and it was furthermore not brought up in any correspondence with you throughout the following week leading up to when you filled out the application.
  
  Once we did receive your application, we contacted you within a matter of hours to state that we weren't accepting short-term leases at that time. Unfortunately, the application had already been processed along with the $50 fee. That fee is agreed upon by the prospect before the application is submitted and goes directly to the cost of processing the credit and background check, therefore making it non-refundable.
  
  We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and will use this as a learning experience to determine how we can improve our systems to provide more visibility for our team members and for our prospects.
  
  Thank you, 
  ****** ****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/22/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  It seems that the rental company keeps reiterating their position while avoiding direct engagement with my concerns about misleading advertising and the miscommunication regarding the lease term. I must emphasize that their response does not fully address the core issues at hand, namely the misleading advertisement and the lack of transparency regarding the availability of short-term leases.
  
  1. Misleading Advertisement and Lack of Transparency
  
  The response suggests that the information about my request for a short-term lease was not received until after I submitted the application. However, it is important to note that the lease term length is one of the first pieces of information required during the application process. It is highly doubtful that their team did not have access to this information from the outset. Even if this information was somehow unavailable to their team, it indicates a significant flaw in their system’s design, which should not be the financial responsibility of the customer.
  
  Additionally, the short-term lease option was clearly advertised on their website and multiple rental platforms. At no point during the quoting process or in our correspondence prior to my application was it communicated that short-term leases were unavailable or subject to seasonal restrictions. This omission of critical information is misleading and does not align with fair business practices.
  
  2. Failure to Address the Issue of False Advertising
  
  The fact that short-term leases are advertised but not available at certain times of the year, without clear disclosure, constitutes false advertising. Their team’s failure to clarify this before accepting my application fee demonstrates a lack of transparency that has caused me financial harm.
  
  Their response focuses on the non-refundable nature of the application fee due to the processing of the background check. While I understand that such fees are typically non-refundable, this should not apply in cases where the application is based on misleading or incomplete information provided by the property.
  
  3. Request for Resolution
  
  My request for a refund of the application fee is based not on the processing of the application itself, but on the fact that the application was submitted under misleading circumstances. As a consumer, I have the right to full and accurate information before making a financial commitment. I am disappointing about the company’s continuing negligence in addressing my critical concerns. This has left me with no choice but to pursue further legal action through state and federal consumer protection channels.
  
  
  Under the Nebraska Consumer Protection Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 59-1601 et seq.) and the Nebraska Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 87-301 et seq.), businesses are prohibited from engaging in unfair or deceptive trade practices, including false advertising and failure to disclose material information. Additionally, under federal law, the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. § 41 et seq.) prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. The misleading advertisement and lack of transparency in their application process clearly violate both state and federal laws. Consequently, I have submitted formal complaint letters and scam reports to the state Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *****