Cedar Point Apartments

Review: I contacted Cedar Pointe Apartments because I needed to move out of my home and it was an urgent sitation. I was trying to leave a bad environment. I explained while in the room that I was trying to do this quietly and have everything ready before my husband found out. I even told them I didn't want to do any debit transactions because I didn't want my husband seeing them on my bank statement. I was told that I was "visually approved." I asked several times what this meant and verified again and again that this meant I got the apartment, they said YES. They requested the $150 security deposit and had me transfer electic and gas into my name and purchase a renters insurance policy. I coldn't do the insurance in the office, so I told them I would call later. They were ready to let me sign the lease in their office if I had got the renters insurance. They told me to come back first thing in the morning and I could sign my lease and receive the keys. Instead, 15 minutes until 5:00pm I receive a call that I was "approved with conditions." They wanted an additioanl $300 deposit. After several calls I finally got them to return my original $150, but not until after it cleared my checking account and my husband saw what I was doing. They have completely ruined my life by lying to me. They scammed me to get my deposit into their system before the month end which was that day. They should NEVER have asked for or taken my security deposit unless I was 100% approved. I did NOT give them that money to hold the apartment. I wasn't looking to hold anything because I had to be out that day or the following morning.Desired Settlement: they need to refund me my application fee of $35 as well as loss of income for the extra time I spent in their office calling utilities to have put into my name because they said I was approved. I lost 1 1/2 hours of work at $14.50 per hour $21.75, and an additional fee of $100 for the aggravation this caused me.

Business

Response:

Applicant [redacted]’s against Cedar Point Apartments complaint to the [redacted] visited for the first time the morning of Aug. 23, 2013 and requested to move in the same day. We explained that every applicant has to be screened and approved, get the electric/gas switched into their name and provide proof of renter’s insurance before they are allowed to sign a lease and move in. Aug. 23 was our month end close out day and we had a couple of other applications we were working on processing that day as well, but we did tell her it would be possible to move in the next morning as long as the application was automatically approved by our Resident Screening System and we had the above listed items completed. Every applicant is asked to pay the $150 deposit if they want to hold a unit at the time they apply. If the application is denied, the deposit is refunded, or if the applicant cancels the application within 72 hours, the deposit is refunded. The leasing agent told [redacted] that at a glance, she did meet the income requirement and that portion of the process was in her favor. [redacted] may have interpreted that as "visually approved" but she was never told she was approved to move in or that her application was approved. Once we screened the application, the screening system that is based on a scoring system came back with a Denied decision/result due to few different factors related to her credit history. We always pass failed applications to our regional manager who is authorized to override a decision based on additional set forth company policies and criteria. In this case, the application was overridden to Approved with Conditions status, which means additional criteria need to apply such as an additional $300 credit fee to be paid on top of the original deposit because this person is a higher risk to be a leaseholder. When we informed [redacted] of the credit fee, she said she could not afford to pay it and wanted her deposit back. Since the application was originally failed, I agreed to return the deposit. Since [redacted] had paid the deposit with a personal check, the deposit refund had to be processed and returned via check from our corporate office, which normally could take up to 45 days. However, we were able to get a check for her overnighted to the leasing office and she was able to pick it up Wednesday, Aug. 28th. Application fees are not refundable. The application/deposit process is listed on our Statement of Rental Policy which is given to all prospects and our management company policy is framed on the wall in our leasing office. Please let me know if you have any questions. Cedar Point

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. The information in the response is incorrect. The first time I visited Cedar Point was on August 23, 2013 as indicated. However, I did not request to move in that same day. I had to work that evening, which is why I came in during my lunch break. Moving in on August 23 would have been impossible. The earliest I could have moved was August 24. I had spoke on the phone previously with [redacted] and [redacted] and explained that I was looking to move as quickly as possible. I was told that because it was the end of the month, they wanted to get my lease on the current month's report. They indicated that I could move in as early as that day with approval and deposit. I made it very clear from the beginning that my credit wasn't good and would need to know exactly what I would need to put down prior to move in. I went to Cedar Point and viewed two of the apartments and selected the one I wanted, which was next to the play ground. We went back into the office and began the process of approval and setting me up in the system. The exact words I was told while sitting in the office by [redacted] were, "You are visually approved." I even asked several times if that meant I was approved to move in and everything would be ok. I made it very clear that I didn't want to assume I was approved and not be, because of the situation with my husband. I was even asked to put the application fee on my debit card, but didn't want Cedar Point showing up on my account where my husband could see it before I got to speak with him. I did NOT hand over the check for $150 until I was told I was approved. I would never have handed over the money to hold the apartment while waiting to be approved. I didn't have the money to give over just to "hold" an apartment. I needed it to go with my deposit so I could move in somewhere. I had other options that were taken from me the moment I handed them that check. There was never any indication in the multiple times I verified approval that I would need to give more money, or that I wouldn't be able to sign the lease and move in the next morning. The only thing I was told is I had to have Gas, electric, and renters insurance. I set up the gas and electric while I was in the office to begin on that Monday August 26. Because I was there during my lunch break, I had to go back to work and told them I would call later to verify my renters insurance. Once I completed the renters insurance I faxed a copy of all my account numbers and information. At 4:50pm on August 23, 2013, after calling a couple times to verify I'd be in at 10:00am the following morning to sign the lease, I received an email. It stated that I was "approved with conditions" and requested an additional $300 on top of the $150 I had already paid. I was under complete impression, from [redacted] and the other woman in the office, that I was approved and everything was all set except me signing the lease. They never once indicated that I could still be denied or "approved with conditions." I was left with 10minutes to undo the gas, electric, and renters insurance that I had just set up that day. Otherwise my home that I currently lived with children would have been without electric that Monday. No one ever bothered to call me, no one ever explained that this would be an issue, they never once said anything other than "you're approved." After reviewing the "statement of rental qualifications" I received from Cedar Point, it clearly states that an approved application is $150 deposit and an approved with conditions is $150 deposit + $150 credit fee. There is NO mention of a $300 credit fee anywhere. So not only did they lie to me, or skate around the truth, by saying I was approved. They also they tried getting DOUBLE the credit fee from me. I am still requesting the monetary amount I previously asked for. And will not be satisfied until I receive it. I spend a lot of time, money, and aggravation trying to obtain an apartment I was told I was already approved for. This caused a lot of unnecessary trouble between me and my husband, as well as having my son learn that I had planned on leaving his father. I have never dealt with such a shady transaction before and am appalled that it's not only being allowed but defended. Regards,[redacted]