First Step Equity.com

I was looking for a rental on Craigslist when I stumbled across a rent to own add. I called the number and gentleman dove right into his pitch. I had to interrupt to ask questions which seemed to annoy pitch man. His answers were "as I just explained" or he would ignore me and continue pressing for my credit card information to charge a $40 fee. He did not say it was a monthly charge. I told him I was not comfortable giving him my credit card info until I did some research on First Step Equity as it seems too good to be true. Gentleman was frustrated and hung up on me. Finally I went to the property they had advertised and it is for sale and being handled by a real estate company who has no knowledge of this company or a rent to own program. I am glad I didn't let pitch man bully me into giving him my credit card info.

Ms.G[redacted] We will be refunding $40 for recurring month Nov.
The month of Dec Transaction declined for $40 we attempted to reach out to you.
We have canceled the account and you will receive NO further billing.

Review: I signed up for a subscription with this company, thinking that it would help me find great housing listings, as we are shopping around for real estate, but all this company brought me was frustration! You can NEVER get a hold of them, they constantly change their phone numbers so you cannot track them down, AND they don't respond to their email's. I have been trying to cancel my subscription for weeks, have sent 3 separate emails requesting that my subscription be cancelled, and they will not respond to anything. They are a terrible company that I hope gets shut down ASAP so they can stop stealing peoples' money!!!!!!! Shame on you guys!!!!Here is the proof of how much I contacted them via email:[email protected] at 6:58 AMDear First Step Equity,I sent two emails several weeks ago to the billing, customer service, and support departments (forwarded below) and I have not heard back from anyone. I would like my account cancelled immediately. Please confirm that you have cancelled it as of today or I will have to call my bank to let them know about your actions and also call the Revdex.com to file a complaint about First Step Equity.Thank You,Kathryn BakerCANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION (2)[email protected] 9To the billing department at First Step Equity,I would like to make sure that my subscription gets cancelled after this month. I do not wish to pay for the service anymore and I would like for you to send me a confirmation that you will no longer be billing my card, ever again. My name is Kathryn Baker. The email address on the account is [redacted]@yahoo.com and the address is 187 Fortress Course Ct, Las Vegas, NV 89148. Please let me know that this will be cancelled. Please reference the information below to review my initial account information.Kind Regards,Kathryn Baker###-###-####[redacted]@yahoo.comDear Kathryn,Welcome to FirstStepEquity.com! You will soon have unrestricted access to our entire properties database, documents and instructions on purchasing a property, and advice and support via telephone and email.Your account is currently pending approval. Once your card has been processed, you will receive another email from us notifying you that your account is ready for use. You will then use your login information below to sign in.Your account summary--------------------Email address / Username: [redacted]@yahoo.comPassword: bakerBilling summary---------------Amount today: $40Terms: $40 per month, starting today Reply, Reply All or Forward | MoreMeToFirstStepEquity.com [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] and 1 more...Sep 10THIS IS NOW MY SECOND INQUIRY TO CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION. PLEASE DO THIS ASAP AND GIVE ME CONFIRMATION THAT MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN TERMINATED.To the billing department at First Step Equity,I would like to make sure that my subscription gets cancelled after this month. I do not wish to pay for the service anymore and I would like for you to send me a confirmation that you will no longer be billing my card, ever again. My name is Kathryn Baker. The email address on the account is [redacted]@yahoo.com and the address is 187 Fortress Course Ct, Las Vegas, NV 89148. Please let me know that this will be cancelled. Please reference the information below to review my initial account information.Kind Regards,Kathryn Baker###-###-####[redacted]@yahoo.comDear Kathryn,Welcome to FirstStepEquity.com! You will soon have unrestricted access to our entire properties database, documents and instructions on purchasing a property, and advice and support via telephone and email.Your account is currently pending approval. Once your card has been processed, you will receive another email from us notifying you that your account is ready for use. You will then use your login information below to sign in.Your account summary--------------------Email address / Username: [redacted]@yahoo.comPassword: bakerBilling summary---------------Amount today: $40Terms: $40 per month, starting todayDesired Settlement: I just want them to cancel my subscription and send me a confirmation that it has been cancelled and I will never be billed EVER again, that is all I am asking!

Complete bait and switch organization. They scam and prey on people with little knowledge on the subject who are just looking to rent or buy a home. Their sole purpose is to get your credit card information in order to provide you with a list of pre foreclosure properties in which you can acquire this information for free by calling local banks in your area. Once you sign up with the company and pay the 40 dollars there is no way to cancel your subscription because all phone numbers and emails lead to a dead end and they do not call or answer back. This is 100 percent a scam and every person in California should be aware of this company and be told not to do business with them. They list properties without any consent or knowledge of the people who actually own the property. Every property I contacted on the list was not for rent or for sale they were simply trying to get out of their financial burden and had no idea their home was posted for sale or rent. I have no idea how this is legal and this company should be reported to the district attorney immediately.

Review: they wanted me to pay 40.00 to get information for a house they had listed in an ad. I went to the house pictured in there ad and spoke with the homeowner. The house wasn't for sale and wasn't in default. I called them back and they wouldn't discuss anything with me. The house is still listed in an ad. This just a bait and switch scam. I need to find a house in 2 months what a waste of time. Thank God I didn't pay them.Desired Settlement: I want to be paid for my time, gas, and frustration of having to expose there FRAUD.

Business

Response:

Dear W[redacted], At First Step Equity we provide real estate listings for Pre-Foreclosures, Auctions, REO Foreclosures, and Notice of Foreclosure sale. The service also provides all documentation needed to have title of ownership of a property transferred over to a person. If a home owner has done a refinance or a loan modification on their home it can show up on listings as a Pre-Foreclosure or Notice of Default. We remove those properties from our data based once we are made aware of the refinance or loan modification. If you are not a member with us there is no way you would have been aware of this information.FSE support

Consumer

Response:

Review: 10795963

I am rejecting this response because:

Their claim is false. There is a way to know my info is correct. I went to the house pictured in the ad. I spoke to homeowner. My wife.is in the title business. She ran the title. This is a typical bait and switch. Just look on the internet at how many claims there are about this company. People are being taken advantage of. Im just glad I didnt pay the $40. To then find out I had been taken. Pinjara Circle is a small street. Not hard to find. I have been to other houses in the area and spoke to home owners...Please Revdex.com, look up this company on the internet and see for yourselves.

Regards,

W[redacted]

Business

Response:

FirstStepEquity attempts to ensure that the information contained in its websites is accurate and reliable; however, errors sometimes occur. FirstStepEquity Inc. does not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this site and instructs you to independently verify the accuracy of the information provided. In addition, FirstStepEquity may make changes and improvements to the information provided herein at any time. FSE support ###-###-####

Review: I was told I would be charged a onetime fee of 50 dollars for the service and when I read the terms of service and it stated a monthly fee I asked everything is canceled and he assured me that was not the case for me and he already set it up as a onetime fee. Now I find out I am being charged again and every month the website does not allow any a place to cancel. The only way to cancel is to email the company and that’s not allowed either. It says an error occurred. The only number listed is a recording sending me to the website. Therefore I have no way of contacting them and I am currently being charged the fee with no way of canceling.Desired Settlement: I would like a complete refund and I would like the company to be dealt with for there illegial company.

Review: I agreed to look at their website regarding foreclosed housed for 1 month for a fee of one dollar. I looked at it once and never returned. nine months later I noticed they were charging my bank account $49 per month without any notice or service. I assume this fee was hidden somewhere in the small print. When I went to stop this charge and disconnect with the company they would never answer my emails or answer the phone. Their phone message service will not accept messages. I asked my bank to contact them and file a claim for return of fees extracted. The file is still pending. At the same time, First Step Equity continues to charge my bank account $49 each month. I have now gone through the inconvenience of closing my checking account and opening a new account so that this company would be forced to stop charging me. They have doen it again by charging a closed account that is only being held open for them to return funds.This company is intentionally criminal. No company should be allowed to charge a bank account without notifying the customer or providing service. Please do what you can to stop such egregious theft of innocent citizens.Desired Settlement: First Step Equity should be sued for their crimes against unsuspecting clients. I should be reimbursed for all fees in which no notice or service was provided. Their company should be shuttered.

Review: This company is advertising my parents home for rent/lease an Craigslist and presenting themselves as owners reps to get you to pay a fee on their website to set up an appointment. The home is not for rent, lease or sale and has been in my family since built in the 1950's.Desired Settlement: I want the ad and any others removed and their fraudulent practices to stop immediately.

Business

Response:

The ad and listing have been removed from our site as requested.

Consumer

Response:

I also want them to stop their practice of falsely advertising homes for rent and representing themselves as agents of the owner.b>[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed]

Review: 10963459

I am rejecting this response because:

Regards,

R[redacted]

Review: I cancelled my membership in March 2013 they are still charging my credit card and I have not been able to access my acct. Since March 2013. All the business numbers given to me don't work.Desired Settlement: Refund of $49.00

Business

Response:

Account Cancellation

This account is scheduled to be cancelled automatically on Wednesday, May 08, 2013. It was scheduled for cancellation by Thomas ID#116 on Wednesday, April 10, 2013.

Called a number on Craigslist add for a home rental and person who answered claimed to be part of this company. He wanted my credit card number in order to get the address and information on the home. He promised an extremely good deal on lease to own. I hung up on him. I believe this to be a scam but I'm sorry to say that he did get my name and email address out of me first.

The salesman told me that homeowners in default had "opted" into their program if getting bailed out and that all I had to do was choose the properties I wanted to look at, call customer service to set up an appointment to view the property, and customer service would handle all of the details and negotiations. After seeing a property on the list owned by a friend, I called him to enquire about his experience with First Step Equity and why he decided to "opt in" to their program. He had never heard of this company and never had contact with them. The customer support number the sales rep gave me goes straight to voicemail, the sales rep that gave me his personal phone number will not return of answer my calls, and the "contact us" link one their website gives an error message when trying to submit feedback or request info. They take your money then drop off the face of the earth. I sent them emails requesting cancellation and refund per the sales pitch. I have a feeling that will go unattended as well. This place stinks to high heaven. Avoid at all costs. Do your research.

Review: I am continuing to be billed and have attempted numerous times to contact the agency to stop billing. I have not been able to reach anyone by phone. I tried e-mailing them and received and "error" response.Desired Settlement: reimbursement of the funds they have charged me.