American Homes 4 Rent

Mallory –

Victim Location 30253

Type of a scam Rental

I have unsuccessfully attempted to get information from American Homes 4 Rent in Georgia and via the website several times over the last two years. Last year I found a potential rental home listed on their website. I watched this home for about two weeks when it suddenly disappeared but reappeared at a higher rental price than it had been listed at before. After the property reappeared, I contacted this "company" but was advised that this particular home was leased and I should view other comparable properties on their website. Shortly thereafter, I applied for another home. With the assistance of a realtor I encountered during this process, I was finally given a call back from the local leasing agent in Atlanta, Ga. Yet, when the leasing agent contacted me she stated I was approved for a home I never applied for. I informed the leasing agent this particular property (now 2nd home) was not the one I applied for, she then stated the property I did apply for was already taken off the market because it had been leased. The next day the leasing agent called me to inform me the 1st property, I was originally applied for, was available and I was approved to rent this home. Throughout this process I was provided with countless contradictions, such as a property had no pending applications, then within the same day an application or two was pending.

This year I attempted to give this "company" another opportunity. I stumbled upon a home in an area I am interested in relocating to, but when I arrived and called the number listed for AH4R to access the lock-box code for self-viewing, I was redirected to a sales representative. This representative informed me the property was taken but that there were several other properties in this city. He asked for determining factors such as how much rent I wanted to pay, how many bedrooms I required, and the preferred locations. This young man then informed me he could give me access to view another property in close proximity to the one that had already been leased. He also stated he could send information about additional properties as well. I was sent a text message with the access code to enter the home and another text with information for another property. The same night I attempted to locate the home on the website to submit an application. However, the home was listed as unavailable-although I was told by the sales representative the home was available and had no pending applications. I again contacted the local number, yet as before was rerouted to a call center. I spoke with a representative who walked me through creating an account. After creating the account I attempted to proceed to the application process but was given an error message. At this time I was still on the phone with the representative and was told that she would create a ticket to send to technical support. She stated I should receive an email once the issue was resolved and I could apply to the home after receiving the email. The next day I still had not received an email so I contacted the "company" again. I spoke to yet another representative who advised he would forward my information to the local property management office and stated someone would contact me shortly. He also provided the name of the leasing agent and number to her office and advised me to call if I did not get a timely response. I did not wait for a return call, I contacted the local office in Atlanta only to reach the same recorded answering system. I left a message for the leasing agent and sent several emails to the representative who informed me I would get an email from technical support. I was eventually sent the “rental application” via text message after I completed a survey about the property. I assume this came as a result of contacting the representative who supposedly was communicating with technical support about the problem.

After spending most of my day waiting for technical support to "resolve" the "issue" or a phone call from the local leasing agent, I finally received an email from the leasing agent stating the property I was interested in was now leased (although it just appeared on Zillow and Trulia 3 days prior and being told by the sales representative who sent the access code that it was available with no pending applications).

During both last year’s and this recent situation:

* I was redirected to representative after representative each time I called to inquire about a property or my pending application. Each one provided conflicting information.

* The homes mysteriously disappeared from the site, only to reappear later (at least for the home last year, waiting to see if the one I viewed on 2/28/16 will reappear on the website).

* Contacted the same local office and was given the exact same property manager’s information, who would not answer phone calls and whose voicemail box became full after two phone calls and an email about the property.

It is my belief that this "company" attempts to get as many application fees as possible, for as long as possible. I believe this "company" provides fraudulent information to applicants such as telling them a property is unavailable, has pending applications, and even takes the property off the market only to put it back on to repeat the same behavior. This property was listed on sites like Zillow and Hotpads on 2/25/2016. I believe this property will disappear only to reappear for more than the listed price of $1295. I also believe this "company’s" properties "may" be wired with hidden cameras and their website tracks viewers information.

Finally, I hope someone from BBB reads this information and conducts an investigation in effort to help other consumers. Although, I have learned a very valuable lesson, I do not want others to receive this same treatment and hassle.