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We placed an ad at a vacation rental online, for a short-term rental of 42 nights, at a cost of $3,250, in the Disney area, of Florida, which was answered by this lady, " Helen" with no last name. She referred us to her website, which appeared to be very professional looking, and showed us the house that she had, which will allow us to have our pet. We are two people in our 80s.
When we found the house we liked in Davenport, Florida, we called her, and she asked for a $300 deposit for the reservation, we sent it to her through Paypal, which she recommended, if we pay an extra charge. Then she asked for another deposit for the dog of $300, returnable, and stated that if we do not want to use Paypal, she would take a check. So we sent her another $300, via a personal check, and lastly the rest of the money $2,650, via another personal check. These last two through the USPS.
We started working with her in November 6, 2013, and although we have spoken to her over the telephone, most of our encounters have been emails. She had sent us a "contract," in which the name of the owner of the house had been filled out. We signed it, and mail it to her, and asked her why it was not signed by the owner. She stated " we have so many houses, and this is the way we do it."
After that, she send us more emails and made it her business to state that "dogs were not allowed." So we told her that we needed a house that allowed dogs, and that if she could not find one, to send us our money.
The last time we communicated with her via an email to her Naperville, Chicago telephone number, she stated she will mail it to us. That was December 23rd. I sent her an email the 29th of December that she did not reply to, so I called her back today, and she was very nasty to us, stating that she could not remember because she did not have her folders in front of her, whether she mailed us the money or not.
Her business has an LLC., on it, listed in Florida, with a registered agent in Orlando, Florida, that has moved 40 times. But, she receives the money in Naperville, Chicago. Two CEO's with Asian names that keep changing, are listed on the CorporationWiki site, but "Helen," is nowhere in site.
We have checked all the social medias, and they keep a very low-profile, could not find them anywhere.
The address to where we sent the money is located in a gated community outside the suburb of Chicago, in Naperville, and the house backs up to a golf club. Today, we checked her website, and it is "under construction, " listed by another company.
We checked her with the Better Business Bureau, and there are 3 or 4 outstanding complaints against her, with an "F, " rating.
Where do we begin? People like this give the honest Real Estate Professionals a very- bad name.
We need your help. Your prompt consideration to this matter is greatly appreciated, and we thank you.
I suggest that you check with the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR.com) to search for "Helen" and/or her organization as registered in the state of Florida. If you find her or her company, you can file a complaint from that site. Also, check with the state of Illinois for a similar site. I hope that may help you.
She sounds far less than a Real Estate Professional in my opinion.
If I were you, I would be filing a police report as soon as possible. Take copies of all your emails and contracts. It sounds like you've been scammed. I can build a "professional" website in about an hour. Sometimes scammers will take pictures of listings or of other people's rental properties off of the internet, put them on their website, and then sit back and take in the money for property they don't actually represent.
If you have a copy of the cancelled check, it will be a good start to identify the bank account, the owner of the account, etc. Also, file a complaint with PayPal, too.
I'm sorry -- I hope I'm wrong and the check was just delayed over the holidays. (However, she could refund it by PayPal, if she accepts PayPal -- just a thought.)
If you sent payment through USOS you may be looking at mail fraud. Contact the postmaster also. Local pd and The city pd in florida. I bet they got complaints before about the woman
Sorry about your issues. Little too late but you shoul of made the whole payment with PayPal
You should seek the services of a good real estate attorney that has experience in litigation, as it certainly appears you have the resources to retain one.
I'd be writing up my lawsuit naming both the LLC and the home owner as defendants right away, if I was in your situation.
The situation is this: There are three states involved in this. I live in New Jersey, she lives in Chicago, and her license is with the Florida Department of State. I checked this site, and could not find anything about filing a complaint.
The Registered Agent that represents her in Florida, has about 50 different mail addresses listed in People's Smart. The main problem as I see it, is that Florida does not regulate these people, nor does make things easy for people that get scammed to report it.
I will file a report with the NJ Police Department in my state. I do no have any experience with any type of law enforcement . Do I get an attorney in my state or one from Chicago? Thank you,
Where she lives is really irrelevant. You'll want to go after the company she worked for and the owner of the home. The company has almost certainly satisfied the "business contacts" rule with which they could be brought under the jurisdiction of any long arm statutes of the state of New Jersey. Same for the owner of the home under his common law liability for the actions of his agent.
Even then, it would be up to the defendant to argue for a change of venue for lack of jurisdiction, as the court really won't do it for them.
Where she lives is really irrelevant. You'll want to go after the company she worked for and the owner of the home. The company has almost certainly satisfied the "business contacts" rule with which they could be brought under the jurisdiction of any long arm statutes of the state of New Jersey. Same for the owner of the home under his common law liability for the actions of his agent.
Even then, it would be up to the defendant to argue for a change of venue for lack of jurisdiction, as the court really won't do it for them.
The LLC has the address in Naperville, Chicago, and lists two Asians names, which is the same address where I sent the money. I have reason to believe she lives in the house, and works out of it. I checked that address, and it is listed under the names of one of the LLC's CEO's. I also found that someone with a P.H.D., {with the name Helen, and the two names of one of the CEO's in the company, is her full name] graduated from the University of Chicago in Illinois, but was unable to find any further information through the U/C/I.
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