When Otis Millbrook Jr. applies for a new, low-income home in California, his application is turned down. But not before the company extracts a $70 “application” fee. Is that right?
Question
I have a problem with a company called Visionary Property Management, a division of Visionary Home Builders of California. This parent company and its various divisions purport themselves to be providers for affordable housing for “unserved communities.” They position themselves to be a resource for all things related to HUD housing.
I want you to investigate its application intake and interview process. My wife and I participated in the so-called “interview” portion of application process in Stockton, Calif, earlier this year.
My wife and I arrived on time for this interview. We brought with us all the documentation needed to verify the information contained in our application packet.
The representative told us it was “company policy” to collect the $70 fee for processing our application. We find this assertion highly questionable as well possibly fraudulent because the company did not “process” anything. The representative only collected the money orders she instructed me to bring over the phone. The $70 fee is not mentioned anywhere in the application packet.
After the representative collected the money, she added our social security income in a calculator and told us we didn’t qualify. We were completely flabbergasted.
Visionary Property Management did nothing to deserve this fee. Can you help me get a refund? — Otis Millbrook Jr., Manteca, Calif.
Answer
Visionary should have clearly disclosed that application fee to you before you set foot in their office. I could not find any mention of the fee on Visionary’s website or in the materials you provided when I reviewed your case.
Springing that $70 fee on you at the last minute was not right. The way you were turned down was even worse. I agree — Visionary had all of your income information and, based on that, could have told you not to bother to come to the office to fill out the rest of the paperwork. From your perspective, it sure looks like it just wanted to get your $70 in order to tell you “no.” (Related: Yes, asking Comcast for $10,000,000 is an unreasonable request.)
Finding a real person at the company isn’t too difficult. The contact us page offers several ways to get in touch (I recommend writing). You can always go straight to one of its higher-ups, if you’re being stonewalled. They are listed on the site. The email convention is firstinitial+lastname@visionaryhomebuilders.org. (Here’s how to fix your own consumer problem.)
I’d like to believe this disclosure issue was just an oversight on Visionary’s part and that it will fix it for future applications. Knowing all the fees before you apply is a key to keeping existing customers happy and winning new ones.
I contacted Visionary on your behalf and it refunded your $70.
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