BEWARE of fraud by erentpayment.com

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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BEWARE of fraud by erentpayment.com

Karen HigginsPro Member
Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2017 · 83 posts · 89 votes

We are currently in the middle of a scam by erentpayment.com.  They have taken money deposited by our tenants and have refused to pay us.  They have been very limiting with information and turned their phones off and are not replying to emails.  Cancel all automated payments if you currently use their system.  We are starting the legal process to take action.  I'm guessing they have taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from people.  Help spread the word so others are not hurt by this.

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Matt Higgins
Property Manager · Blaine · Member since 2015 · 209 posts · 276 votes
8y

My wife found this company on bigger pockets.  She most definitely is in the right, and boarder line obligated to inform the public that a company that used to accept payments from tenants, and disburse the funds to landlords is no longer longer disbursing the funds to landlords.  Furthermore, they have shutoff their phones and customer service department, not updated their customers as to the status of their funds, and refused to name their banking institutions or legal representation that they are using.  

This is most certainly a fraud, and a large one. If not, they should be updating their customer base as to where their money is at, and when they will get it. This rent collection and payment scheme is the perfect Ponzi scheme. They take a clients money and can move it from bank to bank like it's their own money. (Matt, thats apparently what you think happened). Thus, proving the lack of oversight involved in this kind of business/industry. As long as they can grow their customer base the scheme continues. The creator doesn't even have to put himself out there as the frontman of the scheme, and can hide behind an LLC. Interestingly, Rick S is a "pro" member, claims to be the manager or owner, and has 397 post on bigger pockets. I encourage him to comment, or better yet send me my 13,000$. At this point I doubt either will happen.

I hope I'm wrong, but when the company shuts off the phone and fails to deliver on the "updates" they promise.  You have to fear the worse.  This company is still accepting "new" money and the public needs to know.  I don't want to come across as confrontational, but the public needs to be made aware of the problem/fraud.  

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  • Rodney Bell
    Crystal Lake, IL · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    8y

    Latest sample letter posted on ERP support site adds R07 code as another possible method of pulling back tenant's payments:

    Dear [BANK REPRESENTATIVE NAME],

    My name is [Tenant NAME], and I used eRentPayment to pay [LANDLORD NAME] in the amount of [LAST PAYMENT AMOUNT] on October [DATE OF PAYMENT], 2017.

    I have learned that my last payment was not completed due to a problem with eRentPayment’s processor. I am writing to file a dispute for this charge for reason: R10 as an “Incomplete Transaction.” I understand that NACHA has confirmed that R10 is the appropriate reason code in such circumstances. I am informed that the ODFI has agreed to accept the R10s for the dispute in question. Please refer to Ballot 4-12 for additional information on an Incomplete Transaction (http://www.neach.org/uploads/resources/doc/nacha_ballot_4_2012.pdf) or the NACHA Rules guide as the R10 has been expanded to include not just Unauthorized as a return reason as it includes: “Customer Advises Unauthorized, Improper, Ineligible, or part of an Incomplete Transaction.”

    If an R10 will not be considered please provide information on disputing the debit as "R07 - Authorization Revoked."

    I request that my charge be cancelled, and the funds be returned in full to my account.

    Please confirm.

    Thank you,

    [TENANT NAM

    0Reply
  • Dan Schwartz
    Real Estate Investor · Tempe, AZ · Member since 2012 · 874 posts · 648 votes
    8y

    @Dima Kassim eCheckIt sure made "guarantee" prominent in their marketing materials.  Is that worth anything to the battle?  I suggest downloading a copy from the link; I'm surprised it's still even up, given the bankruptcy.

    http://www.echeckit.com/Portals/5/eCHECKit_Product...

    1Reply
  • Myron Cummings
    Pensacola, FL · Member since 2017 · 26 posts · 50 votes
    8y

    Still pretty pitiful that after 2 weeks their only answer is have your tenants attempt to claw back the money.

    What is still concerning is those that didn't immediately pull out are now having their funds tied up.  Transactions after Oct. 12th still haven't been paid out..."hopefully they get deposited tomorrow (Friday)".  

    I can only imagine the absolute worst if these don't get deposited tomorrow...that would make a whole new window of Oct 13 thru Oct 23rd of landlords whose tenants have had rent withdrawn but not deposited.

    0Reply
  • Chris Coram
    Medford, NY · Member since 2014 · 2 posts · 2 votes
    8y

    Hi All, 

    I got an actual response from Liz at eRentPayment.Com and I thought I should share it with you all. 

    This was in response to my inquiring about two rent payments: 

    Hello Chris,

    Those 2 transactions were only delayed by the bank switch so the renter does not have to dispute them at their bank, we sent these 2 payments out for processing through our new direct bank relationship with Esquire Bank on Monday.

    We suspended ACH operations on 10/13/2017 due to our old processor not completing transactions earlier this month, which we are continuing to work to address with those affected customers. For any payments submitted after 10/12/2017 those are processing through our new bank so we apologize for the delay. Here is more information:

    At 1pm PST on October 23 we began completing the conversion to our new processing bank so the system was offline for several hours. Once the conversion was successful, we sent a file of any pending payments submitted after 10/12/2017 through approximately 1pm PST time on 10/23/2017 for processing through our new bank. Those payments are currently processing and should be deposited later this week and are currently scheduled to deposit on Friday based on the latest information we received from our new bank. Any future payments will process through our new bank, Esquire Bank, as we have established a direct bank relationship to avoid a similar situation occurring again.

    Liz
    eRentPayment
    support.erentpayment.com

    1Reply
  • Joseph Klyczek
    Investor · Naperville, IL · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Thanks @Chris Coram... I have one payment that went through later than usual and I must've not saved the 'Blocked' status on that tenants account. Fingers crossed this one doesn't end up in the same state as my others since they are all still in limbo. Going to try to take a few of the tenants to Chase on Saturday and see if the R10 works. 

    I would like to point out that even in the letter above, ERP admitted to knowing the old processor was not completing transactions on the 13th. I have emails from them on the 16th still stating the missing funds are due to the bank switch when in reality the timeline points to the bank switch being initiated due to the missing funds.

    I am not going to say ERP is involved in the fraud for certain at this point but at best it has shady business practices, terrible planning and misled/lied to its customers. 

    0Reply
  • Bill D.
    Raleigh, NC · Member since 2017 · 10 posts · 5 votes
    8y

    Be Aware. I just found out that ERPs reports are also not accurate. I have ERPs deposit report dated 10/20 and one dated 10/26. The 10/26 is now missing deposits that showed as processed on the 10/20 report. Dates missing are 10/13 and 10/12 deposits. The reports have been changed. Suggest that everyone really validated reports to bank accounts. The deposits that were listed as "processed" on the 10/20 report did not hit my bank account. I sent a note to ERP and they have not responded. 

    0Reply
  • Leigha Cleary
    Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 0 votes
    8y

    Found this very helpful thread when trying to find out if I can trust the information on the eRent "News" site: https://support.erentpayment.com/news/root.aspx

    I've worked in payment processing in the past (and worked through switching from one processor to another) and understand that it may take time for the transaction dated after 10/12 to process so am holding my breath until Monday/Tuesday. I doubt they'll get the backlog of payments processed by tomorrow. 

    I don't expect to see any payments from 10/6-10/12 processed, at least any time soon, and would recommend trying to get tenants to use the form to get their money back from the bank. 

    The only recourse we've had is in requesting they cancel our $2 processing fees, which are now going unanswered. If they don't at least cancel the processing fees (and obviously start seeing our deposits) we'll be cancelling on Tuesday. We would cancel immediately but the property we use this tool for is a boarding house, and it was incredibly difficult getting some of the tenants set up in the first place. Huge bummer. 

    Aside from this issue, eRent had good reviews and we know a lot of people who've used it for some time so this is really disappointing.  

    0Reply
  • Richard Glen
    Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 14 posts · 3 votes
    8y

    I just received a similar response to yours @Chris.  It is detailed and looks to accurately capture my company's situation with pending payments at ERP.

    They say our pending payments will deposit tomorrow morning. 

    I will keep the group posted...

    0Reply
  • Ned J.Pro Member
    Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    8y

    @Dan Schwartz...to quote Tommy Boy and Callahan brakes...."I can take a dump in a box and write guarantee on it if it makes you sleep better at night".....

    0Reply
  • Dan Schwartz
    Real Estate Investor · Tempe, AZ · Member since 2012 · 874 posts · 648 votes
    8y

    @Ned J. I got no skin in the game, but others might.  And I often use "it's on the box" in a very demonstrative way :-)

    0Reply
  • Jeff S.
    Investor · Eugene, OR · Member since 2013 · 30 posts · 15 votes
    8y
    We use Cozy.co. Deposits can take 7-8 days but it’s consistent so I don’t mind.
    0Reply
  • Ned J.Pro Member
    Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    8y

    @Dan Schwartz...me either.....every time I hear about something as "guaranteed" I think of Chris Farley in Tommy Boy trying to sell brakes :)

    @Jeff S.....7-8 days for deposits?.... wow ....didn't think it was that long..... is that average for them?

    1Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    8y
    @Ned Jackson Cozy takes about 5 business days. So if there's a weekend in there it is about a week. I have noticed some of my tenants must use banks that are faster.
    Podcast Guest on Show #243
    Skyline Properties
    View Page
    0Reply
  • Dawn AnastasiPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @JD Martin:
    @Ned Jackson Cozy takes about 5 business days. So if there's a weekend in there it is about a week. I have noticed some of my tenants must use banks that are faster.

    Yes, when a tenant pays, I get the money about 5 days later. For FREE, I'm good with this. There's an option for $2.99 to get your money in 3 days if you're really desperate.  :)

    Podcast Guest on Show #29
    2Reply
  • Chris Coram
    Medford, NY · Member since 2014 · 2 posts · 2 votes
    8y

    Good Morning All, 

    Just wanted to update you that we received the two rent payments that were previously held this morning, so check you accounts. 

    I hope everyone else experienced the same. 

    Thank you 

    1Reply
  • Richard Glen
    Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 14 posts · 3 votes
    8y

    We received all of our pending payments as well.

    0Reply
  • Osman Castillo
    San Juan Capistrano, CA · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 0 votes
    8y

    We also received 1 out of 3 rent payments that were hung up, however it was the newest payment that was done on 10/20 before i was aware of this mess.  still waiting on 2 payments one on 10/6 and 10/7. getting hopeful now that this will resolve itself in a few days.  

    0Reply
  • Kristopher Rodriguez
    Miami, FL · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 1 vote
    8y

    Great news! I was affected by this problem, as one of my tenant's rent payments is typically drafted from their account on the 12th of each month. The tenants informed me that their 10/12 rent payment was drafted by ERP, however I never received it. I waited about a week, and when I received no e-mail responses I grew concerned. I will note that I am not 100% sure if my tenant's payment occurred before or after the cutoff time ERP is reporting (7:01pm pacific time) because it occurred at 9:00pm eastern standard time. However, some of the FAQ sections on the website and state that the cutoff time of 7:01pm is eastern time, and others now state it was pacific time. I'm not sure they're aware of this concerning error or typo. To make matters worse, my tenant received an email stating that their rent was rejected, so they logged onto ERP and made an additional one-time payment on 10/20, which I never received. After making this second payment, BOTH rent payments were eventually drafted from my tenant's account (none of which I had received). Moreover, they were charged a late fee on the second payment they made. I began sending multiple e-mails to ERP. If the monies weren't received by today, I was planning to seek legal advice by Monday. However, to my surprise, both of my tenant's rent payments (including the late fee) were deposited into MY account this morning. Now I am basically holding 2-months worth of my tenant's rent in my operating account. I will be refunding them one month plus the late fee in the form of a check.

    1Reply
  • Spence Rodman
    Investor · Olive Branch, MS · Member since 2016 · 20 posts · 18 votes
    8y

    I received one of my deposits this morning.  It was initiated after 10/13.  The other deposit I am waiting on was initiated on 10/6 so its still being held up.  I hate to ask my tennant to go to the bank to reverse the transaction  I plan to wait a few days into the month of November to see if any of this clears up before sending them to the bank.

    0Reply
  • Allan Vanryck
    Wholesaler · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Here is what is on their website.    I emailed them to ask why they never informed their customers, but no reply.   

    https://support.erentpayment.com/kb/a146/deposit-i...

    0Reply
  • Peter TverdovBusiness Member
    Developer · New Brunswick, NJ · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    8y

    My tenant paid rent early for November. Paid on 20th, I received it today as an FYI. I would presume things are back to normal but the lack of communication forced me to move 100% of my accounts to Cozy. I wasn't panicked but not saying anything about the issue...foolish and I didn't want to risk it. I'm guessing they got Legal advice to do that and it was pretty bad advice. 

    [email protected]732-289-3823
    1Reply
  • Cody Plemmons
    Rental Property Investor · Concord, NC · Member since 2015 · 23 posts · 10 votes
    8y

    Has anyone switched to tenant cloud or have any reviews, good or bad, for them?

    0Reply
  • Dino Demeo
    Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Have people been receiving payments recently? One tenant emailed me today and said she wanted to use the erent app.  I asked her to mail a check but she likes the electronic system and I didn't explain the issues the Company was having.  I already have 1 payment from another tenant stuck in limbo, and they used s prepaid credit card so there is nothing I can do.

    0Reply
  • Myron Cummings
    Pensacola, FL · Member since 2017 · 26 posts · 50 votes
    8y

    Got a chance to talk with Rick Sands on the phone for nearly 20 minutes yesterday.

    Long story short:

    Payments that were outside of the Oct 3rd - Oct. 12th window are being processed and deposited.  

    Insurance claim is in but as with all insurances they want to deny instead of payout.

    If your money was in the window...only real option is the R10/R07 working because if not its doubtful you will get your money back due to Bankruptcy court going to be a long long process and still very little chance that money gets back to Erentpayment to pay out.

    Rick wants to pay people back but their income stream has suffered and so many people are out its not something they can pay back in 3 months.  I doubt they could pay it all back in a year even if they wanted to.

    1Reply
  • Karen HigginsPro Member
    OP
    Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2017 · 83 posts · 89 votes
    8y

    Has anyone had success with R10 reversal from Wells Fargo?  We had a tenant tell us today that they will not be able to complete the reversal as the “intended party” received the deposit.  Any suggestions on how to go forward with this? We, the landlords, did not get the deposit as it is in the Oct 3 - Oct 12 timeframe. Ugh!

    0Reply
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