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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  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Peter Tverdov:

    Anyone know how Cozy makes money? I am awfully tempted to switch to them. Free rent collection that is a few days slower than ERP.

    BTW - I am working on a spreadsheet of additional vendors to consider because I am considering switching some/all my business from ERP. I just do not want to risk it after thinking about it all weekend. The lack of communication from them is terrible and I am sorry for all that were hurt by this. Will try to provide the spreadsheet ITT to all of you once I am done. 

     Cozy's money comes from ancillary services - screenings, "quick-payment" loans (i.e. you get your money faster), help with setting rent levels, etc. There's actually very little work for Cozy to do, which is why the ACH processing is free. Virtually anything they spend money on is going to be related to the website interface, so as long as they've got good web designers their costs should be relatively low (I think their only support is through e-mail, no phone support). We do ACH batches at my "day job", and it doesn't cost us or our customers anything from their banks. Almost the whole process is automated.  

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    2Reply
  • Fernanda B.
    Peoria, IL · Member since 2017 · 17 posts · 7 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Heather Nance:

    This is absolutely true! It is fraud. They did the same thing to me so I called my tenants and asked them to contact their banks and reverse the payment and the banks reversed it. I did end up getting my rent by doing the reversal. 

    Which bank did they use? It looks like some banks are not familiar with incomplete transactions and claim they can only process that as unauthorized transaction, which means the tenant has to claim they have never authorized any transactions with eRentPayment. If they do that, it may be perjury.

    0Reply
  • Dima Kassim
    Syracuse, NY · Member since 2015 · 32 posts · 33 votes
    8y

    FOR ALL LANDLORDS AFFECTED:

    Please check your erentpayment account. The transactions listed as "PROCESSED" is now being listed as "PENDING" on my account. I can now void the transaction, but I'm not sure if that will keep the money with the processor or return the money to the tenants' bank. Has anyone tried doing this?

    0Reply
  • Fernanda B.
    Peoria, IL · Member since 2017 · 17 posts · 7 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Dima Kassim:

    FOR ALL LANDLORDS AFFECTED:

    Please check your erentpayment account. The transactions listed as "PROCESSED" is now being listed as "PENDING" on my account. I can now void the transaction, but I'm not sure if that will keep the money with the processor or return the money to the tenants' bank. Has anyone tried doing this?

     Dima, I can also now void the transaction. Please keep us posted if that makes the money return to the tenant's account.

    0Reply
  • Dima Kassim
    Syracuse, NY · Member since 2015 · 32 posts · 33 votes
    8y

    I'm waiting for a response from ERentPayment. They have now started responding to questions on their Facebook page, but they've been very slow to respond and are sticking to answering general questions. 

    1Reply
  • Fernanda B.
    Peoria, IL · Member since 2017 · 17 posts · 7 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Fernanda B.:
    Originally posted by @Dima Kassim:
    Originally posted by @Cody Plemmons:

    Also, has anyone had success with this R10 method? My bank had never heard of it and I’m not sure I like the idea of teaching the tenant how to take back rent paid is a good idea anyway.

    My tenant tried it and the bank said it will not work for a transaction that had already been accepted. Fernanda B. also  tried it on this thread  (Page 6) but also had the same issue with accepted transactions:

    From Fernanda B.:

    My tenant went to the bank and requested the transaction to be returned, but the bank said they can't legally do it because the transaction was in fact authorized. Rick's reply "No, they may request an R10 but say it is due to an Incomplete Transaction and not due to it being Unauthorized. Most banks will assume an R10 is only for an Unauthorized return, however NACHA states that a Transaction Incomplete also applies to R10s. So they may tell the bank to dispute the debit as R10 - Incomplete Transaction and the bank should contact NACHA for additional details on Incomplete Transaction." 

    Updating:

    One of my tenants went to the bank and got this done in 5 minutes. She'll have the funds back in her account today and only paid a $30 fee.

    My other tenant was not so lucky. I printed the page on erentpayment showing the transaction was pending. I sent an email to the tenant with that copy and the email from Rick. She will try with the bank again, but why are some banks processing the transaction and others aren't? So frustrating!! 

    Updating 2: From Rick:

     Here is the sample letter that tenants may provide to their bank:

    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 third-party processor. I am writing to file a dispute for this charge for reason: R10 as an “Incomplete Transaction.” I am informed that NACHA has confirmed that R10 is the appropriate reason code in such circumstances and 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 as the description for R10 is: “Customer Advises Unauthorized, Improper, Ineligible, or part of an Incomplete Transaction.”

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

    Please confirm.

    Thank you,

    [TENANT NAME]

    3Reply
  • Fernanda B.
    Peoria, IL · Member since 2017 · 17 posts · 7 votes
    8y

    and if you didn't read the news feed on their page:

    https://support.erentpayment.com/news/66/pending-payments-submitted-after-10-12-2017.aspx 

    1Reply
  • Theresa Minifield
    Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2015 · 24 posts · 9 votes
    8y

    I just tried to access erentpayment's website.  This is what I get: 

    Service Unavailable


    HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable.

    Anyone know, if this is temporary?

    Thanks.

    1Reply
  • Mike Hibbs
    Residential Real Estate Agent · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2014 · 42 posts · 16 votes
    8y

    @Theresa Minifield Here is the 'explanation' per their website. 

    https://support.erentpayment.com/news/67/maintenance.aspx

    1Reply
  • Theresa Minifield
    Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2015 · 24 posts · 9 votes
    8y

    @Mike Hibbs

    Thanks so much.

    1Reply
  • Dima Kassim
    Syracuse, NY · Member since 2015 · 32 posts · 33 votes
    8y

    This was the response I got from Rick about voiding the pending transactions:

    "We have updated transactions that had a deposit date of 10/12/17 and 10/13/2017 that were held to reflect they never completed processing. You most likely won't be able to void those particular transactions as a reversal may be considered instead. If the payment was submitted after 10/12/2017, you should be able to still void it through around 1pm Pacific today before we send it to processing."

    1Reply
  • Rodney Bell
    Crystal Lake, IL · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    8y

    Nice of Rick to respond to Dima with what appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. I probably would have forgiven their mistake if they had only kept us informed. Why couldn't they blast an email to all of us with facts and the steps they were taking? Even if they weren't sure how they were going to respond, tell us what's happened? We shouldn't have to search the facebook page for clues as to why you're choosing not to answer the phone.

    2Reply
  • Oscar Cabarcas
    Brookhaven, PA · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 14 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Dima Kassim:

    I'm waiting for a response from ERentPayment. They have now started responding to questions on their Facebook page, but they've been very slow to respond and are sticking to answering general questions. 

    Has anyone asked them how to close their account? Interestingly there is nothing on ERP on how to close your account. I never want to deal with them or any payment systems that holds your money then disburses. Great recipe for a Ponzi scheme the more I think about the delivery structure.

    1Reply
  • Shona Catlin
    Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2013 · 16 posts · 7 votes
    8y

    ERENTPAYMENT BLOG UPDATE ON TENANT R10 BANK CLAIMS  .... here is an example letter:

    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 third-party processor. I am writing to file a dispute for this charge for reason: R10 as an “Incomplete Transaction.” I am informed that NACHA has confirmed that R10 is the appropriate reason code in such circumstances and 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 as the description for R10 is: “Customer Advises Unauthorized, Improper, Ineligible, or part of an Incomplete Transaction.” I request that my charge be cancelled, and the funds be returned in full to my account. Please confirm. Thank you, [TENANT NAME] -----------------------------------------------END BLOG POST ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MY FYI ... NACHA is the organization that manages the development, administration, and governance of the ACH Network, the backbone for the electronic movement of money and data in the United States and is funded by the financial institutions it governs. (source wikipedia) and you can probably update this letter to mention the NACHA rep overseeing this mess ... Jeanette Fox, Senior director for Risk Investigations and Research at NACHA // jfox@ BIGGER POCKETS WONT LET ME POST EMIAL // direct line for banks to call 703561 BIGGER POCKETS WONT LET ME POST # . CONTACT INFO IN FACEBOOK GROUP TITLED "ERENTPAYMENT DISCUSSION GROUP"

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

    Has anyone seen deposits clear from their overnight processing as announced here:

    https://support.erentpayment.com/news/66/pending-p...

    Is there a way to distinguish between transactions that should have processed overnight and ones caught up in the bankruptcy?

    https://support.erentpayment.com/news/64/delayed-o...

    I'm trying to decide if I need to start helping my tenants fill out and submit incomplete transaction requests to their banks.

    https://support.erentpayment.com/news/65/incomplet...

    As yet they are still not offering chat or phone support.  Nor have they responded to support emails.

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

    I have done a 180 on this. Moved 60% of my accounts from E-rent to Cozy today and will likely move everything over within the next week or so. It's keeping people in the dark that I find horrible. Whenever I have an issue, I am transparent and let all my tenants know and or owners that I do business with. I don't turn off my phone and throw it in the river and unplug my computer. That's essentially what ERP did. Very foolish IMO. 

    [email protected]732-289-3823
    5Reply
  • Rick M.
    Rental Property Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2017 · 151 posts · 94 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Katherine S.:

    Most likely, it's a behind the scenes decision that wasn't thoroughly researched before it was implemented.  A rookie move that could potentially sink their company. 

     I think this is the best description of said situation

    1Reply
  • Dima Kassim
    Syracuse, NY · Member since 2015 · 32 posts · 33 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Peter Tverdov:

    Anyone know how Cozy makes money? I am awfully tempted to switch to them. Free rent collection that is a few days slower than ERP.

    BTW - I am working on a spreadsheet of additional vendors to consider because I am considering switching some/all my business from ERP. I just do not want to risk it after thinking about it all weekend. The lack of communication from them is terrible and I am sorry for all that were hurt by this. Will try to provide the spreadsheet ITT to all of you once I am done. 

    How is the spreadsheet coming along? The way things are looking, I might need that option!

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

    I own/manage a dozen or so units so these monthly fees were for my units sizes. I looked at probably 20-25 different sites (appfolio, buildium, rentec, etc). Cozy seems good for me now. As I scale my rentals along with my PM biz I may switch down the road. That was my goal with ERP but they kind of forced my hand. 

    [email protected]732-289-3823
    1Reply
  • Larry Walker
    Real Estate Broker · Pataskala, OH · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 0 votes
    8y

    I have decided to go with a local bank for a piece of mind. I used erent for maybe 9 years then this. I just am not sure I want to switch to another online site and have the same thing happen. I lost maybe 2000 with this issue. I have talked to Huntington Bank and it cost $40 a month then an extra $0.25 per ACH but I enter them all myself and control it. You do get charges $12 if one does not clear and you don't get all the bells and whistles that the online places give but they are insured, they don't hold my money, and I have a branch to go to if I have issues.

    0Reply
  • Cory Tasche
    Investor · Foristell, MO · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 5 votes
    8y

    I had my tenant file an ACH dispute with their bank using the R10 code. What is the typical time frame for receiving the reversal? Are we looking at 1-3 business days or 30+ days? Curious to see what others are experiencing in real time.   

    0Reply
  • Steven Loveless
    Real Estate Investor · Sachse, TX · Member since 2016 · 69 posts · 60 votes
    8y

    I had just started using erentpayment because I have a tenant that wanted rent reported to the credit bureaus. Luckily Oct rent was paid early (I know right!?!) so it cleared before these issues began.

     It seems there are fewer options that report; I may just have to switch back to a normal inter-bank ACH...

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

    No updates to their news page or their Facebook page.  I will be driving to all my tenants tonight to help them complete the R10 letter for their banks.

    Has anyone on the site received a rent payment via ERP since this issue started?

    0Reply
  • Pete Boukis
    Real Estate Agent · Gates Mills, OH · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    I'm hoping a fellow BP'er can assist me with my E-Rent Payment issue since the company is not responding.  I've emailed customer service requesting all recurring transfers that I have setup to draft on the 1st be cancelled for Nov.  Is there a way for me to cancel these future transactions via the website?   Note, 2 of them were setup using the authorization form to allow for automated draft.  Another one, the tenant went in and setup the recurring payment.  Thanks for any assistance!  I'm trying to avoid ERP pulling funds in November and tenants sending rent via "Zelle" the new method of collecting rent i've decided on.

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

    To disable a property in ERP:

    Click the Properties tab

    Click the Edit button on the property

    Change the Payment Status dropdown to 'Disabled'

    Click Save changes

    You should receive a confirmation email

    0Reply
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