Complaint Review: Capital Home Placement Center

My friend and I walked in on July 23, 2008 to inquire about an ad they placed on Craigslist for a two bedroom two bath house in East L.A. We talked to Francine who seemed very nice and helpful. She started to tell us that for $180 we'll have access to lists of places for rent that reflected what we're looking for (location and price) and she would work directly with the owner or manager to help us get the place. She said that they will run our credit check and provide it to the owner or manager and get them to offer us the place. If we didn't find something in 90 days, they will provide a refund of $125.

We told her what we're looking for and she printed out lists and maps of places that reflected what we wanted ($0-$1000, 2 bdrm, 1-2bth). We asked her about the place we saw on Craigslist and she told us it would be on the lists and maps provided. Mind you, the majority of the conversation was centered on the lists of places. If we didn't come in on a regular basis to obtain a new list, we would not qualify for a refund. If we did not fax them with places, we would not get a refund.

After we left the place, we used to the maps to help us look for the places that were allegedly for rent. We stopped at one place, saw that there was a for rent sign with a number, we called it, and began to look at the place. We asked the woman how much rent would be and she told us $1100 per month. That was $100 over what we had told Francine.

We then proceeded to call places on the list to find out if they are available and for how much. The ones that reflected what we wanted were either rented out or higher than what were advertised on the list. We were trying to figure out which place was the two bedroom two bath that was advertised on Craigslist and couldn't figure it out.

On July 27, 2008 the ad for the two bedroom two bath reappeared on Craigslist again. I called and asked where this place was at and he told me that I had to come in, pay $180, and get the address. I told him that I already paid and that Francine was my agent. He told me I needed to speak with her but that she wasn't there. I asked him if he could just give me the address to the place since I paid the $180 already. He said he couldn't and that I needed to call Francine the next day.

To make a long story short, here's a copy of the call log my friend and I kept while trying to get in contact with Capital:

- 07/23/08: Visited the office, paid $180, and signed contract
- 07/24/08, 10am: faxed in two locations
- 0725/08, around 12pm: Called to verify if fax was received. Told me Francine was out to lunch
- 07/27/08, 3pm: called again to verify if faxed received. Told twice Francine was on the phone and was put on hold for 5 min each time. Third time I called I was put on hold of 5min and then told she just stepped out
- 07/29/08, 11:30am: spoke to Francine and asked about faxes. Said she'd call back never did
- 07/30/08, 11:30am: spoke to Francine and asked why she didn't call back. I asked her about the faxes and she had no answer and told me to pick up a new listing at 4:30pm
- 07/31/08, 11:30 am: called to give fax number to fax the listing. I never received the fax of new listings
08/01/08, 10am: Called to have them fax new list AGAIN. He said he would tell customer service to fax it when they get in at 10:30am. I never received the fax
- 08/05/08: called to get the fax, again. Finally received the fax but there was nothing on there reflecting the price range we indicated
- 08/06/08: My friend My friend called about an ad on Pennysaver. She talked to Francine and asked about the places she promised. Francine told her that they should have been on the listing, My friend told her that they weren't, and Francine put her on hold to speak to customer service. My friend hung up after being on hold for 10min.
- 08/07/08: My friend called again about an advertisement on Craigslist. She called the number on the ad and asked for the address. Gave her the whole spiel on going into the office and paying $180. She told them that she already did and asked her to send the form with the listing she likes and they'll send the address. She said that she already did and she never got a response. They said, we get new listings on Wednesday and Friday. She explained to them that she knew that already and she got a listing of places that wasn't within our budget in areas she didn't ask for. They then transferred her to Customer Service and they never answered

I know I should have done research on this place before but you live and you learn. I'm now starting to find out that we're not the only ones who got duped by Capital. Something needs to be done. I encourage people to call the Los Angeles Enforcer and complain about this company, continue to place warnings against this company so that special agents will begin to recognize the pattern this awful company has created basically, speak to whoever will listen to you in order to create waves. I'm going to try my very best to make sure this company doesn't take money from anyone else.

Sad thing is this company is targeting low-income people who could really use this $180. Also, they're targeting those who don't speak up. It's so sad that this company is doing this. The owner and its workers should be ashamed of themselves. Karma will rear its ugly head one day. That is why I hope you and other people will join me in trying to get this company to give people back the money that they stole.

P.S. You can find other reports on this company on this website by entering their address in the search. Read those responses and see how similar their stories sound to mine.

Mari G.
Los Angeles, California
U.S.A.