Complaint Review: Dustin Doebber

I found a townhouse to rent on Zillow less than 1 mile from where I work in May of 2015.

I e-mailed the contact listed and met Dustin Doebber at the town house on June 4th. Application in hand I walked through the place which was well maintained and perfect for my needs. He said he was a "realtor" working mostly for investors but that this townhouse was owned by his mother, Brenda Doebber. She was in the process of purchasing a new place closer to Lake Minnetonka. Her townhouse would be available for rent beginning September 1st.

I asked If I could possibly move in earlier as I needed to vacate my current townhouse in Elk River by noon on the 31st of August. He said that was not a problem. I gave him 1 month security deposit ( made out to Lake State Management), a $45.00 application fee, and my application. A few days later Dustin informed me the place was mine to rent (or so I thought).

After 2 canceled appointments we finally met to sign the lease. I asked for a earlier move in date even a few days would help. He reassured me that was not a problem and he thought I could move in a week early. He would give me a better idea of the set date in a few weeks. By the end of July still no word from Dustin and I needed to line up movers. Numerous texts, e-mails and voice mail messages to him with very little reply. He was always very difficult to get in touch with. Never answered his phone, it always went straight to voice mail.

 Finally he texted me that I could move in Wednesday August 26th and my final walk through would be that morning at 10:00am. I lined up AAA movers since I am a widow and my children live out of state. I also had friends and family lined up to help move the small items. I tried to get in touch with Dustin on the 25th (the night before the move) to confirm the walk through time but did not get a response all day. That night at 9:26pm he sent me a text that they had a "family emergency" and I would have to re-schedule my move to Friday the 28th. Apparently his mother was not done moving out. Really? I understand things can happen but why was she not moved out at this late date? Less than 24 hrs notice and I had to cancel movers and try to line up a new moving date, and change utility start up dates. He said he would pay for any cancelation fees from the movers.

I was able to re-schedule movers during their busiest time to Friday afternoon. Then he called me late Thursday afternoon telling me his family emergency was that his grandmother was very ill and his whole family was up north with her. His mother had still not finished packing and he made it sound like she had only some things moved to her garage. I would need to put my things in storage until she was able to get her things out. He stated he would pay for the second move and any storage fees I had to pay. So I packed everything I owned into boxes for storage as well as a suit case to take to my mom's house for what I thought would be a short stay.

 He texted me that first week in September and told me he was working on getting me in the house, possibly in a couple days. Then a week later stated it was a big mess and he was just going to just give me my money back. He sent me a check for my deposit, application fee, my cancelation fee from the movers, and the 1st months storage fees. I was now officially homeless and living in my mother's basement. I would be there for a total of 7 weeks. His mother never moved out of her town house and he never once apologized. Who does that?

After weeks of searching for another place I was able to get into another townhouse nearby but not until mid October. I sent Dustin a copy of the 2nd months storage fee and the invoice from the 2nd move. He did e-mail me back stating  that he would get a check sent to my new address, but as of today January 1, 2016 I have not received anything. I am out $1,700.00 (not to mention all the stress and aggravation and time off of work)  because this guy (and maybe his mother) messed up big time.

All I want is the money I am owed for extra expenses incurred because they did not hold up their end of the deal. Take my advice and NEVER get involved with this guy!