Hello!
I happened upon this board because I have recently become a victim of a scam. I am a single mother with a 1 year old daughter who is facing homelessness right now. I just earned my B.A. this past May and relocated to NYC to take an internship. I hired a room/roommate finding service because it was just too hard getting around the city place to place with my daughter and her stroller. So I figured it would be easier to just tell someone the specifics of what I need and let them handle it. Well, I paid them $200 to located a temporary room for my daughter and I. The agent told me that my money guaranteed me room suggestions he had for me, and one of two things would happen. Either I would not be satisfied with either at which point he would continue searching until they found somewhere for us, or I would take the room, realize later that I wasn't satisfied and they would move us free of charge, and this he said, was bound by contract. Well I went to see the first room and I actually did like it. I went to see the second room and I did not like it, the neighborhood was terrible and I felt really unsafe just walking down the street to the building. So I decided on the first room. Only the woman who owned it told me that it was no longer available. However, he'd called her on the phone in front of me and she told him that it was available when I was in the office paying my money. I guess once she saw me in person, it was no longer available for ME. When I called the agency back to tell them what happened, I was told I would receive a call back after they had a chance to speak with the owner of the apartment. That was three days ago, and I haven't heard anything back from them and when I call, I get no answer. The money that they took from me was money that I would need to pay first and last months at any place I would secure. I have to buy food of course and well quite frankly...I'm up this late checking out homeless shelters for my daughter and I. I would like to report them, though I don't know what good it will do or how it will help us immediately, but they shouldn't be allowed to keep taking money.
So I guess my posting in this forum was to find out how and to whom do I report this type of agency in NYC?
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