One Manhattan renter says he paid a realty company a lot of money and got nothing in return. He contacted NY1 For You, and we got him his money back. Susan Jhun filed the following NY1 for You report.
Ronny Rivas says he got a full refund thanks to NY1 for You. It is the end of a trying situation in which Rivas started searching for an apartment near the end of the year with a company called Top Quality Apartments in Washington Heights.
"I gave them $2,200 for them to get me an apartment, and I didn't get anything," Rivas said.
Last week, NY1 for You told viewers how Rivas gave Top Quality Apartments a total of $2,200 to hold two apartments that fell through. At that point, Rivas says he asked for the fully refundable money back.
"They were only willing to refund me for $500, that the $1,700 that I had given them for the guarantor was not refundable," Rivas said.
At the time, NY1 for You checked with the Better Business Bureau and found that Rivas was not alone in his experience with Top Quality Apartments.
"They do have an F rating, and they have not responded to complaint," said Claire Rosenzweig, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Metro New York.
NY1 for You contacted Top Quality Apartments, and the manager said one or two people who are dissatisfied are the ones who wrote the BBB reviews, while Top Quality has rented to thousands of other people who were satisfied.
After some back and forth, NY1 for You got the manager to refund Rivas the full amount of $2,200, a bittersweet payback for Rivas, who warns others not to fall into the same situation.
"No one needs to go through what I went through with these people," Rivas says. "If it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't be able to get my money."