Grand Central Apartments I have never felt so devalued as a customer! Somerville Massachusetts

I registered with Grand Central Apartments in March of 08. The sales person, Diana, was very friendly and professional, though I felt like she was really pressuring me to charge my card as soon as possible. When she took my registration criteria she casually checked off some of my cities and said that I could always add more to my search. I authorized the charge on a Friday, so my account wasn't activated until Monday. That tuesday I found an apartment on Craigslist and went to look at it the next day, and decided that was the apartment for me.

When I sent in my request for a refund I had every expectation that I would receive it, so I was shocked when I received a letter saying I would not be granted a refund because the apartment I rented was outside my search criteria (it was in a town I had not included).

I called and spoke with Jesse (a vice president?) hoping to work something out. I tried to explain that I had not actually used their service having found an apartment on my own first. I think anyone with a mind towards customer service would want to placate and dissatisfied customer for the sake of the company's image. A local company such as their's must rely heavily on word of mouth. Well, he was totally unprofessional. He was defensive, sarcastic, and accusatory. I have never felt so devalued as a customer, and even degraded as a human being. He repeatedly claimed that they did nothing wrong, but I believe they did everything in their power to assure they kept my money.

Aoife
Belmont, Massachusetts
U.S.A.