HouseValues Don't use them--you will regret it. Ripoff Kirkland Washington

I was given the hard sell just as everyone else. They apparently have a way of tracking when you open an e-mail from them, because as soon as they sent me the contract and I opened it, the phone rang and it was the agent who was signing me up. She said she saw that I had received the agreement so we should go ahead and finalize everything. I didn't have a chance to read everything word for word in the agreement. The agent spelled out the "highlights" of the contract and kept pushing to finish. I went ahead and finalized everything without reading the whole contract and "sleeping on it" (a mistake I'll never make again). As a new agent, I was excited about the idea of getting leads and helping out potential sellers, and ultimately doing business.

Then reality set in.

The leads were sometimes fake. Most of the time, though, they were people who didn't want to sell, but who just wanted to know how much their home was worth or they were already working with an agent. Many would immediately tell you to not contact them.

After several months, my credit card was maxed out from the monthly fee, and I had nothing to show for it. I had to quit real estate to get a "real job" and try to pay off the debt from HouseValues. I contacted them to explain my situation, with hopes of getting some sympathy, and to try to get released from the contract. I received an e-mail that thanked my for my time with them, and that my account had been closed.

I received a letter from a collection agency shortly after. After my request to terminate, I was never sent a bill for the termination fee. They never made any attempt to collect on their own. It just went directly to collections. I would have paid the termination fee if given the chance. Now I have a ding on my credit because they never gave me a chance to pay it before sending the account to collections.

I also learned that my 12 month contract was actually 13 months. The contract says that the term is 12 months PLUS the prorated month in which you start. I started my agreement on the 5th of the month, prorating payment for 25 days. As a result, instead of the termination fee for 3 months I thought I had left on the agreement, I owe them for 4 months. (The termination fee is half of the monthly fee for every month left on the agreement.)

I just read that they closed the call center in Yakima and 100 of "them" are out of a job. I hope they all go into collections on their bills. I hope the Kirkland office closes next.

Deirdra
OC, California
U.S.A.