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SCAM: I do not Recommed using Real Estate Client Referrals (RECR)

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams

BE VERY CAUTIOUS WHEN THINKING OF USING THE COMPANY "REAL ESTATE CLIENT REFERRALS." (RECR)

I was recently contacted by this company and everything sounded good.  They give you referral leads that they have spoken to and confirmed for $99 per referral with a minimum purchase of 5.  If that lead is not good or your unable to work with the person, you have 7 days to let RECR know and they will replace the lead for free. 

Well I was also told that I had 90 days to try out the service and if I was unhappy, I would be refunded any $ spent on leads that I couldn't reach and the start up fee.  Well there was a place in the contract that seemed to contradict what I was told , so I questioned it and they said, Our customer service people will work with you to keep you happy and yes you could be refunded all you $ if you were unhappy.   BIG LIE!! 

I have received 3 "new leads" 2 of which I am unable to contact and 1 is no longer able to purchase.  So 3 bad leads which I had to pay for.  What I was not told is that when they replace your leads, they do not give them to you until you have received all the paid for leads and you can only have the paid for leads replaced 1 time.  This in effect means that you can get a max of 10 leads if you purchase 5 and it does not matter if you are not able to get in touch with 100% of them, you still need to pay for them and have nothing to show for it but a $600 bill and a HEADACHE.

New to real estate, this could not have come at a worse time with all the start up fees that I have had to pay without any income.  

Please do let yourself get taken advantage of like I was.

I believe this could only be good it you need some referrals, but are willing to pay a lot of money up front without any return.  After calling and speaking with the Customer service manager, I was cheerfully informed that only about 1 in 5 leads are converted into closings.  This means that an average you can pay up to $500 for 1 closed deal.  She also said there was nothing they could do to credit that money that I spent on dead leads, but if I would like they would refund me $198 for the 2 leads that I have not received and stop my service.  Yippee I could walk away with $400 less than I started and nothing to show for it.  I thought are you crazy, my best bet now is to spend the remaining $198 and Pray to God that I get 1 good lead out of the remaining 2 "paid leads" and 3 "free replacement leads" that I paid $99each for.  I found it interesting when I was told that the manager only had 2 choices: 1) to stop my service and refund the remaining $198 or 2)to give me 2 more "free referrals" that I would first need to spend the remaining $198 to get.  What a sham!  usually a manager of a good company would at least try to make a person happy, but that's not the case here.


Pardon my negative attitude.  I normally am not like this, but when people mislead other people just to get their $ I really take offense.  

I hope this saves at least one person out there from throwing away money.

 

Pam Jank
Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty - Coeur d'Alene, ID
Your Coeur d'Alene & North Idaho Real Estate Pro

You have just experience what many of us already have over the years with other similar programs.  IMHO you don't pay for leads, generate your own thru your web site, bloggs, etc...   Network  through your Designations, AR, etc..  Pay for a real REFERRAL when a SALE happens. 

Aug 25, 2008 10:11 AM
Doreen McPherson
Homesmart ~ Scottsdale ~ Tempe - Tempe, AZ
Phoenix Arizona Real Estate ~

Hi Angela,  Thank you for being willing to share this.  I personally have not bought in to any of the lead generators, but know others who have.  After reading and hearing about how they operate my take is - "if you really have good leads pass them to me and we'll set up a referral agreement.  You'll make more and I'll not feel ripped off."  The always have excuses to want the money up front because they know they are passing bad info.  

Sorry you had to go through this, I know how hard it is to be starting out and watch the $$$ grow wings...

Aug 25, 2008 10:13 AM
Barbara Gregus
CARES Consumer Advantage Real Estate Services - Sandia Park, NM
Sandia Park Paa-ko Homes

I'm sorry to hear your bad news. Let me tell you though, I've only been in this industry 3 years and have learned some hard lessons in this time. I no longer accept or listen to anyone trying to sell me any sort of real estate products or services through the phone or email. My advise would be to ask other Realtors what "Lead Generating" services they use and love and go off of that. I only try lead services that have been recommended from people I've actually met now and since I've started using that method, I havn't been dissapointed. Best of luck to you!

Aug 25, 2008 10:22 AM
Leesa Finley
RED Properties - Wake Forest, NC
RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

Angela - I am VERY sorry that experienced that!  Like Doreen said above - if they are such good leads ask for a referral agreement.

Aug 25, 2008 11:02 AM
Jason Romrell
Business Attorney and Success Advisor - Los Angeles, CA

Excellent warning and very responsible of you to share it.  I'll pass it along to my real estate sales clients! 

Aug 25, 2008 11:10 AM
George Wilson
Raleigh Cary Realty - Raleigh, NC
Raleigh Cary Realty 919 439 0965

Hi Angela,

I am not one who does not believe in paying for some lead services but do your homework ask  to talk to others who are using their service and use your office or Active Rain to see what other people have to say.

Good Luck!!!

Aug 25, 2008 12:12 PM
Konnie Mac McCarthy
MacNificent Properties, LLC - Cobb Island, MD
Broker/Owner - VA & MD "Time To Get A Move On!"

YES, YES, I used them, and it was the same thing a SCAM, SCAM I had the charge removed from the credit card, the guy seemed so nice, but they are full of it....great job writing about it....they are here on active rain somewhere.....we should get them kicked out.. :)

Aug 25, 2008 12:29 PM
Bob & Carolin Benjamin
Benjamin Realty LLC - Gold Canyon, AZ
East Phoenix Arizona Homes

So sorry you experienced that. Best bet is not to buy from any of the lead programs -- there are many other ways to get leads.

Aug 25, 2008 01:14 PM
Jonathan Hall
William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty - Danbury, CT
Realtor - Danbury,CT Area Real Estate~203-417-0523

Thanks for the blog. I got a message from them on my office voice mail. I thought it was garbage anyway, but your blog does confirm that. Thank you!

 

-Jon

Sep 17, 2008 08:20 AM
Sherry Chastain
Hendersonville, Nashville, Old Hickory, Lebanon Tennessee - Hendersonville, TN
Realtor, Selling Homes, Lake Properties,Luxury Homes,Short Sales

Foolishly we all look for the easy button. Later only to be saddened by the cost! The sales pitch sounds so good only $99 a lead no monthly charge. I just got a call from them, so what did I do........search AR. Thanks!

Feb 22, 2011 09:52 AM
Tom Hall
Coral Shores Realty, 1119 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 954-610-4186 - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Thanks for saving me the headache AR. RECR called yesterday and is pretty slick on the phone with their sales pitch but I think I'll pass. They offered me a $200 - $230K potential buyer that sounds too good so it is probably not valid. I have had good luck with Zillow at a lot lower cost.

Mar 01, 2011 07:29 AM
Anonymous
Anonymous

Thank you for your comments. I was just on the phone with one ot RECR's salespersons, and while she was talking I google it and found your comments (as well as many others).

This is what I do to make sure something is legitimate: I Google their name followed by the word SCAM. It works every time! For example, in this case, I Googled "Real Estate Client Referrals SCAM" and I found many, so I just told her what you all said: If you have good leads, I'll be happy to pay you a referral fee after the transaction closes, and she hanged up!

Aloha,

Vivian Franco, M.S.

Realtor (S) with Windermere Valley Isle Properties, Maui HI (808) 214-3818 alohafromvivian@aol.com

Mar 08, 2011 04:17 AM
#12
Kate Elim
Dockside Realty - Spotsylvania, VA
Realtor 540-226-1964, Selling Homes & Land a

Hi Angela...Good for you!  Yes, you learned a lesson and you learned it early on.  From now on you will be the wiser and your business will benefit from that.  Rely on yourself!  You can do it using the right tools, one of them being Active Rain.

Wish I could suggest but got here too late.  Will re-blog however as this is an important lesson for many to learn.

Wishing you much success.  You have chosen a wonderful career.

Kate

May 15, 2012 02:12 AM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

I had the same issue with RECR a few years ago, and they haven't changed. They begged me to stay by offering to replace all my leads, but as you mentioned, you have to go through the paid ones first... Not I, said the fly. They finally agreed to turn off the paid ones and replace all my leads, but most of those needed to be replaced also. It went in circles, and I was finally able to get about 1/2 my money back, but not all.

Total waste of time, though I asked soooooooo many questions to make sure it wasn't a scam. It was Clint Miller that I delt with, and I felt bad when he died because I never paid attention to anything he wrote about because I was still so frustrated with the way I was treated with that company. He touched a lot of people's lives, and I had to miss out on it because of some ruthless, lying business people trying to scam a buck.

Jun 17, 2012 11:26 AM
Karen Anne Stone
New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth Real Estate

Donna, and Angela... for a time I found myself pestered with phone calls from these clowns at RECR... and I think it might even have been Clint I spoke with at least one of the times.  What a bunch of useless so-called "leads" they were attempting to palm off on people.  I am so sorry you got STUNG by these jerks.         June 17, 2012

Jun 17, 2012 11:35 AM
David Shamansky
US Mortgages - David Shamansky - Highlands Ranch, CO
Creative, Aggressive & 560 FICO - OK, Colorado Mtg

WOW - I am sorry you ran into this mess but I commend you on alerting others to avoid these scam artists. I hope you can get some remedy for the fiasco they put you in

Jun 17, 2012 11:53 AM
Juli Vosmik
Dominion Fine Properties - Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale/Cave Creek, AZ real estate 480-710-0739

Angela, I stopped by because of Joni's reblog.  I see this is 4 years old and I'm sure you've learned how to deal with these telemarketers by now.  I would love to see you post a blog about your knowledge.  Me, I tell these telemarketers - hey, I'm on straight commission, when you send me a lead, IF I get a transaction to closing, I'll pay you double.   It's amazing how they always say "we don't work like that",  LOL.  

Jun 17, 2012 01:52 PM