TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Scott Schlather, a St. Petersburg home buyer, is questioning why an online home auction company, has complaints about taking months to return consumers’ deposits on home deals that did not work out.
His problem started when he tried to help his daughter buy a house in St. Petersburg near his home. They saw what they thought was the perfect home listed on an auction website, Federa, in September, and put down the $10,000 deposit.
But then Hurricane Helene rolled in and flooded the home before the auction was finished.
“I said cancel it because that house got water, and now it’s $30,000 to $50,000 in damages that you’re going to have to repair and she can’t afford that,” Schlather said.
They backed out of the deal, and he said he was promised a refund but just received the runaround.
“I operated in good faith, called the Federal Trade Commission, called American Express, was calling everybody I could think of and one night I called you,” he said, referring to Better Call Behnken.
Federa is based in Virginia and has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau, based on similar complaints of consumers waiting months for refunds. The Florida Attorney General’s Office confirmed two complaints.
Behnken called Federa with questions about Schlather’s refund, and the other complaints, and then less than 24 hours later, he got a message.
“At 9:35 this morning I get an email from my daughter, it showed up, here’s the email I got,” Schlather said. “I went to my American Express bank account, and there was $10,000 sitting back in my account.”
Jhenifer Rojas, Managing Director of Federa, sent this statement to Better Call Behnken:
At Federa, our mission is to build the world’s most reliable platform to buy and sell a home. We have served over 22,000 satisfied users and facilitated over $3 billion in transaction volume. In these few instances, we applied additional due diligence to protect our community, leading to brief delays in funds availability. We understand the importance of timely fund availability and the stress such delays can cause. Our dedicated team works tirelessly behind the scenes to safeguard every transaction, ensuring the safety and security of both buyers and sellers. These necessary pauses in funds are not just transactional steps but a pledge to protect our users peace of mind. We remain committed to providing a safe, seamless experience for all while upholding the highest standards of security and trust.