Finding a roommate on Craigslist is sometimes bad, but Roomster makes it worse.
If you are caught in a situation where you have to find new digs like I am currently, you can only go so far as with friends because like fish, the situation starts to stink. So you are still back at square one.
So you turn to Craigslist and then the frustration begins.
(Singing “Out Come The Freaks” by Was (Not Was) )
You go through listings of potential places that fit right in your budget. But the downside is that they only want females…nothing wrong with that unless you are a male. So you keep looking and run across some gems. Perfect for your needs and could possibly work out. So you respond to the ads explaining your interest in the possible room. They ask you to fire off an email or send a text. The legitimate ads will let you know yea or nay. The illegitimate ones will fire you a text or respond to your email by telling you to go to a different website and apply there.
That website is Roomster.
And that’s where your frustration equals the intensity of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Because you are directed to there, if you want to see the ad, you have to pay a fee. And the ad you are looking for disappears in Roomster Hell.
When confronted with this, the people at Roomster say that they are not responsible and to watch out for scams. But in some ways they are partially responsible. The person redirected to their website from an ad posted on Craigslist pay to see the ad only to find nothing there except for Roomster Hell.
At least Craigslist not only warn their users about scammers, they also allow seekers to flag or report scammers. Roomster won’t even do that. They just want your money and hope you are happy.
And what’s happening is that the scammers are causing havoc with those that are really looking to offer a room for rent. They don’t (or maybe they do) realize that they are hurting the landlords potentially getting that tenant. And that’s hurting potential on both sides.
What half these landlords don’t realize is that if someone is not looking to relocate out of town, they are looking to stay put in their town. Therefore they know their stomping grounds plus there is Goggle Maps. One person offered a nice bedroom in a building located at 10th and L. inquired about it and then told to go to Roomster to apply. I responded, there is no residences there: just a parking lot with a few shops under it, two office buildings and the State Capitol.
Another one tells you to text them with an out-of-state number. Okay that’s a given, but why are there eight numbers instead of eleven (1 plus area code plus number)?
Some tell you they can’t communicate via e-mail and want you to do it by phone, but don’t leave a phone number.
And, just as I write this, there are two ads with the same exact picture for a room in Davis – the difference: price. One is higher than the other one.
Just now I was looking into a studio offered by Jim. He sent a message in my account and we chatted. He said his place, a furnished studio was located near Broadway, and said that I would be sent an e-mail with more details. That never happened but he did give me the address: 2543 Freeport Blvd. near Broadway in Sacramento. I used Google maps to see it. It was a house! And to make matters worse, it had been listed with Zillow for nearly a year. So I proceeded to call the agent, the Better Business Bureau, CBS-13’s “Call Kurtis” and for shits and giggles, I let Roomster know that they don’t have to worry about scammers directing to them from Craigslist because they also have sammers there. Luckily I didn’t send money.
Both sites can step up their efforts a little more in discouraging scammers. Roomster need to be more aware of what scammers are doing and not just say, it is not their responsibility because it is.
IKAIKA'S PLACE 