Collegiate Housing Services Consumer Reviews - Page 2

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA -- My son lived in their apartment. They paid 180.00 non refundable move in fee. They paid over 600.00 a piece to live there with a shared bedroom. Two of the other roommates paid almost 800.00 for a private room. During the move in they had to do an inspection sheet with any damages when they moved in. They put on there was stuff wrong with the apartment such as dirty and scuffed cupboards, dings in the doors, things that you typically see in a house from normal wear and tear.

Myself and another one of the moms came in and cleaned the apartments ourselves and we left that cleaner than when they moved in. A month after move out each of the tenants got a 100.00 cleaning bill. Not a 100.00 cleaning bill together but individual. They charged them 20.00 a piece for a scratch on a cupboard, they charged them 20.00 a piece for a ring in the toilet, they said there was toothpaste all over the bathroom mirror which is a lie and charged 20.00 a piece for that one spot, and 20.00 each for dirty oven.

I tried talking to them about it and told them we didn't have a problem paying 100.00 fee between the four of them but they kept telling me nothing they can do because they signed the contract and each one had to pay it. They made 400.00 in less than a half hour of cleaning.

PENNSYLVANIA -- I am currently in CHS and it is a nightmare. Honestly too much to go over. They are unprofessional, they do not care, they are never held accountable for anything when something goes wrong, the majority of their employees I have encountered just do not care in the most simplest of terms.

When I first moved into my apartment I discovered with my roommates that there was not 1 light bulb in the apartment that we had been told was newly renovated. Crap paint, things hung up by just drywall paint all over the floor that we then get blamed for. That is just the beginning of the nightmare. Ask anyone involved in their services that are being provided a living space. I have not heard 1 positive thing about them since I began my stay. Awful.

EXTON, PENNSYLVANIA -- This company rips off students and parents knowingly and willingly. Corporate contacts are ineffectual and absolutely no help in getting any child into a better place. The apartments are slums with no regular maintenance or upkeep. Absolute terrible company to deal with on any level.

EXTON, PENNSYLVANIA -- I am also a victim of Collegiate Housing Services. In 2012 my son attended school in PA and I co-signed my son's lease. I was shocked to see the conditions of the apartment my son moved in. I was completely disgusted, horrified and appalled when I saw the other two apartments my son moved in. In 6 months he was in 3 different apartments. Every move I would get outrageous cleaning fees. The second apartment cleaning fee was for $1,037.00. My son only lived there for 1 and a half months. I refused to make this payment.

They sent pictures, and said that my son and roommates cause all those damages. They said that the same charges were applied to all the students. It means that they made $3,111.00 just by relocating students to another apartment, and accusing them of damaging the apartment.

The damages were already there when these students moved in. Then I received a letter saying that my son has been evicted from the third apartment for non-payment of rent. My son's rent was paid every month by the 23rd. They also added late fees in my son's account. I called several times, eventually I found out that the money I was sending to pay my son's rent was used to pay the cleaning fees for the second apartment.

At this point I was sick of CHS. I decided to find my son a more suitable place to live. Then I get a bill from CHS for the amount of $2.490.11 Reparation/maintenance, Rent charge, Late charge, another late charge, Cancellation, Lease termination, Lease termination admin fee. I called again to ask if they were out of their minds. They kindly decided to remove the late fees since I paid my rent in time every month. What?... I thought my son was evicted for non-payment of rent? So my new bill is $2,248.73 plus $787.06 for collection fees, making a total of $3,035.79.

CHS has put an incredible amount of stress in my life, and my son's life. They have destroyed my credit beyond belief. I can't even get a job in government agencies that require clearance. It would be so easy to pay the money, but I refuse to let CHS continue to take advantage of innocent people.

I am just a single mother trying to get my son through school. I don't have much resources. We all have to get together. Join forces and make sure CHS get the consequences they deserve. They have taken advantage of too many people already, and they continue to do it. Please feel free to contact me to my email account **. I know in my heart all of us together can do something to stop CHS from victimizing more people.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, INDIANA -- My son is a student at Lincoln College of Technology where he lives in Collegiate Housing. After my sister, who co-signed for his housing received a letter stating he had a warning for loud music, I called Collegiate. Upon talking to one of the employees, I was given several different stories about how my son and his roommates were having parties and making loud noises on a regular basis in which the police were called seven times. My son and his roommates said the cops came three times, the first time was warranted, but even the cops didn't know what to make of the fact that my son and one other roommates were just playing the video game.

Needless to say, she began to tell me that my son and his roommates had to move out of the apartment by the weekend.. it was Wednesday. My son had no clue he was to be moving. I had no notice and neither did he. They were going to move all four of the boys into a much smaller, dirtier, and dangerous apartment which had no smoke detectors and an uncovered electrical outlet, among other things. I told her in no uncertain terms that these boys were not moving into this apartment in three days.. not in this condition. Her story about the music, the amount of times the police were out.. Everything she said, she contradicted herself.

She was clearly lying, which lead me to believe these boys were being railroaded. I immediately left for Indianapolis, where I had a long conversation with Collegiate Housing. She and her co-worker finally admitted that they rented the apartment to other students while my son and his roommates still occupied the apartment and without their knowledge.

I'm not entirely satisfied with the end result. I know there's something that can be done, though. The Attorney General, Governor, Mayor.. They have to know of these practices. The one thing they said to me that keeps ringing in my head is, "it's legal"! If that's true, then it's sad, and I've got a lot of work to do. I'm not going to take this lying down. They're smart.. but not that smart!

ADDISON, ILLINOIS -- By Concerned Mom. "Anyone considering attending a college or school that is using Collegiate Housing Services for their student housing can expect a very stressful experience. The school will not let you know of hidden charges and involuntary moving one or more times to fulfill their consolidation/vacancies to increase their bottom line. My son has just started school at DeVry University in Addison, IL and moved in two and half months and they are moving all the four roommates to other apts. to fill the vacancies. Their website www.housingservices.com makes it look as though it is pleasant and stress free experience.

Unfortunately, DeVry and CHS represent an entirely different picture as you can see at their website. Stay away from schools using this company or find your own housing. It is abusive the way they have set up the supposed "leases" and take advantage of their students. My son is out of state and this is a parents worst nightmare to have their child treated this way. This is not a mishap. This is written in their leases openly and is policy of CHS and the schools they represent.

They make you think you can choose where you want to live. In our case, they used noise violations that happened during day. They grossly misrepresent what they offer. College tuition is expensive! Don't let your child go through this!"

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA -- When I first started with Collegiate Housing Services, I was skeptical. I thought they had charged too much. But it turns out that they are a good company and if you don't have the same roommates the entire time (which you probably won't), it is worth it to sign the lease with them.