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REDC is a Real-estate auction company out of California mainly used for Foreclosed properties throughout the US. All auctions have a reserve. You register, and have to put a deposit down using credit card before bidding on a property. If you are the highest bidder, and reserve isn't met or exceeded... They will call you after auctions ends and tell you won the piece of property, congratulations! If you question them that how can that be so if reserve isn't met. 90% of the time the bank takes the offer, they will tell you. They explain that an email will be sent to you with instructions within 24hrs. They send you a contract to sign electronically, and where to wire your earnest money. You have 24 hrs from the time you receive this email to return contract & earnest money or they tell you you will be charged punitive damages. Beware... READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS first! If the reserve is not met or exceeded you don not have to do what they tell you... First of all most banks don't take less then 80% of asking price. The seller has 15 business days to respond to the offer excluding holidays and weekends. They tell you they will contact you ASAP when they hear something. They do not. So your moneys will be tied up for at least 3 weeks. So if you see another piece of property, your locked in. They will pressure you and only remember the facts if reserve isn't met you don't have to sign contract or send earnest money. They always make you think that doesn't matter and you have won the property...That isn't so. This is only my experience with the above company, and what took place in regards to their tactics. Use your own judgement, but beware...
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I registered with my credit card to observe one of their auction's online. They were having technical difficulties with the software or so the technical support person told me when I called them as I could either only hear the auction and not see it or see it but not hear it. Before I knew what happened, it stated that I won. Of course, I immediately called them to tell them I had not bid. I immediately contacted my credit card company and told them not to allow any charges to go through. It was about 2-3 months later they charged $3000 to my card. It has been almost 4 years and I have not received a penny back from them.
I am having the same problem now and they want to keep our deposit. Has anyone ever received their deposit back from REDC?
I was also a high bidder - with reserve not met. After receiving the agreement by email I declined to sign the purchase agreement and did not wire the earnest money deposit. They threaten that they may seek liquidated damages. Will they charge your card? Or do they let it drop?
I had exact same experience with "reserve not met" and their claims that they still need to submit the offer. But, even more horror stories with them. Here is my report: http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/redc-auctioncom-a273172.html
I had another experience. I signed the contract and payed the earnest money after the live auction. about a week after the auction I received a "congratulaitions" e-mail telling me that my bid had been accepted. The problem is that they send me the contract for someone else and a different property. I told them about their mistake. Then they asked me more information about the property I bid on. After I sent it, they went silent. No responses. After several trials someone sounded kind and asked me to send them the contract. I did and never heard of them again. It has been a month and when I call they just send me to someone elses voice mail. Of course they never call back. "BEWARE" These are the types of croocks that caused the Real State Bubble. If you have the chance "shoot one" :) Just kidding, just spit on his face.
I agree totally, I was misled into the same thing and wish i had done some more due dilligence on my part. I agree I was totally under the impression that if reserve price is not met you are not the winning bidder. This is an excerpt from their website
What is the Reserve?
In order to become the Winning Bidder for a Property, a Bidder must meet or exceed the Reserve Price and have the highest bid, and such highest bid must be accepted by the Seller (see “Subject to Confirmation” section below).
I am trying to fight it out with my credit card company to remove the hold and since I work for one, I know credit card companies work more for the consumer in such cases. If I send my Earnest money, I probably will never see it back and its gone from my account.
I completely agree that the company REDC - although acting within the scope of the law, misleads the public and lowers the value of auctions overall. By an auctioneer.