Re: Service Animals - Landlord Forum thread

Re: Service Animals by Lighthope on November 19, 2009 @20:46

A quick look through Scroogle (Google without the ads or spyware) pulls up no listing of an "Intermountain Fair Housing Agency". They are not a government group. They have taken the real government agency name "Intermountain Fair Housing Council" and swapped out "Council" for "Agency" to try and fool people into thinking they were connected with the government.

They are trying to scam you. There are people out there who will try and find businesses who make any kind of legal error and try to extort a "settlement" out of them. This practice made big news in California several years ago when a lawyer was shaking down laundromats owned by immigrants who didn't speak English well nor knew the law. He would find some stupid little thing and frighten them into settling.

The more I look into this, the more I think you should tell them to go spit in the wind.

It is possible that they may actually end up suing you. Then you go to Court, tell them what exactly you said, and them sue them for attorney fees and abuse of process. Also, if the plaintiff is an attorney (might be), file a complaint against him with the State Bar.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - I have not failed 10,000 times, I have successfully discovered 10,000 ways that do not work - Thomas Edison

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Re: Service Animals by Anonymous (Idaho) on November 20, 2009 @12:15

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I am not sure if I may have written their name wrong. It is council not agency.

They do have a website= ifhcboise@idahofairhousing.org

and I do believe it lists all the other states and their applicable IFHC. And it is common knowledge and practice that "testers" will call and make sure no discrimination is going on.

But who do they really answer too? All the paperwork looks very legitimate. My boss already settled just to avoid a whole lot of lawyer fees on top of the settlement. It is sad, because she is just a small business owner and this hurt financially. She just does not have the money to fight this any further. But if this is not legit than maybe through exposure on forums like this others will be more educated as to what their rights are.

Re: Service Animals by Micah on November 20, 2009 @12:55	[ Reply ]
A government agency should have a .gov address, not .org

Re: Service Animals by Lighthope on November 20, 2009 @13:17

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Digging deeper we find this:

Idaho Fair Housing Council (also dba Intermountain Fair Housing Council) is a private company categorized under Social Service Center and located in Boise, ID. Our records show it was established in 1995* and incorporated in Idaho*. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of unknown and employs a staff of approximately 1 to 4.

Pulled from http://www.manta.com/company/mmcpsbw

SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM

They prey on people who do not know the jot and tittle of the law.

I can't tell you what to do. If it were me, I'd laugh in their face. But then, you do what you feel you need to. They may very well take you to Court. They make their living doing that. It's not a fair world. I think you have a strong position since you didn't say a pet fee would be charged. Only that one "may" be charged, implying that you didn't know and had to research the matter. Since you never actually proposed a fee, you never broke the law...in my opinion of course. I'm not an attorney.

Lighthope

Pearls of Wisdom - The glass is neither half empty nor half full. It's just the wrong size.

Re: Service Animals by Anonymous (Id) on November 20, 2009 @14:00

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thank you for all the info.

There should be a place to call and report them and have them investigated WITHOUT adding additonal fees such as attorney fees to us.

Find out if they are licensed to make the tester calls??

wow this could be a can of worms!

Re: Service Animals

Re: Service Animals by Anonymous (idaho) on November 20, 2009 @15:20

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All the paperwork is tied to US Department H U D

Seattle branch. It all looks legitimate.

Again, this forum is a good way to get the word out among peers that this type of venue for checking on discrimination does exist. Be Careful!