Our Furnished Quarters Nightmare
We haven’t yet stayed at Furnished Quarters (Jersey City) so we can’t give a review of their unit yet. What we can say is that, so far, trying to book a unit has been an absolute nightmare. Our first problem was the back and forth of emails trying to check for availability, in each email there was a different set of availability and it was hard to find all that was available where we wanted.
When we finally found one that we wanted to stay in the booking problems began. First they wanted a deposit of $1000 USD which would only be returned 45-60 days after check out. Next they wanted more information about us than what we’d need if we were getting a loan to buy the place. It made us wonder if this wasn’t some ploy at identity theft. Once we provided all the information they needed they wanted information like bank statements which we were most definitely not willing to provide! We just wanted to stay there, not transfer all our assets to their firm!!
That was worked out after hours on the phone with them and we finally went ahead with the booking. Only to find that they charged us one more day than we would have been charged in a hotel!! When we contacted them they said they charged in days not nights and that even though we could only check in after 4pm on the first day and we have to check out before 12am on the last day they would still charge them as full days. I’ve been quite involved in the travel industry and developing computer systems for them for years and I’ve never seen something so ludicrous! In many countries this would be considered false advertising and be illegal!
All we want is to stay at the unit at the price we were quoted for the number of nights we want to stay. Now they’ve already charged our card for the full stay plus the deposit and the extra night that they say is the normal way they charge and they say they can’t do anything about it.
Yes! Definitely different from a hotel, at least in a hotel they don’t charge you for time you don’t stay there!
The unit had better be absolutely amazing to make up for all this nonsense or we wouldn’t even recommend them to our worst enemy. So if you’re thinking of staying with them, be prepared for more red tape than a Soviet Bureaucrat and more tricks to get your money than a second-hand car dealer would use!
Update: The reason we wrote about this in the first place was because they said they would return our calls and didn’t. We had hoped to let people know about the problems we faced so that they could be forewarned. We also expected that Furnished Quarters would maybe call or email us to sort this out, or even leave a comment explaining their policy and what they would do to help us. What we weren’t prepared for is for Furnished Quarters to leave 4 fake comments pretending to be customers who had stayed with them 
In one of those comments, they even seemed to insult us, their customers, who have paid a not small amount to stay in their units and haven’t even stayed there yet! I sure hope this isn’t their corporate policy as it would show a total lack of customer service!
How do we know it came from Furnished Quarters? All of them came from IP address: 63.116.172.66 which belongs to Furnished Quarters. (If you’re a tech person look it up with whois.)
Latest Update: Gary Brown, president of Furnished Quarters contacted us and has agreed to all the things we thought were reasonable for staying at the unit such as charging by nights, etc. He also offered to give us a full refund if we didn’t stay there, or to refund us without penalty if we were unhappy with the unit when we arrived. In addition he said he was investigating the fake comments from an “overzealous” employee. We think this is a good example of how corporate management should handle a situation like this, and we will give him a chance to show us what Furnished Quarters is like by giving their accommodation a try.
(6 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
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I have stayed with Furnished Quarters several times for business over the years. I am a consultant living in DC and come to NYC a few times a year for about a month each time. They have been in business for 10 years now and they are quite legit. I work with Peter and he is so easy to work with. Yes, I pay a security deposit which I have them use to pay any extra charges for my stay (pay per movies for example - I know they have to wait to see the bills which come in after my stay so the deposit takes a little time to come back). Anyways, the apartments are beautiful and I have found that the service is terrific as well! Way cheaper than a hotel and you get like 3x the room!
This is the first fake comment posted from Furnished Quarters’ offices. I would like to speak to this “Peter”, as I really wish they were easy to work with!
Also note, here “he” claims to be a consultant from DC and below he claims to be a real estate agent in NYC.
Are they even a licensed company? Their website looks ok but I’d still be wary if I were you. Maybe better to stay with a recognised hotel.
I have worked with this company. Great reputation!
You worded it wrongly, it should read: “I work for this company”. After all, you posted it from their office!
I am a real estate broker in NYC for one of the larger companies. This company is incredible - 40 locations -great staff to wrok with. No worries here!
Another fake comment posted from their office. So far I have to agree with the statement “This company is incredible”, it sure is. But in a different way than what the employee implies.
Also make up your mind “Greg”, are you a consultant like in the comment above, or a real estate broker? If you’re gonna lie, at least lie consistently!
I’ve stayed with Furnished Quarters for several years, and they are licensed and have been around for at least 10 years! This guy is trying to use a corporate housing company like a hotel, which it is not, these are fully furnished apartments in regular tenant buildings, they have to follow the same procedures as if you were renting an apartment and get the first month’s rent up front, a credit check is standard as well. All corporate housing companies charge in days because their billing procedures are different than a hotels as well. This guy sounds like he’s trying to hide something if he’s not willing to give the proper information or is just confused because he thinks he’s staying in a hotel when he’s not. I’ve never had a problem with them all the times I’ve stayed, this guy needs to get a grip or stay in a hotel if he doesn’t like their policies or procedures.
The above comment is also from Furnished Quarters and it’s where they start getting nasty in their false posts.
It’s absolutely ironic how they say: “This guy sounds like he’s trying to hide something”, when it is Furnished Quarters hiding behind fake names and posting from their offices!
And yes, we do hide our bank statements and private records from prying eyes. According to nearly every government agency, that is the best way to prevent identity theft which is an increasing concern! Besides, why do we need a credit check if we’re prepaying our entire stay plus a hefty deposit?
The next insult is: “this guy needs to get a grip or stay in a hotel if he doesn’t like their policies or procedures.”
We probably should have stayed in a hotel, but we wanted to experience New York living in an apartment. And if we had known the policy of charging an extra night before they had charged our credit card, then we would have been able to make an informed decision.
If insulting customers while hiding behind fake names is the policy over at Furnished Quarters, we dread our stay there! Will our belongings be damaged or stolen out of spite? Will they say we damaged the property just to confiscate our deposit?
Whatever happens, we will fully document it and post it here for all of you our readers
[…] with response and other aspects of Furnished Quarters’ customer service, they decided to blog about it to let others know about the hidden differences in charging and that it might prompt somebody at […]
I wouldn’t stay there after they did something like this to you! You should report it to the Better Business Bureau or some government body. There must be some regulation about how they can charge!
I just found this on John Chow’s site. I’m appalled–but somehow not surprised. In addition to contacting the BBB, whihc is a VERY good idea, you may want to check with your credit card company to see what buyer protections you have. You should be able to do what is known as a “chargeback” to get your money back from these asshats. Surely in all of NYC, there is some other corporate or short-term housing available. Maybe some other readers will have a suggestion?!
Good luck. New York is incredible (or maybe that isn’t the best word to use here) but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
(Found you via John Chow)-
Can you check with the Better Business Bureau to see if they have complaints already against them? Also, Do a google search for complaints? That’s how I found so many about ING Banking. (they screwed me over)
Ha ha ha..
I really like to read the comment from that fake customer..
I think you will big after chow review it..
good blog
Even though they’ve charged your credit card you haven’t yet received the service so if they won’t refund your money you will be able to call up your credit card company and dispute the charge. The credit card company should then probably immediately remove the charge from your account and they themselves will work with Furnished Quarters to get their money back.
Like a majority of them, I drop by from JohnChow.com. It is ridiculous how they are responding to the comments and they could have at least been a bit smarter. Definitely not a Consultant/Broker or even a housing agency I want to deal with.
This is FQ and we don’t understand the internet. We will go to an internet cafe down the street in the same city and post most customer testimonials from all over the where during the week. You will never find which one is real cause we’re smarter than you!
LOL nice comment. They probably would given what happened thus far haha
[…] with response and other aspects of Furnished Quarters’ customer service, they decided to blog about it to let others know about the hidden differences in charging and that it might prompt somebody at […]
This is really sad and funny at the same time. If they had just said, “No problem, since you didn’t expect it and we should have disclosed this per day charge procedure, we’ll go ahead and credit your account one day.”
They would have been the heroes, you would have been happy and we all could have held hands and sang “kumbiya”. This is a perfect example of using a negative to become a positive.
Takes all kinds.
lol, you wanted to experience the “New York lifestyle” and now you have…you’ve been screwed, lied to and conned ;). (joking though only partially).
These Furnished Quarters idiots obviously don’t understand the internet enough to know that they are screwing themselves. Not only should they have had better customer service, which now the world will know, but the whole fake comment thing just makes them look even shadier. Regardless of whatever their insane policies are, or they claim to be, they made a mistake being asshats and not doing what was needed to take care of the customer.
The would have had full time bloggers spending time there for a whole month and probably getting some decent free, and positive, advertisement because of that. Now regardless if you stay there or not they have ruined their reputation and with you blogging about it and john blogging about it you can be sure that hundreds of thousands of people will see it over the weeks and even more over time. When anyone searches for Furnished Quarters online guess what sites will come up lol. Yep, all these post and John blog talking about how they screwed you and have been playing silly games rather than taking care of a customer. Now everyone that ever searches for them will see the negatives right away. Did they think about that? Obviously not but eventually they will realize they just got a huge free advertising campaign that will last for years only it won’t help them and will drive potential customers away. Give it a couple weeks when John is indexed, this blog is indexed and all the various bloggers that read John start blogging about it.
Congrats on screwing up potential business for years to come Furnished Quarters. If you would have just taken the time to take care of the customers needs rather than go play “dress up” online you may have had the complete opposite situation.
I believe John’s site is auto banned on Google LOL. Maybe, just maybe, it might be indexed in Yahoo for the few that actually do use it.
In any event, although this will look bad on their part, I highly doubt it would put a huge dent in their business. Not to defend them but even bad PR (publicity) can be an advantage depending on how you want to look at it.
Steven? Is that you Steven Brown vice president of Furnished Quarters? If it’s really you, Go f**k yourself you and your Brother Gary Brown, owner of Furnished Quarters! I am so glad you both F***ed up with your customer service and your lack of courtesy! Yeah a**holes, I am one of your Rent Stabilized tenants that you are trying to evict under the “Owner use and occupancy bullshit!” And since I have my right to freedom of speech, you Gary Brown can go F**K YOURSELF along with your bulls**t company “Furnished Quarters!” Yes, don’t trust these guys they are dirty players in the real estate industry! They go around buying up rent regulated buildings at dirt cheap prices and then harass the tenants that are paying modest rents in those buildings by taking them into Housing Court to win evictions with their lies and pretexes. These guys Gary and Steven Brown are the scum of the earth! DON’T TRUST THEM!
F**k Furnished Quarters and F**k you both!
thanks for making this problem public. now people using their service will be able to find this review if they search for it online.
interestingly, FQ’s initials are just that - “Fukyu”!!!!
that should’ve been a sign right there
I was very surprised to learn of the frustrating service you recently received from Furnished Quarters. It seems we have an overzealous employee who was eager to defend our company, and we are investigating this matter internally.
Booking corporate housing (temporary furnished apartments) is like renting an apartment and the same kind of information is required, including financials. The billing period is also very similar to renting an apartment which is per day rather than like a hotel which is per night. This is a corporate housing industry standard and I am sorry that you did not understand or agree with it.
We would welcome the opportunity to accommodate you and feel confident you will enjoy your stay with us if you so choose. However, as we indicated today, if you prefer to cancel, at no penalty, we can have the charge reversed on your credit card.
I apologize for any inconvenience. Please feel free to contact me personally if you have any other questions or comments.
Gary Brown
President
Furnished Quarters
Gary Brown, president of Furnished Quarters contacted us and has agreed to all the things we thought were reasonable for staying at the unit such as charging by nights, etc. He also offered to give us a full refund if we didn’t stay there, or to refund us without penalty if we were unhappy with the unit when we arrived. In addition he said he was investigating the fake comments from an “overzealous” employee. We think this is a good example of how corporate management should handle a situation like this, and we will give him a chance to show us what Furnished Quarters is like by giving their accommodation a try.
thass pretty Funny but what a Royal Pain*
F**k you Gary Brown and your Furnished Quarters company-they suck!