If you search 773-273-7079 in the apartments section on Craigslist you’ll find 1,000 ads for apartments for rent. If you Google the number you’ll find a site called RentFromTommy.com and the name of Tom Tully.
I called the number and asked for information about the business, and was given none, except for an assurance that the Web site – RentFromTommy – I was looking at had been taken down. It hadn’t. I asked to speak to Tom Tully, who “wasn’t there” but would be given my phone number.
An individual who identified himself as Tom Tully called me back within several minutes. We had a lengthy conversation which left me with a clear impression that I was being consistently lied to. The conversation ended with Tully firmly denying that he had any connection with the business that I’d called. He claimed to be completely surprised by the notion that state law required apartment rental services to state their company name in ads. He stated that he once had an apartment leasing license and did business – although not confessing any connection with the one that Google links him with – under the license of a broker on Western Ave. The RentFromTommy site does not, as required by state law, disclose the name of any licensed broker. And the state database has no record of an apartment leasing license having been issued to Tom Tully.
I called the 773 number again this evening and talked with Bridget (sp?). When pressed, she gave the name of the business as “High End Rentals” but refused to repeat it. When I informed her that I wanted to know the exact name of the business I was calling, she told me I would have to talk to her boss – Tom Tully. Presumably the same Tom Tully who had earlier today denied any connection with the business.
In my (generally educated) opinion, this operation reeks of the worst sort of scam, and anyone who responds to any of the 1,000 ads on Craigslist is taking an unacceptable risk in doing so.
For that matter, anyone calling any apartment rental service (maggot, for short) needs to be constantly alert to protecting their interests. Maggots do not work on your behalf.
Added 9/11 –
Tommy is still out there, still operating without a license.