theblueground.com

Horrible rental experience

My wife and I signed up for a 12-month total, live-anywhere-within-the-network program, paid a €6,094 security deposit, and moved into an apartment on Champs Elysees, Paris on August 18, 2024. Four months and three weeks later, in accordance with company policy, we transferred to an apartment in Chaillot, Paris, on January 9, 2025. The company’s policy on their website states the first transfer is free. Instead, they billed us €1,547 immediately after we took possession, which we paid.Although the new apartment had building-controlled central heating, it was inoperable in the unit. We immediately contacted the emergency customer service number and received no response until we placed the inoperable heating in the email inventory/condition move-in sheet. The company never sent a representative to assess the issue. We are seniors, and became sick staying and showering in the cold apartment in the middle of winter (January). Six days later, they provided two small electric space heaters to supplement an existing electric space heater. The company promised us a €300.30 credit as compensation.After completing the required 12-month total stay, we gave the company one month’s notice, which covered the current billing period plus nine days. The company sent us an invoice with rent and utilities in excess of 270% of our current rate for the remaining nine days. We raised this issue with the General Manager of the French subsidiary via registered mail; she never responded. We then sent a second registered letter, offering to leave at the end of the current billing period in lieu of owner/landlord nonpayment of building fees and the law firm implementation of interruptions in power, hot water and heat at October 3rd of the October 27th initial vacate notice. The customer experience manager and the team lead agreed via email on October 16, 2025, to the revised move-out date. We moved out at 10:07 am on Saturday, October 18, 2025, which was acknowledged by the customer experience manager and her representative on October 20, 2025. Our total stay was 14 consecutive months and 1 day, which exceeds the program requirements. They are now demanding rent and utilities of €2,547.34 for the last nine days without acknowledging Customer Service agreeing to the revised move-out date nor the unwarranted early €1,500 termination fee. The company also refuses to provide detailed rent receipts (which are different from payment confirmation emails), as required by French laws and their own policy.UPDATE 10/23/2025We received an email from a Senior Credit Control Associate our payment minus the €300.30 creditwas 4 days past due! We responded with evidence that the customer experience manager and the team lead agreed via email to the revised move-out date of October 16, 2025, and acknowledged the move-out on October 20, 2025. However, the application and the website continue to count down to an October 27 move-out and show a past due amount of €2,247.04 for the period of October 18-27. We no longer occupy the unit.A newly assigned customer experience representative thanked us for taking good care of the unit, then stated that our deposit would be calculated after inspection and cleaning.UPDATE 10/25/2025The company sent another confirmation that they are ignoring the agreed and confirmed October 18, 2025, at 10:07 am move-out so that they can charge for a week of occupancy while the apartment was vacant and create fictitious charges against our €6,094 security deposit due no later than November 17 by French law and their own policy.UPDATE 11/05/2025The company's response contains inaccuracies and a glaring omission:1. Our transfer to the second apartment was not a permanent relocation arranged by the company; it was a standard option of their "live anywhere" program that required 30 days' notice before transferring to another apartment. As stated earlier, the sales agent charged us a €1,547 transfer fee (which was not included in the program costs).2. It has been a week since the company deducted €2,247.04 from our €6,094 security deposit, which was returned on 10/29/2025. However, in their application, they state that a payment of €2,247.04 is 18 days overdue. This is the very definition of fraudulent billing!

Date of experience: Oct 14, 2025