LITTLE ROCK, AR -- A single mother of four, LaQuania West thought a house on Cedar Street would be the new beginning her family needed. It's close to her kids school so they wouldn't have to transfer.
She went ahead and paid the deposit and first month's rent.
"I took other money that I had to go pay things off and got everything else to be cut on," West said.
The trouble began when when she tried to turn on her utilities.
"They told me he needed to replace and upgrade the meter and show a permit for it," West said.
No replacing or upgrading has taken place. In fact, West said her landlord, Imran Bohra, won't even answer her calls! She paid him a thousand dollars to be in this house on February 20th!
"I could have used this money for something else, and now he's refusing to give me my money," West said.
Since West has a hard time getting in touch with her landlord, she had her cousin to call and inquire about this house. The landlord tried to offer her cousin the house, telling the cousin it's vacant. When West confronted him on the phone, he hung up.
I got Bohra on the phone and asked him about a place.
"Where is the $700 property?" I asked.
"It's at 230 South Cedar Street," Bohra said.
The address is the same place West says she's supposed to be in.
"I have to tell you I'm with FOX16 News. I talked to Laquania West. Isn't she supposed to be in that house?" I asked.
She doesn't want the house so she lost her money," Bohra said.
"Are you going to give her the money?" I asked.
He hung up.
West is taking the legal route and has gone to small claims court, hoping they can help her get her money back. But this process, she said, hurts her family.
"We work hard for our money. I know I do if no one else does, and I want to be able to provide for my kids. Right now, he's putting me in a bind," West said.
