federa.com Reviews 139

I have been trying to get my money back of around 7k from federa since November of 2025. I talked to Andrew and he keeps telling me that finance will contact me about my refund. Finance has yet to send me a confirmation email about the refund.

there is no customer service, every times I called there was no response . When you place a bid , you find out auction closing date changed several times, Federa will not return your deposit, this is scam!!

I deposited $47k to bid on a house. I did not win the auction. This was in December, It is now April 2026. I still haven't received my money back. I call almost daily and they say by the end of the week, every time. I'm forced to hire a attorney. I've contacted all the local authorities I can think of. Plus FBI. Hoping something happens. I've wrote other reviews. They will reply to this saying they're not doing anything wrong and the money is in the processing department blah blah blah. I'm not going to but this go. I'm going to make things right.

Be very careful with this company; they do not refund deposited funds. I requested my refund on Jan,11 2026, and to this day, I still haven't received the money. I don't know what else to do—it amounts to $21,000.00—and they won't respond; I only receive automated replies.

Absolutely horrible experience.

I requested a refund of $12,000 over 30 days ago after deciding not to proceed with a house auction bid. The status has been stuck on “Pending Approval” ever since, despite their policy clearly stating refunds should be processed within 30 days.

I have reached out multiple times and only receive automated responses with no real updates. I was once told there were “technical issues,” but no one followed up. When I call and ask to speak with the finance department, the calls get disconnected.

This has caused me serious financial stress, as I needed those funds for another home opportunity. At this point, it feels impossible to get my own money back.

Very disappointing and unprofessional. I would strongly caution anyone before using this platform

As I remember, when I called federal.com one girl EMMA, answered,she was very professional, polite, courteous she was very helpful for my inquiry and questions

If I could give less stars, I would.

I originally wrote a post about them failing to refund my money on February 28. On March 11, the response received was that the refund was processed (which I might add was promised multiple times before and never received). Here we are on March 20 and still, no refund. So frustrating!

It is an absolute battle to get your full refund after unsuccessfully winning a bid on a purchase.

I had an absolute GREAT experience!! The bidding process was very easy to navigate with Federa. Besi, assisted with all of my questions immediately. He was super knowledgeable, professional and helpful. Besi made sure my Refunds were processed and sent back in a couple of days. Besi continued to follow up with me which showed the integrity of Federa. I highly recommend using Federa for real estate auctions.

good experience- although i was very sceptical after reading The online reviews especially since i had already transferred a large sum of money on their site - however Besi worked with me very diligently and refunded me everything i had transferred within a few days - not even a week it took ! its best to use their chat feature to request your refund and it's done pretty quickly although they say may take upto 30 days but in my case as i mentioned - took kids a few days under 5 infact so im very happy with them

One star is higher than they deserve. Bid on a property and put up $5150 deposit. Auction ended on 02/09. We did not win, so requested our refund on 02/10. Was assured it would immediately be sent. Refund would be $5000. They were entitled to keep $150. As of today 03/17 we have received nothing but empty promises. Have spent literally hours on the phone with them. Nothing. They are liars and scammers. If I were to completely list the lies they have told me, this review would be more of an epic classic than a review. I am 78 and these are the worst liars and scammers I have ever encountered.they replied that have processed my refund. That is simply another lie. That is what they do best. While they tell you it is done, I haven’t seen one cent
UPDATE. They still have my money! They have an excellent AI chat page. Excuses are made for every issue. However we continue to go without any resolution. FINALLY I found a phone number that worked. Spoke to a human who said he would help. Called back today and that number is “no longer in service”. I am still out $5000.00! UPDATE Their post says taken care of. I have not seen one cent of my money. You can tell they are lying. That happens anytime they respond. Money deposited 02/08. Auction ended 02/09/2026. I did not win. 40 days and my deposit not refunded. They are WORLD CLASS AT STALLING, LYING, AND KEEPING FUNDS THAT ARE NOT THEIRS. THEY SHOULD BE IN JAIL. THEY ARE LIARS AND THIEVES

Update 3/14: Federa responded to my Trustpilot review that they spoke with me. However, they told me it will be processed on Friday, and I will receive an email confirmation, which of course never happened.. The money is still not in my account, and no email about the refund. The auto assistance is telling me its still pending. Be aware of this fraudulent company.

I deposited funds to participate in a Federa auction. I did not win the bid and immediately requested that my deposit be returned to my checking account.

I was told the refund could take up to 30 days.

About two weeks ago I spoke with someone who identified herself as a supervisor, and she told me the refund should arrive within a week.

Yesterday (day 29) I called again for an update. The same person then claimed she never said that, and repeated that refunds can take “up to 30 days.”

Today is day 30, and the funds have still not been returned.

Every time I call, I am told the issue has been “escalated to the highest team.” Yet nothing actually changes.

What makes this particularly concerning is that a refund to a standard checking account does not take 30 days once it is initiated. A normal ACH transfer typically takes 1–3 business days. Which raises the obvious question: why hasn’t the refund even been processed yet?

After reading the other reviews here, it appears many customers are reporting the same issue — deposits being held for extended periods of time after auctions end.

This raises serious concerns about how customer deposits are being handled. There is no visibility into where these funds are actually held, whether they are in escrow, or why refunds appear to take far longer than normal banking timelines.

At this point the situation feels extremely troubling and unprofessional, especially after receiving inconsistent explanations from support.

If the refund has in fact been processed, Federa should have no problem confirming the exact date the transfer was initiated and the transaction reference number.

Until then, the continued delays and vague responses leave a very negative impression of how customer funds are treated. When deposits are collected immediately but refunds consistently take the full 30 days or longer, it raises obvious questions about how those funds are being handled during that time and why refunds are not initiated promptly once an auction ends.

Wish I could do zero stars. On January 22 I requested a refund on my $14k deposit and they said it would take “up to 30 days”. Ever since I’ve been contacting them every couple days and they keep either having “technical issues” or some other issues and of course no refund. Emma keeps promising a refund with no help whatsoever. They’re a scam and I’m contacting my lawyer.

After two months, the funds from our transaction have still not been refunded. Communication has been extremely poor. Emails go unanswered, and there is virtually no transparency about where the money is being held.

We have repeatedly asked for proof that the funds are being kept in a segregated escrow account, but no documentation has been provided.

Customer service is essentially one person who claims to be the manager. We are repeatedly told “the money will be wired today”, yet the wire never arrives and no confirmation is ever sent.

At this point the experience has been extremely frustrating and concerning. Two months without a refund and without clear documentation raises serious questions about how client funds are being handled.

Proceed with caution.

Federa has been holding on to my $20000 deposit for several weeks, well beyond the 30 days. It’s been several weeks since my $20000 refund has been pending approval. It been a week since Federa messaged that my refund request has been escalated with priority. Still nothing.

I fail to understand what is delaying my refund. Please process it immediately.

I tried to process my refund via Federa's system. After 30 days, I followed up and per Andrew, Federa's system did not show refund was requested. Andrew assisted me and told me my refund would be sent within 30 days. Followed up again. Spoke with Emma, who stated refund got hung up in the computer, and while I was on hold, Emma worked to release check #1 in amount of $150 (note: I made two separate deposits), Check #1 was deposited into my account within days just like Emma told me it would be. At the time Emma was working on check #1, she had given me a date check #2 would be deposited into my account. When check#2 did not appear on given date, I called Emma who was surprised to hear 2nd check did not deposit. She worked her magic and I just got off the phone with the rep at my bank and I am happy to report check#2 in the amount of $5200 is pending on against my credit card account waiting to be deposit by my bank. I just had to let it be known that I did get my refund from Federa (I only requested refund to help get medical bill out of the way). I also want it to be known that I have always gotten someone on the phone when I called. The reps were professional and patienc, especially Emma who worked hard to return my refund. I have to admit, I was kind of scared when the $5200 did not appear on the original date given. But, after talking with Emma again, and knowing how hard she has been working with me, my fear disappeared. I don't know if Federa is a small organization, but I do know that Federa's Reps, especially Emma, are hard workers. She deserves her props and I am using this platform to give them to her. Thank you Emma for being so professional and working so hard to make sure I received my refund. You are the best. Looking forward to working with you again.

I don't think they have real auction of bids for homes and is a fraud. BBB should be taking them offline and not seeign how this is a company that is able to bid on homes that are NOT a part of their portal.

In reference to a previous review of mine, and after the Federa team replied to my review that a refund had been initiated, I got the following reply from the finance team after 5 follow-ups. Many other people have received the same excuse, and they never got their money back!!! Save yourself the trouble and learn from my experience

"We sincerely apologize for the delay.

The delay is due to a technical issue, which has been escalated internally to ensure it is resolved as quickly as possible. Our team is actively working on it.

We will provide you with an update and an estimated timeframe as soon as more information becomes available."

Update 02/19: Another lie, the refund has not been initiated and it is still showing Pending approval. The give the same excuse to everyone.
Update 03/09: After 2 months of waiting and more that 20 calls and follow up emails, I finally got my refund.

When I called regarding how to receive my deposit refund, I spoke to Emma who was very nice and helpful. She took me step by step and showed me exactly how to request a refund of my deposit. She was great! Thanks Emma. I liked that the bidding process was easy. I didn't like the fact that after the deadline, more time was added so that people were able to bid after the deadline. If I receive my deposit back within 30 days, I'll be happy. Thank you for asking about my experience.

Very easy to navigate, I didn’t get the house that I wanted, but few months later I requested a refund . Emma was very happy to help me get my refund in just a few days. I look forward to do business with federal.com again in near future.Thank you Emma for processing my refund so quickly.