federa.com Reviews 150

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.

Federa = scam

DO NOT SEND THEM MONEY. As of 2/12/26 they are trying to run an “online fireclosure auction” with properties in Tallahassee, FL which is a true scam. I verified this with the Leon County (Tallahassee) tax collector. Also, i have already reported them to local, state, and federal authorities.

In response to your Reply Federa - you are 100% lying. I spoke to the Leon county govt directly and they said that it is 100% a scam. Not my words - their words, and as they are in charge of the auction, I believe them.

All the 5-star review for federa.com are fakes. They pop up after they get real genuine 1-star reviews. These people are scammers. They are stealing people's deposits and refusing to return. I have opened up a case with Florida AG and Virginia AG's office against them. They are a cancer preying upon people who are looking to own a home!

Great process and responsive service. I didn’t win my bid but there is always next time.

Getting refund was quick and absolutely painless me. It took a couple of days to get my funds back to my account. Received a really great experience.

Federa replied with a lie!!
I just contacted my CC bank and they have not seen any recent transaction posted from Federa on the account.
JUST MORE LIES!!!

I made two US$16,480 to a total deposit of US32,960 on November 21, 2025 to participate in an auction on a property. I did not win the auction so I contacted Federa on November 23, 2025 for them to refund me the US32,960; in that phone call I was informed by "Alex" that the refund was initiated and it will take no longer than 30 days for us to see the money back in our card. After the time passed we contacted back Federa in many occasions and ever since all I have received is the excuse that their system has been down or failing to process refunds. I have spoken about 5 or 6 different times with same person named Emma Adams which present herself as manager and in every single call she has given me same excuse.
Today is February 6, 2026 and I have not yet received the refund.
Be aware of this company; if you are in the same situation open cases with all the agency out there that care about this kind of scams; mention those two names "Alex" and "Emma Adams".

It forced me to give 1 star, otherwise I would have given 0. I deposited $8000, and upon not winning the auction, they have not refunded my deposit money. It’s been well over the 30 day time frame. Do not use! It’s a scam!

Edit: Federa posted a reply this morning saying that the funds have now been refunded in full. However, that is incorrect. Still showing “pending approval” in the app. And no funds have been returned to my account.

Federa is refusing to return my $20k deposit. I requested my refund on January 5th and today is Day 31. They missed their own 30-day deadline (SLA) and all I get are copy-paste excuses about 'compliance reviews.'

I found out they were advertising an auction they didn't even manage, and now that I want my money back, no solution. I’ve already filed reports with the Florida Attorney General, the DBPR, FTC and I´m heading towards the police.

If you're thinking about depositing money here, DON'T. They are quick to take your cash but impossible when it's time to pay it back. If you look at Zillow under Federa or Jamie L. Boone , you can see they are still doing this with other properties. They use George Wade Lodge´s license number to post listings on Zillow.

They are listing state auctions as their own just to get people to deposit money. STAY AWAY.

I will keep everyone updated.

Update 02/9: Just received reply from Federa. It is NOT true. I haven’t received any refund yet.

Overall was good experience, the process was quite simple and the customer service was there to help at any time. My auction was cancelled but I will try again soon with another home. Andrew was pretty helpful with the entire process.

This company is a scam. Auctions don’t end when stated. They hold your deposits hostage…. DO NOT USE!!!

I found the property that was being auctioned on Federa. After following the link and proceeding through the bidding process, I was required to place a deposit with Federa in the amount of $20,000 on October 27, 2025 in order to submit a bid on the foreclosed property.
The same day the deposit was made, the property was removed from the bidding platform, making it impossible for me to place a bid. I requested a refund immediately. Since that time, my refund has remained in “pending approval” status.
I have contacted Federa multiple times. I have spoken with representatives on several occasions and was told each time that there was an internal issue and that my refund would be processed within a few days. In my most recent conversation, I was informed that the accounting team had been contacted and that the refund would be processed soon. Despite these assurances, my deposit has not been returned. It takes a few clicks to schedule and process the refund.
I am providing this information for awareness. Be aware and don't give your money to this company.

Update: As of today, January 24, 2026 I have not received the refunded funds, and no credit has posted to my bank account.
Your internal review and audit across the platform is incorrect

I did get my deposit back but I did not make any bids