Company that makes rent-setting software for landlords sued for collusion

RealPage worked with some of the nation’s largest landlords to raise rents, says lawsuit.

Read the whole story

 

[panderson420]

A lot of people are wondering in the comments if this is illegal or just a innovative use of software.

If you read the pro-publica article, it's clearly collusion.

All these landlords (mostly big companies, but not all of them) are giving their data to an algorithm, and that algorithm tells them what prices they should be selling at.

Now replace the word "algorithm" with "a guy named Bob."

All these landlords are giving their data to a guy named Bob, and Bob is telling them what prices they should be selling at.

If it's illegal for "a guy named Bob" to do then it's also illegal for an algorithm to do.

Agreed.

Which Federal law exactly is Bob violating though?

As far as I'm aware, that would just be called a 'pricing consultant' or a 'pricing analyst' and that is a legal career path with many available jobs as a quick Google search will show.

What is a Pricing Analyst?

A pricing analyst is responsible for analyzing competitor pricing matched with market expectations to determine the ideal target price for products of the business. Duties include providing thorough analytical breakdowns of pricing structures and sales funnels of similar competitor products and services and identifying specific strategies used in pricing models of the same. Reports are written in order to evaluate the findings and to propose the results to the relevant departments for effect. Depending on the company, pricing analysts may progress into managerial roles involving financial account management and analysis.

https://www.glassdoor.com/Job-Descripti ... nalyst.htm

As far as I can tell that is exactly what the software is doing.

Are you saying the entire field is illegal somehow and nobody has noticed, or am I missing your point?

 

[panderson420]

A lot of people are wondering in the comments if this is illegal or just a innovative use of software.

If you read the pro-publica article, it's clearly collusion.

All these landlords (mostly big companies, but not all of them) are giving their data to an algorithm, and that algorithm tells them what prices they should be selling at.

Now replace the word "algorithm" with "a guy named Bob."

All these landlords are giving their data to a guy named Bob, and Bob is telling them what prices they should be selling at.

If it's illegal for "a guy named Bob" to do then it's also illegal for an algorithm to do.

Agreed.

Which Federal law exactly is Bob violating though?

As far as I'm aware, that would just be called a 'pricing consultant' or a 'pricing analyst' and that is a legal career path with many available jobs as a quick Google search will show.

What is a Pricing Analyst?

A pricing analyst is responsible for analyzing competitor pricing matched with market expectations to determine the ideal target price for products of the business. Duties include providing thorough analytical breakdowns of pricing structures and sales funnels of similar competitor products and services and identifying specific strategies used in pricing models of the same. Reports are written in order to evaluate the findings and to propose the results to the relevant departments for effect. Depending on the company, pricing analysts may progress into managerial roles involving financial account management and analysis.

https://www.glassdoor.com/Job-Descripti ... nalyst.htm

As far as I can tell that is exactly what the software is doing.

Are you saying the entire field is illegal somehow and nobody has noticed, or am I missing your point?

If everyone is using the same consultant, yeah, the same price fixing and collusion arguments would apply.

Can you cite the law?

 

[panderson420]

I've never heard of an analyst that requires management to justify why they are departing from the analyst's recommendation.

This implies a relationship is of a different nature than just advisory.

Would be interesting to know what happens if a company signs up for this service then repeatedly refuses to keep properties off the market when instructed, and refuses to not undercut the recommended prices.

We'll probably learn that during discovery.

Nah, we won't, because those records are private records of free expression.

 

[panderson420]

I've never heard of an analyst that requires management to justify why they are departing from the analyst's recommendation.

This implies a relationship is of a different nature than just advisory.

Would be interesting to know what happens if a company signs up for this service then repeatedly refuses to keep properties off the market when instructed, and refuses to not undercut the recommended prices.

We'll probably learn that during discovery.

Nah, we won't, because those records are private records of free expression.

Either you left off the /sarcasm, or you have absolutely no idea how American legal process works.

Discovery lets both sides in a lawsuit say to the other side: "drop your pants, bend over, and give us a really good look". And failing to comply with discovery means that: a) the judge gets really pissed off b) the judge can instruct the jury to make "adverse inferences" from the withheld information - basically "image the reasonable worst possible and pretends its whats there" when making the jury's decision.

You can ask Alex Jones how well stone-walling on discovery works out.

Yeah, you clearly have a Law & Order education here, it is so cute you believe that.

 

[panderson420]

I've never heard of an analyst that requires management to justify why they are departing from the analyst's recommendation.

This implies a relationship is of a different nature than just advisory.

Would be interesting to know what happens if a company signs up for this service then repeatedly refuses to keep properties off the market when instructed, and refuses to not undercut the recommended prices.

We'll probably learn that during discovery.

Nah, we won't, because those records are private records of free expression.

Ohh No! Now we have sovereign citizen corporations!

Yeah that's been true for really near 20 years now.

 

[panderson420]

I've never heard of an analyst that requires management to justify why they are departing from the analyst's recommendation.

This implies a relationship is of a different nature than just advisory.

Would be interesting to know what happens if a company signs up for this service then repeatedly refuses to keep properties off the market when instructed, and refuses to not undercut the recommended prices.

We'll probably learn that during discovery.

Nah, we won't, because those records are private records of free expression.

Either you left off the /sarcasm, or you have absolutely no idea how American legal process works.

Discovery lets both sides in a lawsuit say to the other side: "drop your pants, bend over, and give us a really good look". And failing to comply with discovery means that: a) the judge gets really pissed off b) the judge can instruct the jury to make "adverse inferences" from the withheld information - basically "image the reasonable worst possible and pretends its whats there" when making the jury's decision.

You can ask Alex Jones how well stone-walling on discovery works out.

Yeah, you clearly have a Law & Order education here, it is so cute you believe that.

Hate to break it to you dearie, but Law & Order is about criminal law, not civil law; even your clapbacks are incompetent.

Lol.

Okay, fine.

They have a TV education.

Happy?

Their 'interpretation' of law (and I use that term very very loosely) truly sucks.