Out of the blue I received a credit card charge from Airbnb for nearly $1000. No email notification, no “you’re going to India”, nothing mentioning any booking. I contacted Airbnb immediately, had the usual 30-minute wait, explained the situation and was told not to cancel the booking or I would receive nothing, since my login ID had been changed I was probably the victim of a hacking account takeover, and to wait until Airbnb got back to me which could be up to several days. No help or information was provided; I was just told to shut up and wait.

I had never had any problem with my credit card before, just with Airbnb. A few days later I was notified that I would get an immediate refund but they still haven’t issued one. I tried to find out how my account was hacked or anything about what happened and was told that they don’t release any account information (including my own account) without a court order. When I persisted, they hung up on me and told me not to contact them again as the matter was closed.

I tried to contact the CEO but never received a response. I could never contact the supposed host as only a message saying his status is “being reviewed” came up when I tried to. Airbnb has been rude, not at all helpful, condescending, and doesn’t seem to care at all about their customers and problems that occur due to their failures. I still haven’t received a credit and they advised me not to contest the charge with my credit card company.