Tag Archives: airbnb fraud

Fraudulent Post on Airbnb… No Resolution Obviously

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I reserved this apartment in Switzerland from a posting on the Airbnb site, and had contact with the host a few times. All seemed well until I made a payment through an external link (though the Airbnb posting indicated this was the way to go), which turned out to be fraudulent (as well as the posting). The address I was given once I made the payment (which is customary practice) did not exist but it was too late at that point anyway.

Over 1200 euros later, I reached out to Airbnb and — surprise — they couldn’t help me and were quick to deny any responsibility to do anything even if the ad was on their website with all the Airbnb logos. I proceeded to file a police report and contest the transaction, but they all say it’s Airbnb’s responsibility — which it is. We all know that Airbnb has the absolute worst customer service on god’s green earth, so I guess I’ll be boycotting them from now on. It’s just too bad they just dismiss clients like that without any recourse.

Airbnb Complicit with Hosts on Bait and Switch Fraud

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These are the facts regarding two identical occurrences over a 10-month period where Airbnb was complicit with hosts in a fraudulent bait and switch business practice. The first instance cost me $2,000, and the second instance cost me an additional $600. If you are a lawyer reading this and are interested in a lawsuit against Airbnb, class action or otherwise, please contact me.

I’ve spent hours upon hours communicating with the overseas customer support center. On the first occurrence Airbnb admitted to their wrongdoing. On the second, no admission. I have pages upon pages of these communications and the lackluster efforts of Airbnb customer support.

First I made a booking and sent payment to Airbnb. A receipt of the transaction was provided to me. Then the host cancelled with no explanation given. Eventually a refund of payment was issued by Airbnb. Immediately after the cancellation, for the exact time period of the booking, the host raised rates, and was allowed by Airbnb to book new guests at the raised rates.

I was told by Airbnb customer support to find a new Airbnb to book, as there was “nothing they can do.” Airbnb and the host both financially profit more from the new bookings at the higher rates, after my cancellation. Per Airbnb’s policy regarding host cancellations per the company’s website, the following actions did not occur.

A. The host’s calendar will become blocked and they won’t be able to accept another reservation for the same dates of the cancelled reservation.

B. If the host cancels before the day of check-in, an automated review will be posted to your listing’s profile. These reviews cannot be removed.

C. “Superhost” status was maintained, although neither listing met the 1% cancellation rate threshold at the time.

D. In neither instance was an Instabook used, which gives the host wiggle room to avoid penalty under an “uncomfortable with reservation” loophole.

So to summarize, Airbnb and the host both benefitted financially at my expense due to the host’s post-cancellation rate increases for the same exact time period. To me, this is a clear cut bait and switch fraudulent business practice. It was communicated to me but Airbnb customer support found another Airbnb reservation, the host’s “Superhost” status was not revoked, and in my opinion this is a complete fraud of a designation. The automated message in the host’s reviews detailing the cancellation was never posted to warn future guests of the risk they are taking with a particular host. So the reviews you read are not inclusive of cancellations, and in my opinion, fraudulent.

Airbnb Refuses to Admit System Booked Twice

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Has anyone else been double booked by Airbnb? I booked a property in Austin after researching various properties. According to Airbnb, eight minutes later, I booked one of the other properties that I had looked at. I received no notice of the booking and only saw it on my credit card statement after 48 hours. The host and Airbnb are only willing to refund half my payment for the extra property. The Airbnb representative was very insulting and insisted that I would have had to have gone to the second property’s page and clicked on the “Book” button. This didn’t happen. When I asked why would I have done that when I was already finished he said, “Well, I can’t speak to the psychology of why you would do that.”

Fraudulent Listing has Government Questioning me

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I have been notified by my county asking why I haven’t paid fees and taxes for renting my home. I have been living in my home for two years and have never rented it. I informed the county and they suggested getting Airbnb to take the listing down. They provided the link to the active listing.

This is not my listing. I have had two parties drive by my house and ask me if they could see my house. Then one party asked me if I’m the host. I have contacted Airbnb at least thirty times to have them take down the listing and they simply will not do it. I have spent at least forty hours on the phone with them. They have never called back. I have contacted filed complaints with the Attorney General of Colorado.

This listing has pictures of the inside and outside of my house. The location, on the ad, is easy to find by potential renters because the area has only a few homes within it. I feel like I’m being harassed. My next step is to get in touch with the County Attorney and law enforcement. I’m very exhausted.

Unauthorized Charge; I Don’t Use Airbnb

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I had a $1258 charge show up on my debt card for Airbnb. I don’t have an account with them nor has this card ever been used for an Airbnb purchase. I contacted Airbnb support and got this response:

Thank you for your patience as we looked into your question about a suspected, unauthorized charge on your credit card. We understand your concerns, but please rest assured that a full and thorough investigation has been carried out on the disputed charge.

As outlined in the previous message by my colleague, a refund cannot be issued in cases in which we believe a friend or family member who has access to your payment method has used it unintentionally. Unfortunately, we’re unable to release any information regarding the reservation or the user accounts involved without a formal request, such as a subpoena, from a government agency or law enforcement. If a government agency or law enforcement contact us regarding this issue, Airbnb will fully cooperate with their requests.

We again recommend getting in touch with anyone you may have given your credit card details to in the past. Additionally, we would suggest contacting any friends or relatives who have an Airbnb account that you have traveled with on Airbnb previously—if you added your payment credentials on another account and decided to save these credentials for future use, this could be what caused the unexpected charge. Best, Conn.

Fitting the message was signed “Conn”. I’m livid and will not stop until this is corrected.

Fake Airbnb Superhost, No Refund Coming

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I’m sure most of the time Airbnb hosts are genuine and the property listings are real. But unfortunately for me – first time user – I booked what looked like a fantastic apartment in London through a host and paid a 50% deposit. The next morning, I received an email from Airbnb stating that my reservation was cancelled and my deposit would be refunded.

Airbnb took my money and there’s no refund as of yet. When I spoke to Airbnb, they admitted that the host was a fake but did not give a crap that I would be out of pocket $1,7436 until they processed my refund. Yes, I appreciate that they picked up that host was a fake within 12 hours but it’s a pity it’s going to take more than a week for the refund.

They’ve scared off this potential customer forever, and I will tell everyone not to trust Airbnb. They should have done their checks before letting a fake host post a listing. To top it off, the fake host is still active and is still marked as a SuperHost.

Three Hours at Airbnb Cost us $14000

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It is December 10th and Airbnb has yet to resolve this. It started on April 2nd. My company has used Airbnb to the tune of well over $60000, most of that within the last two years. This was going to be a four-month rental. We were there for three hours, tried to work things out with the host as Airbnb suggested, reported everything the next day, and we were still charged over $14,000. We’ve contacted Airbnb on numerous occasions in regard to this, always told this should have been taken care of some time ago.

The entire place reeked of cat urine. This in and of itself was intolerable. The host left all of his belongings in dressers, etc. The host asked three women (my two employees and client) if he could stay on the property. The host left Playboy magazines and condoms in view

We contacted Airbnb numerous times, and was told each time “Oh, this should have been taken care of some time ago”, promised a call back, then nothing happened. The host agreed to settle for $1000 and a good review, then his daughter looked at the terms and said “we can get more than $10000”. The host has had similar complaints and violated several other Airbnb policies.

Airbnb continued to charge our Amex when they knew we were no longer a guest (the second day), when they could have helped us resettle and let the host relist. Instead, Airbnb has now paid the host and infuriated a very good client. There are several other things I could mention, but you get the gist here.

I just saw Airbnb’s CEO on the news promising to clean things up. Here would be a good start. We’ve been in business 15 years and are an extremely moral and ethical company. We do not deserve to be treated in this manner. I hope to hear something soon from Airbnb’s department that is supposedly working on this again.

Airbnb laissez-faire when it comes to customer service

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In April, I booked a room in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico wanting to visit a festival in January 2020. The room was not cheap. The reviews of the host were good. The listing contained a street name. After booking, I asked for a full address. To this day I have no exact address and the confirmation email link leads to a museum.

This feels like a complete fraud. Airbnb already took hundreds of euros off my credit card, offering no refund so far since I have complained. To make sure I did not get stranded or relocated far away from the action, I also booked a hotel (this week) because I think Airbnb is very laissez-faire when it comes to customer service.

I travel alone and safety is a priority. I am done with the fact that they do not check the location of the rental nor do they check if the host has any right to rent it out. Beware because you may be next to get stranded or lose a lot of money. No more Airbnb for me.

Money Taken for Properties I did not stay in

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My credit card was recently billed £1225.00 for two properties in Spain that I didn’t book and did not stay in. The details were sent to the wrong email address so I couldn’t even cancel or sort it out at the time. I have made eight calls now to Airbnb customer service. I have to repeat the story over and over. They say my issue has been escalated – whatever that means – and I never get a call back. Surely with a company doing so well they can employ competent people who can help me. They have lost a customer, both as a potential host and a guest, and I could never recommend them. Next stop action fraud.

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Bait and Switch Scheme by Airbnb Host

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I am in a bad situation right now because the Airbnb host misled me badly about the location of my Airbnb. She listed the Airbnb in the listing as in Chicago (without a street address), so on Airbnb the approximate location pin appears on the center of Chicago. Then, after the booking, the real address was revealed to be far removed from where the pin was. I did not know about this until the night before checking in when I looked up the address.

This completely ruined my plans because there is a huge neuroscience conference happening at the same time of my stay and there is no reasonably priced listing anywhere left in the area where I need to be. My entire plans for the trip are ruined because of this situation. I can’t even book a hostel in the area.

Airbnb keeps forwarding me to other agents for three times now. I have not gotten any closer to resolving this issue. I do not want to go to my reservation because the host blatantly defrauded me. The only reason I would have booked that listing was for the location. I have never seen a location pin from the original listing so far away from where the actual address is. If anyone can help please let me know.