I have not been paid as a host for the last two months. Despite calling about three times a week to their customer service, there has been no resolution nor are they making any effort to come to one. The amount owed is more than £1000. Airbnb is simply not interested. Customer service opens a case then does nothing to resolve the issues. They even find excuses for why the payment has not been sent then once the issue has been solved they find something else. I think Airbnb policies are truly evil, misleading and thoroughly dishonest. The people that devise this evil will be brought to account for their actions… in this life or the next.
Tag Archives: airbnb fraud
Showed up to apartment, was told it’s not available
My first and last Airbnb experience. I reserved an apartment for 30 days. Heard nothing from the host. I contacted him and he told me to pick up the keys at the desk when I arrived.
I showed up, the hotel management said there were no keys for me. They called the host who had forgotten to make the reservation and they told me to try again some other time. I dragged my suitcase through the streets of Bogota, Colombia at night looking for another place to stay. I contacted Airbnb and they refused to honor their refund policy.
Sure some people have had good experiences and maybe I just had bad luck. But ask yourself: do you really want your travel plans hooked up to a wheel-of-chance? Do you want to arrive and find you have no place to say and you’re out all the money you spent? Do yourself a favor: pay the extra 25-30% to stay in a real hotel where they do guest lodging as a profession. Don’t chance it on some random idiot. They guy had all five-star reviews so you can’t count on that either.
Not Airbnb Hosts, but Still on Mailing Lists
I pity the poor investors who will eventually be parting ways with their money when (and if) Airbnb gets their act together to file for an IPO. Today I received the Airbnb Magazine in the mail. I am not a host or guest. The name on the “To:” portion of the address label was to a Mr. Richard Fabian. Mr. Fabian was the supposed “host” of our home when he set up a fake account portraying my family as Airbnb hosts.
The outcome of that story is buried somewhere in the Airbnb Hell server but basically we had people dropping by the house unannounced looking for their key. The fact that we never heard back from anyone at Airbnb regarding this fraud does not surprise me now that I’m receiving their magazine. Throwing away money by mailing on what looks like an expensive rag to a fraudster is par for the course of this organization.
Airbnb, you grew too big too fast. Stop for a moment and count the bedbugs.
Airbnb Hosts Aren’t Allowed to be Offline
I put my house on Airbnb a few months ago. I’ve stated in my rules that the house is a self check in house and I have stated the codes to enter the house, as well as, of course, the name of the street and also the number of the door. I’ve called my house “Beach&bike”, because I have two bikes and the house is near the beach. My house is located in a small plaza with eight other houses. It sits on top of a hill and it has a bike nailed to the upper floor.
My first guest was unable to find the house, and canceled the reservation, with Airbnb’s permission, and no refund. As if I’m obliged to be the guests GPS. I could go on for hours criticizing Airbnb for trying to enslave hosts. For instance: you’ve missed a text message at 4:00 AM? You’ll get rated as a person of “slow responses” because you, as a host, are not allowed to sleep.
However, it was what happened next that I found surprising. Airbnb allowed a guest that was never in my house to comment on it. And so, the guest give me one-star ratings for everything. The guest rated the house as very dirty – without ever being inside. The guest commented the house was a “scam”, thus implying that I – the host – am a dishonest person.
I’ve contacted Airbnb several times, explaining that a lie is a lie and that if the guest admittedly was never inside the house then the guest could not comment, at least not on that subject. I’ve told them time and again the house was no scam – as proven by dozens of happy guests. Airbnb cares as much about the truth as Trump.
It’s a rule Airbnb has: a person can rate the cleaning of a place without entering it. It’s an Airbnb rule that a person can rate an area as terrible where he was sitting for an hour, and knows nothing about it. It is an Airbnb rule that a person who was not ever your guest and doesn’t know you can commit libel and lie about you, imply that you are dishonest, and leave these comments forever on the Airbnb site for everyone to see.
Why? Airbnb cares only about one thing: earning money. If that includes lying, cheating, and having no respect for morality, so be it. They call themselves a “community”. Don’t be fooled. They are just like Uber, another money-seeking giant trying to squeeze you.
Beware of False Advertising: No Farms to be Found
In Free Union, Virginia, there is a couple who have fraudulently described their property as a working farm stay and this is not true: “This is a small working farm – we have cows, chickens, honey bees, a dog and a cat. Consequently, while we are here at Rockfield Farm we tend to stay very busy with chores, so you will be left alone for the most part. We are happy to assist or answer questions anytime, however.”
It is not Rockfield Farm nor has it been a working farm for several years, like when their momma gave them the property 25 years ago. You will be left alone because they will stay hidden to make it seem like the farm chores you see being done are by them when in fact that is not the case.
They do not own a farm nor the animals described on their listing. They lease their pastures to a business that farms the property and has wrongfully told you have access to the property, being the fence. If you are found on the property you will be asked to leave, if you do not leave, you will be trespassing on the property as the lease these scammers signed clearly states they nor their guests have access to the farming area.
They are not busy with chores, other than perhaps their own laundry or doing their post-college age kids’ laundry for them. They do not have a dog, or a cat or a cow or any of the things described in their Airbnb as they have been making a profit off of the farmers’ actual hard work.
Please note, there are photos of Airbnb guests on camera trespassing on the leased property, touching animals, messing with pens, fences, etc. Airbnb guests who bring dogs please note that if your dog gets off their lease and damages farming property or livestock, you will be held liable. Virginia code §3.2-6402 gives us immunity from any damages incurred by Airbnb guests or their pets, including but not limited to severe injury and death. You will be filmed should you step foot onto the leased property and these images will be used in legal action against the Airbnb hosts.
Now I’m just sure the little loft under the building is as cute as can be, but you have been warned: they are profiting from other people’s hard work and lying about it, putting you and your family at risk of legal repercussions.
Fraudulent Charges Take Days to Reverse
I have never used Airbnb and do not have an account with Airbnb. Somehow they charged my card two days ago so my bank made me call them. It’s very difficult for them to help find the charge if you don’t have an account. Customer service submitted a request and said I should receive an email. After 24 hours I was worried because a $600 fraudulent charge is something that is clearly concerning but there was no sense of urgency on their part. I called again and they said it could take up to 24-48 hrs just for someone to start working on my ticket. I am slightly distraught that Airbnb has now had my $600 for three full days and I might not even get it back tomorrow or the next day.
Never Allow Friends to Set up your Airbnb Account
My friend set up our account with Airbnb. She made herself the host and me a point of contact. All payments were going to my Paypal account. She was supporting me to get my business up and running. She had absolutely never put any money into the business. I was financing it all on my own.
After a year, the business was not doing well and I found myself in a financial down slope. I told her I no longer needed her help and that we should part our separate ways. I asked her to surrender the account to me or delete the account altogether. I solicited help from another company that had experience in business to help me.
In the meantime, she changed the password on me so I couldn’t go into the account and changed the default payment so all payments would be forwarded to her corporate account; I would not be able to get any payments for guests staying in my house.
I called Airbnb multiple times and had my situation forwarded to a “case manager” that in the end just sent me emails saying how sorry they were but couldn’t do anything for me. I got an attorney involved and worked directly with my “friend” after she took my money. I had to gently remove guests from my house and block them from entering after they would arrive.
Finally she said she shut down the account. I had to file a police report on her, contact the Better Business Bureau about Airbnb, and had a restraining order so she can’t come near my home. I had each incoming guest call Airbnb so they would get a refund but what an inconvenience for everyone.
My Airbnb Account Comprised Charges Worth Nearly £15K
I’ve only used Airbnb twice in my life time. I got up at 6:00 AM, saw spam in my inbox, and then a notification from Amex stating that my account has been maxed out. I logged in. To my horror, a transaction of £14,729 was pending to Airbnb.
My Airbnb account was linked to my Google account and I’ve set up active PayPal, which was linked to my Amex account. Hackers had also cancelled and removed my number from Airbnb, and spammed my inbox with thousands of emails.
My first instinct was to call Amex and log a dispute to PayPal. I couldn’t log into my Airbnb account but got a UK number to call them. Investigations are still pending. PayPal for some reason approved the payment to Airbnb. When I logged the dispute they didn’t approve it. I had to call them twice to explain my situation.
Just be wary out there. Airbnb customer care were totally useless; I had to chase after them again at the end of the day and they have not refunded PayPal or contacted them on the fraud transaction.
Charged for Repairs and Unable to Reach Anyone
Airbnb charged my credit card an unrealistic amount and called it a repair. There was a gas leak in the kitchen when we got there. It smelled like dog urine. An overflowing sink was clogged up when we got there. I had to unclog the drain in the shower myself before I could shower in the unclean shower. It was a nasty and disgusting visit and then I got charged for repairs?
Awful experience. When I called to dispute the charge they beat around the bush and said they could not help me. I asked for a supervisor and customer service immediately said all the supervisors were busy. Really? How do they know? They didn’t even try. After 15 minutes on hold to “find a supervisor” the waiting music stopped and Airbnb customer service hung up on me. This is no way to run a business.
Airbnb Room had Bedbugs and I got Fined
I stayed at an Airbnb in New Orleans and woke up to find find dead bedbugs and casings in the box spring. The host responded by wiping away the evidence and threatening to come after me for damages if I told anyone. I sent photos of the bedbugs and audio tape I had taken of her admitting there were no damages.
As part of the claim she ended up filing against me, which included a $75 fee for putting the mattress back on the bed (which I had even offered to do for her), she submitted a clearly falsified letter from a fake exterminator, which Airbnb even admitted to me they knew was fake. Somehow they still charged me $75.
Can you imagine going to a hotel, complaining that you found bedbug remnants, and having them respond by falsifying documents, attacking you, and then fining you? This company has zero customer service.