Tag Archives: airbnb UK

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.

Take your pick: noisy boiler, worn-out mattress springs

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What an Airbnb nightmare we had over Christmas 2019 in London. We go and spend Christmas every year with my sister and her family in London and have been doing this for the last twenty years. We usually stay with my sister, but, unfortunately, this year she had a full house and so we got my nephew to look for Airbnb places to stay at for seven nights.

He (poor guy is now feeling so bad) found this advert for a “pretty studio flat” about five minutes from where my sister lives. The picture looked great and it was within walking distance to my sister’s house. We jumped at it, even though it was a bit expensive and we didn’t have much time left to look for anywhere else.

I did read some reviews and the only thing I found which made me get in contact with the hosts was about a very uncomfortable mattress with springs sticking out. We thought, oh, with our backs (we are both pensioners), this would be a no go. I contacted the hosts via WhatsApp and asked them what they had done about the mattress. They assured us that the problem had been sorted and that the mattress was “very comfortable”. We were reassured and believed them.

We actually had WhatsApp communication about whether there was a coffee machine, etc. Of course, there was no coffee machine. We thought fine, no problem: this is the UK and not Italy. We also knew that the road the “pretty flat” was on was going to be a bit noisy and we didn’t mind this too much. This flat is in busy London and we know the area well.

The hosts were now addressing us with “hi darling”, etc. We thought they were friendly, honest people. How gullible we were….

Fortunately, for us we always pay with a Visa. There was no payment upfront, thank goodness. The hosts, of course, don’t live in this tiny flat. I don’t think they even know what the flat is like, as it turns out they didn’t even know the wifi password. They gave one which didn’t work. However, my husband decided to look at the router and it had a completely different Internet provider. We informed the hosts of this and they gave us some excuse for not knowing this.

In addition, we realized during the night that there was a very noisy boiler on the wall above the kitchen area which just droned on and on all night and of course all day. We were both very tired, but this noise just didn’t stop. We got in touch with the “hi darling” hosts and we were told to send them a recording of the noise to see whether it was working normally or not. We just wanted the noise to stop.

We also wrote about the terrible mattress with springs sticking into our backs all night. They ignored this point. We sent them a recorded noise from the boiler and we were told this was “normal”. We wanted to know if we could switch it off. Of course not, as this is a boiler needed to pump water onto the third floor (where the tiny flat is).

I could only spend two nights in the flat, what with the incessant noise and the mattress digging into me (and my husband). Actually, when my husband turned in the bed, I bounced up and down. I went to stay at my sister’s on the floor.

Unfortunately, my husband had to stay in this hellhole for seven nights. We could close the window (which was very stiff) to block out the noise from the street, but, we had to listen to the droning noise of the boiler all night long. My poor husband had had a heart operation last year and this was a terrible time for both of us. We pointed out that perhaps if the mattress was turned over, it might be better. A cleaner came and did it, but, it made no difference at all.

All seven nights were a nightmare. The noisy boiler was never mentioned. The hosts appear to have other flats in this building. It looks like the building has many tiny studio flats, etc. While going up three floors, we could hear children crying and we could smell stale cooking. I wonder what sort of condition these people are living under.

We went there in good faith determined to have a peaceful time. But, it turned out to be a total nightmare. Since leaving the flat, we have not had any response from the money-making scrooges to our complaints. We are withholding payment. 

They are just making money (loads) from us poor unsuspecting travellers. How on earth does Airbnb let such dishonest people onto their books? Airbnb is nothing but a money-oriented organisation. This host certainly found a gold mine, robbing poor unsuspecting travellers. I hope the couple will soon find a conscience.

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Airbnb Host Abusing Power as Police Officer

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The story begins in December 2018. I booked a four-week stay in an annex attached to a house in an area I had spent part of my childhood, with my four-month pregnant wife. The host lived overseas and was co-hosted by a family who were quite noisy and very closed off.

We arrived at the beginning of the month and for two weeks every night was full of disturbances and parties. Then one evening, on a Saturday, the co-host had a party. I wrote a message on WhatsApp to ask him to keep the noise down. As you will see the situation escalated from there with antisemitic abuse to my wife and me, as well as anti-Muslim rhetoric.

The next day the situation became worse. They used the police to intimidate us, by falsely arresting my wife (the charges later dropped). My wife was assaulted in the police station, as the co-host was (as I later found out) a police officer who even harasses people who live on the street on which the property was located.

The message I sent to Airbnb is below. Nothing has been rectified. Multiple complaints and lawsuits were filed to the police and they covered up the incident. My wife, upon returning home, miscarried, on top of the fractured wrist and leg, multiple lacerations, and the continued antisemitic abuse she she suffered while in custody by the police. I attached multiple photos of her injuries and the abusive messages the co-host sent.

As you will see above, in regards to the actions taken by the co-host and his family and using the police to harass and assault my pregnant Jewish wife, find attached the racist messages received the day before from the co-host after I requested some peace and quiet, and also the photos of the beating by the police on my wife, this has gone far more now than just a simple civil disagreement. As it was explained to you the constant intrusion by the co-host and his family for the period we were resident in the property, my wife miscarried and lost our child, and under the laws of her home country, and that of the EU, this will be deemed a criminal offence committed by Airbnb and the co-host as well as the police officer who was sequestered by the co-host to cause harm to a pregnant woman.

Cleaner Mattresses at the Tip than this Airbnb

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My friend and I booked a “Cosy Mid Terrace House” in Bangor, North Wales. We were attending a five-day yoga course which commenced on the evening of Thursday, September 26th a short drive away. We checked in at the house where there was a key box; anytime after 4:00 PM was supposed to be okay.

We arrived at 3:45 PM and entered the house. On first inspection, it looked a little grimy and uncared for, but it was only five nights. However, on further inspection, we found that the kitchen surfaces were very greasy and there was mould in the fridge, the carpet into the sitting room was frayed and coming away under the door strip causing a trip hazard.

On venturing upstairs, again everything was tatty. The shower was full of black mildew. But the worst thing of all was where I was supposed to sleep for those five nights. Firstly, I could feel the mattress springs through the duvet that was on top of the bed but what really finished things off was when the bedding was pulled back, the mattress was covered in various stains. I have seen better mattresses than this at my local tip.

We contacted the owner to advise her we were not happy and would have to seek alternative accommodation. She gave us a spiel about running late as a single mum she had to collect the children from school and was on her way over. We told her not to rush as there was no way we would be able to stay and started to tell her all the things that were wrong, whereupon she hung up.

As the course was starting at 4:00 PM, there was little time to find alternative accommodation and we ended up sharing a very small twin room in a hotel not too far away who could luckily fit us in as most places we tried were fully booked over the weekend. I requested a refund from the host via the Airbnb site – which she, of course, refused – so I waited the 72 hours and asked Airbnb to intervene.

I have since then been corresponding via email with an incompetent “Senior Case Manager” who has become quite threatening in her gobbledygook English stating that I must accept her offer of a “coupon” to be used on a future booking within eight hours – four hours at one point – and now 24 hours. I feel that as they have offered a “coupon” for the full amount that they must believe our story with photos provided, but as we do not know when or if we will be booking through Airbnb again, this is simply not good enough.

I am awaiting her response as to how long the “coupon” is valid for (probably 24 hours). Despite my requests for her to escalate this case on two occasions she continues to email me in English that is barely recognisable as the language I was brought up with, totally ignoring my requests and just threatening me with more deadlines. It is interesting to note that the “Cosy Mid Terrace House” is no longer listed in the site but if ever it should reappear I do not recommend booking it or the host’s cleaning skills.

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Someone’s Trash could be your Airbnb Furniture

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I checked into my Airbnb last night. As my son and I opened the filthy front door, the smell of mold filled the room. We walked up four flights of filthy carpeted stairs to reach the apartment, where the front entrance had a huge filthy moldy stain the size of a Labrador. The sofa looked like it was picked up from the side of the road when someone put it out as garbage; it was sunken in and dirty, with stains throughout the whole thing.

This is where my son was supposed to sleep the night and we would pass our days watching TV and socializing for six nights, for which I paid $620. There was a loft with a filthy futon mattress up above this dirty yellow staircase. The bed sheets were stained and looked unclean.

I contacted Airbnb right away and spoke with someone for 35 minutes on their 1-800 number, after which I realized I was calling from the UK to the US on my cell minutes; I knew that was going to cost me a lot of money. I was told to go to sleep and someone would contact me in the morning. I contacted the host as well, sending photographs to both. Still, with no response this is taking up hours of my few days I have here in Leeds visiting my son.

These hosts seems to have many rentals and are considered to be Superhosts. I’m baffled. I did read the complaint of the last person that stayed in this apartment, which should’ve raised a red flag. I figured if Airbnb gave them a Superhost badge, that would have to mean something. I really don’t understand how people can be so unethical in running a business.

Stay at Airbnb Once, Shame on You. Twice, Shame on Me.

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I booked a room in London for myself and my boyfriend for one night because we were going to look at a gallery or museum and I also had an appointment. I paid online and turned up in Pimlico where we were meant to stay. I rang the host and then rang a few times after but there was no reply at all.

We walked a long way; my partner has a very painful knee and I had an injury. We walked to a block of flats and not only was it a long walk from the tube but also a long walk inside an estate that looked the same for hundreds of blocks. No map in sight. We walked and asked, asked and walked, and a woman we met who lived there was even a bit outraged on our behalf.

I tried to ring Airbnb many times but there was a wait and also in some parts of London there was no signal. Hours went by and it was very hot weather. We had to buy a cold drink and snack in a cafe and still had no room for the night.

Airbnb was very unhelpful and suggested I pay for another room. I protested that I did not have the funds for that but that also there was no signal at times for the phone (not the internet, which I have data for ). The very relaxed rep did not seem able to get any contact from the host I had paid.

After walking round the estate for a long time we realised we would have to find another room for the night and we had to stay due to an appointment I had. After many calls with Airbnb, in which I tried to get a refund, I managed to get them to agree to give me enough to get another room, but it was nearly evening by then.

We found a room that seemed nice online and went there. It looked okay, a bit scruffy for the price, but the bed looked clean enough. We went out for the evening nearby and slept there. The next morning there was no breakfast which had been advertised as part of the price nor was there any light in the bathroom then or the night before. This made things difficult of course.

The woman who owned the flat was okay but did not bother with us at all: really and clearly just wanted the money. Her boyfriend was not clothed in the sitting room where they were sleeping. I did not write a review of the awful experiences on Airbnb because I forgot. I wish I had.

The second host had the cheek to message me on the site and tell me I was lucky to have gotten a room and that I should be grateful. I was disgusted with the whole process but was given a voucher for a few pounds to put towards another room. I know some people have great experiences, e.g. my daughter abroad somewhere, but if this is the standard in London… what a rip off.

I am trying to book a room with my voucher now but have found out that guests need to verify their identity nowadays on the site by sending a copy of an official document such as passport or driving license to the host using a link that has not worked for me. Customer service has rung me back twice to try to help but the woman on the phone was laughing at what I told her.

It’s not inspiring but hopefully I can get somewhere better this time (if I can work out how to send the document and I need to send a ‘selfie’. A nice little – I mean big – earner for some hosts who just provide a bed or mattress and not much else sometimes it seems. Good luck out there.

Absolute Hellhole on the South Coast

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I booked an Airbnb in Folkestone for New Year holiday week. We arrived on Boxing Day and immediately I felt this wasn’t going to go well; the place looked tatty and the kitchen cupboards were bare. There was no welcome pack or explanation of anything. The kids couldn’t find the wifi.

The front room was a horror show; it contained a dreadful sofa bed with enough room for three people and that was it – no other furniture in the room. There was a tiny electric heater and a wood burning stove; at least excited about burning wood, we set out to make a fire. There was a basket with wood. We put a plank on that nearly killed us as it contained toxic materials. We are not wood burning stove users usually; we had to open all the doors and windows and start again.

The morning brought the full horror of the house: frayed curtains, stained carpets, cold, awful furniture, signs of people trying to break in – just horrendous. The host came the following day after I had messaged him. He was acting weird, called me a liar, and said I had too high standards. However, he was busying himself with all the points I had brought up in my communications with him.

Little did I know of the horror of dealing with Airbnb; he knew all too well what he was doing. We left after three days and I tried to get my money back. Dealing with Airbnb has been just awful – I can’t even start to explain it; it has made me suicidal.

I will never use Airbnb again… never ever ever ever. The host was allowed to call me a liar and I’m £1000 out of pocket. I’m going to tweet their help page for the rest of my life.

Scammed by Fake Airbnb Agents in UK

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I was looking to rent a flat on Airbnb. My girlfriend was dealing with the queries which she believed were from Airbnb agents, as the site they were using looked exactly like Airbnb’s. I believed they were genuine users. However, someone had taken details from Airbnb and used them to scam me.

I am so disappointed that this happened to me as that was all the money I had saved to put a deposit on a house to rent. I was living in a room in London and wanted my own place to live. Now I have lost £2,200 and have no choice but to stay in the room until I am able to save for the deposit again.

I am not happy of how this was handled by Airbnb. I have attached everything and you can see that all the invoices and ads had all their information and criteria on them. I have sought advice and understand that this has happened on other occasions on the Airbnb website.

As this is still happening today Airbnb should be doing more to protect genuine users’ names and profiles and also protecting customers like me. I spoke to Airbnb and they told me that the host was a genuine user so I had every confidence that he was one. I never received any warning emails stating any suspicious behaviour. You can also see on the invoices his name as the host and contact details.

I would request that Airbnb refund my £2,200. Otherwise I will have no choice but to post all of my information on social media to warn others not to use Airbnb, i.e. Twitter, Facebook. I will also go to the major newspapers. All I want is my money back.

Creepy London Accommodation Above Indian Restaurant

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I am basically a new user of Airbnb and beginning to have trust in their booking system. This is my fourth booking. I would like to bring to your attention what I experienced. I have no issue for Kuala Lumpur, Paris and Manchester. However, Airbnb in London was the nightmare which almost cost me my holiday.

It was a Europe and UK adventure which started in Paris. I stayed using Airbnb for five days (December 16-20). Continuing the journey to Manchester, I trusted Airbnb (December 20-22) then went down to London (December 22-29) via Airbnb too.

My nightmare started when I booked a place in Hammersmith (London). The whole family was moody when we checked into the Airbnb The place was old and gloomy: creaky floor panels, faulty locks, and lighting. The pots and utensils were dirty. Just imagine bringing a family to London and checking into this old creepy house. Even the backyard balcony made me shiver.

You may not understand the feeling until you have to experience it yourself. Even reaching Tesco was a big problem. We were hardly in the mood to eat at night after having to walk for 25 minutes to the nearest Tesco at Hammersmith Station on a cold winter night with young children. The description in the listing was deceiving.

As it was getting dark and everyone was moody and tired, we reluctantly stayed for the night. The following morning, we called Airbnb and relayed our concerns. We were answered by one of their case managers. We told her about our uncomfortable stay here in the apartment and that we were planning to move out and book another apartment.

She was helpful and I also told her about the next Airbnb host who didn’t respond. She tried calling but up until noon there was no reply. She managed to cancel the booking while we looked for another apartment.

We manage to secure a place in Shoreditch. She advised us to forward all the photos of the apartment in Hammersmith, which I left in the message section before she went on leave. We stayed at the place in Shoreditch from Decemeber 23-28. It was a nice duplex apartment near town.

When we came back home to Singapore, there was still no reply from Airbnb. She wrote that she would be on leave during the holidays. When we checked the Airbnb messages, the case was closed and resolved. To our dismay, there was no follow up from her.

We had to call the Airbnb team and explain the whole story again. We were guided on how we could click on the “Request Refund” option. We had to wait for the host to respond within 72 hours. The weekend passed, and the host did not respond.

We called into Airbnb and were guided to click on the “Involve Airbnb” option. It was too much hassle. After a frantic nightmare in London, we had to go through the process again. A case manager contacted us via email asking for details. It’s really frustrating having to attach photos again and again. After reviewing them, he claimed we were not entitled for a refund following the terms and conditions.

I guess he wasn’t tactful in addressing the case. If you put yourself in our shoes – staying in a foreign land where the house is not in a liveable condition; no lifts, faulty locks, dirty and old premises, and heating elements and lights not working – what would you do? Bearing in mind the mood of the holidays were all down because of this apartment?

We were not cancelling for fun. We paid for it; however, the apartment turned out otherwise. Airbnb should somehow provide exceptions for this kind of case. We are traveling with a family of five with young children. Safety, comfortability and convenience are definitely our top priority. Airbnb management should take this into consideration and carefully weigh the resolutions, not bluntly say ”no”.

Bear in mind we stayed straight from December 15-28 using Airbnb. We had no problems with our previous bookings before the exception with this property in Hammersmith. Airbnb should pay a site visit to understand more of what I meant. I recommend the listing be taken down until they fix up their filthy apartment. This doesn’t only tarnish the image of London on the whole but Airbnb as the agent to promote such homes.

On a personal note, I am beginning to trust Airbnb more since my last holiday went quite smoothly with the exception of London’s accommodation. This is just my sincere feedback as I do not wish to see other travelers share the same fate as me.