Tag Archives: fraud

Lying, Psychopathic Host – Total Nightmare!

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Here is a AirBNB Review for you. I made a reservation with a host in California through AIRBNB. When I arrived the place was a filthy mess. When I mean a mess, I mean, pubes on the bed, hair on the bathroom floors, pet hair on the couches, pee stains on the toilets and what appeared to be vomit on the sheets on the bed.

I obviously called the owner and told her the issue and she instantly became defensive. She said someone had gone to clean the house and she knew it was spotless. When speaking to her before this time she had stated she was out of town, but when I called her to tell her about what was going on she said she would drive over to see what was going on.

When she arrived she was in a bitchy mood to start off with. After showing her all the mess she stated that she knew everything was clean because she had cleaned it herself. I had taken pictures of the bed sheets and the mess before she arrived in case she was to get feisty with me and ask us to leave.

What happened next is truly disturbing….

First, she stated that we had too high expectations.
Then she states that we probably were the ones who made the mess.
We had not even been there 30 minutes before we called. (30 min. was about the time it took all 6 of us to get the luggage off of the car.)

She continued to try and argue with me that it was our fault and that she would not cancel the reservation, meaning if we were to leave that we were still going to have to pay for the whole stay.

I was pissed by this time. I told her I was not about to argue with her about it infront of my kids. I called Airbnb from there, she called on her phone. Then we starting to tell them our sides of the story. She started saying that we had turned her house upside down…lying right in front of us. I mean to say we were upset is an understatement. She said she didnt give a fu&* what we said we were going to have to pay.

So we took our pictures and left. I emailed them to Airbnb and they stated we were still going to have to pay for the weekend unless she was able to find someone to stay the other days. Are you kidding me?!

I am the only girl on my family and I have 4 brothers, so I’m used to defending myself, and this was not going to be a fight that I was going to lose. And I didn’t. I got my full refund back after I texted the owner that I had looked into her home zoning and she was not only in violation of renting her home but also in violation with her home owners association. You see many locations do not allow a home to rented under 30 days without a permit.

Moral of the story… Stay away from Airbnb.

P.S. I’m not usually rude but when people try to screw me over, I don’t take it lightly.

“Furnished” studio apartment was not furnished!

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I am English and live and work in Strasbourg, France. I sold my apartment and travelled for a few weeks, then came back to Strasbourg. I checked into a hotel and looked for an airbnb for a month while I look for somewhere more permanent. I found a place on Airbnb that advertised as a “furnished studio, city centre” and I clicked on “Reserve”. Within 24 hours my reservation was accepted and my payment taken and I arranged to meet the owner at the property so she could show me how everything worked. Fine, I thought. Then, half an hour before the appointment, while I was already on my way there, she called to say she had to cancel, because there was no bed in the apartment. I said this caused me a difficulty, because it would take a while to get the refund and I couldn’t afford to pay up for another rental right away, leaving me homeless. I met her at the property anyway, and there was no bed. She asked me if I could take delivery of a new bed on the Tuesday, the day I was to move in. I said fine. She then called me later to say that the bed would not arrive for two weeks, and she would offer me a refund of 200 euros (nearly a quarter of the total). I agreed to this, feeling I had no choice.

In the meantime I bought myself a floor mattress and some bed linen, and stayed three extra nights in the hotel while I was doing all this, which cost me much more than the 200 euros she was refunding, which in any case I had not received yet.

When I got in on the Friday, the place was empty. There was a chest of drawers and a table and chair, a fridge, hotplate and microwave, and that was it. I had to buy a plate and cup, knife and fork, saucepan and so on. I then wrote her a message to tell her all this (in addition, the paintwork was peeling off the bathroom walls, which is hardly hygienic), and her response (the latest so far) was that she had been willing to cancel, but I had refused (yes, she ought not to have accepted and had my payment taken) and that she had had no idea of the state of the place until the day she agreed to meet me there (after my payment had been taken). I took pictures as soon as I arrived there (three days after the date I had booked and paid for) but am not holding my breath for further refunds.

Is there anything I can do?

Fraudulent Airbnb Listing in Macquarie NSW Australia

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Screw AirbnbAirbnb hellI hate airbnbairbnb hellAirbnb Reviews

The following review is about this “Beach Town House” property in Port Macquarie NSW Australia: https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/4769377?s=ik7rIcBI

Firstly this is not a beach townhouse – this place is streets back from the beach and the bedroom overlooks rooftops. There are 15 steep steps upstairs so if you have any physical problems this will challenge you. The advertised site said breakfast. The advertised site says cleaning between guests, this never happened. In fact I am not sure the old sheets I slept in were clean and I certainly couldn’t touch the brown shredded towel left at the end of my bed. I was in the third room that was the junk room where family photos, old bookcases, stuffed toys etc., were as well as her winter wardrobe in the cupboard so I had no place to hang or put anything. My clothes were on the floor. The whole place, was filthy mold in bathroom/shower, pulled back beige seat cushions on outside furniture that were black with mold.

As the host didn’t live there, I wrote within 24 hours to her to let her know that I was dissatisfied and that I would like her to cancel my stay as this would ensure the 100% rebate. She rebuffed by saying I was the only person to ever complain and delayed my request. I wrote again and again and I kept getting put off such as oh the internet doesn’t work, I am working, etc., this is too hard. I told her to ring airbnb and they would walk her through it. I called airbnb and got contradicting policy procedures so I needed the host to cancel the booking. Ultimately airbnb had to call her and then she agreed to cancel. I received a text from her at 5pm on the third day of 12 telling me I was a nasty person and to leave her house immediately. Which I did.

Initially she agreed to book me into the more expensive room and I paid my money only then to be told that it was already booked privately and I could take the less expensive and she would reimburse me $100 but in fact the difference was $144.

I personally didn’t have a good experience and would never recommend this place.

Belgrade reservation nightmare – Airbnb Q and A

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Dear Airbnb, I decided to write this open complaint directly to you after the awful experience I had with your website and several hosts that use it to rent their homes.

THE FACTS In few words, I used your site to rent a small apartment for 2 people in Belgrade (SRB) from the 30th December 2015 to the 4th January 2016. After a deep research and several trials, I received a lot of negative answers from different hosts that declared, according to your website, they had available apartment during the requested period. Despite a frustrating experience provided by your unreliable website, on the 28th of December 2015 I found an apartment that apparently fit my need. The apartment is called Rustic Fantastic [https://www.airbnb.it/rooms/9567237?s=__tuuKMM] provided by the host Alex and Vlada [https://www.airbnb.it/rooms/9567237?s=__tuuKMM#host-profile]. I asked the host some specific question about the apartment characteristic in term of precise location, price, car and neighbors noise, including particular features such as shades and blackout curtains availability to sleep in the dark. I hate eyemasks, earplugs and other fussy tools to help light sleepers but, unfortunately, I know that my requests are not very popular or sound strange throughout the common world people. So what ? The host, after some impolite answers said he had all the characteristic I was looking for. Meanwhile I asked for a hard discount because I know that in Belgrade prices are very low and I reasonably estimated that a doubled price according to the normal rate was enough. After some discussion we agreed to a price of 50EUR/day, 80EUR+12EUR by Airbnb website and 170EUR once arrived on site. While we were discussing I asked for more pictures of the home because I didn’t realize its arrangement.
The morning after (29th December 2015) I woke up with an intrusive thought about the sleeping room I didn’t see from his pictures. I saw just a small cubicle with a single bed. I wrote immediately to the host asking about the bed and he told me that the one in the picture was the only bedroom in his apartment. I pointed out I rented the apartment for 2 people, me and my wife. He said that it was not a problem. He just put a mattress (written “madraces” I couldn’t understand) on the floor. I remained astonished !! I started complaining that the price was excessively overrated considering he rented his home with 1 bedroom and 1 normal bed for 2 people as he declared officially on Airbnb description. I complained he had declared false information on the apartment features therefore I asked at least a reduction of the price to 40UER/day as immediate compensation for the problem. He refused. He said to cancel the reservation and he avoided to write me and to answer to my phone call which cost me at least 4EUR after he refused to connect with me by Skype or Viber. I felt ripped off and I decided not to drive more than 800km by car to meet this unpleasant and dishonest host with such communication problem.
It was 9.00 PM, car and luggage ready to go. After searching the Airbinb website (it was about 10.40PM), I didn’t find any section to open a dispute with this host. Only 2 option were clearly available: modify the reservation or cancel it. All the rest wasn’t clear even in the various FAQ !!! Any way to contact anybody!
I chose the second option (to cancel). At first an email advised me that cancellation didn’t give me the possibility to receive the money back. After a while I received another email telling me I was eligible of a reimbursement of 80EUR. I got angry: what about Airbnb commission ? I tried to find an email address to write to about his issue. AGAIN: I didn’t find anything.!!!! I found just a community support forum but the answers I got were too general and not useful. I signaled the host. I remained without commission reimbursed. I remained with blown up plans for New Year Eve just 10hrs before leaving my house in Italy! I got mad, angry and I tried to find immediately another location. Obviously everything was fully booked or overrated even if several accommodations seemed still available on your website. Completely unreliable! This happened not only in Belgrade, where I received other impolite answers, but all over Italy where I tried to book. That’s unbelievable. Finally I stayed home!!!!!! T

HE REQUESTS Now, after cooling down, it comes the EXPLANATION and COMPENSATION TIME!!! I decided to write directly to you considering the Customer Service structure you set up is, according to my experience, completely useless and deliberately distracting. Therefore I am here asking you to declared officially your purpose just before this complete story goes on your official best fan site [http://www.airbnbhell.com/] Here my questions and observations follow:
1) Why is home location approximate and I cannot receive more detailed information about the house location to realize if it is noisy or not? Privacy is not an explanation considering these people intentionally decided to put their apartments/room etc up for rent? Shouldn’t transparency be your first target? – Hosts prefer not to share their exact address unless the guest has already booked for safety reasons, but you can inquire with each host about privacy and noise issues to talk with them about their home.
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, I read carefully your answer but according to my personal experience, is terribly weak. Should I trust the host and his opinion about noise. Are you sure the host tell you the truth instead of having a different noise perception and letting you discover that his location is not the one you like once booked (therefore paid him and your commission ) ? As I wrote above I don’t believe that location privacy should be an issue for somebody who deliberately decided to rent his house. Like an hotel or a bnb: would you like to know in advance where is located or do you prefer to discover on site?
2) Why can’t I contact the host directly before renting the apartment ? Are you afraid to lose commission ? – You can contact the host directly but only via e-mail. Dear Airbnb and Sloan, Your reply isn’t correct. I can contact only via e-mail only inside Airbnb website; that’s the obstacle I am complaining about. Hence your answer is neither complete nor detailed as requested above.
3) Why should I trust on guest review, as suggested by your personnel, considering, as we all know, they are partially fake like on Tripadvisor ?  Dear Airbnb and Sloan, missed answer!
4) Why don’t you allow host and guest to exchange more pictures of the place if requested ? – A host may upload more pictures to their listing if they choose. That way you can view the photos before booking.
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, As you read the host didn’t do that because he said he had no more picture (1st lie) and he had not more pictures taken by a professional photographer as per your license (2nd lie). Instead your internal email platform doesn’t allow to exchange pictures !!
5) How is it possible a fraudulent host is still present and freely operating on your website even after my warning [https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160595695]?
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, missed answer!
6) What does it happen to signaled hosts? Nothing as I believe? [https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160595695; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160811531; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/109152187; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160596776; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160596010; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160595848; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160602090; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160821290; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160595251; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160595392; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/161104804; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/161122748; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/161121919; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/161122486; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/161122097; https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/161122984] Dear Airbnb and Sloan, missed answer!
7) Why did you allow to open a claim easily and immediately [https://www.airbnb.it/help/topic/260/resolve-a-problem; https://www.airbnb.it/help/article/783/when-can-i-involve-airbnb-in-my-resolution-center-request]?
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, missed answer !
8) What should I do if I find discrepancies from what declared on your website and what the host really provide ? Do you think should I discover on site ? Maybe on the 31st December ? – Feel free to reach out to us to resolve an issue as soon as you discover it, so we can help.
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, Are you serious ? Are you kidding me ? Can you imagine me in Belgrade on th 31st December, without roaming and without internet connection ? How and where should I contact you ?? Should I sleep in the car at 10°C below zero ? Would you find an hotel for me ? Do you think you gave me a smart answer ?
9) Why did you charge your commission once I started complaining and signalling the host not finding an easy way to open a claim procedure ?
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, missed answer !
10) What does it happen to impolite and rusty hosts [https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160811531] ? – If guests are not happy with a host’s listing, they will usually leave a review that reflects that. Also, you can “report” any statements in the message thread, next to the message you are concerned about, and they will be reviewed.
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, I can’t leave any review before being a guest ! If something goes wrong on the reservation phase I can’t signal on the site. Differently tell me how to advise all the people listed above. I am pretty sure nothing happens to unpleasant hosts if they didn’t do something really bad that requires police intervention. Here your answer is totally unreliable !
11) How is it possible that people without available rooms or apartment are still present on your website maps of available accommodation once I inserted the requested staying period ? These host, the great part, should be kicked off from your website immediately ! – You must put in the dates you want to book first, before searching for listings. Hosts do not always have availability so you must only search for those who show availability during the time you are looking to travel.
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, one of us is misunderstanding the main point!!I IF I HAVE ALREADY PUT THE DATES I WANT TO BOOK and I obtain a host list (visible on the map too): the problem pointed out derives from that hosts that, once contacted, declare they are fully booked ! This is not acceptable according to your statement BUT it is the rule !!! Hence you answer is inconsistent AGAIN !
12) How is it possible that house agencies are allowed to present their home on your website [https://www.airbnb.it/z/q/160596388] ?
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, missed answer !
13) Why don’t you provide a customer service accessible email address where you can talk directly with your team managers in order to solve claims in adequate why ?
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, missed answer !
I consider that, despite what declared from your personnel (Edera T. ??=poison ivy] on the phone, that a coupon of 25USD (do you really think USD is my currency ???) doesn’t represent an acceptable compensation of having lost the possibility to spent my only holidays possibility during 2015 New Years Eve in Belgrade. I lost happiness, a lot of time, health and sleep and I got really angry, frustrated and sad. I hope you can compensate all that and punish adequately people signaled.
I want clear and detailed answers provided by a person directly to my email address i can reply to ! I hope you will work to improve your site eliminating all those people that declare wrong or diverting information on your website. Right now finding a good solution is like trying to play to Russian roulette !!
“Thank you again for sharing your feedback with us. I am so glad we could answer these questions for you. Please let us know if there is anything else you’d like to know. We are always here to assist!”
Dear Airbnb and Sloan, Do you think you gave the required answer ? I have the strong feeling you are trying to timewaste with me ! Don’t like at all !

Final story: commission money back, 150 voucher free given, review not allowed, host NOT punished. Ba careful GUYS!!!

Guests POISONED During Nightmare Airbnb Stay!!

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We are SOOO disappointed with the accommodation that we booked in July 2015 in Amsterdam! It started out OK…

Upon arriving, the representative let us into the apartment, showed us through, provided some maps and information to the area etc. During his explanation of the apartment to us, he casually mentions that the apartment has a distinct smell as it was only days before, sprayed with poison/chemicals for routine pest control. At the time, we didn’t think anything of it. We left to get some dinner, returned, showered etc and prepared for bed. The next morning we woke with varying degrees of headaches, nausea, dizziness and near-vomiting. The smell was unbearable. (It was also quite rainy so no windows could be opened to air the place out.) We called the representative EARLY that morning (approx 7am) and informed him of what had happened and that other arrangements would need to be made. We let him know that we had activities planned for the day, but he said that ‘someone would be in touch’ to let us know of what to do from there. By 4pm that afternoon, we had not heard from him, the owner of the apartment OR Airbnb. We left and checked into a hotel. We did not hear from anyone for the remainder of our time in Amsterdam. We began the process (online) to claim a refund. We were surprised to learn that approximately only one night’s worth of accommodation was refunded and we were still out of pocket for the rest of the nights! (approx $AUD1700!)

The first issue is this – THEIR website states: Accommodations on the Airbnb platform should meet minimum quality standards regarding safety, access, and cleanliness, and they should be consistent with the description provided by the host. I’d like to know how an apartment, sprayed with toxic chemicals, is in any way SAFE?! We had two small children aged only 4 and 6 at the time, we were the most affected by this. On these grounds alone we should have qualified for a FULL refund. The apartment should have NOT been available at that time – to let the chemicals air/disappear. Airbnb DID NOT inform us of this prior to our check-in and should have. Had we known, we would not have stayed there. So I have to assume then that maybe they knew this, and that’s why this wasn’t disclosed? (can anyone say ‘fraud’). So they took our money anyway, knowing that the apartment was less than acceptable.

Second issue is this (again from their website): For a full refund, cancellation must be made a full 24 hours prior to listing’s local check in time (or 3:00 PM if not specified) on the day of check in. For example, if check-in is on Friday, cancel by Thursday of that week before check in time. or If the guest cancels less than 24 hours before check-in, the first night is non-refundable. or If the guest arrives and decides to leave early, the nights not spent 24 hours after the official cancellation are 100% refunded. Clearly, we fit into the third category. We did check in, we did leave early. So the nights not spent after the official cancellation are 100% refunded!! (or should be…)

I have called the Australian number (only to be diverted to some Phillipino call centre) where the staff are clearly only trained to answer with very scripted answers. My details are ‘passed on to case managers’ who DON’T call back even though I have asked for TWO calls now, but instead reply with emails that state: Thanks so much for your patience throughout this process. We appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your concerns with our team. However, we have issued our final decision for this case and we will disengage from further discussion on this topic. Really?! They’re “disengaging” from this topic?? The customer, ME, does NOT accept the matter closed! Their OWN policy tells me I’m entitled to a refund! What is the point of a policy if you do not stick to it?! It isn’t worth anything. Given the seriousness of our complaint – the POISON you expected us to live in – they STILL have not addressed this issue and they continue to say that they’re decision is final. Again, I do not consider this matter closed and I will be informing the relevant authorities here in Australia that I can and any and all social media platforms!

Save your money and just book with hotels! Zero stars for you Airbnb Fraudsters!

FRAUD WARNING! Airbnb site may not be secure!

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On Friday, 2/19/16, I tried to make a reservation on airbnb with Valorie in Santa Clara for a room. For some reason in making the reservation, I could not use my paypal account. I closed out of airbnb to try to investigate what was going on in paypal and everything was okay. There should have been no reason why my transaction would not have gone through. On Friday, the same day, I got a text from airbnb security with a 4 digit pin code to complete the transaction. I resumed trying to make the reservations for the room, and attempted to use paypal again, without success. Getting a little bit desperate to get this reservation completed, I entered my chase credit card number and continued trying to make the reservation, but I still needed to complete more information. The website asked for permission for me to verify myself and they wanted the following: Your e-mail account, access to your e-mail contacts(!!), and a picture of your drivers license, which I took a picture of and uploaded to the airbnb website. For me, to get an airbnb reservation for $50 a night, it was not worth revealing so much personal information including a picture ID which i did submit. When it requested my facebook, link’d in, e-mail and access to my e-mail contacts, I had to log out. I then logged back in and deleted my account. I will attempt now to contact technical support on airbnb’s www/https:// website. It is not secure!

UPDATE:
Two days later, on Sunday, February 21st, I got a chase credit card fraud alert with 6 new charges amounting to more than $879.00!! It seems obvious that these events are related! I had to cancel my chase card immediately.

Be warned your information may not be secure when using the Airbnb website!!

Host lied, then demanded cash payment!

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I stayed at an Airbnb recently as I’ve used them 5 times already with no issues until recently. The place I rented was advertised as a 2 bedroom in NYC, but it was actually just a room with someone else living there! I was only told once I had paid the money and it was too late and too much of a hassle to book anywhere else. Long story short, it was one of the worst accommodations I’ve stayed in. The host was actually the brother and things were just not organized. Sheets smelled, put in the flat mates room, guys came home late with a woman at 3am forgetting they had a paying guest, didn’t provide the cash discount for the error to keep the booking after much persistence (apparently another Airbnb violation).

I complained to Airbnb, who were going to talk to the host while I was still staying in the rental, which I advise against, and I was offered a refund of 50% for the issues. Since I was still living there, I had the owner call me a liar and a cheat for having gone behind his back to complain, and given my visa status, he even threatened to file a claim against me if I didn’t adhere to his demands to refund the amount Airbnb took from him. I had to settle this with the host but I’m wondering if it’s worth bringing up with Airbnb. With the host threatening to sue me, and if he did go through with it (although I was not in the wrong) could have serious repercussions for me.

I’m wondering if Airbnb would be able or willing to protect me at all. After reading these articles, I highly doubt it.

First Airbnb Experience – WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!!

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I wanted to book a place to stay with few of our friends.

1. We booked the first place: We let all our friends know and planned everything, then the host contacted me asking for more money!  I had already invited all of my friends and had sent them pics of the place so reluctantly I agreed to pay more!

2. The day after, the host told me that she would be home with her daughter (staying in the same place)!! So to clarify, I had paid twice the price of a 5star hotel to spend the weekend with her and her daughter rather than having the place alone with my friends like we thought —–> AWESOME

3. I cancelled that booking (at this point I still didn’t know that airbnb had already charged me the service fee and would not refund that)

4. I booked a new airbnb place and I sent a message to the owner and he confirmed.   I paid for the booking.  One hour later, he told me that I have only paid for 1 person and asked me for more money. I had paid $500 and apparently it was only for 1 person!  I wanted to cancel the booking BUT I WAS ONLY GETTING BACK $50 OF THE CLEANING FEES OUT OF $500 + lots of stress as I already had invited everyone to fukkn Blue Mountains!!! What am I going to do???  I had to contact Airbnb to cancel, but there’s no number listed.  After 20 minutes of searching I found a phone number —> Called >>>> 30 minutes wait … My case was sent to a “case manager”.

So after wasting 3 hours, lots of stress, and $1200 of my money ON THE AIR (still not refunded), I have absolutely nothing to show for it!  I have invited all of my friends to the Blue Mountains and I’ve sent them the pics and address of the place, BUT I HAVE NO ACTUAL BOOKINGS and I wasted all this time and effort. NOW IT’S TIME TO BEG TO RECEIVE MY MONEY BACK!!

Miami Host Misrepresents Unit – Airbnb Does Nothing

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If there were an option for no stars, I’d have chosen that. Worst experience with accommodations I have ever had. The person (billing himself as Tony&Eli) that advertised the place, completely misrepresented the apartment. From the pictures I received from my daughter it seems as though it’s not even the same apartment that was advertised. I was paying the rent there for a month so she could have enough time to find a place of her own, near to where she wants to go to school. After driving all night from Georgia (and the night before from Virginia) my daughter arrived there only to have to pack up and go stay with family. It was filthy and moldy. She took pictures and sent them to me and took them to my mother as well.The next day he offered to put her in another apartment but I advised her not to trust that person, to have no more contact with him and to see if the family could help her find something else as she is just moving to Florida to go to school there. Instead of the person just letting it go, he refuses to refund the money and I’ve had to take it up with my credit card. It seems as if he has more than one place and probably is using the same pictures for all the ones he rents. Even though I tried to contact Tony&Eli by both my personal and work email, and sent him all the pictures of the apartment, he did not reply. Instead he kept trying to contact my daughter and convince her that she should move into some different apartment he had.  Also, to call a member of his family since he lives overseas currently. I did not want him harassing her as she’s only 18 and hasn’t had to deal with this sort of thing before. Airnbn has been no help at all and is considering it a cancellation.  Unfortunately, they also went through my daughter and did not contact me.  The airbnb contact is in California and can only see the pictures online.  They did not offer to have someone come to the apartment in Miami. They probably don’t have a presence in the state. can’t say for sure. They think that just because the owner offers some other place that should be ok with the renter. I don’t see why a customer should have to continue to do business with someone that has bait and switch tactics and would pawn off such a place on some kid. I will never use airbnb again and I advise anyone who does to, if possible, check out the place in person and don’t rely on airbnb to help if something goes wrong. I would especially not send anyone that is inexperienced to possibly have to handle a situation such as this. They will be better off going to an Extended Stay America or Homewood Suites where the management is accountable.

Their response was the following: John, Nov 18, 19:19: Hello Kayleigh, I did get your pictures and a majority of it looks like it can be scrubbed clean. I want to go through all the pictures you sent and the concerns. I am not sure how the door frame can be fixed, it doesn’t look broken but old and repainted. A lot of building and homes in Miami are older but it isn’t broken. The broken tile can be fixed and is something I can request the host have fixed while you are there if you stay. The A/C filter can be cleaned out but I agree is gross. The floor wall boards can be wiped and the floor better swept. Can you please send me a picture of a bug if possible and a closer picture of the tile mold. I can’t tell if it is tile grout or if it is mold on the tile, either way I agree it does need to me scrubbed and mopped. The cabinets can be bleached but look like they have water damage from years of dishes being put away and not all the way dry. Last is the bathtub, it looks like an old tub and similar to mine. Since my building is from the 1980s the tub will get old an impossible to get all the soap scum. It is something that can be scrubbed but not perfectly, possible cleaned with comet powder or bleached also to get rid of some stains and soap scum. Overall I don’t thank anything is bad enough for an immediate cancellation and I also need a picture to consider a vermin issue. I appreciate your patience and hope you get a good sleep tonight, I am sorry for this issue but want to make sure I make the best decision.

So they even admitted the place was nasty and yet, didn’t approve a refund. Apparently scamming college kids is a business practice according to some other reviews I’ve read. Why anyone would be forced to live in this situation, or continue to have to do business with someone that scammed them in the first place is beyond me. Especially, when the apartment was about $1650 a month plus a pet fee of a $150. Now they are simply ignoring the problem. I’ve posted a complaint to BBB Hopefully that will help. This apartment is located in Miami

Airbnb FRAUD cost me 1460 Euros, & it was preventable!

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Airbnb fraud cost me 1460 Euros! They aren’t doing enough to protect their community from fraudsters. I have had many happy trips with airbnb, but after this I will never use them again. They simply aren’t doing enough to protect their customers. I went to book accommodation in Amsterdam for new year, when I saw a message in the description of the listing offering 20% discount through ‘instant book’ (on the actual airbnb.co.uk site), I just had to email the host and they would enable instant booking to make the payment. ‘Fair enough’ I thought, they want to get people in quickly. Makes sense. So I emailed the host with the dates and a request to instant book. I then received an email from Herman (the host) with a link to instant book. The URL is still active https://www.airbnb.com.book.srl/instant/rooms/5913502?checkin=12292015&checkout=01022016&currency=&guests=8 You’ll notice the URL is airbnb.com.book.srl, which at the time i believed to be Airbnb, which it evidently is not. (these links are no longer active after I brought it to airbnbs attention!) So screenshots are attached. Once you click instant book and enter payment details the following page appears with a slightly confusing error message (images attached). https://www.airbnb.com.book.srl/instant/rooms/status?accepted=false&hosting_id=9652369 After a bit of back and forth with Herman (perfect English I might add) I requested the invoice to be sent. I then received the attached email (too long to put here) and stupidly made payment through transfer. I then received emails from a very a very convincing airbnb finance team representative (express@reply-airbnb.com). Emails written as though from one of Airbnb’s real employees, here’s the linked in profile… but i don’t think this poor guy has anything to do with it. At this moment, I started to realize I’d made a mistake! I called my bank who said you can’t stop a payment like this, also notified Barclays (where the money was being transferred to), seemingly to no avail. During this entire process Herman was continuing to email and reassure me that everything was OK and the payment hadn’t come through yet. I also contacted airbnb who said that they had removed his profile and very annoying then decided to tell me never to make a payment away from airbnb (which I didn’t think I had), until they specified bank transfer. I have now followed the link where the initial listing was and it’s still live, this is after airbnb said that Herman’s account has been blocked! It has the same reviews the same host, but different apartment pictures and is on the actual airbnb.co.uk site. So unfortunately it’s inevitable that this will happen again to someone else. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/1125879?checkin=29-12-2015&checkout=02-01-2016&guests=3&s=R92_NDn9 I really feel Airbnb could have done so much more to protect me during this absolute nightmare. Not only have they allowed the fraudulent account to continue, but make a bigger play on the fact that no payments should be done offline rather than display instant booking everywhere. They say “At Airbnb, we do everything we can to create a safe and trusted marketplace.” I don’t think this is true. I’m now completely skint 2 days before Christmas with a cancelled trip for the New Year. Thanks Airbnb, but NEVER EVER again.