Conciergerie is trying to extort money from me - changed my passwords

[Alexandre810]

The conceiergerie who manages my listing in Marseille has changed my passwords, including gmail when she realised I wouldnt be using her services anymore. She is asking me for money in exchange to release my listing. I have called airbnb 3 times to ask them to help me and nobody has contacted me back. This woman has access to my bank account details and all of my information. I cannot believe that nobody in airbnb will help me with this, it is a massive security breach not to mention fraud as this woman has control of a listing with my name, and property on it. She is threatening to delete all my future bookings and deactivating my listing if I do not give her money. She knows I have built up years of great reviews on my property and want to keep my account and bookings and is holding above me. I have emailed the legal team and fraud team and nothing from airbnb. This is extortion and also a data security breach that airbnb does not seem to be taking seriously at all. PLEASE HELP!

[Huma0]

@Alexandre810 

Have you thought about contacting the police if you have evidence of the fraud and extortion? I am not saying they would be helpful, but it's worth a try. It might scare her off at least?

I think it's really terrible that Airbnb are not taking this more seriously. Sorry you're having to go through this experience.

[Alexandre810]

@Huma0 Thanks for advice and supportive thoughts! It is so stressful dealing with this. I have told her that I will take this to the police and it seemed to scare her to begin with. 

Unfortunately, AirBNB messaged my account finally in response to my 3 phone calls (which she is now the only one who has access to), and said they would do nothing about this. 

**[Private conversation removed in line with Community Center Guidelines]

SHe forwarded me this message and now seems 100% sure that I am powerless. 

I will go to the police, since Airbnb wont step in. 

At this point, I know there are 3 bookings coming up, to my house while I am on holiday and I have no idea when. These people are going to get quite a surprise when they show up to Marseille too... I wonder when Airbnb will finally step in. When I make a new listing with the same house?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Alexandre810 I think this is definitely a job for the police.

Have you actually called Airbnb or contacted them on twitter? Both are better than messaging..

Good luck

[Alexandre810]

@Mike-And-Jane0  Thanks, I am going to try twitter. Airbnb finally messaged me back in response to a call. Airbnb messaged my hacked account, so the concierge forwarded it to me, now more resolved than ever I am powerless. 

Airbnb has told me they will not help with the situation. Completely bizarre because I know there are 3 upcoming bookings to my house while Im on holiday. But I have no way of reaching them or even knowing when, or even cancelling the bookings. 

Next step is the police. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Alexandre810 I do have some sympathy for Airbnb as, to them, you might be the criminal trying to get access to your stolen account.

Lets just hope the police are willing to get involved - they may say its a civil matter but hopefully the fact your bank account details for payout have been changed to hers will make it a criminal issue.

[Sarah977]

@Alexandre810  If you allowed this person to list your place under their own profile,  I think it's a matter for you and this person to deal with, and yes, perhaps you'll need to involve the police. Airbnb won't do much about these cases. 

And if the reviews were under her profile, you can't ever get them under yours- reviews stay with the account they were listed under- they are considered reviews of the host, not of the place itself. 

You are going to have to set up a new profile with your listing from scratch- listings aren't transferable.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

I know nothing about co-hosting so, you are saying that if the listing is set up under this woman's profile rather than @Alexandre810 's and rather than as a co-host (I can't see any listings on his profile), he has no control over them at all, even though it's his property?

Well, there's a lesson to be learnt. I know now never to do that.

If, however, @Alexandre810 is able to provide police evidence that this is fraud/extortion, do you think Airbnb would then act in his interests or do you think they would just be, "Meh!"

So sad to have to start from scratch when you have years' worth of great reviews. That would break my heart.

@Mike-And-Jane0I agree with you but I think @Alexandre810 said he had already called them three times.

@Alexandre810  I assume this is down to what you say, i.e. that you decided to stop using her services, NOT that you still owe her money and don't want to pay it. Can I ask why you decided upon this given that you were getting great reviews? Was it because of COVID cancellations?

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  I don't know anything about co-hosting either, but I've read enough posts on this forum with scenarios exactly like this to know that when home owners let property managers list the place under their own profile as the host, they are essentially giving up all control of their listing. And all those good reviews stay with the person whose profile they were listed under.

Which is fair, really, if the co-host or property manager was the one dealing with guests and arranging and checking cleaning, etc. Just because someone owns the place doesn't necessarily mean they earned those reviews.

I suspect these property managers are well aware of all that, so convince new, unfamiliar with how it works, owners to let them list the place under the manager's account. 

And I've read a few of these stories where the manager gets nasty and retaliatory like this when they are told their services are no longer needed. It's kinda like an ugly divorce.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

I suspect that there will be limited sympathy for @Alexandre810 if he has allowed a 3rd party to access his accounts. I don't think banks refund if you willingly give your login details to others. Also who do Airbnb believe - the person who has control of the account or some other person claiming it is theirs? Alll a bit of a mess I am afraid.

[Lisa723]

@Alexandre810 @Sarah977 @Mike-And-Jane0 @Huma0 

This does not sound like a true co-hosting situation, where the co-hosts have separate accounts and do not share passwords or bank information-- and certainly not gmail login info! If the "conciergerie" had been set up as a real co-host you could not be in this position.

Sharing accounts was (obviously, now) a big mistake.

If I found myself in this situation I would immediately close all compromised bank accounts, have the property locks changed, report the listing(s) to Airbnb as fraudulent, and inform the conciergerie that she is out of business and will not be able to honor her remaining bookings.

It is a shame for you to lose your previous reviews and future bookings, but you pretty much brought this on yourself. If you start again with a different manager, read this first:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1243/whats-a-cohost

[Alexandre810]

@Sarah977 @Mike-And-Jane0 @Huma0  @Lisa723 

Firstly,  apologies for the multiple messages. Kinda new to this. 

The listing is under my name, with an email address with my name as well. I am the primary host, she is the co-host. Our arrangement years ago was that she got a 20% commission on bookings for checks in, check outs and managing reviews etc and the cleaning fee. I have no outstanding payments to her. 

When I moved back to france, I discovered some of my property was damaged as she was not doing check-outs properly and not reporting it. During a disagreement on this subject, she realised I would not want to work with her anymore and she changed my passwords. We had created an email account under my name for this property -we both had the credentials to this. I honestly never thought a  professional service would do this and that was my mistake, agreed. She emailed me saying she would exchange the password for 1120 euros - all of this captured in emails and whatsapps. At the time, I had to ask 3 times for my apartment keys, which she also refused. When  I said I would go to the police, she finally agreed to give them back. 

She believes that she is the listing owner. However, all of her work has been paid for, as we agreed at the beginning of her services. 

What is amazing is that Airbnb does not recognize this as fraud. There is a listing out there with my bank account details and property on it where I am the host and have 3 groups about to show up, but have no access to the account. It does not matter at this point, who is the listing owner- that situation should not exist and Airbnb should do something about it. These groups are going to be very confused when they show up. 

I am willing to give up the account and start afresh but I cant even do that. 

Maybe creating a new listing with my house on it will trigger someone at Airbnb. Maybe not who knows with them at this point?

Well, thanks for the advice. It has been nice to have some support in any form throughout this situation. 

[Huma0]

@Lisa723 

I thought so too but, if you scroll down, you will see @Alexandre810  has posted the link to the listing, where he is specified as the host and a lady called Marion as the co-host, so looks like it was an official set up. Not sure how she managed to lock him out.

[Lisa723]

@Huma0 The only way she could have changed his password is if he gave it to her, sharing his account.

[Alexandre810]

It’s true I shared my password, in my mind she was a professional. That was my mistake. But is the result that I have to now be stuck with this situation with no support even though it’s my account, property and bank account details? I don’t mind giving up this listing and starting from scratch but I can’t cancel the future bookings or even find out when they are coming. At this point, Airbnb doesn’t seem to care about them either.