@Ute42 @Sarah977 @Mary419 @Alex893 @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 @Helen3 @Sharon1014 @Colleen253 @Heidi588
I don't even know where to start with this. It's all just so, so wrong.
Firstly - and most importantly - I want to let you all know how Monika is doing, and the truth is, she's not doing well at all. I got off the phone with her at 7.45 (UK time) this morning - 3.45am in Chile. She's not eating, she's not sleeping, she's in floods of tears and is stressed beyond belief. She's worried sick about the unpaid bills, feeding her kids, keeping a roof over her family's heads, losing her livelihood, people calling her looking for money they're owed, the extra charges she'll receive because of funds not being in her account to meet her monthly outgoings, utilities potentially being disconnected for non-payment, ending up on the DICOM and a hundred other things (see Monika's explanation of DICOM below)
"Here in Chile if you do not pay rent , loan etc : bank , flat owners , shops put your name with your RUT ID to the system called here DICOM and then your life here is over – anytime you will try to rent , get a loan , first they check if your name is not in DICOM – if you are there – forget to get place, get bank account , loan – you are out. We are now in this danger as we can not pay rent for the place we live and the flats we rent for Airbnb . Not mention to pay bills and basics and that we will be on the street"
Everyone who reads this post, should read Monika's words again, and imagine it's you and your family who's in this position. Imagine how panicked, anxious, stressed, terrified, beaten-down, angry, powerless and helpless you'd feel if that was your reality - day after day after day - right now.
And then imagine how very much worse it would feel, knowing that the only reason you're in this position is because a multi-billion dollar global corporation has put you there. And that multi-billion dollar global corporation is doing absolutely nothing to rectify the situation, but instead, is compounding the abuses by alternately obfuscating, lying to you, gaslighting you and completely blanking you - over and over, every single day for an entire month - despite you begging and pleading with them time and time again to sort things out before it's too late, and you've lost everything. (20+ reservations that Airbnb owe her for, now into the 7th week)
This is the hell Monika, Domingo and their girls are going through 24/7. Forget all the sunshine and roses, rainbows and unicorns fairytale crap. This is the stark reality of the misery, suffering and hardships that Airbnb's incompetence, arrogance, greed and dodgy dealings are directly causing for countless numbers of genuine, good, decent, hardworking people, all day, every day. (Theres solid proof of that all over the Internet, and all over this very forum) Today it's Monika and Domingo, tomorrow its you and I. Remember that.
Hang your heads in shame, Airbnb. What you're doing to this family - and God only knows how many others around the world - is truly evil.
cc. @Catherine-Powell @Tara-Bunch
Penelope