Delayed Airbnb payout

[Meg-And-Violet0]

Hello everyone, 

Airbnb took a payment for a reservation on our property 6 months ago, totalling £1000. They never paid it out. I've been in conversation with various departments and employees ever since and no one will give me a clear answer. They say it's a technical issue and that they are working on it. It's taken three months of constant emails and calls and still nothing. Does anyone know what our legal standpoint is? Airbnb are technically withholding funds but I'm not sure what our rights are as consumers of their service. Our livelihood depends on our Airbnb listing so this is critical, like I'm sure it is for all of you others who are also waiting on payments. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 

[Helen3]

You could try raising it with them on their social media accounts @Meg-And-Violet0 

[Susan17]

@Meg-And-Violet0 

You've had more than enough of being messed about, you need to take it straight to the top now. 

Aisling Hassell 

VP of Community Support. 

Email links will get removed from here, so to contact any Airbnb staff member, it's first name, dot, second name, then @ the company name, dot com. 

And if you still don't get your payout after that, take it to the mainstream media. 

[Susan17 · Accepted solution]

@Meg-And-Violet0 

Yes, technically, Airbnb are witholding funds, but they have themselves covered in their Terms and Conditions, so taking legal action would most likely be a waste of your time and efforts. You should still lodge a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman though. 

The UK Financial Ombudsman Service offer a free complaints resolution service to individuals, micro-enterprises, small charities, and trustees of small trusts.

You can contact the UK Financial Ombudsman by

(i) telephone from inside the UK: 0300 123 9123 or 0800 023 4567; from other countries: +44 20 7964 0500, on Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm and on Saturday 9am to 1pm;

(ii) post: South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR; or

(iii) email: enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk. 

The UK Financial Ombudsman Service is also available in a number of different languages and if you need it you will be put in touch with a translator when you contact the UK Financial Ombudsman Service.

[Meg-And-Violet0]

Thank you, I'll contact the Financial Ombudsman now. I cannot believe that this is happening to more people and it's not publicly acknowledged. I for one thought Airbnb was one of the only big companies we could rely on, its impossible to consider we might not get our money back.