I've been asked to pay for false claim of "missing items"

[Paul10612]

Greetings to the community.

I recently completed a short stay as a guest. The stay was routine, pleasant and unremarkable, like the vast majority of the dozens of stays I've completed over the past 10 years. Communication with the host was cordial and pleasant.

Then 5 days later, I was notified that the host was asking me to pay for two "missing" items. The total amount requested is around $60 (a $17 iron and a $43 blanket). I was completely stunned and blindsided by this accusation and declined the payment request since I cannot take responsibility for something I didn't do. The host has since elevated it to AirBnB for mediation.

While I'm very sympathetic to all the hosts who undoubtedly must contend with all sorts of shenanigans from disrespectful or dishonest guests (including damaged and missing property), I am shocked to be on the receiving end of such a false accusation and I am concerned about this so-called mediation process.

I tried reaching out to the host to ask who discovered the items missing and when was this discovered ... and no reply. I can't help but wonder if the guest after me, who were supposedly arriving the same day as my checkout, just decided to take the items and reported them as "missing" in order to get away with it. In any event, something is very wrong.

Now I'm wondering about the AirBnB mediation process. They told me they've asked the host for "evidence" such as photos and receipts, but I'm wondering how such evidence could in any way prove that I am responsible for taking them? I'm not disputing that they have receipts from purchasing such items, or that such items were at one time placed in the unit where they could be photographed. But how is that even remotely relevant to determining who took them?

Are they just going to take the host's word for it, that it had to be me and no one else? Obviously I intend to respond and insist that I didn't take these items, but how can I possible prove a negative (that I didn't take them)? How does this whole resolution process work?

For me it's not about the money -- $60 is a petty amount -- but rather about the principle of being accused of something awful that I didn't do. I take great pride in being a respectful guest that a host would love to have back again and again, and my many positive reviews as a guest reflect that.  I appreciate in advance 

Sorry for the lengthy post but I am a bit flustered about this whole situation. I appreciate in advance people's thoughts.

[Alex1485]

As a host, 99% of the time  when a big item goes missing, we find them weeks later,  only to find out the  housekeeper has moved the item to its “ new’ location, which is unknown to us.

For smaller items, it is very hard to prove who, what, when and how for us, as too many hands in the mix.  

As a host pursuing a guest for damages is a process, focused solely on evidence.   The host  needs to provide airbnb conclusive evidence, in my experience ironclad photos, dated showing wrongdoing or admission of guilt in writing… otherwise it is he said / she said..

[James354]

I agree and if you are not doing the cleaning and taking an inventory after each guest, which I do (this is my full-time job and I manage multiple properties) then you really can't blame a guest.  When I went out of town and hired a cleaning team, upon return, I noticed that items had vanished.  In your case, it could have been one of the cleaners who took the blanket and iron.  The host just doesn't know, so it is nonsense to accuse a guest, especially one with a stellar track record and a frequent user of the platform.

[Rebecca]

Hey there @Paul10612, 

I'm sorry to hear of your experience and you raise some valid questions. I've moved this post to get some more visibility and support for you.  Have you contacted Airbnb Support yourself? 

[Paul10612]

Thanks so much Rebecca for giving my post more visibility.

It seems that AirBnB support has come through for me. When I received the email from the "claim ambassador" to notify me of the mediation process and ask for my statement, I replied with a couple of questions (one about a failed link in the email and another about where I should provide my statement), and after 3 separate attempts I had not yet received a reply.

I found nothing on the AirBnB website about how to contact an actual person for support (in fact that is how i fumbled my way to this forum and I posted in desperation at the lack of an actual customer service contact). Later then I just googled "AirBnB customer service phone number" and dialed it. Long story short,  they seemed sympathetic to my position and assured me that I would not be charged anything for these items and they would take care of everything from there.

The original claim ambassador who had emailed me finally did respond to my email questions over a week later, and she didn't seem to realize that I'd already been assured that I didn't need to worry any further about this. The right hand not talking to the left hand apparently.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Paul10612 I agree with @Alex1485 . I am glad we have never accused a guest of removing items as we often find them later in bizarre places. Also many things like plates and glasses do get broken and the odd towel goes missing but its just a cost (small) of doing business. In your case just maintain your innocence and move on. Generally you will just get a black mark on your account only visible to Airbnb so that if a future host/hosts accuses you of a similar transgression they may then remove your account.

Have you left a review?

[Paul10612]

Thank you for this reply. I did leave a (positive) review shortly after I checked out, and several days before I received the notification about the allegedly missing items. (The host, for that matter, left me a positive review as well and privately told me that I was welcome back at any time.) When the claim ambassador who emailed me failed to respond to my questions, I finally contacted a phone number that I found via google for Airbnb customer support, and they were understanding and helpful. In the end I requested that my positive review for the host either be removed or that I be allowed to amend it, since I cannot in good conscience recommend a host who would levy such false accusations, whether by carelessness or by fraud. I was told that the review could not be amended once posted but they did honor my request to delete it, which they did.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Paul10612 

Hmmm - I have just looked at your 75 reviews and there is clearly a pattern of behaviour that shines through. You are a guest from heaven that any host would want to attract to their listing. Sadly it is the same for hosts with stellar reviews - One bad guest (or in your case host) can make unfounded allegations and cause all sorts of trouble. Why the folks in Airbnb can't see this is beyond me.

[James354]

I totally agree!  I've been a host more than 10 years and if I call CS about a ruined towel, I get the third degree!  So much for being a "Superhost"!  It's just a label that carries really no clout.  Over one thousand 5 Star Reviews and then suddenly, I am the host from hell and CS stands by the guest over me.  Shaking my head.  

[Lorna170]

@Paul10612  As a person who has been hosting (and travelling) for over 20 years, I am sorry that this host has accused you of taking items and has escalated it to AirBnB.  

Personally, I will ask a departing guest if they may have mistakenly packed an item and taken it home.  If the guest disavows all knowledge, then I move on.  Unless the item is over a certain $$$ amount or is critical to the rental and cannot be replaced in a reasonable time, I don't even bother reporting it to AirBnB.  

According to the many posts on this forum the host will probably not receive restitution from AirBnB CS .  Hopefully the matter will be closed without any black mark on your account -- I doubt that you will even hear further from CS.

(If you would like to visit Asheville, you would be very welcome to stay at my cabin.)

[Paul10612]

I appreciate this message, Lorna! And I would love to stay at your cabin on my next visit to Asheville. I made a brief stop there back in the pandemic summer of 2020.

[Frances3408]

@Paul10612. Paul, did you see the iron or blanket during your stay?

More likely its been missing a while and the host has only just noticed. An iron got used for the first time in 2 years by a recent guest of ours (who had trouble locating it as we keep it in a bottom drawer of a wardrobe) so I know how little they are used in reality. The following guest reported a plate was accidently broken. I've had other guests take a towel and throw out broken glasses and not say a word. Things happen and its always nice to be told so they can be replaced. As you say, this has been your norm and ours.

Either way you have done everything right. Glad to hear your review was able to be pulled and all the best.

[Paul10612]

I vaguely remember seeing something in the bedroom which may have been an iron but I couldn't swear to it, perhaps it was just a small ironing board with a holder for the iron which wasn't there, I really didn't stop to examine it because I had no use for an iron on this trip. 

As for the blanket, I don't know what blanket they're alleging is missing. There was of course a blanket on the bed I used, but there was a second bed I didn't use and I have no idea of they're claiming the "missing" blanket was kept somewhere else such as a closet.

Thanks again for your reply. 

[Julie6339]

This exact thing happened to my daughter in July. The host charged her for a Pak-n-Play (baby bed)  and a tv remote, $200!!!  AND the host didn't report these items missing and notify my daughter until 3 weeks after we left.  Our entire family was there (12 in all)  and my youngest daughter actually said there was a Pak-n-Play in her upstairs closet when the issue came up weeks later (supposedly was stored in the master closet on the house list) 

My daughter provided a receipt for the pak-n-play I purchased on January 7th (baby born January 1st)  that they brought in their car, so never looked for, nor used, what was supposed to be in the house.

She has done everything to prove these items were never used nor taken by us, but AirBnB just takes the host's word for it. She's appealed twice, but AirBnB say it's done. $200 gone for nothing our family did wrong. 

I've attempted to report the company supposedly managing the house (Dynasty Florida Vacation Rentals) to the BBB of Florida, but it's a fake company and doesn't exist.  All we have is Andrew's gmail and his cell phone and AirBnB says "oh well, this matter is concluded"  I'm furious and there is nothing I can do. 

Just beware of Dynasty Florida posing as a reputable management  company in Orlando.

Julie