A sad, sad story about love, death, kittens and lost 50€. Well, mostly about 50€.

A sad, sad story about love, death, kittens and lost 50€. Well, mostly about 50€.

Hello, let me introduce myself and file my complaint (unfortunately, I have one and it is quite serious).

My name is Ihor. I am an IT specialist from Ukraine and I work for an international company. Sometimes I get called to study/work on our projects in the EU, in our main office, but mostly I live and work in Ukraine. I was born and raised in Crimea — a region which is now annexed by Russia and remains under international sanctions. My relatives still live there, and I visit them from time to time. These details are important for my story.

In one of my trips to Crimea, I got a debit card from a Russian bank – it was not under sanctions back at the time. The terms of use were quite attractive, so I tied this card to my Airbnb account and used it several times, without any problems.

This year, on June 20, I used my card to book a room in Skopje, with an eye to visit the UEFA Super Cup final. Two weeks later, my host suddenly decides to charge me THRICE the previous sum. He clearly wants to use the football hype to make additional profit. Not a friendly behavior from a host, don’t you think? So I ask him to cancel my reservation, which he does.

From here, everything goes downhill. At some point between these dates (booking and canceling), my bank falls under international sanctions and loses all means to process international payments. My money, previously paid for booking (about 50€) and now due to refund, are not returning. I wait for a week or so, then I write to the Airbnb Help centre. My message is forwarded to the Customer Experience department.

On July 12, a very nice person anwers me. She consoles me (^_^) and gives me a bonus coupon for 100$, tied to my account. She also tells me that the investigation on my case can be started only on July 19 (when the possible delay period is fully expired) and asks me to wait. I agree.

On July 19, I remind about my case. Another very nice person answers and addresses my message to the Financial department. Another week passes by.

On July 27, I finally get some news from the FD. They deny receiving any rejected refunds and give me a very long “trace number” which allegedly confimrs that the money in question was indeed received by my bank. By that time, I am in Crimea again, so I go directly to my bank. They protest vehemently and tell me there is absolutely no possibility of getting international refunds to my card – because of sanctions. Nobody at the bank knows what this “trace number” is. They advise me to wait a bit more and then turn again to Airbnb. The reason: my money was “stuck in between” by that time, and only after a “pending period”, one month long, it would automatically return to the payment processing partner of Airbnb.

But that’s where a second unpleasant surprise hits me: after returning home, I find out that I cannot login to my Airbnb account any more. Fast forward another week or two of exchanging letters, and finally I receive a shocking answer on August 8. A third, not-so-nice person enters the fray:

“Hi Ihor,

Because Airbnb is a US-based company, we’re required to comply with international regulations that restrict the use of our site by people located in certain countries. Because of this, Airbnb’s services aren’t available in Crimea, Iran, Sudan, Syria, and North Korea.”

Wait, WHAT?

Is that what I get for losing my money? Losing my account to boot? You just deleted my account, this means Airbnb will not be available for me anywhere, from now on. What about my 50€, anyway? Is it some sort of a “punishment” for my visiting Crimea and daring to write from there? A penalty? A fine?

I write a polite letter back, trying to get more information. No answer. I try to write to 2 people from Airbnb I previously talked to. No answer. Every time I try to register a new account, it quickly gets blocked. No matter where I am – even after my return to the “free” part of Ukraine, even being in Europe, I cannot register a new account. Only after changing my browser, I am able to create this current profile.

So, long story short:

- good bye, my beloved account;

- good bye, my refund of 50€;

- good bye, my bonus of 100$;

- good bye, my respect and admiration for Airbnb (really, I still hope that this all is just a terrible misunderstanding. But in its current state, the situation is simply atrocious).

...What would you suggest me to do?

3 Replies 3
Oomesh-Kumarsingh0
Level 10
Pamplemousses, Mauritius

@Ihor2 I am sad to hear that you had to go under such an unfair situation. I would advice you not to use Airbnb if you live or are originally an area which is currently hit by US sanctions! You can still contact Airbnb and ask them to send you the money, dont give up on this one here is the Airbnb number for Russia / Rossiya - Россия: +7 4954658090 or 88003017104 (toll-free). Good luck!!!

Ben205
Level 10
Crewkerne, United Kingdom

@Ihor2

Suggestions? Partly joking - write a much shorter version with a proper subject line, and other people will read it and comment!

In reality, not much you can do. Airbnb is enormous and global and is run as an enormous, global business!

David-and-Fiona0
Level 10
Panglao, Philippines

Wow! Sorry this has happened to you but on a positive note you have a wonderful writing style! You should start writing books. I hope your issue gets resolved.