Ripped off and Air B&B Help is not being much help

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Spyros26
Level 2
San Rafael, CA

Ripped off and Air B&B Help is not being much help

I have been using the platform for the last 3 years and 13 trips and only had great experiences to report. 

Until my latest one.

I got swindled out of over 600 euros in cleaning fees by the host among other serious problems during my stay.

I submitted evidence of the case to Air B&B Help and for the last two weeks since I raised the issue all I've gotten is template responses, getting passed from one representative to another-who repeat the template process as if they were never caught up to the previous conversation and unresponsiveness to my questions.  

 

If anyone has any experience and advice on the matter, I would appreciate it. 

1 Best Answer
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

Hosts are always saying that Airbnb favors guests and guests are always saying they favor the host, but the reality is, that both hosts and guests often get horrible treatment and it seems to be the luck of the draw depending on who you happen to have handle a case as to whether it's done in a fair manner.

 

It's Airbnb itself that mostly creates the situation where hosts and guests are pitted against one another, by not consistently following policies, not looking at evidence presented, or a host or guest's past history, and by allowing poorly trained, poorly paid, low level employees make decisions and having the power to close cases which are clearly unresolved.

 

@Heidi588

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16 Replies 16
Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Spyros26 I suspect we can't help but more info is definitely needed if we are to try. It's hard to see how you can be out 600 Euros as most times Airbnb side with the guest not the host. I guess it could be a commercial host that is allowed to take security deposits - Typically advice is to avoid these but of course it's too late for that now.

Spyros26
Level 2
San Rafael, CA

Hello @Mike-And-Jane0 and thank you for responding. I appreciate your time.

 

Early on, the host insisted that I pay an additional 20 euros/week for cleaning. He represented to me that such charges were normal given the length of my stay (3 months). At the time, I was not familiar with Air B&B policy on additional charges, I was dealing with inflexible circumstances in my life and, coming from so many positive experiences with previous hosts, inclined to give the him the benefit of the doubt. I agreed to those charges.

A few days before the end of my stay he did not just present me with the agreed upon cleaning fee. He surprised me with additional charges for laundry, sofa cleaning and for a latch on a garbage can he claims I broke totalling 610 eu. 

These three pop up charges were NEVER mentioned upfront, let alone agreed upon. 

I dug into Air B&B’s policy and learnt that NONE of them should have occurred in the first place. 

If the host wished to charge for such services he was obligated to include them in the quote and/or description of his listing before I decided to book. 

Any payments after the fact were supposed to be conducted through the platform, which the host  repeatedly insisted on bypassing.

 

If I am missing something, please, let me know. 

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Spyros26 I guess if you have paid then it's too late. By paying (unless it was under duress) you have effectively agreed to the 'damage' and the cleaning. It is very unclear if guests should pay for cleaning regularly through a long term stay but one thing that is clear is that any charges should be agreed up front.

I fear, unless others have better ideas, all you can do is leave an appropriate review for the host.

Alex893
Level 10
Chicago, IL

Your host does not have access to your payment information and can only request this payment from you. At the time you had an opportunity to agree only to the amount previously discussed in the host would’ve I had an opportunity to get Airbnb involved for more. It sounds like that was not the process? Did you pay the host on the spot? How did you make that payment? 

Spyros26
Level 2
San Rafael, CA

Thanks again for the advice, @Mike-And-Jane0. If nothing else, it helps me validate my understanding of what happened. 

And thanks for joining the thread, @Alex893 .

 

The surprising, not-agreed-upon payments were the main problem but there were other related ones.

I'm not sure what standard of 'duress'  this case may meet, but I did feel like I didn't have a choice.

 

a) Over the course of my stay the host had repeatedly shown a bad temper and rudeness when discussing problems both with other people in the house as well as with me on one very unpleasant occasion.

b) I did ask him to acknowledged the charges through ABB and he refused. 

 

So this was not a misunderstanding. He was intentionally ripping me off and trying to cover it.

I wasn't going to risk a confrontation with someone dishonest and unstable.

I did pay by depositing money directly into the host's bank account (that receipt is one of the pieces of evidence submitted to ABB). 

Otherwise, if not physical harm, I was concerned that I would have been prevented to take my belongings out of the house, which included heavy, expensive professional equipment. 

 

In case you're wondering "why didn't you report the bad temper and rudeness to ABB when it happened", I did. I received a tone deaf, template response to the effect of "try to talk it out with your host". 

In case you're wondering "why didn't you leave the place earlier if it were so bad", the short answer is: due to unusual constrains in my life at the time that made such move at the very least a hard choice. 

 

I have indeed left a review. 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

The problem is, you gave this guy a cash payment. I'm not sure why you didn't just tell the host that you are a experienced guest and you know that's not how things work on Airbnb- that if he had extra charges, he needs to charge them to you through Airbnb.

 

You can, of course, keep pursuing this with Airbnb, but they can't really do much, and will likely keep refusing to do anything about a payment made off-platform. They might suspend or delist the host, but that won't get you your $600 back. 

 

@Spyros26

Heidi588
Level 10
Santa Cruz la Laguna, Guatemala

@Spyros26 , I get what you're talking about. I had a malignantly opportunistic host, and I chose to remain at the stay for a variety of reasons, including that the location itself met so many wants and needs, and he was not on the property, so while we had some very unpleasant interactions, they were limited and brief.  He actually blatantly lied and ripped me off through the platform, and despite all the proof I had, Airbnb sided with him and closed the ticket without further discussion. It wasn't worth my peace to keep fighting a toxic host and a toxic platform (hosts, you're not the only ones who get jerked around, I promise, and I have a lot of compassion for what you go through). I didn't even leave a review, I was just ready to move on from the negativity; it would have been more fighting, and I never chose a fighting situation in the first place. Some people are so aggressively manipulative, they will find a way to make you look bad for being their victim, or to keep the toxicity going for as long as possible, and I decided I am not his victim, I don't live in his story, and the moment I left, it was all done between us, hallelujah. He lives by win/lose, and while he won money, he didn't win anything from inside of me. 

 

In your situation, I think you're out the money. You paid him off of the platform. Perhaps 600 euros is the price of peace, and you can just let the toxicity go. The bad experience is over, you got your equipment, maybe you got some good out of the stay that had nothing to do with him, and what he did against you came out of your pocket but not your soul; if there is such a thing as a soul, his actions are on his. 

 

That's my opinion, I respect whatever you choose to do for your own well-being. 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

Hosts are always saying that Airbnb favors guests and guests are always saying they favor the host, but the reality is, that both hosts and guests often get horrible treatment and it seems to be the luck of the draw depending on who you happen to have handle a case as to whether it's done in a fair manner.

 

It's Airbnb itself that mostly creates the situation where hosts and guests are pitted against one another, by not consistently following policies, not looking at evidence presented, or a host or guest's past history, and by allowing poorly trained, poorly paid, low level employees make decisions and having the power to close cases which are clearly unresolved.

 

@Heidi588

Spyros26
Level 2
San Rafael, CA

Hey @Sarah977 , 

 

Although I did have the experience of 13 previous ABB trips, I had no experience with a host trying to get extra money out of me and the platform's policy on the matter. All 13 had been wonderful and, if anything, made me naively have my guard down. 

It's sad actually that, from now on, having been burnt, I will be entering relationships with hosts playing more defence. I thought the mission of the platform is to create experiences where travellers feel safe and relaxed.

 

@Heidi588, thanks for the kind words. 

 

The money part is frustrating. But more so the fact that ABB has so poorly communicated about the issue, let alone take steps, beyond my option to leave a review, to ensure future guests don't go through the same stress. 

 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

The thing is, in a business that is based largely on human interaction as far as the relationship between hosts and guests, there are pretty much bound to be conflicts at some point and as we are all just human, there are going to be some bad guests and bad hosts out there.

 

It goes the other way, too. Hosts will go merrily along, getting wonderful respectful guests for a year or two or three, assume that all guests are like that, only to be shocked to encounter some rude, demanding, disrespectful guest.

 

I hate to see it as that we have to be constantly on guard, and I don't host with that mind-set. I think it's more a matter of being able to recognize red flags as soon as they surface, be aware of Airbnb policies, be realistic about how much help you can expect from Airbnb, address issues right away without letting them fester, and have a contingency plan if things don't work out. And for everyone to leave honest, factual reviews to warn others of bad hosts, bad accommodations, or objectionable guests.

 

  

 

@Spyros26

@Spyros26 If you made a payment to the host outside of the platform, it's not an Airbnb issue. Transactions that didn't run through their system are totally outside their jurisdiction.

 

Duress is an interesting concept here. What were you told the consequences would be if you refused to pay the extra fees? 

 

Spyros26
Level 2
San Rafael, CA

Hey @Andrew0-and everyone else.

 

Thank you for your interest.

At this point, I need to move on. I already marked Sarah977's answer as the one that described the crux of the problem the best. Which is that this very conversation I've been having with all of you people from the community-and appreciate-I should be having with the ABB staff. Instead they gave me a couple of cookie-cutter responses and then disappeared. 

 

Having the mediation, if not the protection, of the platform in such cases was a very big part of the value that I saw they offered. After 3 years of using the service without a hitch, the moment came when I needed that help and it didn't come. Very disappointed. 

 

I intended to ramp up my use of the platform due to the conditions of the pandemic and the fact that I am lucky enough to be able to work from almost anywhere. 

Instead, I don't feel safe with ABB anymore and will resort to alternatives. 

 

Thanks to Everyone for helping me clarify certain points. 

Liv
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Spyros26,

 

Thanks a lot for reaching out. I'm sorry to hear about this situation.

 

I have checked on your case internally, and I was informed that it's currently open and being worked on. You should hear back from the support team soon.

 

I hope this helps and also please let me know if you have any other concerns.

 

Thanks,

Liv

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Spyros26
Level 2
San Rafael, CA

Hey @Liv ,

 

Thanks for the heads up. To clarify,  are you ABB staff? If so, it's encouraging that the platform actually keeps an eye on the community issues that are raised. 

Good to know that the case is open and worked on. Happy to provide any additional information the support team may need.