Special offer via international bank transfer: SPAM or not?

[Yvette38]

Dear all,

I have the distinct feeling something has gone really wrong with my reservation. This is the second time I am using Airbnb, and I already regret it. I found a nice appartment in London, and contacted the owner. She made me a special offer via mail - which I checked and was a possibility according to the site. Then I needed to wait for a confirmation from Airbnb to use a bank transer for the money. All went well and I would get a confirmation from Airbnb within 3 days... this was May 8. And I cannot find any confirmation on the site, nor does the owner respond to my mails and I cannot find the appartment on the platform anymore. What should I do? I am annoyed with myself but I am even more annoyed that there is no way to reach Airbnb to check if this is indeed a scam or they would not authorize my payment.

What can I do? I am due in two weeks time for a well-deserved holiday with my son, who is very much looking forward to spend some time with his mother in London. Why oh why did I chose Airbnb.

Many thanks for any advice you can share, also how to reach someone at Airbnb.

Regards,

Yvette

[Kate157]

Hi @Yvette38, you definitely need to contact Airbnb. They are the ones in charge of finances. But, when I read your post, I was concerned about the bank transfer. All the scams reported on these pages rely on bank or wire transfers. The scammers always include language about Airbnb agents who will collect the money or distrubute keys, etc. but it is all a scam, and people are left with nothing, as these are not legit Airbnb listings. I hope for your sake this isn't the case, but you definitely need to contact Airbnb. You can look on the internet or elsewhere on these pages for the customer service number. Good luck!

[Quincy]

Hello @Yvette38,

Welcome to the community!

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing problems with your booking. I'm not sure if you've already been contact with Airbnb, but you can find a guide on how to reach them in the community centre.

Let me know how it goes!