Payment reversal in Australia

Leanne99
Level 10
Adelaide, Australia

Payment reversal in Australia

Hi All,

Just a heads up in case anyone else is affected November 6 2018

We received an email from AirBnB this morning informing us that our payment was reversed. We contacted our bank to find out why and they could find no reason or evidence that any money had arrived. So, we re-entered our payment details as per the Air BnB email and then received another email from them to say the same thing had happened 14 hours later.

I've just got off the phone to AirBnB help and found out this is a problem at thier end and maybe happening Australia-wide due to a problem with their payment partner here...

They said they have had a high volume of calls about this.

I made the point that early communication about this would be helpful and save us worrying, changing details and calling them.

 

Hope this saves others the trouble of chasing up Air BnB

Cheers,

Leanne

181 Replies 181
Chris158
Level 3
Robina, Australia

Hi Leanne,

Thanks for your comments on payment reversal. I thought it was just me and have made the same enquiries as yourself. I have added a 'new' payment method by simply submitting my existing bank account details. A call to ABB ( when I eventually got through) confirmed that that was the correct procedure , nothing else required on my part while ABB correct the problem. 19 hours after I did so I'm still receiving reminders from ABB to update my payment details. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day...

Chris . Robina QLD

Hi Chris, apparently it is nothing to do with our bank accounts and we have been told that there are over 23,000 hosts who have been affected by having payments rejected.  There is a glitch at the Airbnb end.  But what is really frustrating is that after emails and even phone conversations, all we are being told is that they are working on it, making payments in batches but there is no sense of exactly when each host will receive their payments.

 

we have lodged a complaint about the lack of transparency with this process and the fact that hosts are still being given the sense that somehow it is a problem with their account.

Anne and Fernando, Newell Qld

Leanne99
Level 10
Adelaide, Australia

Hi Chris,

Sorry to hear you are in the same boat.

I certainly made the point to the case manager that it's concerning that 14 hours after they sent me the initial email indicating the payment had been reversed and that I needed to re-enter my payment details, they send me another one.  They really should have updated their automated messages as soon as possibleafter identifying the issue and they could have saved at least you and I the trouble of worrying and having to call banks and follow up etc...

For other people's benefit, here is the email I received after my call to them (I anonymised her name).

 

Cheers,

Leanne

----------------------

 

This is ******, and I am one of the case managers in Airbnb. It was a pleasure to speak with you.

I understand that you were surprised to receive a notification that there was an error on your payout preference. Please be advised that there was an unforeseen issue with our payment processing partner in Australia which resulted to the following:

*Payouts were automatically returned
*Payout methods were automatically set to error
*Hosts receive an email about their returned payout, asking them to add a new payout method

Also, I understand how important it is for our hosts to receive their payout as scheduled, and we apologize for any inconvenience. Rest assured that we are doing our best to resolve this as soon as possible. Please expect to receive updates from us through email.

I agree with you that communication is the key to help our users understand the what is going on, and we take your feedback seriously.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Best Regards,
*****

I have been trying to get updates but have heard nothing. 

I feel really let down by Air BnB 

obviously the messsge about communication is key is landing on deaf ears. 

Maybe we all cancel our guests and send complaints to Airbnb

we are not a charity

Rebecca701
Level 2
Carrickalinga, Australia

I thought of closing my doors, but I WOULD be penalised for cancelling and my guests unhappy. If my guests cancel they loose money too.... So I’m cleaning away ......with no assurance of payment. I feel like a slave which is a pity, because I love people, travellers and helping.

Rebecca701
Level 2
Carrickalinga, Australia

 Hi, I’m awaiting 3 Airbnb host payments, and I’m hosting tonight. I find it sad and unrespectful that communication has been so bad from Airbnb on this matter. I go out of my way to look after guests and communicate effectively, it’s my job! so other people’s holidays run smoothly. We even get rated on our communication! Come on Airbnb, if your payment system is down PLEASE CONTACT US HOSTS as we treat our guests. I’m awaiting notification on when I will be paid. 

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Leanne99 @Chris158

 

Yeah we have been following this all day....it will be fixed but it's bloody annoying Airbnb do not have the courtesy to let us know what is going on.

 

You do have to have a chuckle though.....we Aussies are a pretty laid back bunch! Can you imagine the reaction if this had happened to American hosts! Jeeezuuus, there would have been blood in the streets by now......888 Brannan St San Francisco CA 934103 would be leveled to the ground, obliterated from the face of the earth!

 

Cheers......Rob

 

Fran2
Level 10
Launceston, Australia

Agree there Rob!
Michelle-And-Michael0
Level 10
Wollongong, Australia

Hi @Leanne99,  It was a relief to see this post this morning.... Thanks so much for putting it up. We had no idea what was going on!!  My husband changed the details several times last night, and each time it bounced back again... I was going to get on the phone to them this morning, so you saved me a phone call and a headache! Lol 

If this was happening to all the Australian Hosts, I really don't understand why they couldn't have let us know!

Fingers crossed it will be fixed soon 🙂

 

David944
Level 8
Termeil, Australia

Pleasing to see others have posted comments about this difficulty, I have just spent a delightful 30 minutes conversation with a young lady in Georgia, most helpful and with an accent that was so engaging I wanted to prolong the call.

 

But, we Aussies are all in the same antipodean boat, no memo from Airbnb for a KNOWN problem from some days ago leaving harrassed calls to operatives who are not informed of the problem either. I finally entered a Paypal account after updating bank account details, 24 to 48 hours verification process for Airbnb oddly where every other organisation can process payments instantly, is Airbnb that cumbersome and Australia that far away we are inconsequential to a common courtesy email, god forbid an apology?

 

And my usual rant, Airbnb treat hosts so poorly, hosts risk their assets to create the backbone of Airbnb business, however the bias is skewed towards guests in all matters. Cancelling a guest because of the death of a spouse just as an example, requires death certificate evidence otherwise superhost status is rescinded. Welcome back to junior school. 

 

Enjoy hosting though, great way to meet people out in the back blocks, and if I was paid in a timely manner, even better. 

 

did you get paid when you got a paypay account

Kate650
Level 1
Cambooya, Australia

Ditto ... still not resolved it seems. We wait!

 

Sandra126
Level 10
Daylesford, Australia

Me too! Thanks, I haven't had time to do anything about it, figured I would eventually get paid...

Hey guys! Yep it must be an Aussie wide issue. I did receive an email this morning saying the issue has been sorted and no action is needed on our part. 

 

Glad it's not just me! I was going nuts trying to find the superhost number again ha.