Robbery or a scam??

[Rita134]

Hello Everyone

A week ago our guests gave the house remote to a conman claiming to be a window cleaner.

This cleaner was not requested or approved by the owner and therefore no such communication had been given to the guest. Furthemore, the guests failed to contact the owner to check whether they could hand over the house remote to this person, thereby creating a huge and highly irresponsible security risk.

We explicitly said we needed a report to file the incident with Airbnb!! They first agreed to go on the tuesday, then the day after and that until the 20th 5 days later... and at the end they never went to the police station...They didn't care and started to thereten us to write bad reviews if we kepts beeing "so insisting and unprofessional...". 

They also leave in South africa and know the "security rules " so everything seems so strange to me..

But end of day on the day of the burglary we had every lock in the house changed and the alarm system and garage remote control reprogrammed, we arranged the cleaning lady to be in the house and wait for the vendors and I flew to Cape Town to be there. I don’t see at all how Linn can say that is  unprofessional AND I don’t see what the problem is with getting an affidavit from the police?  It’s a week today and I am still waiting for it. 

But end of day on the day of the burglary we had every lock in the house changed and the alarm system and garage remote control reprogrammed, we arranged the cleaning lady to be in the house and wait for the vendors and I flew to Cape Town to be there. I don’t see at all how they can say that is  unprofessional AND I don’t see what the problem is with getting an affidavit from the police?  It’s a week today and I am still waiting for it. 

Every day now a new thing is missing according to their mum who booked for the kids(the guests)...more money , more clothes but everythings seem so weird and messy...I want to send the police affidavit to airbnb but I dont know how?? Can someone help me of what to do???

Thanks a million

Rita

[Veer0]

Hi Rita.

So sorry about your situation.

I am new to Airbnb, so I don't have much experience in this area. My two bits:

1. Never be afraid of getting bad reviews from guests. When you get reviewed, you have the opportunity to leave a 'reply', which appears alongside the review so you can explain your side. Good guests (the kind you want) will understand.

2. Never be afraid to leave a bad review for guests. Be as honest as possible.

3. Register a burglary complaint with the police yourself. It is your house, not your guests'. When registering the complaint, submit evidence of your guests' threats. If the police feel that is good enough to investigate the guests themselves, so be it. Since things are getting stolen even after you changed all the security systems, the guests are my prime suspects.

4. If the guests are still living on your property, cancel the rest of their stay and kick them out. Get the police to help if required. I'm sure their actions can be considered a violation of house rules.

I have no idea about how to proceed in getting insurance compensation from Airbnb. I'm hoping your own police complaint will be enough, but maybe another community member can help better in this area. However, do write to Airbnb regularly explaining the details of your predicament.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

File the police report yourself, it's your property.  Call Airbnb yourself about the situation, it's your property.  It sounds like you allowed a third-party booking, which means you might have a problem getting Airbnb's support but you should contact them immediately. 

[Andrea9]

@Rita134

Your guests gave the remote to a 'cleaner' guy, they got burglared, but are not willing to file a police report or a report for you to work with, and via their Mum reporting new things missing every day. That sounds very much like a scam, or they are just stupid and/or naieve.

I would work with the police, and I'd certainly also mention your suspicions and why. 

[Michelle13]

Sounds awful but yes, I agree with Veer. No one keeps getting robbed daily and just stays there. Your guests maybe scammers. Kick them out but call airbnb first explaining so you have your side documented in advance before they try to get a refund. You can make it sound nicer by claiming "to ensure your safety, I think it best that you vacate until matters are settled. Here are local hostel suggestions..."

Show all your paperwork i.e. new locks with dates installed, any texts outside of airbnb stating how they gave keys to stranger, your own police report. Just call or email airbnb in general and you'll likely be upgraded to a specialist with a specific email address to forward all the papers once you explain the severity. In the future, avoid 3rd party reservations and consider a security camera on the outer property. Good luck!

[David126]

I am not sure exactly what happened, I have a feeling if the issue is mainly that you wish to recover all those costs from AirBnB you may have difficulties.

[Rita134]

Thanks all. Yes I ve sent a message to airbnb but no feedback from them...

[Veer0]

I kind of agree with @David126, so he clear about your objectives. My own goals would be priorirised as:

1. Protect my property (i.e., kick out bad guests). IMO that any guest that threatens to use Airbnb rules against you is a bad guest. You are allowed to run your iwn property as you wish. This particular case isn't just 'bad', it's criminal.

2. Recover losses. If your own belongings have been stolen/damaged, be persistent with Airbnb. I agree with @David126 that it won't be easy. Don't expect a positive outcome, but pursue it to hell and back.

3. Prosecute scammers. If you can get the police to build a probable case against the scammers, that will be wonderful - but don't go spending money on lawyers and stuff. If the case goes to trial and you win, great. If it doesn't, it _might_ still put the fear of God in these people. Some people are deterred just be police questioning. Unfortunately, if they are seasoned criminals, they will get even more emboldened if nothing comes out of the case. 😞

[David126]

Message about what? What are you trying to do.

[Veer0]

@Rita134, what @David126 is trying to say is, please provide as many details as possible in your posts to the community. Every situation is unique and others can't guide you confidently if they are addressing an unclear situation.