Card being charged for a reservation I didn't book.

[Carlos5460]

my card was used by another person we don’t know. They booked a reservation in Albany NY under the name ** as we can see from the credit card receipt. This is an unauthorized use and charge and Airbnb claims it was a family member or friend that used the card . We don’t know this person . How do we cancel and get a refund for the booking we didn’t make?

**[Sensitive information removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Carlos5460]

update: - take screen shots of your communications with Airbnb, they will erase them.

[Carlos5460]

I finally got a reply from Airbnb that a refund will be issued. 

[Kimberly1149]

This same situation is happening to me but Airbnb won’t tell me where the booking was made or who the pets was that stayed at a property using my card. Zero information that I have requested 3 times. How did you get them to release the information? They keep sending the scripted email. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kimberly1149 don't waste your time with Airbnb. Just ask your bank for a chargeback and report the use of your card as fraud.

[Carlos5460]

The bank can change the card but Airbnb has an agreement in place to be able to charge the new card any fees that are due . Cancellation of the card in this case does nothing to stop the fraud charges 

[Carlos5460]

the bank will cancel your card and mark the transaction as fraud. A temporary credit will be issued and the investigation the bank will perform will be mostly to consult with Airbnb and their reply to the bank will be the same scripted response you've received  before. The bank will reverse the temporary credit and  Airbnb will charge the new card with any additional charges made on the reservation. 

[Carlos5460]

Airbnb won;t 't release any information to you. Check your credit card charges, there is a way to get a detail account of the charge. It will include the name of the person making the charge, an address if available and the booking code as well as the url for the property rented.  You can use that information to file reports with local law enforcement , the FBI and FTC. Use those reports as part of your complaint to Airbnb and the bank issuing your credit card.

[Tj119]

Hi Carlos,

The same thing happened to my Mother. Her card was charged for $2,000 from Airbnb. The bank reported it as fraud and gave her a new card number. However in order for them to issue a full refund it would have to come from Airbnb. Airbnb told my Mother that they would need the last 4 of the card and first 6 numbers of the card that was used. However due to the bank canceling the card she no longer has access to said information. 

Does anyone have suggestions on what to do? As of now Airbnb will not issue the refund. They keep giving my Mother the run around as opposed to issuing the refund. 

[Faton2]

Hey, dear Carlos,

I found your posts really helpful, I have to share my gratitude for that. Thanks!

I can see your refund will be issued. Has it been done already? How long did it take to receive the message that the refund will be issued? Did you contact your Credit card company/bank?

I am in the same position and I need to know what to do exactly to resolve this issue.
Thanks in advance.

[Lorina14]

@Faton2 

Sorry to hear about this. 

Did you ever get any support with this? @Rebecca @Paula could you follow up please? I think you need to keep a close eye on this thread as people respond but don’t do the @name to tag/flag it to the community managers attention.

[Paula]

Thanks for the tag, @Lorina14 😊

@Faton2, could you please let us know if the situation has been resolved since you posted here? If it hasn't, could you please share more details about the issue? This way, we can reach out to the relevant team for their advice.

Thank you!

[Faton2]

Hi @Paula and @Lorina14,

I was charged 157,77 euros by Airbnb for no reason, when I had never previously booked on Airbnb. I reached out to the customer support team, and after some time I received the response that apparently every person who was wrongfully charged has received:
"Often, apparent unauthorized charges result from another person (usually a close friend or family member) using your credit card unintentionally. Our investigation into this charge led us to conclude that this is what occurred in this instance.

As a result, we will not be able to refund this charge."
Even after I explicitly requested to tell me what services were made by Airbnb in order to make that charge, they did not tell any of that. My list of previous bookings is empty and my Credit card was never used by anyone in my circle to book from Airbnb. Apparently this is a lie they are using on everyone they're taking money from.

I'd like to know how we can all get our refunds issued and resolve this harmful case.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Faton2 What has your card supplier/bank said when you reported this fraud?

[Lorina14]

@Faton2 

Did you follow the original posters recommendations for reporting the fraud to your credit card company, cancelling the card and taking it up with the comparable European authorities (the OP was in the US and listed US agencies).

[Juan5348]

I just had the same situation , have you any news ? I lo be happy to hire a Lawyer and make a complaint with all people that is going through this .