Customer Service lied to me…

[Ryan3355]

The customer service representative at AirBnb lied to me, saying they couldn’t try and change the date of the booking at the same price, even though they could of escalated the issue and tried to change the date. Another representative said on recording that they could escalate the situation and probably change the date at the same price! He also said they couldn’t transfer my call and escalate it even though I was later transferred no problem. 

All day they have been telling one lie after another, now they are claiming they can’t issue a full refund without the host’s permission. I know that’s not true because Airbnb’s website explicitly states that they can. What’s worse about this whole thing, is really AirBnb should refund me and pay the host- it’s there website that created the whole issue! At the end of the day their customer service staff says what ever is convenient to them. Thoughts, stories, advice? 

should I publish the call recordings on YouTube?

[Breanna]

Hi @Ryan3355 

Sorry to hear you had this experience. Were you able to resolve this with customer service?

[Kia272]

@Ryan3355  It's not a lie- Customer service cannot change your reservation. It's completely up to your host, who also controls prices, so even if CS could change it, they can't dictate the price to your host. 

Why did you not contact the host? That's how this works. 

CS also cannot (although they sometimes do) issue a refund without the host's permission. 

I'm not sure what you're trying to do here, but everything that has happened so far is according to the rules. If you need to change the reservation, contact the host. Some will work with you, some won't. It could be that their calendar is blocked for the dates you want to switch to, or there may be many other reasons they can or cannot accommodate you. 

Also, outside of the host's cancellation policy, there is a 48 hour window after which AirBnB will take their fees, even if the host allows you to cancel. 

It's important to pay attention to the details when you make a booking. Not knowing all the details of your booking, I can't comment further, but what I've told you here is factual. 

[Helen3]

Oh please @Ryan3355  not all customer services are properly trained why make a difficult job worse for them. That's a nasty/spiteful threat to make .

why aren't you or the host altering the date you don't need to ask Airbnb to get involved . You send an amendment request for the date the host accepts . A five second process . A host can send you a special offer if they have agreed to keep the price the  same.

can you link to where you say Airbnb says it can override booked dates/pricing set by the host. They can't they can only do it where the host agrees . 

how did Airbnb's website force you to book the wrong dates?