I had booked a property in UK for 3 nights. On the first evening, the lights went out and I realised there is no electricity or hot water in the apartment. I messaged the host who did not reply till next morning and then said she will get it fixed. A guy came over who was not much helpful and the problem remained.
We stayed without electricity or hot water throughout the stay and decided to leave early on the 3rd day.
A couple of days later, to my surprise, I received a damage claims notice for £2200 for damaging their induction hob!
I messaged the host reminding her that since there was no electricity there was no way we could have used an electric hob, forget damaging it. This was a false claim. The host ignored my messages and got AirBnB involved.
After 3 months, Airbnb decided in host's favour. I appealed the decision which was also upheld and AirBnB is asking me to pay up the amount which is complete injustice with no fault of mine.
What other avenues do I have to take this up further in the UK as I am willing to fight this in court if needed, for the sake fairness and justice given to guests using Airbnb.
Guests should not be forced to pay for damages not done by them and not proven to be done by them by hosts. It has become increasingly easy for hosts on this platform to blatantly demand any amount from guests.
Just for clarity, I have even found out that the hob does not cost £2200, its around £1400 including installation. So the host is clearly trying to make some extra money out of this stay or was probably afraid I am going to make a claim for lack of basic amenities as promised in the listing. So he decided to slap a claim first.
