Extortion by host

[Cassidy87]

I stayed at this property on the 7th to the 8th of August. Neha asked me if I required accommodation for the following week as I told her that I live in Essex but I’m working in Bath I said yes I did need accommodation. She said I could pay cash to her which would make it slightly cheaper for me, so I paid her £105 for three nights from the 12th to the 14th of August. It was at this second day that on the 12th I bumped into the husband in the kitchen holding a lunchbox and he say to me if the food is not vegetarian I couldn’t use the microwave. I then turned back holding my lunchbox and went and left it in my car for the rest of my stay. I did not use the kitchen and ended up eating at work before coming to their property. We had a bad exchange of words and I then went and left a review immediately which I believe was the 12th saying they had not allowed me to use their kitchen because I’m not vegetarian. He then came and asked me to remove the review but I said I wouldn’t. I stayed for the remaining two nights and left with no other contact with the host. To my surprise on the 19th he sent a claim that I had left their place in a mess and wanted money for extra cleaning amounting to £720. I refuted the claims and my question is if I was such a bad host why did she ask me to come back the following week and did they not raise these issues then. Also when I returned for my second stay they was someone staying in that room so it must have been liveable because I know I left it in a good state. The food they pictured doesn’t belong to me. We don’t cook like that and as I said I never brought any food on the 7th of August. They charged £40 for cleaning the mattress and still charged over £200 for replacing the mattress. Which had someone staying in there when I went back. Could you please look at the conversation with the host where he has not been able to respond to my questions. I have reported this matter to the financial ombudsman for advice because it’s dumbfounded and not true. Could you kindly look into this because it’s causing me much distress for something that I did not do. They just took a picture of the stain but they didn’t show me a picture of when they had tried cleaning it. I have spilled a similar drink in my house and have managed to clean it off so again that’s not true. Please help because I cannot pay for something that I’m not responsible for. This is so disgusting and not a true way to treat people who have used the service for so long and loyal. My plea is for justice that’s all. He was so racist and rude and made my stay uncomfortable. He has not even acknowledged that they had made me book off the air BnB platform which in hind sight I should never have done. The wife was nice on the fire stay when I spoke with her and tats why I rebooked the following week and for her to ask me to come back showed that I was a good guest. The husband who I did not meet the first time around then had allegedly waited from the 8th of August till the 19th to report this alleged event. So why if I had left their house like would they wait that long to report if it was genuine, why did they continue to book guest in that room if it was in that state because when I went back there was someone else checked in and why did they not raise the issue which when I was there from the the 12th to the 14th of August. Surely if it was that’s bad they would have mentioned it when I returned the following week. They should have questioned me about the state I allegedly left the room but not once was it mentioned. Please help. Why did they ask me to pay £105 off air BnB to come back the following week

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Cassidy87 this is a community centre so no one here can help you other than with advice. 

You seem to have two issues

1) The host's cleaning claim which, if unfounded, you should just refute and refuse to pay

2) Your payment to the host for the next week which is probably lost as you paid outside of Airbnb.

[Joan2709]

@Cassidy87 

You could report this Host for arranging payment off-platform (against Airbnb policies), but that could have negative consequences for you, because you agreed to do that. Airbnb could deactivate your Airbnb account as well as the Host. 

Payments Off Platform Not Allowed

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/209

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/199

I would report the Host for not having an accurate listing if they did not disclose that guests cannot use the microwave for non-vegan food (a ridiculous request IMHO). If the Host is that particular, they should have 2 microwaves - one for guest use and one for their personal use. They could even place their personal use microwave in an area not accessible to guests:

Ground Rules for Hosts

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2895

Contact Airbnb directly with your concerns:

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