Fake damage claims from the host

[Sandra4965]

Hello airbnb community,

I was wondering if anyone had false damage accusations against them after their stay?

I have booked a flat in Bergen to celebrate my dad’s 55th birthday with the family. We have cleaned the dishes, took out the rubbish, gathered used towels and cleaned the surfaces for the flat to look presentable. 

After our departure from the property landlord opened a case for severe damages i.e. deep damage to the counter, paint on the walls, missing glasses and the key fob missing from the key ring, floors being sticky from spilled alcohol and so on. He is claiming over £4,000 in damages that we didn’t do!

every other day last week and this week he comes back with yet additional damages and this sets me to have panic attacks, as this is just absurd! It was a quiet weekend away with the family and NOT a house party for 20 teenagers! And my reviews during the time I have signed up for Airbnb is spotless: all precious hosts have mentioned me being clean and respectful guest.
I can see some pictures being fake and I have already reported it to Airbnb.

Did anyone have similar experience and how you dealt with it?

I am considering even reporting it to the police.

Any recommendations or advise would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[Sandra4965]

Hi @Saule2 , I am so sorry you and your husband are going through this - it is very stressful and unpleasant situation. It is so unfair and sad that some crooks try to make money from innocent people! my experience forced me to NOT book through aifbnb for a few years afterwards 😕

When it happened to us, landlord sent obviously faked pictures of alleged damage and I have submitted those to airbnb ( we have asked our programmer friend to check the EXIF data and we had the evidence, that these pictures were tampered with). In addition, I have referred airbnb to years of perfect feedback. After all of my efforts to prove to airbnb that these alleged damages are fake, airbnb still believed, that we have to pay the damages, however after reading some forums and digging deeper into the internet, I found out that actually I can refuse to pay these damages. Airbnb accepted my decision and did not contact me or asked from the money again (assumedly, that they have investigated themselves and realized the landlord is a crook!)

I suggest you open an investigation with airbnb, refer them to your positive reviews, give any proof you have that these damages are not made by you and if at the end of the day they still ask for the money, you have rights to decline.

Best of luck and please let me know how did it go!

Best,
Sandra

[Khurram15]

Hi this is not a scam air bnb resolution center study well and refund the damages . With me it happened airbnb paid me my damages.thanks to airbnb. The hoest will never accept the dammage he did but resolution center are cleaver to find but with proper proofs. I hope you understand . 

Regards and success.

[Sandra4965]

@Khurram15 I understand- there are dishonest people everywhere.

I cannot speak for others, but personally I would never hide away and lie. If I have caused the damage ( luckily, it never happened so far) I would of course inform the landlord. I treat every rental property as my own home- when we depart we clean the dishes, put the washing on, take the rubbish out and leave the place tidy and clean. I am a frequent traveler and respectful and responsible person, so at least my case was definitely a scam.

[Amerissa0]

The guest would never admit the damage I agree, I had damaged of my laptop by the guest because there was no way there would be anyone else. 

Airbnb compensated me for this but as you said you have to prove this damage properly. 

[Pasha26]

It’s literally being covered on FranceInfo, France’s news agency. Many victims, including me. It is happening, and we don’t need you saying it isn’t happening. Take your misinformation and propaganda elsewhere.

[Frances5446]

It’s just happened to us too, in Chartres, France on  Monday night (26.8.24). Host claims we have broken the TV and sent an image of a distorted screen picture with interference lines across it. She’s claiming €450. We used the TV briefly via the remote control, never touched the TV itself, all in perfect working order. This property turned out to be the host’s own home, and was a new listing. Will never book anything without extensive reviews again. We have rejected the claim, evidencing our long positive track record of host comments. We await the outcome, but the info about it being on FranceInfo is helpful and will reference that to Resolution Centre if host tries to take it further. 

[Molly482]

I am going through something similar for a stay in Paris back in July. Host is claiming $1,000 of damage for all these crazy little things in the house....broken oven (lose pieces $350 to repair), extra cleaning with no proof ($200+),and a small dent in the wall (wanting $300 to fix it). Its quite stressful but I am going through to the whole appeal process and researching how to best appeal. It unfortunately seems as though this is happening more based on my internet research and especially in Europe.

[Gajender0]

Facing the same and that too in the same city Paris, the Host is falsely accusing me of sofa mechanism failure that I never used. and the amount he is seeking is the same as 1000 euros.

I think the whole Paris guys are just fooling people around the world.

Please update your resolution results here too so that others can take the help in my case I have decided to fight and take the escalations to the court if the host will again accuse me.

[Heloisa85]

Hi @Saule2 ,

I am also going through the same exactly thing. My partner and I left the place located  Marittimo in Italy  and the host send us a picture of the shower glass saying we broke and now we have to pay him a 1000. I hope isn’t the same place for you and me. 

[Fernando1561]

I am a host with 5 properties that allow pets. Regrettably, pets tend to cause more damage than humans, and even though my primary focus is on providing a welcoming experience rather than raising complaints, the sad reality is that around 90% of guests + ptes  leave behind damages. It's truly disheartening. That's why I always create a video on the check-in day with a timestamp. It serves as irrefutable evidence to support any claims.

[Sandra4965]

Hi @Fernando1561, that is a great idea, but I think it is as important to have the timestamped check-out video as well, for both: landlord and the tenant. Now every time I use airbnb, before we leave the apartment, I take a video with that day's paper or some other proof of the date  and keep it just in case. 

[Darlene246]

@Sandra4965 

hi!  I am going through almost the same, but in reverse lol, as a guest had made a terrible review that was all fabricated. This was bc they did significant damage to our RV and we are asking to be accomodated for those damages. I reported the review and it was removed bc it didn’t meet Airbnb guide lines.  Currently we cannot rent out our RV until damage is repaired.  My guests have always enjoyed a clean RV that we have professionally cleaned after each check out.  Our reviews as hosts have always been sterling reviews. We take pride in our rental and we go above and beyond taking care of our guests. I’m simply sick about this damage done 

[Rita2810]

Yes the same thing happened to us in Sicily this summer. Myself my sister and our two adult sons were accused of huge damage! Broken cooker, broken sofa , broken lamps etc etc - all completely false.  Worse was to follow . When my son booked airbnbs in Japan a few months ago, the night before his travel  he discovered Airbnb had cancelled all his stays. I don’t think I will ever stay in one again . Ironically I was an AIrBNB host for several years.  It seems owners are believed and we are tried without any evidence.  I also know of a similar case in Spain this summer. All the family have been ‘barred’ because of fake damage. 

[Pam2194]

Yes, this just happened to us. We have proof the owner presented Airbnb with altered invoices. Airbnb has not helped us with this issue. The host has committed financial fraud and we are considering suing her and reporting her to the police.

[Dorota64]

Hello, how did your case ended up?