Host won't issue refund

[Laura1194]

Hey all,
Having major problems trying to claim a refund back from a host for unstayed days at an apartment in Melbourne.
My original booking was for the 16th-29th of October. Having arrived at the apartment on the 16th, I found that my bed had no bed clothes and I wasn't given any keys to get in or out of the apartment block, there was also a fob needed to get into the building to add to this.
I contacted Airbnb support within 24 hours as I wasn't happy with the living situation and wasn't comfortable staying there. I was advised to alter my dates staying there. So I changed the dates from 16th-18th Oct. There was a flexible cancellation policy.
I didn't notice the host didn't accept my alteration dates until after the 29th (I was told by Airbnb team the host would most likely accept and to just wait for the refund to come through, so I did).
So then I contacted the Airbnb support team. I requested money from the host, to which he ignored and so I involved the resolution team.
They however would not help me, they said because the host didn't accept the dates within the given time frame means there's nothing they can do, they have to side with the host.
I read the terms and conditions and I'm pretty sure my case is entitled to be reviewed under the Guest Refund Policy!?
I said this to the person reviewing my case but I didn't get a reply and on the previous email to that he said the case was closed.
I'm owed $260 and I'm determined to not let the host away with it. His advertisement was misleading and untrue, had I known what the living situation was going to be like, I would not have booked it!
Please advise, its an ongoing problem now! 😞

[Nicole1963]

Hi, please assist us. We booked a house in Cape Town. I googled the area, google advised up trendy market. When we got to the area in less than an hour we were under threat with knives, people telling us that we are not safe in that area. Opposite our airbnb was a drug/hoehouse filled with Nigerian men and woman coming in and out of the place. My kids were with and were so terrified. The way the host explained this street he convinced us that this is a safe and secure area in cape town. 

We left within an hour but the host literally packed up and left us there. Nothing worked properly in the house. He is offering us 50% refund 

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Nicole1963 what does the refund policy say, did you contact airbnb?

[Rio3720]

here

[Alyssa231]

Hi my name is Alyssa and I’ve experienced a similar but more extreme problem. I rented an Airbnb from July 22nd-Aug.15th. Once we had arrived at the Airbnb we messaged the host asking for the code to get in and he said he would be out shortly. He proceeded to let us in still never gave us a code but instead a physical key to the house to get into our room which was basically a crawl space with and not what we expected for $800. We then proceeded to leave the house to grab a bite to eat and got back rather late( around 1 a.m). We then proceeded to try the key and could not get in to our room with our stuff still inside. We knocked multiple times and didn’t bother messaging the host because he had never replied to a previous me and my partner had sent about the Airbnb not being what we were expecting and about the code. After having no choice we had to stay and sleep the rest of the night in my car. In the morning we proceeded to contact Airbnb about the situation. We then called the host about coming to get our stuff and he replied “I can’t deal with this bull**bleep** right now!” Being the most prominent thing that caught our ears. We then proceeded to go get our stuff and was let in by the fully functional code. We have recorded evidence of him saying that it wasn’t our responsibility to cancel the Airnbnb for a refund and was told not to by the Host as well as Airbnb support and also promised refund in the recorded message as well as saying someone would be in contact with us about the situation. No one ever contacted and I had to call Airbnb a second time. They said there was nothing they could do because we had not called that night because we were trying to be considerate of the host. The host also provided false information that the keypad was not functional and broken. That same night we were trying to guess the code and heard loud beeping coming from a fully functional keypad. I still have not received a full refund even with provided evidence as well as having to deal with Airbnb support provided false information and taking the hosts side. We are now taking full legal against this act of scam and withholding information prior to giving us a conclusion about getting our refund back and having the host cancel the reservation which he still hasn’t.

[Areli46]

Hello, I’m experiencing a similar situation where the host and/or Airbnb are not willing to refund me my money.  I rented a unit in Freeport, NY for 28 days for $2500 and upon Areli there was a funky mildew smell either from the extreme humidity or possibly mold, there was no internet, no heat, 2nd bedroom had a sofa bed mattress, and there was a broken window on the second floor.  I tried contacting the host for like 3 hours with no response.  After like two hours, our throats were sore from the humidity.  I provided Airbnb pictures of everything and they are claiming I don’t have sufficient documentation.  I left the property after 3 hours, called Airbnb, followed the cancellation policy, but both the host and Airbnb are refusing to refund me my money because they have a strict no refund cancellation policy.  I’m currently fighting this with my credit card company.  Any advice would be greatly appreciate it.

[Linda108]

The issues you describe are disappointing but the claim needs to show that there the problems are related to deceptive information of the listing.  For example, amenities were not available that were included in the listing.  Was internet an amenity?  Were the pictures of the bedrooms inaccurate? Smell is not something that easily communicated as a claim.  Your sore throats due to humidity is not related to the listing but more related to the location.  You were there for 3 hours and during that time you could not get the heat to work or is there no heating source?  Did this listing have other reviews that might also indicate some problems?

Were you unaware of the cancellation policy when you booked the space?  You booked under the long term policy rather than short term policy which gave you a discount, but has more cancellation limitations.  

Unfortunately you acted rather quickly to cancel and leave the premises.  You have your reasons, but you did not allow enough time for the host to respond hopefully to correct problems.  Perhaps the host would offer to allow the cancellation and provide a refund for any of the dates that he could rebook.  You did not have sufficient communication to establish that as an alternative.

I think you should dispute the charge with your credit card company but be aware that you entered into an agreement regarding cancellation and your CC company might not see that there is basis to dispute the charge.

[Sarah977]

FYI you may have gotten a sore throat from there being mold present, or maybe from something else in the unit, but "humidity" doesn't cause sore throats. Humidity just means there's a lot of water vapor in the air, and no one ever got a sore throat from water. @Areli46

[Dragana55]

There needs to be a class action lawsuit against this company. How they are handling customer service during these sensitive times are horrible, they don't even honor their own policies.

[Patrick2086]

If you are coming here to see what your options are, from my experiences there is no more company you pay more to where the outcome of any problem is so completely random. Every Airbnb support agent you are passed through has different responses, will likely contradict Airbnb's stated policies, and provide random actions after little comprehension of your issue. It's astounding. As some have mentioned here, keep trying, and do also dispute with your credit card company, there's nothing lost. Know this too: organized outfits have moved into markets like Mexico and France, and will list hundreds of properties. By sheer numbers of bookings, Aibnb qualifies them as "Superhosts" and in almost any dispute you will likely lose - they know how to play it from experience and Airbnb will default to these hosts. They are pulling off ever greater and greater grifts, such as switching properties, padding fees and far worse. My Airbnb in Mexico City was the only building in the neighborhood without any security, and the same agency hosted all the units in the building. Dangerous? Very, but Airbnb allows this operation to run dozens of listings.

If you stay at a hotel, you are a guest and a customer. Airbnb sees guests as nothing of the like.

[Jarrod36]

Marcus from 71 alie st in London wont refund my full amount. The UK wont let Americans in and i booked before this occured. Will not be using Airbnb anymore as they said its up to him…. He has $355 of mine for absolutely no reason!!!

[Susan4281]

I booked a house in Tryon, NC: @Charming + Historic Carolina Cottage with Host @Mary Wilson.  When I arrived there was a handyman installing an electrical outlet in the kitchen. It was quite a mess.  In the course of 5 days I discovered mouse droppings in the kitchen drawers, cockroachs in the bathroom, and on day 5 a circuit breaker blew when I turned on my hairdryer.  My less than accomodating host told me to go to the basement (outside access only) and reset the breaker.  I asked that the handyman come out, and she refused.  At that point I cancelled the reservation and told the host I would leave the AirBnb the following day.  I contacted AirBnb and they started the resolution process to no avail.  

The host refuses to refund my money.  Had I known about the unsanitary conditions, and electrical that was not up to code, I would never have booked the house.  I am owed $7,000.00 less cleaning and cable.  Please advise.

 

 

 

[Susan4281]

 

  @

 

 

 

[Michelle2758]

I’m battling a different beast. I’m about a week and a half out from my work trip; I booked an air b n b because the hotels in the area were all booked up. So guess what? My corporate card was used. I’m hoping the host will have a heart and refund my CC money- otherwise, I’m out $2300. He was responsive when I asked questions before booking but have suddenly gone quiet. The customer reps with Airbnb are saying there isn’t anything they can do so it seems like my best option would be to dispute the charge. Im sick 

[Sarah977]

@Michelle2758 As you haven't explained the situation, why do you feel you are entitled to a refund? A host isn't obligated to refund outside their cancellation policy just because a guest has a change of plans. 

I'm confused as to the relevance of your corporate card being used.

[Michelle2758]

@Sarah977 To clear up your confusion, my corporate card being used means that this is a strictly work-related trip. I don't really see folks using their corporate cards for leisure. 

But I'm confused as well; where in my post did I come off as 'entitled'? I said that I was hoping the host would have a heart and refund the money to my company card since my company decided that they no longer needed me to make this trip. It's not anyone's fault (hence my 'different beast' sentence)  nor am I blaming anyone. It just sucks that he won't respond.

I  noticed there's a rhetoric with some of you on this forum. Some of you come off as incredibly rude instead of being helpful in nature.