Missing Payout // South Africa // Bank Account Verification

[Carl9618]

Good Day, 

I am having a major issue receiving payouts for my bookings. I am new to hosting, and thus far I have had 3 guests. 

1) When I set up the profile, I used 'bank account' as my payout method. I waited for the verification period, and the bank account was verified. Thereafter, my first guest checked in and the next day, I got an email saying that the payout had been sent. Notwithstanding the said email, I noticed that - out of nowhere - under payout methods the bank account gave an error saying 'Can't process payouts, Remove and try adding again.' 

2) In the circumstances, I proceeded to re-add the bank account as requested. Bank account verified. Thereafter, second guest checks in, payout is sent and the exact same thing happened as before. 

3) This time, I tried to add a different bank account which was in my personal name. Bank account was verified, and the exact same thing happened again. 

4) I did my personal bank account again, and the same thing has happened. 

Therefore, I have re-added 4 times. 

I have called and spoken to support numerous times, of course. They have been unable to assist, only referring my matter to a 'specialised team'. I did speak with a supervisor named Kapil. At this point, I noted that one of my payouts moved from 'Upcoming' to 'Completed'.

However, it has now been 10 days since AirBnB released the payout but, it is not yet in my bank account. I have also spoken to Exchange4Free and my bank, who both inform me that they are not yet in receipt of the funds. 

I was also, at one point, asked to verify my identity again, which I duly did. 

Moreover, at one point, in a desperate bid to get the money, I tried to make an account on Payoneer. However, as soon as I made the account (on my email linked to my AirBnB account, the account was immediately blocked). I then tried to make an account using another email of mine, which account was also immediately blocked).

I have also emailed Payoneer regarding my bank account verification, without success. 

Does anyone have any guidance on how to resolve this situation? 

Needless to say, the situation is incredibly distressing. At this point, the amount owed to us after 3 guests is large. Moreover, we have another long booking in January 2024. It is terrible checking in guests, not knowing if you are going to get paid. Moreover, the service has been provided so payment is expected. We checked in our first guest over a month ago. 

Whilst I am new to hosting, I am familiar with the payout procedure, as I previously assisted my sister with setting up a payout, on another apartment owned by my family. We had no issues on payouts with this older listing and, in fact, the bank account we used was the same bank account I initially gave for this new listing (the first 2 times). 

@Bhumika I have noticed around the Community Center that you have previously helped with an issue such as this. Please could you help me - the situation is causing a lot of distress. I do not seek another apology - I just want a resolution to this issue please. 

Thank you!

[Carl9618]

@Breanna - I would most grateful if you could also maybe assist with the above. 

Thank you!

[Breanna]

Hi @Carl9618 

So sorry to hear you've been having this issue! @Bhumika and I are not customer service but I have passed over the information from your post to the relevant team and I hope they'll be reaching out soon.

[Carl9618]

Hi @Breanna - thank you so much for replying.

Please note that since your reply, absolutely nobody has contacted me. 

I do understand that you are not customer service, but surely you can see how desperate I am / how customer service has already failed me, hence me needing to now post on this platform in a bid to get my money / be heard.

The situation is clearly a disaster. Please can you assist. Quite frankly, I do not want other Airbnb guests entering my flat until this has been sorted out. 

Please help me.

[Carl9618]

Good Day @Breanna & @Bhumika,

Still, nobody has contacted me nor has this issue been resolved.

PLEASE CAN AIRBNB HELP! 

We will not check in further guests at this stage.

[Breanna]

@Carl9618 I am sorry the situation is ongoing. As I mentioned in the direct message, we have escalated this to the team but are not customer service. We cannot take any direct action for you here on the Community Center and I would encourage you to keep in contact with support. 

[Damon110]

Hi Carl, I have just experienced same issue, it is now 10 days and no support, no follow up and a very sceptical " we have escalated to a specialized team"... I still have no resolve, just told to wait.. It's shocking they hold on to the revenue that is owed... Did you have any luck, after searching and finding your similar experience would love to know the outcome and possible issues to avoid going further.. SOMEBODY needs to be accountable. 

[Carl9618]

Good Morning @Damon110 

Thank you for reaching out. I am so sorry to hear that you are going through this. I can understand how frustrated and distressed you must be feeling. 

I am pleased to advise that I successfully managed to resolve this issue. 

I would recommend the following action: - 

1) Change the email address associated with your AirBnB account to another email address which you are using. My basis for this is that Payoneer (AirBnB's payment processor) may have flagged your email as spam / unsafe. Therefore, whilst AirBnB is verifying your bank account, Payoneer may actually be rejecting it. 

2) Once you have done this, remove bank details and re-add again (I know, this is a painful long process, but you must wait for the 'system' to approve). I only came right on my 5th attempt, so don't give up! 

3) Make certain that the bank details you have given are verbatim what is states on your bank statement. For example, the physical address should match up word for word, even use CAPITAL letters if such letters appear on your bank statement. 

4) Wait for approval email from AirBnB, stating that the bank account details have been verified once again. 

5) If the payout has been sent and appears under 'completed', contact support and ask them to run a payment trace with their payment processing partner (which happens to be Payoneer). This process, again, takes a few days. AirBnB will then eventually get notice that Payoneer returned the money to them, and will thus re-send the payout to your fresh verified bank account. 

6) If the payouts are all still pending, wait for the system to automatically resend them - again, this will take a few days. 

7) Hope that the payout this time comes through! If not, try the process again. 

I was able to get assistance from a person at support named Madhuri. Perhaps you can ask support for Madhuri to assist you too. I am sure that @Breanna may be able to assist you in this regard, or let somebody from the correct specialised team be in contact with you. 

Another word of advice, I would not recommend opening up multiple different tickets with support (although I understand that this may be done out of sheer frustration). Opening multiple different tickets may confuse the support teams. Rather open one ticket and focus on that one. However, in this regard, don't expect replies within the hour - it really does take some time with issues of this nature. They sometimes only responded within 1/2 days. 

Please let me know if you have any further questions. I am always here to help! I understand that the situation must be extremely stressful for you, as it was for me. However, I am sure you will eventually get your payouts with some blood, sweat and tears. 

Best, 

Carl

[Carl9618]

Hi @Breanna and @Bhumika, 

Still, nobody has reached out with a resolution. Please can you assist, I really, really need assistance with this. 

Please! 

[Amelda1]

Charl I would love to know if the above issue has been resolved as I have precisely the same situation currently with Airbnb.  I did everything you did in your initial post and still no resolve.  Can you please advise what happened in your situation.

Kind Regards, Amelda

[Carl9618]

Good Morning @Amelda1 , 

Thank you for reaching out. I am so sorry to hear that you are going through this. I can understand how frustrated and distressed you must be feeling. 

I am pleased to advise that I successfully managed to resolve this issue. 

I would recommend the following action: - 

1) Change the email address associated with your AirBnB account to another email address which you are using. My basis for this is that Payoneer (AirBnB's payment processor) may have flagged your email as spam / unsafe. Therefore, whilst AirBnB is verifying your bank account, Payoneer may actually be rejecting it. 

2) Once you have done this, remove bank details and re-add again (I know, this is a painful long process, but you must wait for the 'system' to approve). I only came right on my 5th attempt, so don't give up! 

3) Make certain that the bank details you have given are verbatim what is states on your bank statement. For example, the physical address should match up word for word, even use CAPITAL letters if such letters appear on your bank statement. 

4) Wait for approval email from AirBnB, stating that the bank account details have been verified once again. 

5) If the payout has been sent and appears under 'completed', contact support and ask them to run a payment trace with their payment processing partner (which happens to be Payoneer). This process, again, takes a few days. AirBnB will then eventually get notice that Payoneer returned the money to them, and will thus re-send the payout to your fresh verified bank account. 

6) If the payouts are all still pending, wait for the system to automatically resend them - again, this will take a few days. 

7) Hope that the payout this time comes through! If not, try the process again. 

I was able to get assistance from a person at support named Madhuri. Perhaps you can ask support for Madhuri to assist you too. I am sure that @Breanna may be able to assist you in this regard, or let somebody from the correct specialised team be in contact with you. 

Another word of advice, I would not recommend opening up multiple different tickets with support (although I understand that this may be done out of sheer frustration). Opening multiple different tickets may confuse the support teams. Rather open one ticket and focus on that one. However, in this regard, don't expect replies within the hour - it really does take some time with issues of this nature. They sometimes only responded within 1/2 days. 

Please let me know if you have any further questions. I am always here to help! I understand that the situation must be extremely stressful for you, as it was for me. However, I am sure you will eventually get your payouts with some blood, sweat and tears. 

Best, 

Carl

[Carl9618]

Hi Amelda, 

I have replied, just waiting for it to approved by a moderator. 

Best, 

Carl