My account is locked, and my gift card balance not available to use

[Nathon90]

Airbnb locked my account after first saying it was because I was under twenty five and couldn’t book certain listings… fine. Then they send me a list of bookings that I can book , though now it’s my payment method they need to verify. Then I use an alternative payment only to then be locked out. They also won’t give me back my balance .

i want to go to the news media as I was put out with out shelter while they drag their feet to authenticate my account. It’s theft really . And the customer service for things like this are basically “good luck , but we’ll do nothing” 

I am beyond frustrated as I’ve been a loyal air bnb customer for 6 years. I want to submit this to every government agency possible since they will not do anything . From my research this is a common thing. 

[Helen3]

This is indeed puzzling - your profile shows  you have only been active on Airbnb since December last year rather than six years .

They shouldn't /wouldn't have locked your account for being under 25.  You  are right some hosts have house rules that restrict to over 25's. 

You have three recent reviews so your payment method must have must have been authenticated 

there are obviously lots  of other STR platforms, youth hostels and hotels you can stay in so not quite sure why not using an Airbnb left you with nowhere to stay. 

what is theft ? If airbnb couldn't take a payment then you still have your money surely @Nathon90 

[Nathon90]

Just because that is my first review doesn’t mean that is my first stay. I had an air bnb gift card that was given to me, and because of my account being under review and locked-I cannot use them and airbnb will not refund them to me. That is theft in my eyes.

the difference between my credits and the cost of my stay required a payment and airbnb wouldn’t take multiple methods before deciding that they needed to review and lock my account. 

I can see how much you don’t understand and how far you go for airbnb ! Appreciate your comment 👍🏻

[Helen3]

@Nathon90   

you can suggest the person who gave you the gift card asks for a refund. 

having been a superhost for nine years I have quite a good understanding of how Airbnb works. 

if you want people to help you it's helps if you remain polite rather than putting people down. 

[Nathon90]

I hope you have a great day 🙂

[Gina2084]

Understandable you’re upset. Report airbnb on the “Better Business Bureau” and see what Reddit users recommend you do next.

Good luck!

[Nathon90]

Such a headache and I am certainly going to take next steps legally if this doesn’t find its own resolution soon 

[Lorina14]

@Nathon90,

I’m sorry for what has been happening. This is a communtiy of hosts and guests who offer support, advice or learn from each other. It is frustrating to have an account frozen while they check out things with no reason given or no timeline given - and the same textbook answer saying they are looking into it. Some hosts have had their listings suspended while Airbnb investigates if guests bring up a concern (sometimes it is a lie because they did not like an interaction between them and the host when the hosts were calling them out for breaking their house rules).

I will flag our community host managers @Paula @Bhumika @Rebecca to see if they can flag your message and direct it to the right team to see if they can come to a quicker resolution. Please keep us posted.

[Nathon90]

Thank you so much i really appreciate it!  I hope it works , and I certainly will 😊

[Rebecca]

Hey there @Nathon90,

I'm really sorry to hear of your recent experience with Airbnb. I'm going to pop you a direct message with some more information. Hopefully, we can get something sorted. 

Thanks @Lorina14 for the tag. 🤗

[Nathon90]

Thank you ! I will update on if I find resolution today! @Rebecca thank you so much 

[Seth274]

That sounds very concerning! As someone who is also under 25, the fact you could be flagged is quite worrisome! I hope you can get your situation resolved and could give any updates on what their determination is.