UK Regulator/Ombudsman

[Tim2309]

Hi,

Does anyone know who the ombudsman/regulator is for Airbnb in the UK?

I am having the most stressful time dealing with a refund issue, I’ve been on the phone to them for more than 10 hours now. They will only tell me their complaints procedure is talking to a supervisor who will call me back, they never do. I am on my 6th expected call back. 

When I ask for GDPR or regulator details they say they do not know them, I’ll need to talk to a supervisor...who of course won’t speak to me or call back. 

thanks. 

[Dejae1]

I am going through the same thing and fully intend to take out a lawsuit against them and the host ! Probably a class action lawsuit if any one is interested in being a part of this lawsuit . Airbnb does not care for the safety , protection or comfort of their guest !  

I had to leave the Airbnb after a week because we were not comfortable or safe . Airbnb does not want to cover our bill for relocation! Even after the host turned the heat down so low and wouldn’t allow us to adjust it (because he was controlling it from elsewhere) , the host showed us what to do if we were cold and when we did it he told us that he wouldn’t make his bills high just because we are cold! Then after we complained of the cold , even bought blankets , he decided to start nitpicking and making up lies , saying we were walking too loud in the hallway or coming in late , and how we were slamming doors . We were so surprised! He told us we left a big box of rubbish in the bin which was surprising! I later went and sorted the garbage before leaving AND AIRBNB STILL ALLOWED HIM TO MAKE A CLAIM AS FOOLISH AS “excessive garbage” ! I even took videos and pictures while sorting the garbage and they still allowed it . He claimed I damaged a door sensor that wasn’t even working before , I have vlog video clips of the Airbnb with stains on the walls from the day we arrived , yet the host claimed we damaged the walls the day we were leaving out of spite! Whole time he was acting out of spite because we had to cancel the last week of our stay which I even explained to him (THIS WAS 2 WHOLE WEEKS BEFORE OUR TRIP) that we were gonna make some changes to the trip and go see some family all over London, immediately his whole vibe changed , he was annoyed , and I was apologetic! I had no idea he would ruin our trip . Finally when we complained about the heat he acted aggressively and scared us saying HE WAS GETTING ANGRY!!We had to evacuate immediately! I have so much to tell but it will all be known in time , I’m very sorry that so many people are facing this very challenge ! I will never book with Airbnb again .

[Bhumika]

Hi @Dejae1 ,

So sorry to hear about your experience during a family trip! Were you able to inform Airbnb Support about the Host? 

I hope you are doing safe and have found a place for the later days!

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[Alison963]

Hello. Slightly different problem. Please can anyone advise me How I can make a formal complaint. I have been charged by Airbnb for a blocked toilet, despite providing proof it was not me. I have had numerous conversations and emails/ messages with Airbnb but have been told they have reviewed this and so took hundreds from my account?! Even though I was informed by Airbnb that they cannot do this. I logged the terrible service that I received and they acknowledged their fault (thanking me for bringing it to their attention)  but said the case is closed!! Am so frustrated, I want someone to properly look at the case and realise I shouldn’t be charged hundreds of pounds for a blocked toilet that was not my fault!! Help!! 

[Sharon1617]

They tell me that its only possible to give feedback, which is not a complaint and you wint get a reaction. Really sucks. Do you already have the answer? 

[Hannah1075]

I am facing a similar problem, have you managed to sort this out?

[Jessica2862]

I have cancelled my booking within 24 hours of making it. The property looked suitable. But later when reading many many more reviews it was clear it was unsafe, I was going on a trip with my 8 year old son. The property has loose wiring and smells rancid. There are numerous reviews backing this up and stating that it should not be let and that air bnb should inspect and remove from listings. 

I am still taking the trip through air bnb for the same dates at a safer more expensive property. 

Air bnb refuse to refund me. Stating it was a non refundable location.

I dispute this they should not be selling unfit products. Safety is always the law. 

I have been on the European link listed on the beginning of this thread but we are no uk are no longer listed due to not being in the EU. 

I am absolutely not going to let this go and have already looked for solicitors and have a suitable one in mind. But this will come at great great cost, I'm a single mum. But stubborn. 

Can anyone highlight a solution to me?

[Elly2571]

I’m have trouble receiving a refund too!  I felt so unsafe in my accommodation I didn’t stay and handed the keys back on the same day, liaising via Airbnb.  I received no further support from Airbnb. There safety team didn’t contact me, I was passed to 7 different people who could barely speak English, and didn’t have any record of conversations I had. Late at night I had to find my own alternative accommodation. I tried the Resolution contact and unsurprising, the hosts have not got back to me.  Airbnb have not followed this up and their App is  rubbish and basic, almost designed to put you off! I will try every avenue to get my refund. After I do, I will never ever use or recommend Airbnb again!!

[Helen3]

Sorry to hear this @Elly2571 

@it's not clear from your post what was the safety issue with the property ?

i would suggest you follow up with Airbnb on their social media channels. 

[Maria15936]

Absolutely! I have had a similar experience by email, they do not seem willing to understand the place I stayed in was not fit for purpose, very dirty and did not fit the description on airbnb. I stayed 1 night as I had no choice but complained the next day and moved out. I registered a complaint and submitted phots but they will not issue a refund. They say there is no ombudsmen but I don't want to let this drop

[Sharon1617]

I recognize the unwillingness of Airbnb. Is it already solved in your case? 

[Ahmed455]

I recently had the worst experience with Airbnb. I booked a place in Bristol but the place is far different from the one shown on the listing on Airbnb. I contacted the host and she refused to provide me with any compensation. I complained to Airbnb and they asked me for evidence. I provided them with all the actual pictures of the room. Initially, they told me that they will give me a partial refund. However, later on, they refused to pay me any refund, even though they could not deny the evidence I provided them. They could not provide any single reason for the refusal. Airbnb only protects the host and not the guests. If a guest faces any issue, then he is pretty much on his own and should not expect any help or relief from Airbnb. 

[Helen3]

@Ahmed455  hello from a host in Bristol - sorry to hear of your experience - in what way was the room not as described? Difficult to comment based on the information you have posted,o have  particularly as you don't seem to have left a review for the host in Bristol. .....Did you leave immediately and find somewhere else? Or did you stay? What sort of compensation were you looking for?

I would say that both hosts and guests feel Airbnb doesn't help them when something goes wrong. Airbnb certainly does not protect the host from the many complaints you see here of guests who trash a place/party and then deliberately leave revenge reviews for hosts who call them out on their behaviour/Airbnb refuses to pay out for the damage.

[Ahmed455]

Helen, the room was totally different from the pictures shown. The room shown in the pictures was quite big, with bigger windows and a big king size bed. However, when I reached the place, the room was quite tiny, the bed was a single bed and it was a very basic room with nothing except a bed inside it. Later I realized that the host posted random pictures taken from a google search on the listing instead of original room pictures. Unfortunately, I made a booking for a month as I joined UWE here and I wanted to stay comfortably for a month so that I can look for some alternate arrangements during this period. Airbnb only advised me to vacate the place if I wanted a refund that was even the worst alternate as Airbnb was definitely not going to make any alternate arrangements for me and the refund would also take probably months to process. Hence, that was not a viable option for me either. 

I asked the host first and Airbnb as well, that I did not get for what I paid. Therefore, I should be provided with some compensation. The host refused right away and asked me to directly complaint to Airbnb because she was sure that Airbnb is not going to help me. Airbnb asked to provide pictures of the original room and told me that they will provide a partial refund. However, later on, they refused to pay any refund to me. 

[Ahmed455]

Reviews here are even not reliable as they are sent to host for the approval. If there is a negative review, the host is anyway not going to approve that. Therefore, the credibility of the reviews is highly questionable. 

[Sarah977]

@Ahmed455  Reviews are not sent to hosts for approval. I don't know where you got such a false idea. 

Reviews are blind. The host cannot see the review the guest wrote or vice versa until both reviews are published, or if only one party left a review, it is published 14 days after check-out. No one can write a review after 14 days.

[Siobhan135]

Hi can anyone help. I am having a similar problem to @Tim2309  - I have been trying to get a refund since August 21 but no joy,  I made a booking back in May and had to cancel within an hour or two of initial booking . I Clicked cancel booking and got a message saying the host hadn't accepted the reservation  and the authorisation  will be removed, I won't be charged ( I thought I had done my job)  . I also messaged the host to confirm cancellation and  they acknowledged it. I thought that was it sorted,  But found out months later when doing business accounts the money,   almost £3500. was actually taken form our account  . The day I didnt turn up at the door  the host should have contacted me but didnt but instead chose to  take the money  . Air b n B are saying the host will not return the money  and Air B n b will not take any responsibility. I can't get anyone senior to address this, I keep getting standard responses when they do eventually get back to me. My only means of communication is through a text messages on their app, which I dont look at unless I need to.  Does any one know how I might be able to get a satisfactory resolution ? I can't put this through the resolution centre and any link they give me to make a formal complaint doesn't allow me to make a formal complaint.  I just can't afford to lose that amount of money . is there any one in this forum that can help please? 

[Kassi45]

Hi @Tim2309 , I have just come across this thread and I’m having a very similar issue. I wondered if your refund was paid and how long it took? Your help would be much appreciated! It feels like I’m banging my head against a brick wall at the moment!

[Tim2309]

Hi @Kassi45 ,

My refund was eventually paid.  It took about 6 months and a lot of stress.  I had to get my bank involved to write about 4 letters, all of which Airbnb disputed.

It took about 20 hours on the phone to various people who would not help and kept repeating the same thing.  I had emails from someone in their payment processing team who was equally unhelpful.  Then one day, for no apparent reason they refunded it.

Basically it was Airbnb's fault but they wouldn't admit it.  They magically found the issue and gave the refund, when asked for an explanation as to what took so long and why it was such an ordeal, they couldn't or wouldn't give an answer.

Good luck, but if it's anything like the issue I had you're in for a fight I'm afraid.

[Kassi45]

Hi @Tim2309 

Thank you very much for replying. Not quite the response I had hoped for but some helpful points!

I do think it is despicable that they can get away with this and not be regulated by anyone. Their complaints procedure is shocking/non-existent! 

[Tim2309]

It’s abysmal. I asked for my GDPR info and they gave me a bogus email address to request it from. 

I was also given a bogus complaints email address when I wanted to make a formal complaint. 

It was like pulling teeth trying to get any sense or information from anyone. My advice would be to contact your bank if you haven’t already. I was lucky and had someone really helpful, not that Airbnb listened to them either. 

Even trying to reply to this conversation gives me an error and I have to keep re-posting.