Benchmark Management Reviews (%countItem)
Benchmark Management Rating
Address: 3723 East C-30A, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, United States, 32459
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This company clearly stated on their cancellation policy that I would receive a refund if I got bought insurance. I did and now they refuse to refund
On the cancellation policy I received via email and previously listed on their website(they took it down the day after I complained to them), I should be receiving a refund from them as long as a purchased the travel insurance they advertised. I bough the insurance and they won't refund me now that we've had to cancel. They said I needed to file a claim with insurance and when I tried, the insurance company(whom I never received any kind of agreement from) said that they would only refund me in the event of death or hospitalization and that based on the cancellation policy that I read to them, the real estate company should be refunding me. After I screen shotted copy of their cancellation policy and sent it to them via email, once they refused to refund me, they would not reply to me. I sent 3 messages and finally threatened to contact homeaway.com (the website where I found their listing) and someone finally got back to me right away. It took 3 messages before anyone would respond to me asking for my money back. Once I told them that I used to work in real estate and that I know how to read contracts and that they were clearly going againt their own cancellation policy, the reservations manager finally emailed back and told me I'd receive my refund IF they had someone rebook for my same dates at the same rate, although it said on their policy that as long as I purchased travel insurance, I would receive a full refund, less the $75 convenience fee. This vacation wasn't until June 27, 2018 and I canceled April 6th(almost 3 months prior to the vacation). They were extremely shady. Never sent me a confirmation number for my cancellation. Never explained anything to me and they are now going against their own cancellation policy and are robbing me of nearly $1000. Please help me resolve this and help me to get my money back. I have several emails I am willing to provide as well as the cancellation policy and invoice. Thank you
I would like them to refund my money completely, without anyone else having to book on my same dates. I signed their cancellation policy and now they are going against it. Not only that, but they ignored my emails when I asked about my refund and sent them a copy of their OWN cancellation policy. I just want to be done with them and have my money returned. I don't even believe I should have to pay their $75 "convenience" fee because this has been anything but convenient. It has been a nightmare and extremely stressful. This was supposed to be a 5 year anniversary trip for my husband and I and now we don't even have the money to do so because they stole it from us. I would also like to make sure other consumers become aware of this, so that it doesn't happen to them as well.
This guest sent an email to cancel her reservation on April 6th at 10:11am. I responded within 2 hours confirming that I had cancelled her reservation. The guest sent another email at 3:30pm reciting part of our cancellation policy (which is listed in the emails below). I responded at 4:49 reiterating our cancellation policy and that the insurance only covers unforeseeable emergency cancellations. I had also had a phone conversation with Mr. and explained it to him as well. The guest stated in her complaint that we had removed a portion of our rental policy from the website which is not true. The section that she is referring to is clearly listed on our website as well as on her signed contract. According to our rental policy, as soon as the property re-rents we will refund Mrs.. Our company has been in business for over 30 years with the same policies.
9. Cancellations Please contact our office as soon as possible in the event you must cancel or change properties. If you choose to decline CSA Travel Protection, we will only refund your advance/final rental payments if the property is re-rented for the same time period and rate, less $75.00 cancellation fee. Once your reservation has been confirmed any cancellations, date or property changes will be subject to this cancellation policy. To prevent loss of rental payments we strongly recommend purchasing CSA Travel Protection.
Our rental policy also states that any refunds given by CSA are subject to their policies and conditions.
5. Reservation Deposit Rental Payments are due in full 30 to 60 days prior to arrival. Payments may be made by cash, traveler's check, bank money order, e-check, credit card or personal check with proper I.D. Credit cards are not accepted for monthly stays. In the event of cancellation, refunds must be obtained from CSA Travel Protection and are subject to their policies and conditions. To protect against the loss of your rental payments, travel insurance is strongly recommended.
I responded to every email in a timely manner. Please see below.
From: ***
Sent: Friday, April 06, XXXX X:XX PM
To:
Subject: Re: Please sign Garrett Realty Services Confirmation XXXXXX
Okay, when will it be updated on HomeAway? Our HomeAway account still shows that we have it reserved. Again, how will the refund be issued and how long after it is booked will it take to be refunded to our account?
I will make sure to be on the lookout to see when it has been booked. I know it is easy to be overlooked, unless you are the person waiting on the refund.
Thank you,
***
On Fri, Apr 6, 2018, 5:29 PM reservations3, Andrea wrote:
Our accountant will send you a confirmation once the property has re-rented.
Our office keeps track of when cancellations are re-booked.
Thank you,
Reservations Manager
Garrett Realty Services, Inc.
3723 East CR30A
Seagrove Beach, Florida XXXXX
1.800.537.5387
From: ***
Sent: Friday, April 06, XXXX X:XX PM
To: ***@garrettrealty.com
Subject: Re: Please sign Garrett Realty Services Confirmation XXXXXX
Hello,
Just so you are aware, you might want to reword your cancellation policy, because the sentence " If you choose to decline CSA Travel Protection, we will only refund your advance/final rental payments if the property is re-rented for the same time period and rate, less $75.00 cancellation fee." infers that we would be receiving a refund as long we purchase the travel protection. I worked for a real estate company in Georgia for many years, so I know how to read contracts and it's terms. Also, like I said, my mother works for Expedia and HomeAway and she has already let them know about this indiscretion. I agree that it is a busy time of the year and I do believe that it will be re-rented, however your policy clearly states that we would be receiving a refund as long as we purchase this policy. It is literally the only reason we purchased the insurance from you. I do not want to file any complaints, but I need to know exactly how we will stay informed on the re-rental on the property. I would like to know how we will be receiving our refund, how long it will take to receive it once the property has been rented, and how we will stay updated on the re-rental of the property.
Thank you,
***
On Fri, Apr 6, 2018 at 4:49 PM, wrote:
Our rental policy states that we will refund if we are able to re-rent the property for the same dates (once the property re-rents we charge a $75 cancellation fee). The insurance covers unforeseeable emergency cancellations. In order to receive a refund from the insurance company you will need to contact them. When you purchase the travel insurance you are purchasing it through CSA Travel Protection.
I spoke to your husband earlier and explained the policy to him. Fortunately you are booked during the busiest week of the year and although I can never 100% guarantee re-rental I do believe we will be able to re-rent this property pretty quick. We do not have a lot of properties still available for your dates.
Thank you,
Reservations Manager
Garrett Realty Services, Inc.
3723 East CR30A
Seagrove Beach, Florida XXXXX
1.800.537.5387
From: ***
Sent: Friday, April 06, XXXX X:XX PM
To: ***@garrettrealty.com
Subject: Re: Please sign Garrett Realty Services Confirmation XXXXXX
This is your advertised cancellation policy:
Cancellation Policy
Please contact our office as soon as possible in the event you must cancel or change properties. If you choose to decline CSA Travel Protection, we will only refund your advance/final rental payments if the property is re-rented for the same time period and rate, less $75.00 cancellation fee. Once your reservation has been confirmed any cancellations, date or property changes will be subject to this cancellation policy. To prevent loss of rental payments we strongly recommend purchasing CSA Travel Protection.
This cancellation policy infers that I should be receiving a refund, due to the fact that I purchased insurance. My mother works for Expedia, who owns HomeAway. Based on the information I have provided them, they assured me that I should be receiving a refund from you. Please respond within two business days, otherwise we will be filing a complaint with HomeAway in order to receive our refund.
Thank you,
***
On Fri, Apr 6, 2018 at 2:04 PM, wrote:
You will need to call the insurance company and they will be able to assist you.
Thank you,
Reservations Manager
Garrett Realty Services, Inc.
3723 East CR30A
Seagrove Beach, Florida XXXXX
1.800.537.5387
From: ***
Sent: Friday, April 06, XXXX XX:XX PM
To: ***@garrettrealty.com>
Subject: Re: Please sign Garrett Realty Services Confirmation XXXXXX
Okay, thank you! How soon does the refund take to show up on our account(I'm sure my husband will ask)? Or do I call the insurance company for our refund?
Thank you,
***
On Fri, Apr 6, 2018 at 12:11 PM, reservations3,
Good morning,
I have cancelled your reservation. I am sure this property will re-rent quickly. In order to file a claim with the insurance company you will need to contact them directly. Below is the contact information.
CSA Travel Protection
(XXX)XXX-XXXX
Thank you,
Reservations Manager
Garrett Realty Services, Inc.
3723 East CR30A
Seagrove Beach, Florida XXXXX
1.800.537.5387
From: ***
Sent: Friday, April 06, XXXX XX:XX AM
To:
Subject: Re: Please sign Garrett Realty Services Confirmation XXXXXX
Good morning Andrea,
Unfortunately, we regret to say we will be needing to cancel our reservation with you all. We've decided to change our destination. I just want to make sure we will be able to receive the full refund since we purchased the insurance. Please let me know when the refund can be issued. I'm sorry about any inconvenience! I am positive that this cute condo will get booked.
Thank you,
***
On Wed, Feb 21, 2018 at 12:41 PM, *** wrote:
Hi there,
I checked and we didn't purchase it from HomeAway. Thank you for letting me know! We will most likely add it but I will speak with my husband and let you know for sure! We are so looking forward to our vacation! Thank you for giving us the information about it.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This company neglected to include a few of the emails I sent to them regarding my refund. There were several emails I sent from 2:oopm - 4:30pm that were not responded to. You even spoke to my husband during that time when he had to call the office since no one was responding to our emails online. The emails were being responded to in a timely manner until I told you that you cancellation policy infers that we should be receiving a refund. It wasn't until I let you know that my mother works for Expedia and HomeAway that you finally responded letting me know that you would only be returning my money if someone else rented the property for the same dates at the same rate. However, your cancellation policy states that that is only the case if we do not purchase the insurance policy, so we did. For that reason only. My husband and I have not been n a trip together in years becasue I was diagnosed with a physical disability/disease. The cost for my medications and doctors visits have drained our bank account and we would NEVER have scheduled with someone without being able to cancel at little to no cost to us. Your company is being unethical and going against your own policy. I have recently gone into remission and really wanted to go on a nice vacation while my being in remission lasts. We found out in March that I would be needing surgery soon, so we needed something cheaper and decided to cancel with Garrett Realty, since their cancellation policy infers that we would be receiving a full refund, less a $75 cancellation fee. Now, we don;t have the money for any vacation, for my surgery, and are struggling to make ends meet having to save up money now for my surgery and medications. Like I said, we would never book anything with anyone who wouldn't give us a refund. We never expected to schedule with a company who would go against their own policy. It really does feel like a scam. We ended up having no other choice than to contact the Georgia Lawyers for Equal Justice and a Real Estate Lawyer has contacted us to let us know he would like to take on the case pro bono. We have yet to sign anything yet because we are just not the type of people to give a company a bad name. We believe you should return our money to us, like your cancellation policy states that you will. You are wronging and taking advantage of people. I even noticed at least 2 other very recent reviewers went through this SAME exact thing with you. We are not the only people to have gone through this and I expect we will not be the last. The least you can do is try to be good, ethical people. You could at least try to redeem yourself and offer us SOMETHING. Whether it be the refund we are entitled to, or a discounted rate for us to stay at your property. Something is better than nothing and the way you are treating your customers is nothing less than disgusting. I am not one to ask for any type of "charity", but have some decency and give us what we deserve.
I would like to say that this matter has been resolved. The company has given me a full refund and Wendy, the reservations manager, called me on Saturday 5/5/18 to discuss the matter and resolve the issue. She was very polite and willing to help. Please close this case.