FlipKey, Inc.

We have received confirmation from our engineers that the technical error is resolved on Ms. [redacted]’s listing. We have had an agent following up with her almost daily to provide real-time updates. This is an unfortunate situation regarding her listing and we sincerely apologize for the delay in resolving the issue. If any further issues arise, we can be contacted via https://helpcenter.flipkey.com/contact_form and we would also be happy to discuss her concerns regarding any decline in bookings.

Dear [redacted], Thank you for taking the time to raise your concerns to the Revdex.com.We have investigated your complaint and found a related case in our records. Unfortunately, you are not the listed account holder and we are therefore unable to discuss account sensitive information with you. However, we...

can assure you that this matter has been escalated to the Renewals team who will address your complaint with the registered account holder.Best wishes,[redacted] Rentals Customer Relations Team

Hello [redacted], Thank you for contacting us via the Revdex.com. My name is [redacted] and I write to you on behalf of the Customer Relations team for FlipKey. My team handles high priority and complex cases and I have reviewed your case.I understand when you originally submitted your...

booking request, your message inquired regarding a change to the payment schedule. The property manager did not respond to this request, but accepted your booking request as it was sent. I understand this was a confusing experience for you. Upon review of your recent phone call with our supervisor [redacted], I understand [redacted] advised you would be due a refund. Though you did agree to the property manager's cancellation policy at time of booking confirmation, we never intend for our travelers to have such a confusing experience. Our goal at FlipKey is to make booking the perfect vacation rental effortless and easy, and I am truly sorry this was not your experience.We have released a full refund of your deposit to you, in the amount of $162.09 USD. This refund released on May 11th back to your original form of payment. We thank you for choosing to book with FlipKey, please let us know if you have any further questions.Best Regards,[redacted]Senior Customer Relations Executive

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
As the response from the business was only a indication of further investigation by a senior level customer service representative, their response is in the very least NOT COMPLETE and therefore does not satisfy my complaint. I have been patient and will continue to be so for a limited time while I await an appropriate response from the business.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
[I am disputing this because I received a pop up message on my [redacted] stating that the dates I requested were already booked, which is why I am disputing this claim in the first place.  If I had not received that message, I would have been happy to keep this booking and wouldn't have booked a different condo at a higher price.  I have emailed this numerous times and nobody at [redacted] seems to understand that!   [redacted] should read their online reviews, THEY ARE HORRIBLE AND I WISH I WOULD HAVE SEEN THEM BEFORE USING THEM TO TRY TO BOOK A CONDO.  WON'T EVER USE THEM AGAIN... 
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #[redacted]. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear [redacted],Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and we are sorry to learn about your dissatisfaction. We have reviewed your recent contact with us and can see that you have called our support  team to cancel your booking on 18th January, due to changes in your travel...

plans. The agent you have spoken with you, confirmed that your cancellation can be processed but that this subject to the owner's cancellation policy which states the following: "If you cancel before paying the balance, or do not pay the balance buy Thu 02 March 2017: the 1,015.37 USD booking deposit (which includes a 212.43 USD booking fee) is not refunded, and the booking is cancelled automatically. [...]"As you are aware, the home owner has agreed to waive their proportion of the rental cost (802.94 USD) and we can confirm that this amount has been processed on Friday 20 Jan 2017, but please kindly note that it may take the usual 3-5 working days for the payment to be showing in your available funds again. In accordance to the cancellation policy, which can be reviewed at the time of booking prior of submitting your payment, the booking fee of 212.43 USD remains non-refundable. As you cancelled your booking due to unforeseen circumstances, we would recommend you to contact your travel insurance. Kind regards, [redacted] - The TripAdvisor Team

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].
I still think it is a bad business practice and other unsuspecting consumers are going to lose thousands of dollars unless they change their booking process.The only button one sees is the booking button. It is large and prominent.There is a button to send a text. (I have attached screen shots.)This is very misleading and baiting. They are baiting the customers to book which, if you are not aware, is a binding contract with stiff penalties for changing your mind. The booking process should only occur after communication and negotiation with the lessor. Not before!I am requesting that they cease this highly unscrupulous business practice. Put yourself in the customer's shoes. Would you want to pay 50% plus a fee, have no recourse and receive nothing in return because you inadvertently pushed an incorrect button? And when I called to complain they told me that was their policy and it can't be changed. And I got the same answer after speaking with the manager! That to me is a bad business practice.In my opinion, this is a SCAM!Sincerely,
[redacted]

Thank you for your response. Since the stay was partially completed, this case is not valid under our Peace of Mind Guarantee terms and conditions. Therefore we were not able to withhold the funds and automatically return them to the guest. Since the owner and the guest discussed an alternate arrangement for the stay outside of FlipKey, that agreement is between those parties. The guest will have to maintain contact with the owner to receive further compensation. We are happy to assist in reaching out to the owner on the guest’s behalf.

We sincerely apologize that there were any difficulties in contacting our support team regarding the [redacted]’s concerns. Since this guest does not have a booking confirmation number that was generated from our online payments platform, the agents were not able to locate related case details. We will be reviewing the communication provided by our agents and implementing any necessary coaching. After the original complaint was filed, our Trust and Safety team emailed Mr. [redacted] by replying to his original inquiry sent from the address of [redacted]@comcast.net . In this email, our team followed up by requesting more details regarding the booking process for this reservation. Unfortunately we did not hear a response from the [redacted]’s, so the team assumed the case was resolved. Our Trust and Safety team will be contacting them again for further details that will allow us to continue the investigation.  We appreciate them bringing this matter to our attention and apologize for the inconvenience and frustrations this situation has caused.

Hi [redacted], Thank you for your message. We are really sorry to hear that you experienced these issues with the payment of your booking. We further investigated about the case [redacted] and we see that you have been in contact with our Customer Relations Team and they are assisting you...

further on this. Once again apologies for any inconvenience caused on this occasion. Many Thanks [redacted] – [redacted] Customer Care

Dear [redacted], Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We have investigated the case and unfortunately, we are unable to cover this complaint under our Payment Protection policy due to the fact that the material differences and/or defects noted and shown in the photos within the...

case  are not covered within the policies terms and conditions. After gathering evidence from both parties, it has been determined that the owner will be retaining the full payment from this booking.  I understand this is a disappointing outcome and I truly appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. Many thanks,[redacted] [redacted] Customer Care

Dear [redacted],  We're sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction in regards to our response. As discussed in our direct communication to you, we retain data for a wide range of legal and commercial reasons. We outline these in our Privacy Policy, which is stipulated in our terms and conditions. As you may be aware, there are no fixed statutory minimum or maximum periods for retaining personal data and we consider a range of factors so that we are only holding personal data for a period that is justified for those commercial and legal purposes. Please be assured that we treat your personal information with the utmost respect and confidentiality. We take data protection very seriously and make it a high priority to ensure the security and confidentiality of the personal information you provide to us when you visit our website or use our services.We trust this alleviates your concerns but please respond to our email sent to you yesterday, shouldyou have any further questions regarding the above. Best wishes,[redacted] Rentals Support

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments belowFlipkey was contacted immediately when we were denied access to the property, and informed that the name on the correspondence matched the name on several reservations that were not listed on the guest list. Myself and two other travelers were left in the 90° heat with luggage and nowhere to go while Flipkeys response was "We are sorry about this and you will be issued a refund within 5-7 business days." We were put into a situation where we had no other option but to spend our vacation money on a hotel room (receipt of payment was attached and forwarded to Flipkey), or sit for 6 days homeless. The number we were initially given from Flipkey was non-working and the name did not match names that were forwarded after the fact. This is ridiculous, and being drawn out. The money for the rental was paid immediately and the rental was not available when we got there. For the amount we paid there should have been a WORKING number and a better customer service response. Our vacation was ruined and now it's being chalked up as "waiting for more information" from myself? Flipkey has the receipt showing what we had to pay for a new place to stay. A tiny hotel room. Flipkey has also acknowledged numerous names as a "point of contact" and if needed I will more than gladly submit our flight prices and info. This was thought to be a respectful company being it is affiliated with Tripadvisor, but this is going way too far. Please make this right.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
 I didn't get the cancellation notice until after I had cancel with [redacted]..it has been 3 business days still have not received my refund..
[redacted]

We do apologize for the delay of funds to Ms. [redacted]’s account and her case has been investigated by our Finance team.  A third attempt was made to send the payment to her account, and once again it did not occur successfully.  All three attempts have bounced...

back as ‘Failure to Disburse’ and this process can unfortunately take 10-14 days to fail. Once a payment does fail, a notification email is sent to an owner informing him or her of the process to change their bank account details. Once the details have been entered correctly, we can attempt to send the funds again.  It may also be helpful for Ms. [redacted] to contact her bank to confirm the account details that should be on file to receive a payment.

Dear [redacted],   Thank you for your time to contact us regarding the cancellation of your booking [redacted] We have reviewed your complaint and note that you have raised a chargeback with your payment provider. The price listed on the advert is quoted as ‘from 135 USD’, as this is the lowest...

price without any date specification, this will be adjusted accordingly, once you add your travel dates and number of guests. There may also be owner specific fees such as a cleaning and parking fee. Before your submit your booking request, you can review the total cost and any applicable fees, as well as the owner’s cancellation policy, before proceeding with your payment subsequently entering into the booking contract. The total rental cost and any further charges are clearly itemized on the payment page. Once the booking is confirmed, any cancellations are subject to the owner’s cancellation policy. This is available for you to review, prior to confirming your booking and visible in your [redacted] rental inbox after. As you have raised the claim with your payment provider, the funds remain frozen whilst the claim is being evaluated. Please kindly note, that we are not the decision making body and we would therefore advise contact your payment provider for any further updates on your claim.Kind regards,[redacted]
[redacted] Rentals Customer Relations

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
I asked to have my account removed entirely from their system. They have refused to do that, saying that's not possible. That's absurd. Regards,
[redacted]

We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and sincerely apologize for the delay of funds to your account. Our standard payout process for a reservation occurs the next business day after check-in. In Mr. [redacted]’ case, the payout encountered some technical difficulties when...

it was due to be disbursed.  The deposit payment was paid last fall and the balance payment was paid in February. Between these two payments, our system did undergo an update and migration. This is the most likely cause for the delay of the funds being paid.  We understand this has been an inconvenience for Mr. [redacted] and have confirmed that the payment was successfully disbursed as of July 29th. We sincerely appreciate his patience while our engineers have been investigating and working to resolve this issue.

Dear Gareth,We’re sorry to hear you've experienced problems with the booking process with FlipKey.  We'd like to make you aware that the owner had sent you a quote on February 7 2016.  This quote [redacted] was available for you to confirm the payment, when you placed a booking request to the owner on February 11 2016 this generated a new booking reference number [redacted] .  By the owner confirming your booking request this has caused the confusion in this process as the automatic email was sent to you confirming the quote cancellation after the owner accepted your booking request. This was not a technical error from our side however, we understand your frustrations in this situation.  The booking deposit contains our booking fee of $162. As a Gesture of Goodwill we will offer you the booking fee for $162, please accept our offer by replying to the email we have sent you from our Customer Support. Best wishes,[redacted] - FlipKey Customer Care