The Duct Cleaning Pros

We thank this consumer for their response and are sorry that they feel this policy was not made clear to them.  When an advertiser lists with us they must agree to the Terms and Conditions of advertising.  The consumer chose the subscription method to list their property and subscriptions are sold to run for one year.  We do not prorate them.  Much like magazine or gym subscriptions, if you do not use the full year, the remaining time is not refunded.  We have included a link to the site's Terms and Conditions below.[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I cannot agree that such a response--indeed, such a policy--is a reasonable, fair, and appropriate one.  It is a measure of bad faith with a business describes a "policy" that knowingly and deliberately forbids returning payment to its users for a period of time when it admits that no service or product is being provided to that user.  I am no longer in a position to use the services of Homeaway.  I gave ample notice that I would no longer be the owner of the property that was advertised and so would no longer be a user of their services.  If this "policy" is as straightforward as they suggest, why do they not have any reference to it on the section of their website that gives instructions for cancelling a subscription?  Why do they not acknowledge a cancellation with an email response that explains that the user should not expect a refund?  If their "policy" is in fact made available to a subscriber, as they suggest, it is most likely buried in a lengthy, small-print, difficult-to-access corner of their website, where they know it will never see the light of day.  I have never encountered this abusive "policy" in any other circumstance, and I cannot agree that that is good business practice.
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:As a consumer who is using the Homeaway website, having paid for a subscription, I have the right to personal service. Homeaway has promised that time and again, including their statement of 24/7 service to both owners and renters in their response. Yet, despite all those promises, I have NEVER had a reaction to my recent email, not even a confirmation of receipt, sent to the correct email address given to me by the Homeaway employee over the Phone. My complaint goes far beyond what these standard and automatically generated responses address.I will only be satisfied when Homeaway responds to my email with a full answer: concerning payments with a major credit card; concerning communications between owner and renter; concerning receipt of recently paid service fee, concerning the automatically generated emails sent to our renters which were incorrect.Actually, with the response given, Homeaway has in no way responded to my complaint.    
Regards,
[redacted]

We appreciate this consumer's comments and their business.Our #1 goal at HomeAway is to drive more bookings to our owners and property managers. Your success is our success, as it has always been in this business.  The vacation rentals industry is shifting and they are now considered a...

mainstream travel option. As a consequence, travelers are expecting more.The service fee is a fee charged to the traveler and is calculated on a sliding scale of 4% to 9% of the rental amount, excluding the deposit or taxes. The charge applies to the cost of the rental and will not exceed $499. The service fee helps cover the cost of running the HomeAway websites, including features such as 24/7 customer support and marketing efforts to ensure a quality experience on our sites for both travelers and owners.Additionally, travelers that book and pay through HomeAway are eligible for the Book with Confidence Guarantee.More information about the fee can be found at these links:https://help.homeaway.com/articles/What-is-the-service-fee-and-how-does-it...⇄ are sold to run the full 12 months and refunds are generally not available.  We hope this consumer can see the benefits and continues to advertise with us.

Thank you for contacting us. We do show that this consumer contacted us in case# [redacted] regarding this matter. According to our records this was an error on a travelers part. Travelers enter inquiries for rental properties on our site. We have no control if the email address the traveler is using...

is accurate or not. As a result of this traveler entering in this consumers email address in error, this consumer received multiple inquiry confirmations and possible contacts from our vacation rental owners. We show that this individual by the name of [redacted] created 22 inquiries on 11/10/2015. According to our records we do show that our customer service team did delete the traveler account under this email address on 11/12/2015. But unfortunately this may not stop all outside communication from our rental home owners. This consumer can also use his email client program to block email from these senders.

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention.We do show we have been actively working with this consumer towards a resolution in internal case#[redacted].Since the date this Revdex.com Complaint was filed we do show that this consumer was refunded additionally with only a small outstanding...

balance of 27.20 still due, this is a technical issue. We have asked our technical department under internal case#[redacted] to refund this remaining balance. We do apologize for the issue and any inconvenience that it may have caused.

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention.According to our record we emailed this consumer several times making them aware that we had temporarily suspended their listing until their listing was in compliance.The service fee is paid by the traveler when booking through the...

HomeAway websites. This fee covers the cost of providing 24/7 customer support, enhanced site and mobile features for both owner and travelers, plus expanded marketing efforts to generate more exposure to global audiences. Additionally, when a traveler books and pays through HomeAway, they are eligible for the Book with Confidence Guarantee. Travelers pay the service fee by credit card when paying through the secure HomeAway checkout process. The service fee is only charged to the card once the booking has been accepted. The service fee is calculated on a sliding scale of 4% to 9% of the rental amount, excluding the deposit or taxes. The service fee only applies to the cost of the rental and will not exceed $499.The service fee does not affect the ability of the owner to control their own rental rates and fees (e.g. pets, cleaning, or maintenance). We do recommend providing a distinct name for fees that differ from service fee to avoid confusion.**The owner does not have the ability to discount or waive the service fee amount. The only time the service fee can be refunded is when an owner uses the Cancellation Refund feature from their dashboard. However, if the reservation is not canceled and all payments fully refunded to the traveler, the service fee will not be refunded.Owners do not pay taxes on the service fee. Sales and Use Taxes and Transient Occupancy Taxes are only due on the amount paid to the property owner related to the rental of the accommodations.Lastly, according to the consumer internal case#[redacted] the consumer did remove all verbiage that is in violation of our policy regarding the service fee and the listing was reinstated on 4/21/2016.

This complaint is not against HomeAway Inc.   We cannot comment on this consumer/traveler’s complaint, because it appears that this complaint is not with our online advertising service, but appears to be the result of a marketplace transaction between this consumer and the owner or manager of...

an individual vacation home rented by that owner or manager to the public. We are in no way a party to the agreement or contract between this consumer traveler and the owner manager, and cannot solve this consumer’s complaint. Our advertising service is an online site for owners to advertise and travelers to find vacation homes to rent, but we are never involved in the transaction between the traveler/consumer and the landlord/property manager. See the Terms and Conditions below that the consumer/traveler and landlord/property manager agreed to about our role here. Therefore, this complaint is incorrectly being associated with HomeAway Inc, and it should be associated with the landlord/property manager.   Section 1 of our Terms and Conditions http://www.homeaway.com/info/about-us/legal/terms-conditions:   “The Site is a Venue and We are Not a Party to any Rental Transaction.   We urge all users to be responsible about their use of this Site and any transaction entered into as a result of either listing a property or renting a property.  We do not own or manage, nor can we contract for, any vacation rental property listed on a Site. HomeAway.com and other Sites act as a venue to allow homeowners and property managers who advertise on the Site (each, a “member”) to offer for rent in a variety of pricing formats, a specific vacation or short term rental property to potential renters or renters (each, a “traveler” and, collectively with a member, the “users”). "Members" may also include property owners or managers who originally advertised their properties on another website and their listings have been redistributed on the Site. We also may offer online booking or other tools or services to allow users to communicate with each other and enter into rental agreements or other transactions.   We are not a party to any rental or other agreement between users.  This is true even if the Site allows you to book a rental or provides other ancillary products or services, as the Site may facilitate booking a rental or other tools, services or products, but we are not a party to any rental or other agreement between users. As a result, any part of an actual or potential transaction between a traveler and a member, including the quality, condition, safety or legality of the properties advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings (including the content thereof or any review relating to any property), the ability of members to rent a vacation property or the ability of travelers to contract for properties are solely the responsibility of each user. You acknowledge and agree that you may be required to enter into one or more separate agreements, waivers or terms and conditions prior to making a booking or purchasing a product or service and may place additional restrictions on your booking, product or service.   While we do take certain measures with a goal to assist users to avoid potentially fraudulent or other illegal activity of which we become aware, we assume no liability or obligation to take any such measures or actions.  When we provide warnings or messages to users about any such activity, we do not warrant that such messages are accurate or that such messages will reach any or all users they should have reached in a timely manner or at all or that such messages or measures will prevent any harm or otherwise have any impact."   We encourage this consumer to contact us directly to file a formal property complaint against this advertiser. As part of that formal complaint process we reach out to the advertiser on behalf of this consumer in order to try to get the two parties to settle their dispute. We however do NOT mediate; we simply try our best to put the two parties together to work the situation out if possible.   We also closely monitor accounts that have had formal property complaints filed. Our policy is to carefully document both sides of a dispute, and keep track of all complaints submitted. When a pattern clearly develops where an advertiser is causing problems for our travelers, we do not hesitate to remove that member from our site.

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention.According to our records we have been working closely with this consumer (case#[redacted]) with assistance filing a Book with Confidence claim. We understand based on this consumers case with us and their responses that their party may...

have incurred additional costs after checking into the hotel our HomeAway traveler care team arranged.  If the fees in question were charged by the hotel directly, we may be able to investigate those charges to determine whether those fees can be reimbursed under Book with Confidence.That said, if the additional costs were not related to the accommodations, the charges will not fall under the provisions of the Book with Confidence program:4. Illustrative Examples of Losses Not Protected.The following are illustrative examples of Losses of funds that the Program DOES NOT protect against, as determined in Our reasonable and sole judgment:•    ANY DAMAGES OTHER THAN AMOUNTS ACTUALLY PAID TO OR DEPOSITED WITH THE ADVERTISER, INCLUDING ANY INDIRECT LOSSES, LOSS OF OPPORTUNITY, LOSS OF CUSTOM FEES, OTHER CONTRACTUAL PENALTIES, AIRFARE, TRANSPORTATION COSTS AND/OR ANY OTHER COST OR EXPENSE.Please feel free to forward to documentation to our team in the ongoing case if you believe the costs fall under the program.  We will be happy to review the information to see what options are available.

We thank this consumer for their comments and apologize for any frustration caused. Our records indicate that this consumer made an inquiry on the property and then received a payment request from the advertiser, which they paid. It appears that the advertiser sent the payment request in error. The...

advertiser realized their mistake but then did not take the correct action in their account to cancel and refund the consumer. Unfortunately, we are experiencing an unusually high volume of activity on the site and are working hard to help our customers as soon as we can. We apologize for the delay in assisting this consumer. We have today spoken with the payment processor company, VacationRentPayment and a request to refund the outstanding amount was made. The consumer should see this reflected on the card they originally used to make the payment, within three to five business days. We ask them consumer to reach out to us on ###-###-#### if they do not see the funds after that time.

Please see our attached response.

We apologize that the customer has had this experience. It appears that there was an error causing the refund request not to go through. I spoke with vacation rent payment today and they were able to initiate the refund request. If the customer has any additional issues with this matter, please have...

them contact our third party processor Vacation Rent Payment at [redacted] The reference number for the refund request is [redacted].

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention.   We strongly recommend this consumer contact their credit card company as soon as possible to report the transaction. We also encourage this consumer to contact us directly so that we may assist further.   To...

research this further, please have following information ready:       The Full name on the credit card used for the transaction       The first 4 and the last 4 digits of the credit card used       Expiration date on the card       The date of the transaction in question       Payment description line exactly as it appears on the credit card statement as well as the phone number that follows       Confirm the amount of the transaction in question   Please contact us at [redacted] or you may send it by fax to [redacted] Attention Billing Dept. noting Case [redacted].

Thank you for bringing this consumer’s concerns to our attention.Any loss of funds that is caused by or results from events of force majeure that are considered outside the control of the Advertiser, such as weather events, natural disasters or construction are examples of loss of funds that the...

Book with Confidence Guarantee DOES NOT protect against.For more information, the terms and conditions of the Book with Confidence Guarantee program can be found here:[redacted]

We are sincerely apologetic for the distress and disappointment this situation has caused Mr [redacted].We strongly encourage all travelers to use credit cards through our secure payment provider for all payments.  Credit Card companies have fraud protections and Mr [redacted] Visa...

account should be able to assist him in reversing these charges.  If they are unable, we need a written statement from Visa to proceed with a claim.Mr [redacted] also made a partial payment offline, which is not not recommended.  However, he still qualifies for reimbursement of his losses through our Basic Rental Guarantee.Mr [redacted] has been sent a claim link along with instructions in case [redacted].  As of this writting, we are waiting for documents to proceed with his claim.We are deeply sorry for the situation this has caused and apologize for the greater circumstances affected in Mr [redacted] personal and professional life.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:Their claim that I still have an elevated listing status does not include the fact that those listors that choose their payment systems and adopt their new booking policies, thus allowing Vrbo and Homeaway to garner more fees, will have a higher listing status than the one that I paid $1500 for. These listors also paid a lower, or even no subscription fee.Therefore, I am being denied the benefits that Homeaway contracted with me on my listings and they should reimburse me for a reduced service they are providing.
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: HomeAway and HomeAway Payments haven't proved how someone could return $150K PAST AND FUTURE for nine homes in one minute.  They aren't sharing the investigation.  NO ONE HAD MY PASSWORD AND I just changed it and they have 2-way authentication.  I would like them to share the investigation which they refuse.No one humanly possible could return $150k in returns in one minute.  Also they are supplying you a template so they must need to send this message to more than one client.Their booking engine (HomeAway) and their payment process (HomeAway) payments systems should have fall backs in place so no one could return $150K in PAST reservations and future bookings in one minute, even a robot.HomeAway and HomeAway Payments do not want to share their investigation with me because they are just putting the blame on their customer.  HomeAway and HomeAway Payments also do not want to work together to prevent in the future.I'm asking them to prove what happened and how that could happen.  I DID NOT authorize $150K in returns/cancellations. I've called 30-40 times to follow up on the case and no one calls me back.  I've escalated in the Security Department, Client Relations, Customer Service and the President and HomeAway Payments.  No call back. 
Regards,
[redacted]

This complaint is not against HomeAway Inc.   We cannot comment on this consumer/traveler’s complaint, because it appears that this complaint is not with our online advertising service, but appears to be the result of a marketplace transaction between this consumer and the owner or...

manager of an individual vacation home rented by that owner or manager to the public. We are in no way a party to the agreement or contract between this consumer traveler and the owner manager, and cannot solve this consumer’s complaint. Our advertising service is an online site for owners to advertise and travelers to find vacation homes to rent, but we are never involved in the transaction between the traveler/consumer and the landlord/property manager. See the Terms and Conditions below that the consumer/traveler and landlord/property manager agreed to about our role here. Therefore, this complaint is incorrectly being associated with HomeAway Inc, and it should be associated with the landlord/property manager.   Section 1 of our Terms and Conditions [redacted]:   “The Site is a Venue and We are Not a Party to any Rental Transaction.   We urge all users to be responsible about their use of this Site and any transaction entered into as a result of either listing a property or renting a property.  We do not own or manage, nor can we contract for, any vacation rental property listed on a Site. HomeAway.com and other Sites act as a venue to allow homeowners and property managers who advertise on the Site (each, a “member”) to offer for rent in a variety of pricing formats, a specific vacation or short term rental property to potential renters or renters (each, a “traveler” and, collectively with a member, the “users”). "Members" may also include property owners or managers who originally advertised their properties on another website and their listings have been redistributed on the Site. We also may offer online booking or other tools or services to allow users to communicate with each other and enter into rental agreements or other transactions.   We are not a party to any rental or other agreement between users.  This is true even if the Site allows you to book a rental or provides other ancillary products or services, as the Site may facilitate booking a rental or other tools, services or products, but we are not a party to any rental or other agreement between users. As a result, any part of an actual or potential transaction between a traveler and a member, including the quality, condition, safety or legality of the properties advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings (including the content thereof or any review relating to any property), the ability of members to rent a vacation property or the ability of travelers to contract for properties are solely the responsibility of each user. You acknowledge and agree that you may be required to enter into one or more separate agreements, waivers or terms and conditions prior to making a booking or purchasing a product or service and may place additional restrictions on your booking, product or service.   While we do take certain measures with a goal to assist users to avoid potentially fraudulent or other illegal activity of which we become aware, we assume no liability or obligation to take any such measures or actions.  When we provide warnings or messages to users about any such activity, we do not warrant that such messages are accurate or that such messages will reach any or all users they should have reached in a timely manner or at all or that such messages or measures will prevent any harm or otherwise have any impact."   We encourage this consumer to contact us directly to file a formal property complaint against this advertiser. As part of that formal complaint process we reach out to the advertiser on behalf of this consumer in order to try to get the two parties to settle their dispute. We however do NOT mediate; we simply try our best to put the two parties together to work the situation out if possible.   We also closely monitor accounts that have had formal property complaints filed. Our policy is to carefully document both sides of a dispute, and keep track of all complaints submitted. When a pattern clearly develops where an advertiser is causing problems for our travelers, we do not hesitate to remove that member from our site.   Thank you,       [redacted] Trust & Security Supervisor | HomeAway, Inc.

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention.According to our records this consumer did contact us in case #[redacted]. At the time of contact it would seem that this consumers credit card was not fully charged, but was in a pre-authorization status. Until the reservation is...

actually accepted by the owner through our system (which can take up to 24 hours) the credit card is not fully authorized. We did advise the consumer to contact their financial institution as we have no control over pre-authorizations or how long they will remain in this status. We cerainly apologize for any inconvenience.

We apologize to this consumer for their experience.  We will review the contact with Customer Support and provide coaching where needed.  Our records indicate that we have contacted this consumer directly and offered assistance for this issue.