The Duct Cleaning Pros

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 publicWe 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 complaintOur 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 managerSee the Terms and Conditions below that the consumer/traveler and landlord/property manager agreed to about our role hereTherefore, this complaint is incorrectly being associated with HomeAway Inc, and it should be associated with the landlord/property manager. Section of our Terms and 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 SiteHomeAway.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 SiteWe 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 transactionsWe 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 userYou 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."According to our records this consumer also filed a formal property complaint against this advertiser (case#***) As part of that formal complaint process we did reach out to the advertiser on behalf of this consumer in order to try to get the two parties to settle their disputeWe however do NOT mediate; we simply try our best to put the two parties together to work the situation out if possibleWe also closely monitor accounts that have had formal property complaints filedOur policy is to carefully document both sides of a dispute, and keep track of all complaints submittedWhen a pattern clearly develops where an advertiser is causing problems for our travelers, we do not hesitate to remove that member from our siteI assure you we have taken the appropriate action in regards to this complaint

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:I've read your Terms and Conditions documentI argue that removing a homeowner's property from your site and continue charging fees is not rightIt is fair that you can reduce a property's ranking for not responding to inquiries on timeIt would be understandable and no one can argue with thatBut it is not fair to remove the property from the site and continue charging annual feesHomeowners pay you annual fees to post their property on your siteIf you remove the property from your site then what are you charging the annual fee for?
Regards,
*** ***

We thank this consumer for their comments and apologize for what must have been a distressing start to their vacation The consumer is correct that reservations were initially made for next day. This is because the consumer contacted us after midnight and our system is not able back-date
a chedate. We apologize for this oversight. However, when the consumer contacted us back, our representatives contacted several hotels in the area and arrangements were made at another hotel that did have availability that night. Several attempts were made to contact the consumer by phone that were not successful. There was no opportunity to leave a voicemail. We also emailed the consumer but have not received a response. The service fee covers the cost of providing 24/customer support, enhanced site and mobile features for both owner and travelers, plus expanded marketing efforts to generate more exposure to global audiences. We believe that our representatives did all they could to support this consumer at a difficult time and we will not be refunding the fee at this time

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:#1. First and foremost I leased this unit under the agreement that I could cancel anytime up to days prior to the date of occupancy. I tried extensively to get *** *** to refund the money to no availThen tried to get assistance from your company to refund me the moneyBetween the two of you foot dragging and it taking forever out of exhaustion I finally just decided to keep the placeYour company and Flamingo whatever it's called were grotesquely unhelpfulThe entire episode has been one big nightmare I did not needBesides the fact all the time wasted on emails and phone callsYou know all I wanted was a vacation not a nightmareFurthermore I was guaranteed I would get lodgings closely resembling the one I originally leasedBesides being shuffled to three different places I was finally placed in what amounted to not much more than a complete pig styFurthermore ** *** ripped me off for my deposit when I stayed at his place in OctoberAlso I ALREADY sent the receipts for the extra charges that the hotels charged me for resort fees that I was continuously guaranteed I would be reimbursed for and have also sent two emails asking if your company has received them plus have tried to phone twice but was not allowed to speak to anyone from your department
Regards,
*** ***

Please see the attachment for our response. Thank you HomeAway' Trust and Security Resolutions Team

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
This is falseNo credit card info was enteredBook it now wasn't available at the time I was online as the rental company wasn't open and couldn't accept the reservation, so send an email was clicked and sent! I guaranteeJust like other home away bookings show when u can't book nowThis is so frustrating because this is false!! And this booking company that books this property can't even take online payment and doesn't accept Paymets for their rentals through home away!! Only for straight advertising! This is all a lie! Man, so sad :(
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:I agree in several of these points but the majority of the are wrong or flat our lies.1) You said in your first sentence "The discount referenced by this customer was a special offer by invitation only, and no offer was emailed by HomeAway to the customer"That is not true, in fact I received two emails, both of which I have attached to this messageThis complaint would have never even come to light if your teams did not send me, and hundreds of other Homeaway clients, a message in error.2) You referenced newly listed properties, which mine is notHowever this renewal would have been a new renewal as I was on per booking paymentAgain, I should have never received this email if it was not valid for me and my listing.3) The second paragraph is exactly what happened, as I was looking for resolution to an email I received from Homeaway4) I am unfamiliar with how account managers interact with customersI was contacted on September 19, by Megan Wills in which she said "I have been personally assigned to your account to get it back up and live, you will want to reach out to me directly to resolve thisquickly and smoothly. Please contact me before attempting to do it online at ***".Whether se was n account manager or not, we had spoken once and she did reach out to me. I could care less about your spillover for voice mailYour system or marketing team duped me and many, many customers over a renewal offer by emailYou need to honor your mistakes, especially to valued customers
Regards,
*** ***

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention. We do show that we have actively worked with this consumer in case# ***This type of issue is handled by our production team, who are behind the scenes helping our customers dailyThey do not answer customer service phone
calls, however our customer service agents route cases and concerns to their departmentSo although this consumer may think nothing was happening with his concerns our production team was actively investigating the reported issue. According to case notes this matter has been resolved and the consumers property is located in the desired area

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 usersAs 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 userYou 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." According to our records this consumer did contact us directly (case# ***)As part of that formal complaint process we also tried to reach out to the advertiser on behalf of this consumer in order to try to get the two parties to settle their issueWe however do NOT mediate; we simply try our best to put the two parties together to work the situation out if possibleAccording to our records this traveler was fully refunded for the original bookingHomeAway also assisted with emergency lodging for this traveling partyWe explained that they would need to locate alternate accommodations for the balance of their stay as there simply was no availability through our supplier and then they would need to file a claim with us should there be any difference in the rental cost I assure you we have taken the appropriate action in regards to this issue *** *** Trust & Security Lead | HomeAway, Inc*** | o: *** | m: *** | Skype: ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: Homeaway offers a service that is not secure and puts unsuspecting customers in touch with criminals They are negligent and are completely aware of their negligenceIt is incredible to me that they are allowed to provide services that put people at riskThey should be fined and forced to make their servers more secureI intend to take legal action against Homeaway
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I was again in contact with Home Away yesterday requesting WHY after all these months of them holding my money, when the guests have been on their vacation, E mailed me to say what a great time they had, the money is with Home Away WHY will it be another weeks for them to release my money, a wire transfer takes a maximum of three (3) days, they say that it is their policy and it has to followed!.I am being fined late fees for several months that amount to over $1,dollars to the *** GovernmentTheir ( It is not our problem ) is totally not acceptable.If they insist on keeping my $7,dollars for a further weeks they should pay me interest on this amount
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: they have involved themselves with the disputeI left a review warning other travelers of the roach infestationThey removed my review and barred me from writing any othersThey are not protecting their consumers
Regards,
*** ***

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention. According to our records this consumer contacted us in case#***It also would appear according to case comments that the matter has been resolved as of 7/27/2016, refund was issued

Thank you for bringing this consumer's concerns to our attention HomeAway introduced a service fee in February The service fee is currently launched on listings that were purchased through VRBO, HomeAway and VacationRentals.comWhen booking and paying for a property on a HomeAway
website, the Service Fee is clearly included in the breakdown of the total cost of the rental To read more about what the service fee is and why we introduced it, see this article: *** This fee covers the cost of providing 24/customer support, enhanced site and mobile features for both owner and travelers, plus expanded marketing efforts to generate more exposure to global audiencesAdditionally, when a traveler books and pays through HomeAway, they are eligible for the Book with Confidence Guarantee *** We do hope this information helps explain the addition of the traveler service fee on HomeAway

We sincerely apologize to this consumer for their experience. We will be reviewing the call and providing coaching to the representatives where necessary Our records indicate that this consumer was contacted the next day and the service fee refunded to the traveler.Our #goal at
HomeAway is to drive more bookings to our owners and property managersYour 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 optionAs 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 taxesThe charge applies to the cost of the rental and will not exceed $The service fee helps cover the cost of running the HomeAway websites, including features such as 24/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://***https://***

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention.According to our records this consumer did contact us in case #***After further review it would appear that the charge the consumer is speaking of is our traveler service feethe traveler service fee is charged to all travelers
who use our site to book a vacation rentalSome owners and property managers may have their own software programs for processing payments, however each traveler will be charged a service fee by HomeAwayThe charge is also displayed at time of check outThe consumer simply needed to click on the details of the payment to see the breakdownHere is a screen shot of an exampleor TESTThis is not the consumers real data, but a demonstration of where the consumer can see it prior to making payment.***
***

As an online marketplace, we cannot mediate, per our terms & conditionsWe are happy to facilitate communication between you and the owner, but we simply are unable to take sides.According to records this consumer booked property #*** on February 28, for the dates of March 9-13,
The consumer states that they were unaware of the owner's posted cancellation policy, which states that cancellations must be done days before cheto receive any refundsUnfortunately, this consumer booked within days of their planned arrival, and as such, they are subject to the advertisers cancellation policyAny exceptions to that stated policy must be made by the owner/advertiser, as your agreement and payment are with them, not HomeAwayWe also understand that this consumer purchased Trip Cancellation Protection from CSAAt this time, they are the consumers next contact so they can file a claim under that insurance policy to recover the remaining fundsPlease have consumer visit the website below or call them directly at (800) 349-to discuss options.http://www.vacationprotection.com/

We appreciate this consumer's commentsOur records show that the property listing they inquired on is advertised by a large property managerIt is likely that the quote this consumer received came directly from the managerBecause Property Managers generally have more options when accepting
reservations, they may not necessarily have included VRBO's service fee in the quoteHowever, when the traveler completed and paid for the booking through the checkout process on our website, the service fee should have appeared clearly as a itemized chargeWe have a wealth of information in the Help Portal on the website regarding the service feeIt 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 taxesThe charge applies to the cost of the rental and will not exceed $The service fee helps cover the cost of running the HomeAway websites, including features such as 24/customer support and marketing efforts to ensure a quality experience on our sites for both travelers and ownersAs a gesture of goodwill we have refunded this service fee charge for this consumer's bookingThey should expect to see it on the same credit card they used to pay for the booking within three to seven business days, depending on their specific card provider

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
I checked the Homeaway.com website and everything has been corrected and is now very clear and accurate. I appreciate Homeway's efforts in correcting this problem which will actually improve their customer relations as well as the overall efficiency of their website. I also thank you at Revdex.com for your quick intervention in this matter. Thank you all very much