VRBO

Terrible Customer Service. I have not been able to receive my damage deposit back and continue to get the run around from done. I will never use them again.

Canceled a trip due to covid. Home owner stopped communicating with me for refund weeks ago. Contacted vrbo and was sent to the esculatuon team. Esculation team told me I have to persue the home owner myself, all they can do is send a message to the owner asking to refund my money. Vrbo chat agents give bogus numbers to call for help, and disconnect the chat once you become angry.

I guess I can count myself lucky to only be out $800 instead of thousands. Won't ever use them again.

This company is nothing but crooks. They will not do refunds and they will not answer the phone

Company is terrible, never responded to our complaints, and be aware the address listed on this website (and VRBO) *** resulted in our letter being returned as "Undeliverable and unable to forward." So much for customer service. Unfortunately they are the biggest vacation rental agency so beware!!!! Our son was in a horrific car crash 1 day before the cancellation cutoff. Even with hospital records we did NOT receive a penny back.

My husband and I rented a Capitol Hill unit from Cliff P owner of DC 5 Star Rentals this past weekend: ***
It was immediately clear upon arrival that the unit was not as advertised. Perhaps it looked like the VRBO listing photos at some point in time but it did not any more. We wrote Cliff directly to express our concern over the unit:
"Frankly, the unit is not as advertised and has seen better days. First issue being, there is only one functioning bed. The rear bed is missing a foot and is severely leaning making it impossible and unsafe to sleep on. Second, there is a hole in the wall in the kitchen with mold growing around it. Mold is a serious health concern, more so because my wife is currently three months pregnant and mold could have adverse effects on our unborn child. Thirdly, everything is stained. The sheets and towels, the sofa, the walls. It looks like frat parties have been thrown here for years.
This is all disappointing. We choose the location while I am in town for work because we used to live up the street and wanted to spend time in our old neighborhood. Its unfortunate that we will be doing so in a subpar rental.
The bedroom wall lights are molded, torn apart and hanging off the wall, the shower curtain is molded, the lamp in the rear bedroom is broken, the front entry console is broken and leaning, dirty dishes with food debris still on then are in the cabinets, there is a horrible smell coming from the kitchen sink, as well as odd or odors in the frig. I would suggest addressing these issues before your next guests arrive."
The owner then decided to play email ping pong with us.
This was Cliff P's first response:
On Mon, Aug 31, 2020 at 3:58 PM DC Five wrote:
"I won't refund anything You're staying. your email came across as if the place is not inhabitable if it's not inhabitable I suggest that you leave. I'm sure that the accommodations fit the price under $100 a night is ludicrous on the hill. I'm a straightforward guy and don't like to be messed with."
Cliff's second response minutes later:
Mon, Aug 31, 4:02 PM (21 hours ago)
"No refund will be made. Your email stated the place was inhabitable. Paul went there today.
Everything is in order with the exception of the broken bed. I have a picture of those lamps on the wall before you arrived. All bedding and linens are cleaned off site. A complaint like this will not hold me hostage for a refund no refund will be made if you stay."
First claiming he would refund us, then stating he would not, then by having an unannounced man (Paul) come inspect the unit for himself who did indeed see the bed only had three legs and that there was a hole in the wall but obviously from Cliff's emails this did not phase him. He was aware of the terrible state of the unit. Then by emailing us again and claiming no refunds...
We contacted VRBO who was insanely unhelpful, kept disconnecting us, refused to forward us to a manager, denied any accountability and said they do not vet vendors or preform any background checks. It was up to us to get our $900 rental fee back from DC 5 Star whom the payment went to. We were not sold 'it's cheaper to book offline' or any such deals. We booked through VRBO and yet they claim no responsibility for the unit being inhospitable. We took photos, we filled out paper work, we forwarded all the harassing emails from Cliff...VRBO did not care.
We were left with no option besides filing a fraud claim with our bank and filing a police report against DC 5 Star and VRBO.
DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE.

I don't know where to go to contact someone, but I wanted to let the business know of my recent experience with their security/fraud department. I made a reservation through Vrbo on 7/4/20. After making the reservation and doing more research on the property, I began to think I may have been scammed. I called Vrbo that day and couldn't understand the person very well, but she was looking into the question and then just never returned to the call. I called again the next day and the very same thing happened. I called again after no response to that call and talked to someone that gave me a fraud referral and a claim number(which I unfortunately no longer have). He said someone would be in touch with me the next morning. I never heard anything the next day, so I again called. That person told me I would not get a response that soon and that it would be several days. She also refused to connect me to the department and said I had to wait for their contact. These calls each took 45 minutes to an hour of hold time for each. Very Frustrating. But, my biggest concern is that I never heard from anyone about my possible scam. Luckily everything turned out fine, but I am quite unhappy with how this was handled. If I had my information hacked, I got no help from Vbro. Their lack of ability to connect and response is terrible.

I have read every review here and agree on all points: This is a sg operation that doesn't even deserve one star. I had a VRBO charge on my AmEx card that wasn't mine. I tried for FIVE months to find out what it was. Literally. I challenged the charge and AmEx pursued it, but got no reply. Ever. Nor did I. It turns out it was a deposit fee for a house I had selected - and the minute I did, got a pop up that said "oops, your dates are no longer available. Choose new dates." I replied that I could not, and to cancel the transaction. That was in February of this year. But did I know that for five months? No I had canceled that, never got a confirmation either way, found another house, and moved on. It's a long story, but the net net is their answer is that they are SORRY that customer service was never able to determine what the charge was for, and that it was an "unpleasant" experience, but whatever - not their problem - between me and the homeowner - they are ONLY AN ADVERTISING PLATFORM. Yep, that's the answer - they take zero responsibility. And it was totally their responsibility I tried, with all due dligence and in good faith, to find out what they were charging me for and the few times I actually got through (hold times were 40 minutes minimum), and after three agents hung up on me and I finally reached someone, I was given incorrect information, was told Security and Trust would look into it, and waited. Security and Trust did not get back to me. Unable to get an answer by phone, I wrote two snail mail letters to Austin Texas, where the headquarters are. Never got a reply. No one ever got back to me, I repeat. And now, six months later, I have been told to stop contacting them, too bad customer service couldn't help, sorry it was an "unpleasant" experience, and that Ithey certainly don't owe me $2,100, it's between me an alleged homeowner (of the house I canceled) because, I repeat, they are ONLY an advertising platform. And the homeowner was a world class nasty who said she certainly would not authorize the release of my funds. Unpleasant? Are you kidding me? This is a nightmare. Literally. Appalling that the company that indeed advertises and certainly takes your money takes no reponsibility for another thing. As evidenced by all the reviews below. Never again. Never, never again.

In Feb 2020 I booked a property through VRBO for a trip to Hawaii. The trip was supposed to happen early June 2020, but due to the Coronavirus, we were not able to travel. At that time Hawaii had a 14 day lockdown policy for out of town guests so it didn't make sense for us to go. I contacted both the property owner and VRBO and they both refused to refund me the down payment that was 50% of the total cost of the trip. VRBO did refund me their fees but said they couldn't do anything about the property owner. The property owner ended up with a hefty profit since I ended up paying for part of the taxes and cleaning fees for a property I didn't get to use. If you still choose to use VRBO, be aware that they are not going to do anything for you in case something doesn't go as planned.

This is by far the worst company I have ever had to deal with. They do not take responsibility for the home owners they choose to do business with. When speaking to costumer service, I was hung up on at least 10 time within 2 days. None of their representatives actually have a set understanding of what they can and cannot do for those who try to rent with them when things go wrong. We were told multiple different things from each person we spoke with.

I am not sure how this company has lasted this long but they are absolutely terrible at what they do.

vrbo won't give me my refund even though we canceled 3 months before our deadline to cancel for 100 percent refund. they keep hanging up on me through chat and over the phone. This is FRAUD.

VRBO is selling all of our information without consent!! In the smallest print there's an opt out- after 8 years I'm discovering this! WOW! SHAME ON YOU VRBO! It also makes it impossible to delete your account without digging and talking to customer service TWICE- and their customer service sucks. What a *** show. Their policies are unethical and you'd better stay away

Ocean Pines Disappointment...Property#***...***
VRBO claims you can leave a review up to a year after staying...when I tried..they now claim I had a 14 day window...this is my review!!!!
While I enjoyed staying with you, I find the $200 deduction from my deposit, a little unfair. You had asked me in text if I found everything at the house okay, well I didn't. At first, yes, but the outside shower was coming apart and we repaired, the outside spouting in backyard was detached leaving a puddle by house attracting the MANY MOSQUITOES harboring in the frog pond which ate at us EVERY NIGHT while trying to sit outside, eat outside, use hot tub, etc. The citronella candles do not work! Also, house wasn't very clean to start with. There was so much dust under sofa when changing air conditioning filter and family sleeping upstairs in top b.r. got bitten by something...spiders/fleas? I texted you about broken dryer that squealed so very loudly while trying to use, you could barely hear t.v. so I had to dry clothes on outside laundry line and last day while trying to get out in time, had to run to laundry to get clothes dried! This is one of the reasons for late departure and cleanliness of house. My vacation was partially spent on finding filter for your air conditioning and finding ways to keep up with laundry due to failing dryer! That wasn't how I had imagined I would enjoy it! AND you never even re-reimbursed me for filter, thank you for that by the way!
My family and I have been doing this vacation in the Pines for over 10 years and we have never had this rating."

I am the owner of a property. VRBO collectS lodging tax from the customers and said they remit the tax but would no provide any evidence to show me. I called them but told me to go and check AZ.GOV. I found no tax money was paid on my behalf. VRBO refused to provide me any receipt of any payments.

Vrbo, left me and my family out 2200 dollars. Let the homeowner keep our money. I wouldnt let my dog stay in that place. Ruined our vacation. Costed me 3 times as much once they wouldn't get me new place to stay or refund my money

Horrible experience!!! I've used VRBO before and hadn't had any problems. I booked a rental and the owner went MIA on check in day. The rental was filthy and half of the amenities were gross and inoperable (pool, hot tub, surround sound, etc)!! I was livid! We even paid a $2,500 refundable deposit! I contacted VRBO and they told me I had to take it up with the owner first....hello.....she's not responding!!! We cleaned and sanitized the place ourselves and made the most of it. Checked out on time. Called VRBO again to make a complaint, but were told it's best to wait until we receive our deposit. It took us a whole month after check out to get our deposit back!!!! By this time, the window was closed for us to leave a review. So now, these freakin liar/scammers have 5 stars on a property that isn't worth 2 nickels! I'm disgusted and disappointed and hope no one else has this experience moving forward!!!

I am an owner of several properties once again payment not deposited within the persons stay! VRBO was paid several weeks ago yet they haven’t paid us! Calls go to the Caribbean nobody has the ability to fix situation!

This business has no integrity or sense of responsibility for customers or property owners.

I am writing not to complain about any place I've stayed through VRBO, I understand they can't control every place every time. I am writing regarding their lack of customer support when there is an issue with their platform.

There are 3 players when using VRBO: me the customer, the property owner, the company VRBO. This is the second reservation where there has been an issue from the Property Owner's end, where (1) we were overcharged from the contracted nightly price and (2) we should have been issued a 100% refund and the Property Owner was having technical issues with their account and needed support to refund us. Regarding the second most recent scenario, it's now been over 6 months and I still have not received my $5,000 deposit back. I call about once a week, spend at least an hour on hold with VRBO then get the same message from Customer Service saying they will look into it and to "please be patient". What I am learning is that they don't have a dog in the fight. They don't have my deposit money because it has been sent to the property owner, so they basically claim no responsibility or ability to help with anything. The property owner has the deposit and wants to figure out how to refund, but they say they only get automated messages from VRBO and can't work with a person directly to fix the problem. So that leaves me, the basically powerless consumer spending hours on the phone trying to get my money back. I'm the only one that actually cares where the money is and VRBO the platform will not work on the customer's or property owner's behalf.

I have worked with other sites, like booking.com, and had the same issue about not receiving my refund. They took the stance of "Booking.com will refund you from our accounts, get you on your way as a happy customer, then work with the property owner to get the deposit money back into booking.com's accounts". They take ownership to assist their customers and property owners.

I highly recommend Booking.com, or at least think twice before using VRBO. They will try to wash their hands of any support from either side, even though they are providing the platform that connects customers to property owners. This business model has no integrity or responsibility to its users. I won't make any reservations on VRBO/Homeaway any more. It is worth the peace of mind to book through other sites or with property owners directly, even if the prices are higher.

I used a travel agent to book through VrBo and found out this company is a second hand company with their hand in the bucket. So it clearly states cancelation with 100% refund before August 26 and today is August 18th. Not even 24 hrs of booking I decided to cancel. They want to keep my $200 and offer me a credit. Why would I want to do business with someone like that or a company?

Any how, I know how to get my money back.

Very disappointed in VRBO's Covid cancellation and refund policy. VRBO is only recommending and encouraging home owners provide a refund for a Covid related cancelation. Perhaps many home-owners are doing the right thing but mine did not. They only provided a partial refund and only for the dates they were able to re-rent to someone else and held onto my money until the other guests checked out. Thus, I had to wait 2 months being out pocket $9,500. Had I rented the exact same property on Airbnb (which it is listed) Airbnb requires their home owners to provide 100% refunds for Covid related cancellations.

So disappointed- will never use VRBO again and only use Airbnb.

I would give VRBO less than a "1" rating if it were possible. I was scammed by someone who posted a bogus property on the VRBO website. VRBO even assigned a property number and sent me a confirmation via email. There were photos of the property on the website and a detailed description. I paid for the rental via Zelle, a legitimate payment website, through my bank who also sent me an email confirmation for payment. So, everything looked legitimate and very official. I had several phone calls with VRBO personnel in their Trust and Security Department as well as numerous emails between us presenting my case. VRBO refused to compensate me for them allowing a fraudulent property to be posted on their website. They tried to justify a scam and bogus listing by citing their so-called “Book with Confidence Guarantee.” How can they use such a term when they obviously allowed a scam artist to list a property that doesn’t even exist? How can I, or any other customer for that matter, have confidence reviewing and then booking the properties on the VRBO site if we don’t know if they actually exist? Trust and Security people should spend more time on the front end vetting fraudulent listings rather than an inordinate amount of time trying to dodge customers who have been scammed by unscrupulous and bogus owners. It's no wonder VRBO has an "F" rating from the Better Business Rating. I will never use their service again when there are many other options for booking my vacations with reputable services who care about their customers.