VRBO.com

This consumer has two separate cases with us regarding VRBO.com # [redacted] 1) According to our records this consumer filed a formal property complaint in Case# [redacted] In regards to this formal property complaint, 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 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 propertyWe do not own or manage, nor can we contract for, any vacation rental property listed on the SiteInstead, the Site acts as a venue to allow homeowners and property managers who advertise on our Site (each, a “member”) to offer for rent in a variety of pricing formats, a specific vacation rental property to potential renters (each, a “traveler” and, collectively with a member, the “users”)We are not involved in any transaction between travelers and members even though we may from time to time provide tools that relate to a booking, such as a tool to enable a traveler to enter into a transaction to lease a specific property directly from a memberAs a result, any part of an actual or potential transaction between a traveler and a member, including the quality, safety or legality of the properties advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings (including the content thereof or any property or guest book review), the ability of members to rent a vacation property or the ability of travelers to pay for vacation rental properties are solely the responsibility of each user We are also not responsible for the condition of the vacation rental properties listed on our Site or the compliance with laws, rules or regulations that may be applicable to any vacation rental property in any jurisdiction Finally, 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 actionsIn the event we do provide warnings or messages to users about any such activity, we do not warrant that such messages or 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, result or action." 2) According to our records this consumer has been working with our reviews team in a separate Case # [redacted] in order to post a review of VRBO.com # [redacted] It has been communicated to this consumer what is required since the advertiser disputed the reviewIt appears that we are awaiting further documentation from this consumer

Do NOT book through them. They will not stand by you when the renter is a scammer. We booked a property in Evergreen, Colorado that was located on an impassable "road" really a dirt path in the mountains that our car couldn't get to . The owner refused to refund us- rebooked the property and left us high and dry on our vacation with nowhere to stay. VRBO was not helpful and we essentially lost the entire cost for accommodations. They also continue to allow this property owner to rent out this cabin which is literally impossible to get to. Very disappointing and we won't rent through them again. This owner is VERY aware how to sneak in the fine print and get his money up front as he's obviously doing this over and over again

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attentionHomeAway introduced a service fee in February The service fee is currently launched on listings that were purchased through VRBO, HomeAway and VacationRentals.comTo read more about what the service fee is and why we introduced it, see this article: https://help.homeaway.com/articles/What-is-the-service-fee-and-how-does-it-work 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 Guaranteehttps://help.homeaway.com/articles/What-is-the-Book-with-Confidence-Gua...⇄ Regarding changes in the performance of this consumer's rental property and search results, this is due to a new and improved search result system called Best MatchThis system is designed so travelers see more relevant listings when they search, and owners get more relevant booking requests that result in a successful bookingBest Match affects every owner differently, and there are many factors they have control over to positively impact their performanceFor more information, see our Best Match FAQ here: https://www.homeaway.com/info/search-results These changes are universal to every consumer using our servicesWe hope this information helps to shed light on why they were made and how they benefit both the consumer and their travelers

We booked a property through VRBO/ Homeaway for over the Christmas holiday in Los Angeles. I was notified via email that the property was no longer available. Apparently, the property owner was fraudulent. That was over 2 weeks ago. Since that time we have been jerked around to various different departments ( rebooking, Claims, Trust and Security), when all I have been asking for is my money back. We had to pay upfront for the entire stay including a $500 deposit. Just received another email today saying it will probably be about another month before we see any sort of reimbursement from this company. VRBO is holding our money hostage, and I cannot afford to book elsewhere until they refund our money.We will rethink ever using this property rental service again.

Reviews are an important part of a listing and help travelers make informed decisions about the property and the booking experience the owner providesAll content related to reviews must meet our Content GuidelinesThese guidelines expressly prohibit extorting owners/managers or travelers for money or any other consideration.Under these guidelines, the following are true:Travelers cannot threaten to use a review against an owner to obtain refunds or additional compensation.This consumer did not meet our Content Guidelines

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: Joel of their Customer Resolution Department contacted me and alleged they never charged my card and tried to convince me I was not on their site During the end of the conversation, he indicated a credit was made to my account on June by VBRO of $their fee for service at the same time my card was charged the $ At that point it became clear, I was on their site and had gotten the customer service number from the site at the time the charge was made to my credit card When I spoke with VBRO customer service on two occasions, they could not show a reservation for me yet I was charged a fee and the first half of the rental cost even though I did not following through, nor accept the rental charges that ultimately included over $in additional fees more than the original rental price After going around and around for many minutes, it became clear VBRO was not taking responsibility and I ended the go-around saying there was no agreement This company is not just a conduit for the owners Thank heavens the real estate agent was instrumental in getting the credit for my account, cancelling the "non-existing" reservation as well as confirming no additional charges would be made for this rentalVBRO customer resolution representatives are slick in their attempts to disallow what happened, but this one slipped up at the end when he told me about the credit to my account for their fee (for a reservation confirmed by their own customer service department as being a non-existing reservation) If I was still after my credit, I am confident the struggle would still be going on Regards, [redacted] ***

I made a deposit on a rental listed on VRBO The deposit was made in April for a December rental Upon investigation, I found that the property was not as advertised The reviews were fraudulent and the house was not in the location as represented From Google maps, the house may not even exist In August, I requested a refund of my deposit The owner acknowledged my request and agreed that it was early enough to qualify for a full refund But the owner refused to refund the money This is a clear case of fraudThe house was not as advertised on VRBO and may not even exist The owner has disconnected their telephone and their email no longer works VRBO has refused to recognize their part in allowing fraud to be committed on their site and will not assist me in recovering my deposit

We're sorry to hear the continued issue that the consumer is having in getting this information to us We are not experiencing any technical issues with our site at this time We have passed the photos they attached to the relevant department to be reviewed

Rented through VRBOWe were looking to get away on a mini-vacation retreat and wanted to go to a secluded remote area to get away the stresses of everyday life This property owner of the unit ended up "scamming" us out of $2, Owner was NOT forthcoming with information about his propertyNowhere on the property listing on the VRBO website does it state that there are surveillance cameras INSIDE and outside the property! A mini vacation in a secluded area to get away was set, at least that's what we thought, until we found out "BIG BROTHER" would be monitoring our every move! Once property owner received the payment in FULL ($2,000.00) information in regards to the cameras INSIDE and outside the property was disclosed Property owner does not see an issue with the cameras, that he stated he uses to monitor the guestsWhat he does with the footage who knows; uploads it online?; uses it for sexual gratification?!?!...who knows After discussing concerns with property owner, the owner agreed to issue a "partial" refundHowever, the property owner then recanted and is refusing to issue a refund Terrible customer serviceProperty owner is difficult to engage with and is not trust worthyPotential renters be warned! Then, we escalated the issue to VRBO for assistance However, VRBO does not see the issue with the surveillance camera's and how it is an invasion of privacy If the camera information was disclosed on the listing or prior to payment we would have never entered into an agreement to rent VRBO stated that they would be unable to assist us further in resolving this concern We purchased "trip protection insurance" through the VRBO website for $ After contacting the insurance we were told that the "reason" we canceled is not covered under the trip protection insuranceThe insurance stated that they are unable to assist us further in resolving this issue After everything we paid $2,for a trip that never happened and no kind of support from VRBO, the trip protection insurance, or from the property owner There is currently no kind of resolution being offered and we are still out $2,Very dissatisfiedWe paid for a service we never received

HomeAway.com strives to provide a secure online marketplace for owners to advertise their vacation rental properties and for travelers to research an extensive catalog of rental optionsHomeAway has invested in trust & security technology, people and processes to help protect consumers against criminal activity on our sites.This consumer/traveler unfortunately has been the victim of what is referred to as phishingPhishers are individuals, or small groups, who execute phishing schemes in an attempt to steal identities or information for monetary gainThe advertiser/vacation rental owner or property manager’s HomeAway account credentials had been phished.When we learn of a phish attempt of our advertiser/vacation rental owner or property manager’s email account or their HomeAway account our Trust & Security team takes immediate action by temporarily deactivating their vacation rental listing(s) locking their account down and putting them through a security process by which they must update all of their account detailsWe also immediately send out messaging to any travelers who may have inquired on their listings to protect any travelers from falling prey to a phisherPhishing is one of the most common internet scams; HomeAway, Incbeing an internet based business has both programs and educational materials in place for our site users to protect themselves against phishingWe strive to inform and encourage our travelers to protect themselves in various waysUpon inquiring each traveler receives instruction on the safest payment methods to useThey also are instructed to call the advertiser prior to sending any moniesTravelers also are encouraged to buy the HomeAway Carefree Rental Guarantee.Terms & Conditions of the HomeAway Carefree Rental Guarantee: http://www.homeaway.com/guarantee/tac.html.We also direct each inquirer to learn more about renting safely from our Security Center at:http://www.homeaway.com/info/security?OwnersIn the event that a traveler has fallen victim to phishing and has not protected themselves, we do have a program in place called the Basic Rental GuaranteeThis program will reimburse an unprotected traveler up to $of their lost funds.According to our records this consumer does qualify for the Basic Rental GuaranteeThis consumer was sent the necessary information to file for reimbursement under the Terms of the Basic Rental Guarantee in our internal case# [redacted] To review the Terms and Conditions of the Basic Rental Guarantee please visit this link:http://www.homeaway.com/info/about-us/legal/terms-conditions/basic_rental_g...⇄ we are so sorry to hear that this consumer was affected by this most unfortunate situation

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because they changed policies Regards, [redacted] ***

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because of the following email I receivedI have also included it as an attachment [redacted] **(HolidayRentPayment) Jan 10, 12:PM Dear [redacted] This is [redacted] from VacationRentPaymentWe are reaching out to you regarding the status of the refund cancellation request regarding VRBOcom [redacted] , for the amount of$Your refund cancellation request was successfully processedIf you would like further assistance, please do not hesitate reply to this email or contact our Customer Support department at [redacted] Our representatives are available to assist you from a.mto p.mPacific Time, seven days a weekBest Regards, [redacted] | Customer Support Representative | YapStone Regards, [redacted]

This company allowed me to pay 5000 to someone who would not keep the house secure. Someone came in while I was staying there. Also, when I arrived the house was not as described: blinds missing on the windows, burn marks, vandalism outside with “EAB” burned into the back of the siding, grass was almost 2 feet tall, garage did not work. When I checked out the owner wanted to fix up their place on my dime
So they said I caused all the damages. Even with photographic proof Vrbo did nothing to assist in the issues with the owner

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: Despite the company's claims that they are a third party vendor and this is a dispute between the property owner and us, we acted on the advice of VRBO's representative to cancel the reservation and that the best way to do so would be through our credit card companyWe were then later advised that there was a clause that we had agreed to that advised "no cancellations." The VRBO representative did not advise us that we should contact the property owner directly or that any negotiation would be through themWe were responsible renters in that we called VRBO and spoke to a representative of their company with our concerns, who directly advised us to take the actions aboveWhen this lead to a dispute with the property owner, VRBO then advised that it was our responsibility to understand the initial agreement we had "clicked on" and that their representative had indeed "made a mistake" but that "everyone makes mistakes." This ended up being a $mistake that we are having to pay forThis is simply because we followed the representative's direct advice and attempted to cancel our reservation days after booking and months in advanceTo have to pay this for services never rendered seems absurdIf VRBO's policy is to not get involved, then their representative should not have advised us on how to proceed other than to contact the property owner directlyThis was not the case and we as customers are left with the bill 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 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 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 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 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 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."We encourage this consumer to contact us directly to file a formal property complaint against this advertiserAs 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 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 site

According to our records the advertiser is disputing this consumers stay at the propertyPer our Traveler Reviews Guidelines an advertiser can dispute a traveler review and our process is then to request proof of stay from the traveler.http://www.homeaway.com/info/homeaway/owner-marketing/reviewsguidelines "The traveler must be able to provide satisfactory evidence of the stay; possess receipt of property access information from HomeAway Mobile Hospitality Manager; or demonstrate payment in accordance with a rental agreement and was cancelled on within two weeks of arrival; or paid in accordance with the rental agreement, arrived and had to stay at a property other than the property bookedOwners and property managers of advertised properties may not review the property that he or she owns or manages"We sent this consumer an email asking them to submit proof of stay in internal case# [redacted] back on 1/5/To date we have not received the necessary information in order to post this consumers review

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 here Therefore, 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 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 propertyWe do not own or manage, nor can we contract for, any vacation rental property listed on the SiteInstead, the Site acts as a venue to allow homeowners and property managers who advertise on our Site (each, a “member”) to offer for rent in a variety of pricing formats, a specific vacation rental property to potential renters (each, a “traveler” and, collectively with a member, the “users”)We are not involved in any transaction between travelers and members even though we may from time to time provide tools that relate to a booking, such as a tool to enable a traveler to enter into a transaction to lease a specific property directly from a memberAs a result, any part of an actual or potential transaction between a traveler and a member, including the quality, safety or legality of the properties advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings (including the content thereof or any property or guest book review), the ability of members to rent a vacation property or the ability of travelers to pay for vacation rental properties are solely the responsibility of each user We are also not responsible for the condition of the vacation rental properties listed on our Site or the compliance with laws, rules or regulations that may be applicable to any vacation rental property in any jurisdiction.Finally, 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 actionsIn the event we do provide warnings or messages to users about any such activity, we do not warrant that such messages or 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, result or action."According to our records this consumer also filed a formal property complaint against this advertiser (case [redacted] ) 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

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention.This consumer has reached out to us directly regarding this matter as well in case# [redacted] These ads are using Google Advertisements, and less than 1% of people who see listings click on these, so owners are not losing travelers to the linksOne of the biggest reasons we include them is that having these advertisements on your page actually boosts your listing in Google Search resultsHowever, if you are seeing direct competitors for your listing and you would prefer to have them removed, please reply with a screenshot of the advertisements that are in competition with yours and we can have it forwarded to the appropriate team for review and removalIf there is anything else we can help with, please feel free to reply to this email or give us a call anytime at ***-***- [redacted] or internationally at 1-***-**2-***------------------------------------------------------------Patty Case | Trust & Security Lead***.***[redacted] (desk)***.***[redacted] (mobile) [redacted] (skype) [redacted]

Stayed at a home in CaliforniaUpon completion of rental, the owner has yet to return security deposit but continues to extend the due date of the depositVRBO hasn't provided reason for the extension or assistance with retrieving depositThey continue to allow the owner to extend the date deposit will be returned

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this answer because it is a lietimes the same review met VRBO terms for monthsVRBO withdrew on owner-fraudster lobbying, VRBO in conflict of interests rather take fraudster ad money than have fraudster withdraw ad ! mediatized lawsuit to follow to mediatize VRBO dirty dealings disgusting