| Vacation Rental Complaints [Tag : SCAM] |
| 6. |
Nice House, but Beware of Owner
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A few weeks after our stay, I received a check for $70 and a copy of an invoice from the maintenance department for $230 for screen repair. The screens were not damaged by me or my group. One of our group mentioned to me that as he walked around the outside of the house during our stay, he noticed that the screens looked loose, but he didn't feel it needed attention, so we did not report it. After receiving the check, I asked the member of my group to call and explain the situation to Dennis Kerames (home owner). After a few weeks, I still did not receive the money, so I called Dennis and left a message, but I did not hear back him. Then, I sent an email to Karen Kerames (home owner) describing the events that had already occurred. She responded back with a slightly different story, than Dennis' story, about how they found out that the screens were in need of repair. Dennis said the outside maintenance crew noticed the screens were loose, but Karen said that the renters who came in after us notified her that the screens were loose. At this point, I am thinking something doesn't sound right. I have houses before and never had any security deposit money withheld. I am a very good renter with a history of great rental experience. I rented a house last year in Orlando from Curtis Waterman, through VRBO. Curtis was surprised that I left his house in such GREAT condition. I left the Kerames' house in the exact same GREAT condition as I received it. They are asking me to pay for a repair that I had nothing to do with. I am still trying to my remaining $230 mailed to me. It's a nice house, but asking a renter to pay the owner's upkeep is not fair.
Date Added: Oct 26, 2010
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| 7. |
Nice house - too bad the owner is dishonest and rude
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NO RETURN OF DEPOSIT, HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!
We were so excited to find this property. Before our arrival, I spoke to the owner, Scott, on the phone several times. He was friendly and helpful. When we arrived at the house, the first thing we noticed was the odor of cigarette smoke. The home has clearly been smoked in. This wasn't a huge issue for us, we were still excited about our weekend in the house. Throughout our stay, we noticed several minor issues; the hot tub wouldn't heat, the "chef's dream" kitchen was missing several utensils that we needed for basic meal prep, and the crab net we were promised was nowhere to be found. We called the owner a few times to see if he could help us with the hot tub or the crab net, and received no response. We weren't too upset at the time. Before we left, we sprayed down all surfaces, vacuumed, deflated and folded his air mattress, washed and folded all sheets, washed and put away all dishes, and took out all trash... We even took several bags to a public dumpster because the houses' curbside trash can was full when we arrived.
The real problems began after we got home. Days went by, with no contact from Scott regarding return of deposit. Finally, a week later, I called at left a voicemail. Several days later, I received a short e-mail stating that the cleaning fee was $105, and he had an issue with an air compressor that had been left on and blown a hose... "not a big deal", in his words. He promised a followup call the following afternoon.
Fast forward a month. Yes, that's 30 days. I received a rude e-mail from Scott, claiming that the deposit would not be returned due to the $110 (that's up $15 from his first e-mail), a broken air mattress, and a nearly-ruined air compressor. I believe the exact wording was "Tell whoever left my air compressor on that they're lucky" it was fixed. The compressor had not been used during our stay, we tried to turn it on but it wasn't functioning. We called him that evening to find out about the cleaning fee change and air compressor issue. When asked about the change in cleaning fee, Scott became belligerent and began yelling and cursing, accusing us of leaving "s*** on the toilet" and leaving the house a terrible mess. He was obviously upset that he had been caught in a lie. Later that evening, he sent me an e-mail stating that the only other renters he's had trouble with were a group of bikers and a group of "towel heads". I was shocked and appalled at his racism and vulgarity.
I am very disappointed to report that this owner is extremely dishonest and unprofessional. My family had planned to see if the house was available to rent for several weeks in the spring, but needless to say, those plans have changed.
Date Added: Oct 27, 2010
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