| Vacation Rental Complaints [Tag : deposit] |
| 3. |
Security Deposit not Returned for no Valid Reason
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The property was listed for $1,850. We asked if we could get it for less and the owner agreed to come down $150. After we left we found out we wouldn't get our $200 security deposit back. We were shocked because before we left we vacuumed, cleaned the bathrooms, the refrigerator, stove and the microwave. Then, when we were leaving the cleaning crew arrived. Then when we received a report on what was supposedly wrong, we were flabbergasted by the inaccuracy and even ludicrousness of the claims. Here are the charges:
Claim: We left late, holding up the cleaning crew.
Fact: The cleaning crew arrived just as we were leaving.
Claim: Food was left in the refrigerator.
Fact: No food was left in the refrigerator, although two cups of ice cream were left in the freezer.
Claim: We left out dirty dishes and we put dirty dishes in the cabinets.
Fact: All the dishes we put in the cabinets were washed in the dishwasher. The dishes from the day we left were washed and left in the drying rack.
Claim: An open box of sugar cubes was left in a cabinet.
Fact: It was there when we arrived.
Claim: We left a bag of charcoals, indicating we grilled, which violates condo rules.
Fact: We didn't have a grill, didn't grill and didn't bring in a bag of charcoals. If there was a bag of charcoals it was there before we arrived.
Claim: The carpets were stained.
Fact: I vacuumed upstairs, my wife vacuumed downstairs and we didn't observe any stains. And, we never spilled anything on the carpet.
Claim: We broke slats of vertical blinds.
Fact: We didn't break any vertical blinds, and at one point the owner claims the broken slats were in the bedroom, and at another point she claims they were in the kitchen.
Claim: The curtain brackets in the living room were pulled out of the wall in two spots.
Fact: We didn't do anything to the curtain brackets.
It's very obvious that the reason the owner came down $150 in the rental was that she figured she could falsely claim that we left the condo in an unacceptable condition and more than make up the $150.
In addition, shortly after we arrived we had a problem with ants, so we called and they sent an exterminator. Now the owner claims that we were responsible for the ants, and that's one of the reasons we didn't get back the security deposit.
And we were woken up two nights in a row by the smoke alarm. (It stopped after a couple of hours the first night, after I vacuumed it so we thought it was O.K., but it started up again the second night.) We called and they came and replaced the battery. This should be done regularly, not just when it causes a problem. Also, the problem detector was hanging from the ceiling, and not connected to it, so it's apparent that something was amiss with it and was never corrected.
Date Added: Sep 12, 2009
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| 7. |
Refusal to return booking deposit
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We booked a vacation villa in Cozumel called "Casa Ballena" for a week for our wedding. They required a 50% deposit ($1176.00) paid by check. Their contract has no cancellation policy in it. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our wedding. This was on March 15, 2010 and our reservation was for July 20, 2010. This was more than 4 months in advance. 127 days in advance, to be exact. In desperation I tried to negotiate applying part of the $1176 to a 1 bedroom property instead, since the wedding was canceled and no guests would be attending. The owner of the company, Ron White, said that was not possible. He said we will lose our entire $1176 unless they are able to rebook the same exact villa during the same exact week (which happens to be during Cozumel's low season). He also refused to give me the contact information of the property manager or owner, who according to him had control of our money.
I would NOT recommend doing business with this company. There are plenty of other rental companies that operate in Cozumel, do not take a chance with Sherrie and Ron White if there is even the slightest chance of an unforeseen circumstance that could cause you to cancel. It would be understandable to have a small cancellation fee(even though we canceled over 4 months in advance), but absolutely no refund?? Over $1100 for nothing? That is completely unethical.
Date Added: Mar 24, 2010
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| 9. |
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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