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Top > United States > Florida 
| Vacation Rental Complaints |
| 13. |
Homestar Vacation Homes
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This company advertises luxury vacation homes in the Orlando Florida area.
The first house @ 1222 cedarwood was extremely dirty, we found dog hair in the bed linens, the entire house was filthy, we had to clean the bath tubs before using them- The owner came over gave me a change of bedsheets and did nothing else about the filth. We went out to dinner, came back at 11:30pm and the house temp was 87 degrees! we slept with fans on.
The next day we could not contact her, finally at about 7 pm she called, she offered a different house much farther away to Disney. The second house was actually worse, the air conditioner was also broken and the pool was green and smelly!
This vacation was by far the worst of our lives, we found ourselves having to find a local hotel at 12 midnight because it was unberable.
To add insult to all of this, she kept our deposit and blamed us for all kinds of stuff that were broken already! A formal complaint has been filed and we are awaiting our refund-
Beware Homestar vacations in the orlando/Kissimee area of Florida are a fraud!
Date Added: Jun 22, 2008
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| 14. |
vacation by owner--deposit not refunded as stated in contract
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I rented this home for four months during the 2007/2008 winter season. With a $1000.00 US security deposit partially refundable according to the contract which states, "within 15 days after tenant has vacated the premises, returned keys and provided Landlord with a forwarding address, Landlord will refund security deposit less any costs associated with unusual wear and tear, missing items, excessive electric and water use, damage to property, etc. Landlord will inspect property, conduct an inventory and notify tenant in writing of any issues that may result in deductions from the security deposit. Landlord agrees to be responsible for the payment of all utilities, including electric up to $125.00 us dollars, Water up to $45.00 and all cable, lawn & normal monthly pest control." After the time period stated in the contract I attempted to contact Ms. Hemlak via email - the original email address I had came back undeliverable. Fortunately I knew her business name and was able to look up her website and subsequently find an email address. Thereafter the email correspondence from Ms. Hemlak clearly stated that I was entitled to a refund of approximately $480.00 US--this was after the portion of the utility expenses I was responsible for was deducted. Ms. Hemlak did not indicate that there were any other deductions and said she would be sending the refund. I did not received anything. After a reasonable time period I telephoned Ms. Hemlak - the original phone number I had was disconnected, but I had her business number. Contacting her once again - she said she was sending the refund the next day. Nothing. Now when I call the business number I only get voice mail and the messages I have left produced nothing. I have also sent numberous emails to no avail. I hope this heads-up helps someone else from becomming a victim like I have. Although this complaint is about an amount under $500.00 US it is my $480.00 US and I am entitled to it. I do not take lightly being treated in this manner. It is a sad testimony towards Ms. Hemlak that after giving her over $8000.00 US for this rental, she refuses to refund me what I am entitled to.
Date Added: Oct 12, 2008
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| 15. |
Held prisoner in my vacation rental
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I rented Sunset Retreat on St George Island, Florida. There were 4 people to stay at this house for the week. 2 of the 4 of us are disabled. This house has 4 floors. This rental offered an elevator for special needs renters.
We would have never rented this home with so many floors and stairs to climb if it did not have an elevator. On our 2nd day in the home, I got stuck in this elevator between floors for over an hour when the elevator stopped working. We repeatedly called the emergency maintinance number Collins Rental provided and there was no answer.
Eventually after moving this elevator inch by inch with a manual emergency pump, my husband and brother in law were able to lift me out. We again made numerous calls in an attempt to get the elevator repaired with no luck or concern from Collins Rentals.
Now with the elevator not working, 2 out of the 4 of us were stuck on the middle floor, as we can not climb stairs. We had to eat, sleep and spend 5 days out of our week on this middle floor. We could not go out to sight see, or enjoy the beach or fish on our private dock. We were litterally prisoners in this house without an elevator! The floor we were stuck on had a screened in balcony so we had hopes to at least be able to sit outside to enjoy the view and fresh air. No such luck...all of the screens were torn out from a storm and had never been replaced. Staying bayside, the mosquitoes were thick and very hungry and it was unbarable to be outside unless you were sheltered from the mosquitoes. We again made several requests to have the screens fixed as well and that also fell on deaf ears. Collins Vacation rentals told us that the owners refused to pay a repairman to make these repairs since they owned a construction company and could make the repairs themselves. Since the owner and his construction company would not be in our area for at least 2 weeks, we again were out of luck!
Collins Rentals on St George Island did not care, nor would they even try to repair this elevator. They also would not refund our money or even discount the rental so we could leave this home for a different rental that would accomodate the disabled members of our group of 4.
We even tried to reach the Home Owners directly and they would not return our calls. After doing some research on the owners of this vacation rental Sunset Retreat we found out that they also own a very large Construction Company as well as many other rental homes. We have been told that the owners also own an Electrical business as well (although we can not confirm this) and also build and sell new homes and build new subdivisions through out the St George Island area.
One would think with all the money these owners of this property make through their electrical company, realty company, construction company etc...that reparing this elevator should not have been an issue. A refund would not have been an issue. One would also think that Collins Rentals of St George Island would be more concerned with their customers and at the very least give them what they have paid for.
Myself and my husband and my sister and brother inlaw are not wealthy people. We saved our money for the entire year to fund this vacation. The name of this company that owns the rental that ripped us off is Meeks Construction and Development and their phone number is 850-575-1639
We stayed August 16 through the 23rd but left on the 22nd. This place operated by Casey Meeks, Jimmy Meeks senior, and Jimmy Meeks junior. Please help me in my crusade to make everyone aware of how Collins Rentals in St George Island does business as well as how Meeks Construction treats ordinary folks like us.
Jimmy Meeks Senior is the owner of this property. Please call this number 850-575-1639 and give your opinion about this situation.
Date Added: Oct 22, 2008
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