VRBO.com

Do not rent through VRBO.com! I rented and paid for a vacation home in Cave City, KY through VRBO.com for the last week of March. Two days before we were to depart, the owner of the property called and says that the home is not available due to "storm damage," but will refund my $1,100 which I paid for the rental. Two months later, still no refund, and the owner will not respond to numerous phone calls, emails, and texts. The listing mysteriously disappeared from VRBO.com shortly afterwards.

Multiple contacts with VRBO have been fruitless. They refuse to lift a finger to help. Just talking to a live person took forever. Their response was: "We are just the advertising agency, we are not responsible for the owners that list on our site." It was an expensive lesson, but I will never do business with VRBO.com again.

We confirmed the rental of the condo on 5/13/2012 with the owner by email. He asked us to mail deposit and when he received the deposit, he would send us info on key box to condo. On 5/16/2012, the owner emailed us and said he had rented it to someone else who had sent a deposit in. When I complained and told him he had accepted our confirmation, he said he was sorry but he takes more than one confirmation from people and uses first come first serve on the deposit. That is wrong and as far as I am concerned is a breach of verbal agreement. Don't rent from them. You are wasting your time. Now, we have to start all over again. I even made plane reservations. What a crock. Do not use these crooks.

My husband, daughter & I stayed at White Crane Court in Kissimmee, FL for one week back in March. I signed a rental agreement which quite clearly stated that the security deposit will be returned - well, I am still waiting! I have made several attempts to contact both the home owner & the management company, to no avail! The owner did not even bother to respond to my e-mails and the management company did not even have the courtesy to return my call. I find this to be despicable & unethical. Families save up their salaries in order to be able to go on vacation and something like this happens! I hope that no one else stays at this place and is subjected to the same treatment as my husband & I. The house itself wasn't even up to par, several tiles were broken & sharp on the bathroom floors - I did not complain, just kept quiet in order to try & have a pleasant vacation.

The owners and VRBO misrepresented themselves. Period. The water was undrinkable, the odor from the water coming from the sinks as well as the shower greeted everyone upon entering the "home". The owners left their belongings everywhere. The refrigerator was full of partially eaten food and drink. The owners left their shoes out in the master bedroom floor along with personal toiletries on the dresser. We lived out of our suitcases for 2 weeks because there was nowhere to put our things- both bedroom closets were filled with their junk as well, as all of the drawers in both bedrooms.

The house was filthy from the start - dirty dishes put back in the shelves, sand on the floor, and an outdoor shed that was piled with junk. It makes it very difficult to get to fishing rods that were supposed to be part of the rental experience. They only refunded us a partial amount of the security deposit because they said it took 13 hours to clean. That we are not surprised about. What a dump!

Called Shirley to make reservations. After she took all my information, she states that does not include taxes or cleaning fees. Took several call to get in touch with her. First stated wasn't available then stated was also stated that site says not including taxes and cleaning fees. This is not listed anywhere on the site. This is a switch and bait. I advise not to give out any information to this owner. A May Special - Any Week 1st- 28th $638 Total **Call Today ** . This is what is listed. Would not let me post without a date so put the date I spoke with her. Fall rates as low as $129.00 per night/ $800.00 weekly springs break rates - $195.00 nightly/ $1,295.00 weekly Spring rates as low as $149.00 nightly /$900.00 weekly summer rates as low as $169.00 nightly/ $1195.00 weekly. Nothing stating taxes and other fees. This is reported to VRBO.

We rented a condo in Daytona Beach Shores, pictures on the internet were fine. When we got to the condo, it was absolutely filthy. I had to virtually houseclean the place, there were broken screens,as well as, garbage disposal, dishwasher and coffeepot all broken. We did get the garbage disposal and dishwasher fixed after complaining. They should have paid us to stay in the place. Also, I find many property owners never return responses when you are inquiring about a property. I will never use VRBO again, it is a total ripoff.

In late August, we rented a home in Wildwood, New Jersey for a week with our handicapped son. Hurricane Irene hit the east coast the day we were supposed to travel there from Connecticut. The storm made it impossible to get to the house so we had to cancel. The landlord would only refund $380 out of $2,100 that we had paid out. VRBO would not help us out at all. They simply referred to their " terms and conditions policy". Being a third party provider was the excuse they hid behind. Do not book through this company! You have no recourse should anything go wrong.

My wife & I reserved this cabin, Snugglin Inn in Tennessee on 7/10/11 for 5 nights arriving on 12/27/11 until 01/01/2012. The owner charged our credit card $703.00 to reserve these dates, not a problem, but unfortunately we had to cancel and did so in writing and by phone on 10/6/11. The owner refuses to refund any of our money. We have disputed this with our credit card but the owner still refuses. The owner is stating that they didn't re-rent the cabin for these dates but their website clearly states that they did and it was unavailable for these dates. I have a print-out of this. The owner has clearly made double the money on this cabin for these dates and it is fraudulent and unethical.

I inquired about a home to rent through VRBO. They sent the my email of interest to someone other than the home owner. After emails, I thought were from the home owner, I rented the home and wired the $7,300 as stated on the web site and requested in the email. Only a week before the trip did we find out that all the emails had been internet fraud.

I rented house in August 2011 for January 2012, but had to cancel in September. The owner still won't refund and I came to find out the bank foreclosed on him. VRBO guarantee will not honor it and the owner was still allowed to advertise even though the property is now bank owned. The owner won't refund and the owner is in bankruptcy.

The place was great. It was only 2 minutes from Buckingham Palace but 5 months later I'm still waiting for our 250 British pounds deposit to be returned. I have been waiting and have written numerous emails to this fraud. The place has great reviews because VRBO only allows positive reviews. They do not allow for you to post anything negative about the deposit.

So despite this place being in a great location, I wonder how many other people have received their money? Lizzy **, a British agent for Westminster Holiday Homes has failed to return any money. She claims she has sent 2 checks and a wire transfer. She sent me a copy of a paper with no heading and some so-called information which was incorrectly entered.

My bank in the USA has not received any money. All of those named above are frauds. I told her I was going to report her to London police and she accused me of trying to cause harm to her and her family? She is crazy indeed. I think she gets some cheap thrill off of stringing people along. This is the worst thing someone can do. We will not be doing business with VRBO anymore. I have not received any of our deposit.

I made various inquiries pertaining to various properties in Park City, Utah. I received a reply from ** answering my question regarding a weekly rental rate and that the property was available for the desired dates. We continued to interchange messages and I proceeded to wire transfer the deposit of $3,282 on 29 Sept 11. The following day, I sent the provided contract signed, requesting a signed copy of owner returned.

On Monday, 3 Oct 11, I was concerned that I had not received any answer. And to my surprise, I received a communication sent by the owner (Linsly) advising me on the possibility of fraud. We spoke later and it turns out that she never received my initial inquiries made by VRBO; thus, the security problem started that moment.

I spoke to Diane at Support and sent her all the emails and the owner also sent an email with supporting documents confirming VRBO's security failure. I was told that today, I would receive a call with some probable help to solve this problem. We are a party of nine with purchased tickets. I need to get another house and work a reasonable agreement with VRBO.

The house we wanted (**) was recently rented and we cannot rent same. The owner very kindly offered another date and help us with the rental but we have purchased plane tickets that cannot be changed without considerable penalties, etc. I am very upset with the lack of support and communication from VRBO. Kindly request help! My cell phone number is **.

We rented a studio in Nice, France thru VRBO. The studio was dirty. We had no assistance from owner or agency. The front door was malfunctioning while we stayed there for 3 weeks. It was never fixed. I wrote a poor review through VRBO, which they never published. And they refused to alert the next poor soul that books that studio in Nice by the Negresco hotel. The studio is owned by Jorge Reis and the studio is misrepresented to say the least.

My husband and I rented a property listed on VRBO in Vancouver, the owner's name is Dan Beegan. We put up a $500 dedposit which he was supposed to refund to us within two weeks after our departure. It has now been two months and we have not received any money back. The property owner keeps coming up with excuses - at first he was busy, then the Canadian postal services were on strike etc. He stated that since he once had to wait for a refund for 6 weeks, it was normal for us to still be waiting.

I tried warning future travellers of the NO REFUND OF DEPOSIT situation by writing a review for listing #278990. VRBO denied my review because it has information that was not substantial and was unrelated to the property....??? Do they think that I would have stayed there if I had read a review by a prior guest warning that I might not get my money back??? And that two months after my vacation I will be feeling helpless and defrauded?

We normally book our vacation rentals through Vrbo and always have good experiences. This is one bad apple in the basket.

We liked a home listed in Vrbo but was directed to International Vacation Homes. We booked for the travel. All was fine and the home we rented was a luxuriously decorated home on hollywood hill overlooking LA. We had three teenage children. Though some part of the home was not clean and the internet was not working, the beauty of the home and the view compensated it and we didn't mind. However, trouble started when it was time to receive refund on the deposit.

I live in Asia and with the time difference, I had to stay up many nights, past midnight my time, to call and email IVH. Sometimes, I get through to the customer service but most of the times, I had to leave a message with the voicemail. Nobody called me back which I understand would be expensive, but email is free. I even wrote to John ** the top guy, who sent me the contract to sign, giving the company the benefit of the doubt but have not received a word from him.

I had to travel to LA and call the company and got to speak to the same customer service whom I had spoken to previously, and told her that I was in town and would report to the police. I drove to the office to get my check and cashed it immediately in the bank nearest to the office. I have been trying to find a way to complain to Vrbo but haven't found the way yet. I am still renting from Vrbo.

I am glad that I found this website and I hope that nobody else will fall prey to companies like International Vacation Homes/Travel.

There were absolutely no cockroaches at 7 Lake Avenue during the time our family occupied the residence. The prevailing opinion was that they probably left long ago because they couldn't stand the oppressive dirt and grime that infiltrated the entire house. This house simply is not being maintained at all. The owner has discovered that he doesn't need to put money back into maintenance, or even routine upkeep.

Renters are asked to sweep the house clean and launder the bed linens, and that appears to be the full extent of maintenance extended on the home. Showers and tubs were so rusted, moldy and unsafe (scalding leaks) that we preferred to shower outside in the cabanas.

Junk (behind the bar) and equipment (under the stairs) clutter the house. The stove is filthy and food left over from previous tenants remains in cabinets, pantry, and refrigerator. The lawn sprinklers don't work so the yard is weeds and sand; most of the decorative Hydrangeas and plantings have died. Bedrooms are supplied with a cheap lamp that doesn't work (even if it worked, there was no electrical outlet nearby).

Cable service (Comcast) randomly disappeared and restored itself, and the DVD player was so dirty that it jammed the disc after 5 minutes play. Mold and dirt cover the furniture adorning the back screened porch, in fact, we realized that the entire house was probably furnished with yard sale or dumpster-dived furniture. Bare wires trailed across the rear doorway and an amateur electricians project (live wires?) poked out of the wall in the back dining room. For this Rehoboth Beach rip off we paid about $1100 per day. The owner can get away with all this because VRBO apparently makes no effort to vet the owners, thus making VRBO part of the scam.

The family was going to rent vacation home from perpetrator. I sent her $200 deposit check in September 2010. I had to cancel vacation plans for May 12-19, 2011 which was 6 months from now. I sent e-mail to perpetrator on October 9th, 2010 to explain we would not be able to use home at that time. She responded with either change dates or lose deposit $$. They live in England and cannot be contacted there, but use above address for home business. Her e-mail address is Sandra **.

I want my deposit $200 back as I sent it in good faith and feel we have given her plenty of time to rent home to another party in the next 6 months.This is a violation to myself and family and ask for your help with my deposit being returned. Thanks for any help in this matter.

I rented a vacation home in Seattle, advertised on VRBO.com from July 28 to August 7, 2010. The name of the owner is John and Deborah **. I paid $800 in security deposit and pet deposit as a guest of mine was traveling with three small dogs. Upon arrival at the property, it was obvious that it was not as advertised. The owner was living on the first floor with no noise control, there were renters in the garage, none of the windows in the living space opened making the house hot and uncomfortable, the house smelled old and musty, floors were in bad condition, rodent droppings in the kitchen, and appliances were broken. As this was a family vacation, we decided to just make the most of our time and spent limited time in the property.

On July 31st, the owner contacted me to say that he needed an additional deposit for the pets (previously approved) that were also staying with us. I moved out of the property on August 7th (4 nights early as I was uncomfortable). Several weeks later, I received a letter from Mr. ** stating that he had withheld the entire $800 deposit for damage to a fork, coffee maker, scratch on doors, and a stained towel. When I contacted him for the itemized list of deductions (and requested estimates for repairs), he stated that he is not required to provide this as the property is not protected under Washington State tenant protection laws.

Furthermore, he also sent a photo taken from behind a bush of our small dog looking out the window. I cannot begin to describe how uncomfortable it makes me to know that he was taking photos of us through the windows during our stay and hate to think of other possibilities such as cameras set up in the house, etc. He says that the photo is evidence that the rental rules were broken and therefore he has the right to keep the entire $800 deposit. I honestly feel like this is a complete scam. He is well aware of the fact that I am active duty overseas (departing on Monday) and would have limited resources to follow-up with a small claims case as I am not in Seattle.

I feel like Mr. ** is seeking out opportunities to take advantage of out-of-town vacationers, knowing that follow-up is difficult from out of the area. VRBO.com has been very unhelpful. I have filed a formal complaint with their website as I feel other travelers need to be warned. I also tried to submit a review of the property, but sadly found out that all reviews on VRBO.com have to be approved by the owner. The owner of the property has now blocked all reviews on the VRBO.com website and VRBO has thus far refused to investigate and remove this scam from the website. As one person noted, "This is not a vacation home, but a scam artist trying to make next month's rent payment." I expected more from a reputable website such as VRBO.com.

Web-based company that does not screen who they are representing as owners to lease rental property. A woman, Gayle **, claimed to be an owner of a condo in Myrtle Beach that she was renting through VRBO. I provided payment on a condo for July 2010 and never heard from anyone again. There is no rental available to me and I am out of $700. The VRBO company is evasive and impossible to reach. You can not talk to a live person. The condo property, Ocean Forest Plaza in Myrtle Beach, allowed someone to advertise on their website a property that was not proven true. They should verify actual owners of properties or not allow use of their site as a referral. I would like my money returned but am unable to speak directly to anyone taking responsibility. I did file a complaint with the Myrtle Beach Police on 6/14/2010.

On March 24, 2009 at 6:15PM I telephoned again. William M stated to me the following: "Your husband called us at 8:30PM last night and disturbed us! I sneeze out more than $150.00 (what does that mean, cocaine?) We are now out of town and on vacation.. He hung up on me. My husband called again on March 26, 2009 and he spoke to William's wife, Melissa. She said, "I will look into it." (she prompty hung up on my husband).... Finally, we received a check for $150 on April 3, 2009 and I hope the check it good!

Last year i booked a 10 nights condo through VRBO.com for my honeymoon and paid the half of the rent, up in front. Then my fiance and i broke up and so he cancelled the flights so couldnt even take the holiday. AS soon as this happened i wrote to condo owner and he agreed to release the date and if the condo gets re-booked he would give some of my money back. The condo has been rebooked for 9 nights but he has not give my money. I wrote to the VRBO and they said they cant do anything and the case is considered to be closed.