Complaint Review: VRBO HomeAway

I recently reserved a condo in Big Sky, MT using the travel site VRBO.COM. This site lists vacation rentals by owner.

VRBO.COM also has an additional service where, for an additional $40 (or more) you gain protection if the person that posted the listing is a scam, doesn't return a deposit without cause, etc.

Well, after I returned from my vacation I did not receive my deposit back, and the owner of the condo was completely unresponsive.

I contacted VRBO/HomeAway in regards to their "Worry Free Guarantee" to submit a claim. They came back to me with a long list of things I had to do first before I could submit the claim. This includes a letter from my credit union they they were unable to recover any funds. I made the payment with a check, which cleared three months prior to this dispute. Obviously, anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together would know that once a check is cleared, unless it's outright fraud (stolen or fake check) its done. This is especially true after 90+ days. The bank would not provide me with a letter, as it's not even an option to dispute something like this.

I sent VRBO the terms of my checking account, which include check payment terms and dispute terms, but that was not good enough for VRBO.

VRBO will not honor their rental guarantee. So not only am I out the $200 deposit, but I am also out the $40 "Worry Free Guarantee".

I will continue this fight and update if there are any updates...