- Report: #357075
Complaint Review: Izumi Von Hardenberg - Vacationhomerentals.com - Newburyport Massachusetts
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Izumi Von Hardenberg - Vacationhomerentals.com
29 Water Street, Suite 208 Newburyport, 01950 Massachusetts, U.S.A.
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Izumi Von Hardenberg - Vacationhomerentals.com Apartment Landlord Travel website RIPOFFS!!!BEWARE!! Newburyport Massachusetts
In April, I sent Ms. von hardenberg a deposit for an apartment in NYC. We were going down for the US Open Tennis Tournament, staying 5 nights. I found the apartment at the following link:
www.vacationhomerentals.com/34620
Notice how the listing does not come up now? Anyways, I sent the deposit via Paypal. I never received a rental agreement or any other "official or professional looking correspondence". I did receive an email saying that I should call another man on his cell phone within a week prior to my arrival. Oddly, I even got an email from the landlord about 6 weeks ago, asking me how many people were in my party, when I would be arriving, and what apartment I had rented!!
I sent Ms. Von hardenberg an email today, saying that I had to cancel the trip due to the fact that my wife was ill and had to have an operation in the next few days. She replied that since our trip was within a month, that the DEPOSIT WAS NONREFUNDABLE. I had printed out the listing (from vacationrentals.com) luckily enough, and nowhere did it mention that deposits were non refundable. I also attempted to dispute the charge on Paypal, but to no avail.
I am only glad that I did not get down there with my ill wife, my dog, three kids (including a 6 month old) and just lost money. I suppose it could've been worse, but $500 is a lot of money. I have also sent several emails to vacationhomerentals.com, who I view as accomplices, since they were made aware of the problems with this woman from earlier reports on Ripoffreport.com. BEWARE OF THESE PEOPLE!!!!
Jeffrey
East Syracuse, New York
U.S.A.
www.vacationhomerentals.com/34620
Notice how the listing does not come up now? Anyways, I sent the deposit via Paypal. I never received a rental agreement or any other "official or professional looking correspondence". I did receive an email saying that I should call another man on his cell phone within a week prior to my arrival. Oddly, I even got an email from the landlord about 6 weeks ago, asking me how many people were in my party, when I would be arriving, and what apartment I had rented!!
I sent Ms. Von hardenberg an email today, saying that I had to cancel the trip due to the fact that my wife was ill and had to have an operation in the next few days. She replied that since our trip was within a month, that the DEPOSIT WAS NONREFUNDABLE. I had printed out the listing (from vacationrentals.com) luckily enough, and nowhere did it mention that deposits were non refundable. I also attempted to dispute the charge on Paypal, but to no avail.
I am only glad that I did not get down there with my ill wife, my dog, three kids (including a 6 month old) and just lost money. I suppose it could've been worse, but $500 is a lot of money. I have also sent several emails to vacationhomerentals.com, who I view as accomplices, since they were made aware of the problems with this woman from earlier reports on Ripoffreport.com. BEWARE OF THESE PEOPLE!!!!
Jeffrey
East Syracuse, New York
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Cautiousconsumer
Orange,California,
U.S.A.
Renters Need To Do Due Diligence
#2Consumer Comment
Tue, August 04, 2009
I am an advertiser on the website "vacationhomerentals.com" and think very highly of the website. It does sound like you might have dealt with a shady company in your rental process, but then you should have done your due diligence before renting. You should never send deposit money without signing a rental contract. My renters are required to sign a rental agreement and send it along with the deposit. This protects you as much as it protects the landlord. It also spells out the refund policy for the deposit. Because vacation rental property owners usually only own a small number of properties, (I own one), they cannot operate as if they are a hotel, allowing last minute cancellations due to illlness. My rental contracts show a 60 day cancellation policy, with the full deposit and rental monies refunded within this time frame. The deposit is refunded only if the cancellation is made within this timeframe. The options for a renter of a vacation home rental such as yourself is to purchase vacation cancellation insurance, or if you don't want to, to rent a hotel room, where you can cancel 24 hours in advance. In fact, after your blog, I will add a paragraph about purchasing vacation cancellation insurance to my rental contracts. The reason why PayPal didn't support your claim is because you had "no" documentation to support your claim, again, the rental contract you forgot to ask about. This is just bad business practice to send money anywhere without a contract or receipt to back it up. As far as "vacationhomerentals.com" website, they provide a service to both vacation home owners and renters. There is no way that they can screen all of the people who advertise. They do let renters know that it is their responsibility to check on rates and policies. They cannot guarantee the properties on their website, that is why the renters need to use due diligence. And as hard as you may find it to believe, there are also many people who try to scam and take advantage of vacation home owners who advertise their properties. I have had this happen several times and I have to screen who I will rent to. A few bad apples always give everyone a good name. "vacationhomerentals.com" did the right thing in deleting the rental ad for the property that you tried to rent. That is really as far as their obligation goes. I think you learned a valuable life lesson. Good luck in your next vacation rental. Cautious Consumer
