- Report: #974694
Complaint Review: [email protected] - Internet
Reported By:
RetiredLawyer -
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
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Author Not Confirmed
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Internet, United States of America
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[email protected] Dan Ursu, London UK and Veslui Romania luxury beach house FL vacation rental internet
We responded to a Vacation Rentals By Owner VRBO #320991 via email for a Florida luxury beach house for a family vacation. Dan Ursu contacted us by email and offered the house for less rent than the website showed, but we were to wire transfer the money within 72 hours to a London Barclay bank account. Only then would he provide the 'property access data' and name of the local contact. Being suspicious of this demand for all the rental fee up front to be wired to England, I contacted the Fraud Unit of VRBO . They confirmed that the whole thing was a scam. We have rented for many years with VRBO, and have never had a VRBO website 'phished' so that without our knowledge, our legitimate inquiry to VRBO instead was diverted to Dan Ursu and his fraudulent operation in Vaslui, Romania.. (and by the way Dan advertises that he is a web site designer...) My advice: do not ever send any payment whatsoever on a VRBO or HomeAway rental without calling the Fraud unit to make sure you are not dealing with a crook. And did I mention that Ursu fraudulently advertised the house as being in Florida, when in fact it is in Alabama ?? I am so glad VRBO's fraud unit saved us from flying 6 people to this nonexistent vacation house in the Florida keys...
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Cairn
Alexandria,Virginia,
United States of America
Owner of VRBO LIsting #320991
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Fri, November 30, 2012
I am the owner of the property listing # 320991 my name is Cairn Boucher. VRBO/Homeaway and I are doing whatever we can to prevent this from happening again. The person who complained offered some very good advise for all renters. Always talk personally to the person who is handling the reservation. The phone number should be on the website. Verify the number with any number given in the email communications. Verify by other means that the property exist and be very weary of anyone asking you to wire money overseas for a rental in the US. There are some US properties owned by foreign people but they usually have a US booking agent. Anyone renting property in Florida is required to have a license to do so. Ask for their license number and verify it with the Florida Business site. The site should give a mailing address for that person as well.
My houses are actually located in the Marathon area of the Florida Keys. My Company name is American Paradise. Every email I send out has my full name and personal website as well as 2 telephone numbers.
To clear up some confusion: In November VRBO & Homeaway was merging their database of houses. Both websites had their own numbering systems and there were overlaps. For a short while my Florida Keys house advertised on Homeaway as property ID #320991 showed up as a house in Alabama. This problem has now been fixed.
The scammer used the name Dan Ursu as the name for the bank account in London at the Barclay Bank for the wire. The person behind this is just trying to scam unsuspecting people. As an owner this distresses me greatly. I do not take a reservation unless I have spoken with the person sometime during the reservation process. My toll free "888" can also be verified through 800 long distance directory assistance as belonging to American Paradise based out of Virginia. For those interested in my properties, you can confirm my ownership of any of my properties through a search of Monroe County real estate records, calling the Chamber of Commerce of Marathon, or talking with the City of Marathon licensing department.
