Vacation rental host doesn’t respond
DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER >>
I reserved a vacation rental in San Antonio, Texas, through VRBO this spring and paid my deposit and fees. I made the final payment in July. But when I attempted to contact the owner to arrange access, several emails and phone messages went unanswered. I contacted VRBO by email, phone and certified letter. Today, I was told by phone that in order to receive a refund, I must show up in San Antonio and prove that I cannot access the property. Since there is no response from the owner, I can’t risk traveling there with my family and small grandchildren, when there’s a possibility we won’t have anywhere to stay.
I called back today and asked to speak with a supervisor, but was told there is no supervisor. My vacation has been ruined. I’d like to get a full and immediate refund for my vacation rental. Can you help me?
— John Duncan, Longwood, Florida
ANSWER >> If you don’t have a vacation rental, then VRBO should offer a full refund without making you show up in San Antonio.
VRBO offers a Book With Confidence Guarantee that, as the name implies, is supposed to assure you that your rental will be available when you arrive (www.vrbo.com/info/aboutus/legal/terms-conditions/bookwithconfidence). But read the fine print: The guarantee applies only if you’re wrongfully denied access to the subject property at the start of or during the rental term “as the result of the intentional and/or wrongful act of the advertiser” and if your deposit is not refunded. That’s a lot of ifs. Technically, VRBO was correct in telling you to show up and get denied. But that wasn’t a reasonable request, since you were traveling to San Antonio with your entire family. What would have happened if the owner had maintained silence?
Oh, and that business about there being no supervisor to talk to? That’s nonsense, too. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the key VRBO executives (it’s owned by HomeAway) on my consumeradvocacy site: www.elliott.org/ company-contacts/homeawaycom/.
I notice that a lot of your communication with VRBO was by phone. While you recorded the conversations — good for you! — it probably would have been more efficient to stick to writing. That creates a nice paper trail that can easily be forwarded to a company executive, or to me.
After I brought your problem to VRBO’s attention, it not only refunded the $4,015 you’d spent, but also covered the cost of a new rental. It turns out your original rental had been tied up with some unexpected litigation — an understandable reason to deny your rental, but still no excuse to remain quiet.
DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER »
My husband and I paid $3,000 for round-trip tickets on United Airlines last year for a flight from Washington to Zurich. We also took out a travel insurance policy. Because of a post-surgical medical issue, my husband could not travel. At that time, we contacted United and were told that we could reuse the tickets as long as we flew before Dec. 24, 2017.
We are now planning a trip abroad for this December. My husband called United in late July to rebook our tickets. Much to our shock, the agent said that although we had to fly before Dec. 24, we had to have booked our tickets by July 19, the anniversary of our initial purchase date. The agent would not budge. I am just sick over this. We both have been frequent United flyers for more than 10 years; my husband has racked up approximately 500,000 miles.
We have tried to resolve this by contacting United, including an email to the CEO, but to no avail. We can’t even get anyone to discuss the matter with us. Even if the one-year-fromdate-of-purchase rule applies (which, again, we had no idea of this policy), we called less than two weeks after that. This, coupled with our frequent-flyer status and the fact that the agent with whom we discussed the rebooking policy last December did not mention this policy, creates a situation that we feel United should at least compromise on. Any help or advice you can give us would be most appreciated.
— Susan Chibnall, Fairfax, Virginia
ANSWER » I’m sorry your tickets expired before you could use them. United should have told you about the deadline. Instead, the representative you spoke with either wasn’t clear or you didn’t understand what the employee said.
I’m a little bit surprised you weren’t aware of the policy, which is an industry standard. Both you and your husband are frequent United customers, and this can’t be your first canceled flight. Still, the burden was on the airline — not you — to be clear about any rules. If an employee told you that you had a full year, United should have been true to its word. You shouldn’t have to research an employee’s promise to ensure that it’s the truth.
You say you reached out to United’s CEO, and while that’s a good strategy, you might first try a few lowerlevel contacts who have more direct control of customer-service issues. I list their names, numbers and email addresses on my consumer-advocacy site: www.elliott.org/companycontacts/united-airlines.
After I provided you with additional contact information, you got in touch with the right person at United. Not only did the airline allow you to use your tickets, but it also connected you with a ticket agent who helped you book your trip to Switzerland. The agent was “gracious, calm, polite and reassuring,” you told me. “Truly excellent customer service.” That’s what I like to hear.
Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org, or email him at chris@elliott.org.