We booked a VRBO last week.

We booked this particular home on the premise that the listing included the amenities it advertised. We had to prepay 100%.

Turns out, the listing was misleading/misrepresented in a material way so we didn't end up staying there and I did not sign any contract.

When we called the 'host company' they pretty much said, "Sorry, no refunds."

And then they changed/updated/fixed the issue in their listing which proves that it was misleading...I kept the screenshots both before and after that demonstrate this beyond a shadow of doubt.

So, I reach out to VRBO that supposedly has a 'Book with Confidence" guarantee that explicitly cites 'material misrepresentation' as a trigger for refund. I provide the screen shots. I prove my case. And....VRBO says, "Sorry, you're agreement is with the host company. You have to work it out with them."

Long story short: Has anybody had success with clawing back their money in cases like this with VRBO?

I haven't had that experience specifically with VRBO but I've had a similar issue and it was pretty cut and dry with the credit card company. Submitted the dispute with my evidence and received the full credit back within 2-3 weeks. You've already attempted to remedy the situation with both VRBO and the person listing the property so just include that and you should be fine.

NastyNate said:

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I haven't had that experience specifically with VRBO but I've had a similar issue and it was pretty cut and dry with the credit card company. Submitted the dispute with my evidence and received the full credit back within 2-3 weeks. You've already attempted to remedy the situation with both VRBO and the person listing the property so just include that and you should be fine.

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Thanks, I am trying that route too. I've never had to ever dispute a CC charge (I guess I am lucky in that respect) but its my understanding that the merchant can make things difficult.

Doesn't seem fair for the bank to eat it when this was a VBRO issue. But that's probably the only way to get reimbursed. I'd report VBRO to the BBB and make sure to post a review and comment on the host page.

Why would the bank eat it? They will reverse the charge.

Dispute the charge. Provide the proof. As mentioned, the bank won't eat it; they'll charge it back to the merchant. The merchant can protest it, but if your cc is worth a damn, they'll side with you given you have the evidence. If you look at VRBO's own website, their primary advice to hosts on preventing chargebacks is to make sure the listing is completely accurate.

Then post reviews that describe not only the misrepresentation but also the shady behavior afterward.

If you don't mind sharing, what were these misrepresentations? Feel free to ignore if sensitive, like "stripper pole" or "resident gimp"

What was the name of the host company?

What city?

Not exactly the same but I did a charge back with amex at the water park in SPI cause a lot of the rides weren't open and got a full refund.

SouthTex99 said:

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Doesn't seem fair for the bank to eat it when this was a VBRO issue. But that's probably the only way to get reimbursed. I'd report VBRO to the BBB and make sure to post a review and comment on the host page.

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Just fyi, bbb does nothing. It's basically relying on bribes to pay for their rating, from my direct experience with them when I had a business. Had one complaint and they basically accepted money as a way to fix it. I said to pound sand to both them and the client, who was a complete dick (who I gave a refund to even though the issue was 100% on him, but I wanted him to go away, even though I shouldn't have given into the squeaky wheel approach). Maybe it's not actually how they function, but it's how they treat businesses. Which is poorly.

No one cares about bbb anyway. Completely worthless organization that I'm surprised still exists. They're a Yelp before there was a Yelp.

SteveBott said:

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Why would the bank eat it? They will reverse the charge.

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Yep. With a disputed claim the money is taken from the business direct. The bank eats nothing. I think they might still even get the merchant fees, but I could be wrong, so they're literally out nothing.

DannyDuberstein said:

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If you don't mind sharing, what were these misrepresentations? Feel free to ignore if sensitive, like "stripper pole" or "resident gimp"

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Its going to sound minor but....

If you've ever been to Port Aransas the big thing you do there is rent a golf cart to get around the fun part of town and the beach. We planned our trip around having access to beach cart to get around because we have multiple drivers and only brough one huge van which is impractical to drive around the beach and park in town.

The original listing said that the house came with two parking spots and one spot could be a 'golf cart' - which implies that golf carts can be used at the house obviously. It turns out, that the morning of the rental I find out that actually, no, we can't have a golf cart at this place to access town/the beach because the house is apparently beyond some magic road where carts are not allowed to pass by city ordinance.

I called the host company and said essentially, "Ya'll advertise this house as golf cart friendly so we plan everything around that and then you tell me morning of the trip via the last minute contract you sent in the fine print that we can't use a golf cart?" They said, "Oops. Sorry but no refunds. You should have known better!"

So I don't sign the contract and we last minute find a house that does allow carts on AirBnB and carry on with our vacation.

The kicker is that on the phone the host company person told me, 'The listing says you can't access the beach with a cart..." And while staring at my laptop I walked through it with her and proved that it didn't. And then, about an hour later, they updated/changed it to reflect that you can't use a golf cart. Luckily I took screenshots of before and after.

VRBO has a 'material misrepresentation' clause in their guarantee but so far I am hitting road blocks. The original 'dispute' people are in Malaysia and all they did was call the host company and take their side.

Aggie09Derek said:

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What was the name of the host company?

What city?

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Port Aransas.

"Starkey Properties"

Got it. Doesn't sound ticky-tack to me since it's an amenity that has a real impact to a trip

That doesn't sound minor to me. You wouldn't have chosen that property had you known it wasn't golf cart friendly. Ironically, the issue I referenced disputing with my CC company (ultimately Visa handles these) was related to a visit to Port Aransas. Sounds like you have documented everything but over document if you can. Will make it just that much easier for the CC dispute.

SteveBott said:

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Why would the bank eat it? They will reverse the charge.

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In real life they eat the charge more often than not. The merchant, in this case VBRO, would dispute a chargeback and they'd have all the fine print they need to win the case. Depending on the amount its not worth it for the bank to pass thru to the customer. They want the customer to continue using their card and earning interchange fees.

I do not know of any street in Port A that doesn't have some back road or beach access to drive a cart. It is true you cannot drive a golf cart on 361 south of Ave G, but there are plenty of other roads to get around. I agree this is a big misrepresentation if in fact this rental is only accessible from 361. Good Luck - I hope you get your money back.

SouthTex99 said:

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SteveBott said:

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Why would the bank eat it? They will reverse the charge.

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In real life they eat the charge more often than not. The merchant, in this case VBRO, would dispute a chargeback and they'd have all the fine print they need to win the case. Depending on the amount its not worth it for the bank to pass thru to the customer. They want the customer to continue using their card and earning interchange fees.

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This just isn't true. Chargebacks are taken directly out of the merchant's account and they would have to dispute to win the chargeback. That clearance rate is awful, something like 10% of all chargebacks are overturned. Even if they do get their **** together to fight it, it isn't even a 50/50 proposition. Not to mention typically paying attorney fees to fight it.

In those cases where the chargeback is reversed, very rarely would a credit card company put it back on the account of the cardholder. That's when they would eat it.

These numbers are from my experience working with both retailers and with a large hotel chain. This ratio has moved even more in favor of consumers over the years.

Does VRBO have contracts? You've mentioned not signing one a couple of times and I don't recall having contracts on places we've rented.

Update:

So - my original complaint was through the 1-800 # which was pretty useless. I was talking to somebody on the other side of the globe who was essentially reading from a script. They told me I was out of luck...

Then, through putting VRBO on blast in social media, I got a response from an elevated 'social media response' team who listened and understood the issue at least and agreed to refund me the VRBO booking free which is like $149 but told me any refund beyond that was the host company's discretion.

Finally, I went on LinkedIn and identified the names of the appropriate executives that oversee 'customer experience' and I mailed them an old school letter. That got me a phone call from an 'executive response' team that, drum roll, agreed to provide a full refund.

I think many people would have given up after the first 'no' but glad I didn't.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

(also, it pays to be firm and clear but not emotional. a lot of folks would have gone the cussing/screaming route and I think a well reasoned letter with accompanying documentation went a lot further).

great outcome.

Glad you were successful and I agree 100% about approach. Remove emotion, always keep a professional tone, stick to facts, and be persistent. Many have trouble with all of those and go from 0 to Karen in 4.2 seconds.

Never underestimate the power of a handwritten letter.

Nom de Plume said:

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Never underestimate the power of a handwritten letter.

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So true 'Nom de Plume.'

The Pen is mightier....