VRBO refund

[FUEGO]

0.6 miles from horrible hood to million dollar mansions? Guess that's part of the gentrification process. We have the equivalent here in Raleigh (where million dollar mansions only cost a quarter million or half million). Get stabbed or buy your drugs just a mere 2-3 blocks from your modern architecture masterpiece.

Seriously, those pics didn't look too rough at least for a day time stroll. Plenty of graffiti and black people, but graffiti = art and most black people aren't out to get you (though we all know those guys standing on the corner are probably selling drugs - we've seen The Wire). I'd probably walk through the area, perhaps stop in an esteemed check cashing place or liquor store and double check with the proprietor to see if the path to my eventual destination was safe and that I'd gotten off at the right subway stop. I'd be on guard but not worried about getting jumped.

I had to lol a little when I street-viewed the place from the VRBO link and saw a Rolls Royce sitting out front parked between two other late model luxury imports.

Tough call on this one, Utrecht. I definitely see the owner's point of view, and I can understand why they wouldn't put street view pics of the rough part of town that's 7-8 blocks away. Not mentioning "hey, take this subway stop/line, not that other one, and stay north of X street for the nicest areas" seems like the right thing for them to do. Is not disclosing it fraud or misrepresentation? I'm not sure I'd go that far. Some boarded up buildings, trash on the ground, black people and graffiti don't equal war zone to me.

If I put my own house on VRBO, and you got off at the wrong bus stop, you could probably take some ugly pictures of trash on the ground, some graffiti, minorities, overgrown yards, trashy lots, industrial areas, boarded up businesses, etc. I'm not sure I'd have to disclose any of that in my rental listing though. And I'd be mightily pissed if someone claimed fraud and requested a refund.

 

[FUEGO]

I'd try to at least get to the rental itself. At $180/nt for the rental, I could eat the cost of an uber round trip to the nearest safe subway stop each day if it turned out that the area was really straight up hood and genuinely dangerous. Maybe try to get a refund for the cost of the ubers if it was a case of misrepresentation and it really was in a horrible neighborhood.

I also want to point out that the true crime here is on the NW corner of Malcolm X and Macon St from Google street view. In the window of the corner store is a sign advertising $10.50 for a pack of cigarettes. Really? You could grow it and roll your own for that much. Highway robbery I say.

 

[Mulligan]

From google street view the place looks awesome. Might have to parachute in to get there safely.

I imagine a persons personal prospective comes into play on who is right or wrong. I am from a small rural town. Whenever I go to a big city, I stay miles away from areas like the posted pictures. I am just too old to take unnecessary risks, perceived or real.


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[RunningBum]

I don't know, if you're hauling some luggage, I can see where you could feel like a target since you'd look like a tourist. Not sure how many taxis are just hanging around waiting for fares either, or how many uber drivers would be willing to go there.

 

[Rick_Head]

I'd try to at least get to the rental itself. At $180/nt for the rental, I could eat the cost of an uber round trip to the nearest safe subway stop each day if it turned out that the area was really straight up hood and genuinely dangerous. Maybe try to get a refund for the cost of the ubers if it was a case of misrepresentation and it really was in a horrible neighborhood.

I also want to point out that the true crime here is on the NW corner of Malcolm X and Macon St from Google street view. In the window of the corner store is a sign advertising $10.50 for a pack of cigarettes. Really? You could grow it and roll your own for that much. Highway robbery I say.

I started to edit and reply. Them I realized it doesn't matter. Manhattan is not the world. NYC is a small community, and who else GAF?.

 

[rodi]

I was under the impression that short term rentals for *most* apartments was illegal in NYC. I've stayed away from VRBO and Airbnb in NYC because of this. Instead I've rented "suites" in hotels... An example would be the Beacon Hotel - where you can rent "hotel rooms" that have kitchens.

Rentals for less than 30 days is illegal for most condos and apartments that are not hotels. It's only legal, as I understand it, if there are 2 units or less (SFH) in the building. Buildings with 3 units or more can't be rented out on VRBO or Airbnb, legally. Those sites get around it by having the owner certify that it is a legal rental.

New York City: Vacation Apartment Rentals - TripAdvisor

Answers for New Yorkers Concerned or Confused About the Illegal Hotel Law | NY State Senate

It seems that the (possible) illegal aspect of the rental might be in your favor...

 

[Texas Proud]

The one thing that I will say is that in NYC a few blocks can be a big difference....

When I was there, my first place was downtown Manhattan..... you did not want to get caught at night near the center streets... but near the water was good... I can see where the wrong stop can make someone take pause....

This is a tough one...

 

[FUEGO]

I started to edit and reply. Them I realized it doesn't matter. Manhattan is not the world. NYC is a small community, and who else GAF?.

GAF? The only acronym definition I found for that was gay as f*** and I don't think it makes sense in this context.

 

[utrecht]

I think GAF is "Gives A F..."

 

[StuckinCT]

Sorry to hear bout this. We had a similar experience with a vacation property in Maine. We took pictures- mold, unfinished electrical work, peeling paint etc and scheduled a hearing with small claims court in their hometown, I settled with their attorney for approximately 66% of the rental amount. Good luck.

 

[utrecht]

We've used VRBO, AirBNB and HomeAway a total of 4 times. 3 times were a disaster. One time (also NYC) was great. We wont be using them ever again. Of course we've had some bad luck with hotels also. I posted already about the hotel in Wash DC that broke the wheel off of my suitcase and did nothing about it. Luckily Macys took care of me and I now have a better set of luggage.

I sent an email to the owner telling him that if we don't get a full refund we will be reporting him to the NY Attorney General, the Housing Authority, and anyone else who investigates illegal apt renting in NYC. I had no idea it was illegal. Thanks, Rodi! I also mentioned that the credit card company may not be too happy with him using their services promoting an illegal activity. All he has to do to avoid any of this hassle is give us a refund. I'll let you know what he says when he responds.

 

[Cobra9777]

We've used VRBO probably 6-7 times. Always a very positive experience. The key is to extensively Google-stalk the place... the neighborhood, the owner, the neighbors, read reviews on multiple sites, research the reviewers, read the owner's response to bad reviews, "drive around" the neighborhood on street view, look at Bing birds-eye view, etc, etc... every piece of information you discover should lead to another google search. It's absolutely amazing what you can learn in about 30 minutes of Google-stalking. We've avoided several places based on this, even when the ad itself looked amazing. It is a little time-consuming, but well worth it IMHO. Caveat emptor.

 

[mystang52]

I moved out of Brooklyn 40 years ago. Back then that area was sketchy at best, downright scary at night. Many of Brooklyn's neighborhoods have gone through tremendous positive changes since I left, but nevertheless I would not stay there.
I never used VRBO or similar entities, preferring traditional hotels. But from what I've read here, I suggest to OP he try to negotiate a reasonable settlement; maybe half. I'm not a lawyer, but it appears the owner has some legally viable "defenses."

 

[utrecht]

I moved out of Brooklyn 40 years ago. Back then that area was sketchy at best, downright scary at night. Many of Brooklyn's neighborhoods have gone through tremendous positive changes since I left, but nevertheless I would not stay there.
I never used VRBO or similar entities, preferring traditional hotels. But from what I've read here, I suggest to OP he try to negotiate a reasonable settlement; maybe half. I'm not a lawyer, but it appears the owner has some legally viable "defenses."

We've exchanged several emails today and the owner insists he will refund only the cleaning fee which is $99. Nothing more. At this point I agree that we are partly at fault for getting off at the wrong stop, but so is he for not telling us which stop is best since he knows there are some very bad areas nearby. We had no idea about that at all so we just got off at what looked like the closest stop which is what anyone would do. I'll let the credit card company do their investigation.

 

[utrecht]

We got a letter in the mail today from the credit card company stating that our dispute has been resolved in our favor. All charges along with any finance charges related to this bill have been reversed, but the charges could be reapplied to our bill if they are determined to be valid due to additional information provided by the merchant.

Since they used the words "additional information", that sounds to me like they have already got the merchant's side of the story and the dispute is settled. Thoughts?

It happened pretty quickly which is the only reason I wonder about it.

 

[Texas Proud]

We got a letter in the mail today from the credit card company stating that our dispute has been resolved in our favor. All charges along with any finance charges related to this bill have been reversed, but the charges could be reapplied to our bill if they are determined to be valid due to additional information provided by the merchant.

Since they used the words "additional information", that sounds to me like they have already got the merchant's side of the story and the dispute is settled. Thoughts?

It happened pretty quickly which is the only reason I wonder about it.

Or the merchant has not yet provided any info.... and might not...

I do not know if I stated this in my previous post... I 'won' a case that I had protested... but 6 or so months later they sent me a letter stating that the charges were valid and would be reinstated.... they only gave me a few days to pay (it was AMEX)... I was about to leave the country and got really ticked off... I called and got someone who actually could follow what I was saying and told them to go through what I had submitted and they could see that they had been paid... they put the charges through 3 times on 2 credit cards but would not agree that I only owed one of them....

She got it and said that it was final in my favor and she would make sure of it...

So, for now, all is good.... do not worry.... but keep all the info you have in a file just in case...

 

[rodi]

I agree, keep the info.

We had a similar cc response when we protested a Pep Boys repair center bill when they failed to fix a leak they had caused on an earlier repair (and lied about replacing the parts.) We had the leak (and parts that weren't replaced, replaced) at a [-]st[/-]dealership and filed the dispute with the CC. A week or so later they told us they were approving our claim, pending further info from the merchant. We never heard back and that was about 6 months ago.

 

[Huston55]

Or the merchant has not yet provided any info.... and might not...

Based on our recent CC dispute and the quick CC company response, I'd guess this is the case, and it's possible the charges could be reinstated upon completion of their investigation. This is pretty standard CC company procedure.

In our case, we got a second letter from the CC company stating the "final" determination was in our favor.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Now if you closed the cc account the visa member bank and the merchant would be SOL if they changed their minds

 

[FUEGO]

This thread is making me think it's worthwhile to pick a nit more often if I'm not absolutely happy with the service or goods from somewhere.

 

[utrecht]

This thread is making me think it's worthwhile to pick a nit more often if I'm not absolutely happy with the service or goods from somewhere.

If you are unhappy with goods you just about always return them. Service is different, and in this case I didn't even use the service. Using a service and then trying to get your money back because you were unhappy with it would be a whole different ballgame.

 

[Alan]

Now if you closed the cc account the visa member bank and the merchant would be SOL if they changed their minds

I'm not sure about that. In the past both myself and my son have cancelled cards but have had unexpected activity long after the card was closed. In my case it was my doctor's office who refunded a balance to a card that had been closed for 18 months. (I had to call the CC company and request a refund which came via check)

With my son it was Norton or MacAfee who successfully charged his annual renewal fee to a card he had closed. (It was a legitimate charge, he had simply forgotten to move it to an open card).

 

[FUEGO]

I'm not sure about that. In the past both myself and my son have cancelled cards but have had unexpected activity long after the card was closed. In my case it was my doctor's office who refunded a balance to a card that had been closed for 18 months. (I had to call the CC company and request a refund which came via check)

+1 to this. Since I'm in the credit card churning game, I change cards a lot. I've had multiple refunds sent to closed card accounts and had to request a refund of the credit balance on the credit card.

 

[mn54]

With my son it was Norton or MacAfee who successfully charged his annual renewal fee to a card he had closed. (It was a legitimate charge, he had simply forgotten to move it to an open card).[/QUOTE]

How can you have a charge on a card that has been closed? Wouldn't the charge not be accepted? How can you be billed on a closed account and would you be responsible for the charge?

 

[Alan]

With my son it was Norton or MacAfee who successfully charged his annual renewal fee to a card he had closed. (It was a legitimate charge, he had simply forgotten to move it to an open card).

How can you have a charge on a card that has been closed? Wouldn't the charge not be accepted? How can you be billed on a closed account and would you be responsible for the charge?

Trust me, you can. (or at least you could a few years back).

On a slightly different tack, if you have an arrangement with a company that takes money out of your bank account on a scheduled basis then you cannot cancel that arrangement at your bank, you have to do it through the merchant. I found that out the hard way as well (A few years back the UK changed its laws that now allows a person to cancel a standing charge at their bank without having the merchant do it).