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We were promised a full refund but we’ve received nothing – and the host doesn’t reply
I used Vrbo to book a one-night stay at a flat in Hove where six of us were attending a family memorial service. Two days before our arrival, I was informed that the flat was no longer available and was offered an alternative. This turned out to be in a disgusting state. There were soiled and bloody sheets, rubbish and dirt everywhere, even a large knife inside the bathtub. There were also fewer beds than advertised.
We had to leave for the service before we’d got a response from the host. We were subsequently told we could use the property next door but when we returned at 1am we found the access code we had been given didn’t work. We ended up having to sleep in the filthy flat and, since the front door wouldn’t lock, we had to wedge it with a chair. We subsequently discovered that the place had been burgled three days before.
Vrbo promised us a full refund, but I’ve received nothing. It says I need to speak to Expedia. Expedia says I need to speak to Vrbo. The host doesn’t reply to any of my messages, or, I’m told, to Vrbo’s.
RA, London
The photos you took are gut-churning. I sincerely hope that the bloodstains copiously spattering the duvet of one bed are not related to the large kitchen knife in the bathtub.
Vrbo, part of Expedia, is astonishingly gung-ho. It got round to processing your refund “due to the inconvenience” as soon as I showed it your gallery of horrors, but that was exactly two months after you had initially complained. And it seemed unaware of the impact of spending the night, after a distressing family event, in an unsecured flat, smeared with the body fluids of strangers. In fact, it appeared to believe your host to be a jolly accommodating fellow.
“The host cancelled at the last minute, which is rare on our platform,” it says. “However, they did offer the guest an alternative property, which the guest accepted. While the new property was initially not clean, the host promptly sent cleaners once notified.”
That is a little misleading. The cleaner arrived the following morning when you were due to check out.
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The flat we booked with Vrbo had a bloodstained bed and a knife in the bath
