at what point is it false advertising? UPDATE: Owner threatening to sue me.

[SevenWonkas]

Occasional lurker, first time poster... Just perusing the boards and saw this thread. Thought I would bump it. I agree with some previously posters, that the biggest issue here is how the owner handled the situation....

 

[ConvenientTruth]

This is rather comical.....how much of a refund were you expecting....No vidya games and lack of grill that can be rented for about $50....

Before renting did you confirm those things were available?

Did you ask what games were available to ensure they were age appropriate for your child?

Do you own said systems at home? If so why not brings games with you? Why trust the owner would have something your children would want to play? Would you have complained if they has games your children did not like?

This seems like one of the lamest complaints possible and your own fault for not confirming certain things before renting.

How to resolve, file complaint, rent a grill and vow never to rent from them again.

 

[TheShea's]

What a great thread. Sorry for hte OP who had to have a lousy rental and even lousier owner who didn't tend to the issues.

And like another poster said upthread, I too read the negative reviews first when renting property or researching a hotel. Wade through the chronic complainers and you'll typically see some patterns and the "truth" of what a property is really like and how the owners/managers deal with issues.

And this should be a lesson to the owner. Don't create an alt and post opposing veiws on a review website. Your property and the negative reviews associated with it are just getting bumped to the top.

 

[njgrl622]

*bump*

O....M....G......

I started reading this thread and couldn't stop until I read it all!

 

[Foxxie52]

OMG! To think I missed Jeremy Kyle this morning! This thread makes up for it! Brilliant! BUMP! BUMP! BUMP!

 

[dsnycrzy]

I am speechless!!!! I have a teenage son & daughter as well as a 10 yr old daughter. When doing an agreement I was asked to list their names and ages. One would hope one of the reasons would be for gaming titles. My son is completely addicted to his PS3 so at the very least he would have brought his 1 game & microphone etc. But would have expected other titles there if it was advertised. As for the grill, I just looked as well & it is STILL in the pictures!!! I always check out the living quarters before I head to the local Walmart for groceries so I would NOT have brought back good for the grill. This owner & her attitude was all sorts of wrong & I would have wanted some money back! Her & Kathryn007 can split it since its not a big deal to her either.☺

 

[LikeSeriously]

Freedom of speech does not preclude you from being sued for libel. If you post something online that you have no proof of, then you could be held liable for false statements.

So far, the only thing she's told us about that can be proven is that there was no grill. If she has photographs of bugs, nail clippings and hair, then she can be comfortable posting those. If not, then tread lightly...

If I were this renter, I'd drop this and move on.

Actually, the bugs and bathroom problems are the only thing she doesn't have proof of. She has emails from the owner stating that they knew the games were stolen and did not bother to tell her that before her stay.

 

[connorlevismom]

Actually, the bugs and bathroom problems are the only thing she doesn't have proof of. She has emails from the owner stating that they knew the games were stolen and did not bother to tell her that before her stay.

- and the emails telling me they got rid of the grill with no plans to replace it.

- and the emails telling me she removed ALL advertising of the grill (clearly not).

-and the email telling me she was going to sue me if I wrote a negative review.

I kept everything and have no plans on getting rid of them. I don't trust this owner and would not put it past her to try and come after me at some point.

 

[mrsklamc]

And the crazy posts on this thread.

 

[princess aleya]

I just found your thread today. I can't believe this, I can't imagine what you guys went through there while on your vacation. It's a shame really, because a lot of people like myself base where I'm going to stay off of different reviews and pictures that are on line. I hate when people put old dated pictures on their sites to get you there and when you do it's a completely different story.

 

[fitmom3]

I had a bad experience at WH with a management company a couple of years ago. It makes me upset when I hear about this. We all pay money and deserve a nice holiday with customer service. This makes me not want to fork out money for a vacation. I did have a good experience the first time renting from Dave Robisnon. He was highly recommended on this board. I will only go with recommended owners.

To the posters that think the OP should have asked about the video games and grill. That is just nonsense! Why should you have to ask when it is listed on the site? Does this mean you have to ask if there is a king size bed, pool etc????? If the items are NOT included they should not be listed! That is 100% false advertising. OP I am 100% on your side!

 

[momofEAP]

I, too went to the ad and noticed that the grill and game systems were still there. BUT, when you click on them they both have notes. The grill said something to the effect that one will be rented for you. The systems say that you will need to provide the games. (I think that is what it said.) At least it seems that she has changed those. I never would have thought that it would be necessary to make sure that the mc would be available on week-ends! That just totally creeps me out! YUCK!

 

[hoff41]

Bumping again

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I do believe a bump is in order

 

[choppee]

wowzers! this thread is incredible! i rent from folks all the time and have always had great results. can you please let me know specifically the one to avoid in wh? thanks....

 

[robinb]

wowzers! this thread is incredible! i rent from folks all the time and have always had great results. can you please let me know specifically the one to avoid in wh? thanks....

Read the whole thread. The OP mentions the name along the way.

 

[jaykorf001]

I have been thinking a lot about this thread because it bothers me. Now, I can see being disappointed by the Playstation not having games, but honestly, I can't imagine that it would be possible to keep them from being stolen. My own son did not take very good care of games on disks, so how would vacationing kids treat them? That goes for the system remotes too ($50/each every time to replace?). The barbecue, well, they should quit advertising it.

But what gets me is this: I have been to many, many resorts and hotels where some great advertised feature wasn't working. For instance, we went to Cozumel and the hot tubs weren't heated/were broken. One trip to Orlando the water slide at our resort was broken. At another one the pool heat wasn't working. One place advertised three bedrooms but the third was barely larger than a closet and you couldn't even get the door all the way open because the bed was in the way. At one resort the spa/shower setup was like a death trap because the shower sprayed water all over the tile floor no matter what you did.

My point is, you will find a complaint at EVERY place you stay, but do you demand to be compensated or want your money back for it? Or is it maybe easier to just go after a private property owner and threaten to leave bad feedback and destroy their small business? I just don't think the fact that games and a barbecue were missing warrant this thread.

And if the barbecue HAD been there, who do you think would have cleaned it? I doubt anybody would, which is probably why it ended up in the trash. Unless they could find guests willing to pay an extra $20 cleaning fee for the barbecue?

I've read this entire thread (great stuff!) and several people have indicated they've rented at WH and games where always included. So this seems to be fairly common practice. It's the management company's responsibility to ensure all the games et al are present or charge the previous renter and replace them.

A grill would be a requirement if I were renting a home and I guarantee I would complain if it was missing.

But I think the OP's point is more how the owner handled these issues -- this far overshadowed the issues in and of themselves. I'm not sure what kind of refund I'd have asked for, if any, but I'd have brought these things to the owner's attention and would have been upset with how she handled the matters.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

BUMP. I am curious how this property is listed on Trip Advisor and what the homeaway house listing number is. I would like to go read the reviews others have posted on this property.

 

[mrsklamc]

It's easy enough to find if you google it- and sure, there are lots of positive reviews but they are almost all entered by the homeowner so you aren't getting a balanced picture. There are so many other good homeowners in WH there's no reason to risk it.

 

[sersee05]

Was looking through to research reputable management companies and came across this thread...

omg. best. thread. ever.