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

[connorlevismom]

We are staying in a home in Windsor hills and it was a home we picked based on space and ammenities. When we arrived we noticed three things. In the pictures there was a grill and when we got here there was no grill. It advertised a PS3 and there was not one to be found. It said there was an XBOX 360 and there was-but no games. I contacted the owner about it and she said that the grill was gross so they removed it. The xbox had games but someone stole them and they decided not to replace them. She did not mention the PS3 but I assume the same thing happened to it and they did not buy a new one.

I kind of feel like this is false advertising sine we wanted this place especially because of the two gaming systems. What do you think and would you ask for money back?

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Yes, I would ask a refund. If they don't want to pay to replace the things they advertise they need to quit advertising!

 

[loveysbydesign]

We have rented at Windsor Hills and Indian Creek many times and if that happened to us I would complain and ask for a partial refund.

 

[connorlevismom]

It really has been a hummed. We wanted the two gaming systems because our 8 year old son and my nephew who is 16 would want to play it. We also bought meat to grill but there is no grill!

How much of a refund would you ask for? The week is costing us $1600.

 

[connorlevismom]

It really has been a hummed. We wanted the two gaming systems because our 8 year old son and my nephew who is 16 would want to play it. We also bought meat to grill but there is no grill!

How much of a refund would you ask for? The week is costing us $1600.

I meant it has been a bummer. Dang auto-correct!

 

[robinb]

Yes, I would ask for some money back. They advertised the unit with certain amenities which are not there or not usable.

 

[softballmom3]

I, too, would ask for some type of partial refund. I would explain how you were mislead and com right out and ask. I believe if they were going to offer it voluntarily they would have done so when you questioned the advertised items being gone.....

 

[spiceycat]

agree - they need to change what they are advertising - and give you some money back.

sorry this happened to you

 

[robinb]

OP, did you ask? I would ask for a minimum of 10%.

 

[JANNYANS]

Did you mention to the owner that you had specifically booked their home because of these items? If so and they knew they were not there before your arrival then yes ask for a partial refund.

It can be difficult for an owner to sometimes keep up with things that go missing in their homes -their cleaners may not be the same ones every time and may not know what should or shouldn't be there so they won't report items missing which means the owner can't replace them .

 

[TinaElmerRh]

Can't help with the gaming systems missing, but we rented a place for December and we paid $60.00 to rent a grill for the week. I know it will be an extra expense for you, but maybe someone there will know where you can rent one for the week. The owner of the villa made the arrangements for us. If the owner advertised a grill there should of been one there, she could of made arrangements to rent one until she purchased a new one.

 

[connorlevismom]

OP, did you ask? I would ask for a minimum of 10%.

I have not asked yet, I will be doing so tomorrow.

Did you mention to the owner that you had specifically booked their home because of these items? If so and they knew they were not there before your arrival then yes ask for a partial refund.

It can be difficult for an owner to sometimes keep up with things that go missing in their homes -their cleaners may not be the same ones every time and may not know what should or shouldn't be there so they won't report items missing which means the owner can't replace them .

The owners were here just last week. I know this because the because she told me in one of her emails. We did find the PS3, but it also had no games and when I asked her about those, she told me those were stolen too and they were not going to replace them. She told me I could rent games from the clubhouse. We called the clubhouse to inqure about this and they said they did not have games for rent. Plus, I should not have to pay to rent games!

 

[connorlevismom]

Just wanted to give a quick update. I emailed the owner asking for a 15% refund. I have yet to hear back from her, so I am assuming that she is not going to give me one. What now, besides writing reviews everywhere I can, can I do about this? Should I just drop it?

I found her initial quote to me that actually listed the BBQ use as part of our charge to use to house, so in the least, they should refund us something because of that. You cannot tell someone that your fee is this and includes use of a BBQ for the week and then tell them that they got rid of it because it was dirty and your not going to replace it. I wish I would have found the original quote while I was there because I would have told her that she needed to rent one for the week for our use because you charged us for that.

 

[robinb]

Just wanted to give a quick update. I emailed the owner asking for a 15% refund. I have yet to hear back from her, so I am assuming that she is not going to give me one. What now, besides writing reviews everywhere I can, can I do about this? Should I just drop it?

I found her initial quote to me that actually listed the BBQ use as part of our charge to use to house, so in the least, they should refund us something because of that. You cannot tell someone that your fee is this and includes use of a BBQ for the week and then tell them that they got rid of it because it was dirty and your not going to replace it. I wish I would have found the original quote while I was there because I would have told her that she needed to rent one for the week for our use because you charged us for that.

Did you mention in your email that the BBQ was included in the contact? I would send them one more email with a copy of your contract and give the owner a specific time frame to get back to you. Maybe a week? I would also tell them if they don't get back to you, you'll have to give them a negative review. There is no reason not to tell them what the consequences are if they continue to ignore you.

 

[jensen]

The owners were here just last week. I know this because the because she told me in one of her emails. We did find the PS3, but it also had no games and when I asked her about those, she told me those were stolen too and they were not going to replace them. She told me I could rent games from the clubhouse. We called the clubhouse to inqure about this and they said they did not have games for rent. Plus, I should not have to pay to rent games!

Did the listing say that games were included? I wouldn't have expected them to provide games. I'm sure there is a redbox or other cheap game rental place nearby that you can pick some up if you didn't bring any from home.

I agree it's unfortunate that they didn't replace the grill. But, I think a $240 refund is high. Maybe $50-$100. Isn't there a stove in the kitchen that you can cook your meat on?

 

[connorlevismom]

Did the listing say that games were included? I wouldn't have expected them to provide games. I'm sure there is a redbox or other cheap game rental place nearby that you can pick some up if you didn't bring any from home.

I agree it's unfortunate that they didn't replace the grill. But, I think a $240 refund is high. Maybe $50-$100. Isn't there a stove in the kitchen that you can cook your meat on?

I would assume that if a game system is in the home, it has games. We rented 3 other homes and they all had game systems with games. If there are not games, it should be listed on the website and I would not have rented from them because I should not have to pay to rent games.

 

[robinb]

Did the listing say that games were included? I wouldn't have expected them to provide games. I'm sure there is a redbox or other cheap game rental place nearby that you can pick some up if you didn't bring any from home.

I agree it's unfortunate that they didn't replace the grill. But, I think a $240 refund is high. Maybe $50-$100. Isn't there a stove in the kitchen that you can cook your meat on?

I also think that $240 is too high, but it is a good place to start negotiations and settle for $100-$150.

 

[connorlevismom]

Here is my response from the owner.

The BBQ was an included extra, not charged for separately, and it was removed as it was old and unusable.

The games were removed by a previous guest over which I have no control. These also would have been a free inclusion had they not been stolen.

I'm not sure why you are telling me about another mgmt co and how quickly they responded to an issue such as pool heat not being switched on which would have been charged for as an extra and therefore needed immediate attention plus turning on given it can take up to 48 hrs for a pool to heat properly and should have been on for the morning of your arrival.

I am still not happy that hair & nail clippings were found in the master bath as I am 100% certain they were not there when we left + I had laundered the mats and anything undesirable would have washed out, but I am just glad there were no bugs, contrary to your initial report.

As far as we are concerned there is no refund as there is no reason for one. Had you paid for a BBQ and it had not been provided then I would refund the amount paid, same with the games. The cleaner came out on Monday morning to deal with the bathroom, that was the earliest she could come out.

I am just going to write her back and tell her that is fine, but expect to see negative reports from me about her home. She pretty much called me a liar (as there WERE bugs, but they were so gross that I spent an hour cleaning the house before I got fed up). We checked in on Saturday and I had to wai until MONDAY for someone to come out and clean. And they did not really clean. They came in with a broom and sweeped the bathroom floor and that was it. And don't tell me that you laundered the mats in the bathroom and you are 100% certain that there was no hair on them. I KNOW what pubic hair looks like and it was all over those rugs!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Sounds as if you have rented from a bad owner. If there are any online sites where you can review this property, I would be leaving some bad reviews. This woman really needs to work on her people skills.

 

[connorlevismom]

Sounds as if you have rented from a bad owner. If there are any online sites where you can review this property, I would be leaving some bad reviews. This woman really needs to work on her people skills.

Yes - they advertise on a lot of sites and I will be leaving negative reviews. In my quote from her it listed the price and that the price included tax/wifi/phone calls and use of a BBQ. I will that no matter if I paid extra for it or not, you quote that it would be there and it was not.