Please Please help, am I being scammed?

[MaMa3Princess]

Ya-HOO

We love happy endings and please post a review. THat house may be perfect for me and my sis-in-laws family!!!

W

 

[LOLA2]

Will do! - and once again thank you to all for your support!!

 

[wisbucky]

Dear Lola,
We do have a resveration for you under the name of [EDITED BY WebmasterPete - No personally identifiable information on the open forums please - especially not real names]. When I send out emails I always send myself a copy and put it in the guest's file. To date there are 15 emails to and from you. One of the emails explains that you do not need to pay in full untill 8 weeks before arrival but you said you wanted to pay early even tho the security deposit was all that was required at the time.
The last email contained a receipt that I have emailed two times to you and even the directions and door/alarm codes that I normally do not sent untill a month before because you wanted to know how soon you would get your info package. If my email is undeliverable my server sends me back a notice which never has happened in this case. My phone number and email are not only listed on my website but on all the booking forms as well. My phone is on 24/7.
I do not understand why you chose not to call me if you thought there was a problem. At this time since there is such a lack of communition I feel we should return your payment in full so you can find another home to rent.

In your email you said not to worry because my site will not get a bad name and that probably more people went to our site because of you. Well I disagree with that considering that the question that you asked was whether you were being scammed.
We work very hard to make sure that our guests have wonderful vacations in our homes and our guest books are all filled with positive comments.

I would appreciate your clearing this matter up on the DIS website and let me know how you would like to proceed.
Kindest Regards,
Pam

We do not normally stay off site but have considered it in the past. After seeing that Pam was willing to respond on these boards to this ordeal I feel very confident in pursing her homes to rent. Thanks Pam for going the extra distance and clearing this all up on the boards. I am sure you have gained trust and probably many potential renters here.

 

[LOLA2]

Here are two really cool houses also, I would like to try them at somepoint, but a little expensive.

http://www.mickeysmaingatemanor.com/
http://www.minniesmaingatemanor.com/


Here is where we are staying - i'ts with the kids fireman room.
http://www.dsnyhomes.com/

I think we made a good choice.

 

[Rpsemont]

Lola,

Glad it seems that everything is working out. As an item of note, and in response to your original concerns, I thought I would share a little story.
A few years ago I rented points from someone here on the DIS and we have stayed in touch and even gotten together at WDW a couple times.
This past winter, I e-mailed him to see if they were going to be there the same time as us. Got no reply. A couple weeks later tried again. No reply.
Came back from our trip and tried again. No reply. Then one day on my cell phone voice mail is a message from him asking if I'd been getting his e-mails! That he had responded to all of mine. I had him send me another e-mail and send a copy to yahoo address I have. I discovered that his e-mails were going directly into a deleted items folder. I had the MIS dept at work (Since it was my work e-mail that was blocking them) check into it and they couldn't figure out why it was happening. Ultimately we had to remove some filtering rules in order for his e-mails to get through. I still don't know why this made a difference, since I had those same rules in place last year when his e-mails WOULD come through. Sometimes these computers are a real anxiety causer!

 

[HappyCamperToo]

So, once one has found a vacation home that meets one's needs, what are the next steps to ensure that there is no "scam." Do payments always take place by sending a check? Wouldn't there be more security for the renter if paid for with a credit card--could dispute charge if home wasn't there, or not what was listed? Even though as had been said almost all deals seem to be reliable...how should the renter protect herself? I saw the link to the property appraisers website. Is checking there one of the steps? What else?
Thanks.

 

[minnie29uk]

So, once one has found a vacation home that meets one's needs, what are the next steps to ensure that there is no "scam." Do payments always take place by sending a check? Wouldn't there be more security for the renter if paid for with a credit card--could dispute charge if home wasn't there, or not what was listed? Even though as had been said almost all deals seem to be reliable...how should the renter protect herself? I saw the link to the property appraisers website. Is checking there one of the steps? What else?
Thanks.

Hi!
If you have any concerns - yes,you can check the property appraisers website.
The more conscientious advertising sites offer owner verification schemes - so that can offer the renter peace of mind- like www.lastminutevillas.net
Yes,you can pay by credit card and have the additional security this may provide
I myself have not heard of any renter being scammed?

Regards,
Lynn

 

[JANNYANS]

In addition to the property appraiser sites and either a listing site that verifies its owners -there are several around -you can ask for details of the owners management company and ask questions of them.
You could rent a home that someone has recommended to you .
Not all owners will be able to accept cc payments as being an individual the costs are a bit high.

Remember renting a home is a 2 way process which involves trust on the part of both guest and owner and if you take time to build up a relationship with each other by asking/answering questions then it is in most cases a good one .