USVI-On-Line

If "phishing" was the issue -here is what it states on the Homeaway/VRBO site under renter safety.
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In an effort to more effectively support and protect both owners and travelers in the unlikely event of fraud, HomeAway offers the Carefree Rental Guarantee that will now cover phishing. The Carefree Rental Guarantee (CRG) covers losses for the amount the traveler paid for the rental up to $10,000 (subject to terms and conditions).

It sounds like you are getting lots of good advice on another villa. I suggest you contact the FBI, Secret Service any you financial institution. The first is an obvious choice. The Secret Service is involved in all sorts of currency issues including counterfeiting, and fraud. You might be surprised by your bank and what they are able to do.

Have a grreat trip.

JIM

Just posting to state that my friend finally heard back from the owner of the proprty she reserved on St. Thomas for last month so she is fine.

Just a tip to other owners - get back to your renters as soon as you can once you receive their money! This particular owner was very good at responding before he cashed her check, not so much once he cashed it.

Looks like phishing may be excluded under the “Basic Rental Guarantee” and recovery is limited to $1000.
http://www.homeaway.com/info/about-us/l ... _guarantee

For an additional fee of $39 and up (looks like a $5000 rental might cost $99) you can get the enhanced “Carefree Rental Guarantee” revised on 1/17/12 here. It doesn’t seem to exclude phishing and will cover up to $10,000:
http://www.homeaway.com/guarantee/tac.html

Earlier versions of these “guarantees” may have excluded phishing:
http://www.elliott.org/blog/case-dismis ... cover-her/

this version of the above story in the Washington Post suggests that VRBO is responding
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle ... story.html

No doubt it may take a lot of persistence and luck to get any money back but it might be worth a shot.

Unless you happened to buy other “general” trip insurance BEFORE you booked this, who knows if that would even respond (my guess would be NO).

jmq wrote:Looks like phishing may be excluded under the “Basic Rental Guarantee” and recovery is limited to $1000.
http://www.homeaway.com/info/about-us/l ... _guarantee

For an additional fee of $39 and up (looks like a $5000 rental might cost $99) you can get the enhanced “Carefree Rental Guarantee” revised on 1/17/12 here. It doesn’t seem to exclude phishing and will cover up to $10,000:
http://www.homeaway.com/guarantee/tac.html

But that's homeaway, this was VRBO right?

This is a tough one. It is entirely VRBO's obligation to protect the integrity of their website. I am not sure legally what can be done, but from a good business perspective they need to take care of your loss. It's bad business to have customers terrified to rent from your website.

I hate to even suggest this but if you don't get anywhere with VRBO after giving them a good shot at fixing your problem, I would call around to your local news stations. Most have some type of consumer rights journalist that will contact a business when something like this happens. Given that there have been national stories about this, they would probably jump on it in a minute. That's a hornets nest and a terrible thing to have to do, but I do think it is their corporate responsibility to ensure a secure website for their customers.

Teresa_Rae wrote:But that's homeaway, this was VRBO right?

Note at top of this page that VRBO, Homeaway, and vacationrentals.com for the purposes of this guarantee are the same company:
http://www.homeaway.com/guarantee/tac.html

Muhaha wrote:This is a tough one. It is entirely VRBO's obligation to protect the integrity of their website. I am not sure legally what can be done, but from a good business perspective they need to take care of your loss. It's bad business to have customers terrified to rent from your website.

I hate to even suggest this but if you don't get anywhere with VRBO after giving them a good shot at fixing your problem, I would call around to your local news stations. Most have some type of consumer rights journalist that will contact a business when something like this happens. Given that there have been national stories about this, they would probably jump on it in a minute. That's a hornets nest and a terrible thing to have to do, but I do think it is their corporate responsibility to ensure a secure website for their customers.

Some magic words to use when submitting a complaint of this nature include "bad faith". Maybe others can suggest other ways to go about this and/or share some war stories.

Wow, what an awful story! So sorry to hear that you're having to deal with this. Lucy, what was the payment method? Was it by wire or a check?

this is the website for Internet Crime complaint Center


http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

So sorry, Lucy! I can do some research to find ideas for you tomorrow! St John will make your hearts race for a whole different reason, very soon....

Thank you all for your kind words and advice. I have quite a few phone calls to make tomorrow! On the good side, we do have a handful of villas to choose from.

I did receive an email from VRBO this afternoon after I called them and complained again. Being as the money was wired they want me to document that my bank is not willing to give the $ back to us. Then I have to form my case with every single document I have. I did take out the rental guarantee for $99, so I'm hoping that they will refund our money. We also contacted our insurance company, and they are looking into it. Tomorrow is a police report.

My intention is not to scare anyone. I think that there are a lot of honest owners out there. I just don't want anyone to have to go through what I have gone through the last 24 hours.

Oh no! Terrible! There was an article about this 2 weeks ago in our newspaper. I feel terrible for you!

As a VRBO owner we forward all inquiries to our on island management company to handle the actual booking process.
Peace of mind for all involved.

livinlucy wrote:I did receive an email from VRBO this afternoon after I called them and complained again. Being as the money was wired they want me to document that my bank is not willing to give the $ back to us. Then I have to form my case with every single document I have. I did take out the rental guarantee for $99, so I'm hoping that they will refund our money. We also contacted our insurance company, and they are looking into it. Tomorrow is a police report.

Wow good for you. You have a case - now you just have to build it (not easy - there will be many hoops to jump through). I think more and more companies are monitoring social media sites as to their image etc so it may behoove you to update your story here and on FB etc for more leverage.

livinlucy wrote:My intention is not to scare anyone. I think that there are a lot of honest owners out there. I just don't want anyone to have to go through what I have gone through the last 24 hours.

I think you did everyone a service to increase awareness etc. Thanks.