Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/05/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 3/23/23, I made a reservation for a property in ************ through VRBO for **** of ****. I paid 50% of the cost ($1,524.92, which included $360 VRBO service fee) which was required. This property is managed by Escape Property Management. I received an email confirmation of my reservation and signed their contract. On 4/26/23, **** (host) sent me a message advising me as follows: "Unfortunately the owner was not able to set rates for **** till recently, so the booking you made has the wrong pricing. The accurate total for this booking is $5,580.44. Would you like us to correct this pricing and keep the booking or try to relocate you for the same price." I of course refused to pay more since we had a signed contract. Additionally, VRBO confirmed with me that it was against their policy for a host to change the price after a reservation was confirmed. **** did not respond until May 1st stating that the "owners" would not honor my contract and wanted more money or for me to cancel my reservation. I again refused and contacted VRBO's customer service. Their rep contacted ****'s office and was told that my contract would be honored. Out of the blue, on 10/23/23, **** emailed me canceling my reservation. VRBO immediately refunded the $360 service fee, but **** has not refunded the difference ($1,204.92). He first said it would be reversed on my credit card, then he said he couldn't do that and would mail me a check. Still don't have it. I've sent 12 email messages to **** with no response. I've tried contacting their office 4 times and nobody answers the phone. VRBO now has a complaint file open and is investigating, but they cannot guarantee that I will get my money back. I'm paying interest on this payment on my credit card and **** stole my money.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/27/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 4/14/23 I created a reservation for ***************** ************************ Escape vacation home, for 12 guests arriving 6/8/**** and staying 5 nights. I completed an electronic contract agreement and paid 50% of the full price as downpayment. The full price of the stay per the contract was $1,825.75 and the downpayment paid was $912.88. Confirmation number: 2437526850.On 4/24 (10 days past) I received a message from Booking.com stating: ...Unfortunately, the owner was not able to set rates for **** till recently, so the booking you made has the wrong pricing. The accurate total for this booking is $3,759.24. Would you like us to correct this pricing and keep the booking, try to relocate you for the same price, or cancel this reservation?Over several emails , my response was they cannot DOUBLE the price of the property after booking as a bait and switch, and I was not going to pay the extra amount. They should have either not made the property available to book or had correct prices and any mistake they made was theirs. They said they would explore options and I responded if an equal replacement property could be found we could discuss further. My last message on this initial exchange was on 4/26/23 that the contract STANDS until I am presented with an alternate. I heard nothing further after 4/26/23 and my booking remained confirmed on the website/app. On 10/23/24 (6 MONTHS LATER), I received a message stating that a replacement was not found and that they were 'offering to cancel for free. I restated over communications from 10/23/23 to 10/26/23 that this was under a contracted price and that I had already paid half down, I would not accept the cancelation. The last communication from Booking.com was that the owner wanted to OFFER the ability for us to still stay there if we accepted the double price of the original agreement. My answer was that we had a reservation for original price. I received an email 10/27/23 saying my reservation has been cancelled

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/20/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  After having been promised a specific unit last year, we discovered that a different unit, in the same area we had complained about last year, had been assigned instead.This unit, apart from smell and poor equipment (not even a new roll of toilet paper, broken dishwasher, stained bathtub), had a defective chair, which broke as soon as my wife, who is a lightweight, sat on it.By pure luck the consequences were not dire, but definitely painful. Had it been me, I could have broken a bone.Management did not answer to our repeated calls and emails, other than claiming their employee, no longer with them, had no right to offer us the unit, even if it was coming from their office and then switched without a communication that would have allowed a rearrangement.They didn't promptly repair anything in the unit, forcing us to cut our unpleasant stay short.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/15/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Escape property management scammed me. They adventured this property as luxury on VRBO. The price I paid verses what we got is fraudulent. While I wasnt expecting a five-star property/accommodations, for $4,800 I did expect:?-1) To feel safe in my environment. Shortly after arrival today we witnessed a male on the 7th floor walking down the aisle pushing on doors as if he were trying to find one opened. Then when we get in the condo there are multiple signs that encourage keeping doors locked for safety?! I have my grandchildren with me and this scared them?!! It implies that there have been issues in the past and they wont be safe. This was not disclosed when I booked this property.??2) I expected the unit would be clean when I arrived. The sliding doors look like they havent been cleaned in ages. The furniture is dirty and looks nothing like the photos presented online.3) I expected decent accommodations. The sofa is so narrow that its uncomfortable to sit on. Its like sitting in a small park bench. So theres no lounging in the living room. The sheets on the beds are old and rough. There are no blankets - just a thin motel-like bedspread. The kitchen is sparse and the utensils were dirty. There was literally dry food caked on some.4.This unit has no wi-if but instead you have to rely on the resort wi-fi which is low grade and does not provide adequate coverage - so essentially you are without.??So now instead of being focused on a relaxing, enjoyable vacation we have to worry about our safety while not being able to live comfortably for more than a week in a clean, accommodating living space. ??While I understand that beach properties can get rundown - the prices should reflect that - and they should be honest and upfront about the accommodations.It feels like they are taking advantage of people that work hard, save up, and sacrifice to have memorable (not in a bad way) family time and vacations.??

  Business Response

  Date: 06/15/2023

  From our understanding, the guest has submitted a claim through the BBB and VRBO in regards to the property that they are currently staying in, Grand ****** 1253.After reviewing the circumstances here and the condition of the unit, as well as what was provided upon check in, we do not believe that the guest was scammed as they are claiming. The photos directly match what the unit presents itself as and past guests have never found any issue with misrepresentation of the unit. Unfortunately, as a property management company, we have no control of the condition of a high rise as well as who they allow on to the property. We understand the need and feeling to protect your children and family as it is always in our interest to make sure our guests feel safe inside the unit that we rent out to them.  Grand Cayman Resort is rated a 4.0 review for their building as well as our unit is rated 4.8 on VRBO and throughout the remaining booking channels as well. We also have time stamped photos prior to the guest arrival showing that the condition of the unit was satisfactory and above standard cleanliness. We have also asked to schedule housekeeping multiple times to address any issues, if any did persist.In which all these requests were denied by the guest. The guest also admitted to multiple people in our establishment, including the general manager, that the furniture matched the photos presented on VRBO. Currently, what is being stated is an opinion that we have not come across from other guests since the unit has been on our program. Unfortunately, we must abide by the *** rules and regulations for internet services. High rises or hotels only allow them to utilize the current WIFI that is provided through the resort. If we had more control over this, we would have rectified it a while back, but we must abide by the *** regulations. We also granted the guest $300-$350 worth of free tickets, offered a late check out for free, consistent housekeeping, and a 10% off rebooking discount with an upgraded unit for the inconvenience that the guest is currently stating.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 20189766
  
  I am rejecting this response because *******, the property manager came to verify and took his own photos and yes tickets were offered as well as the future discounts but what you neglected to mention is that ******* also agreed to a partial monetary refund that would be applied to the credit card on file. Furthermore he agreed that the photo that you represented on VRBO do no reflect current state. They are clearly outdated and while the accommodations may look like the same - the condition of the furniture CLEARLY does not. I have video that I can submit as well. And this misrepresentation is fraudulent and is scamming the consumer. 
  

  If this cannot be resolved my next avenue will be submitting a small claims with the courts. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 06/15/2023

  Dear consumer,
  
  Originally a partial refund was requested with our reservationist in which that was denied and notated within our system. After the inspection, the same general manager determined that the photos of the furniture and the condition was an opinionated evaluation. There was no guarantee of a partial refund but compensation was offered in terms of tickets, late check out, and housekeeping but no monetary refund was ever promised,only requested by the guest. When we reached out to the third party to acquire those tickets for the guest, the third party reported back to ** that the guest was happy with this resolution and did not seek further compensation. In regard to the comment about him agreeing to the photos not matching, this is an inaccurate statement as the photo matches exactly to what the unit represents.The guest agreed that the photos do show the *************** inside the unit. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/16/2023

   
  Complaint: 20189766
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I have never been happy with any of this. ******* did not say that a partial refund would be evaluated - he agreed to the amount and said it would be refunded back to the card on file. Before ******* left he was going to get the tickets, apply the refund and have maintenance come up and change out the hvac filter. And I was agreeable to those terms. Now the story has changed once again part of this companys MO - to scam consumers and  take advantage of honest, hard working people. Had I also known that the unit was infested with cockroaches I would have asked to be moved or a full refund. Last night when we return to the unit the entire counter was crawling with cockroaches. I can provide photos. So no, I do not accept this and shouldnt have to - consumers should have advocates that help hold these types of people/companies accountable,

  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/10/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I leased Unit 417 at ************ in ************, ** from Nov '22 to Apr 1st '23. Beyond the unit being infested with cockroaches, Escape Property Management scammed me out of my security deposit. Never in my life have I not received a full security deposit refund & this joke of a company emailed me two days after I left the state (which they were informed of on two occassions) to tell me that they were keeping my entire security deposit. No receipt, no itemized list of damages to justify keeping my deposit as per the leasing agreement, just an email informing me that they called the police to execute a search warrant to gain access to the unit (this after I told them two days prior that I was vacating the property). They emailed that I supposedly left property in the unit, though I did not note any items remaining when I perfomed my last sweep of the ************ refusal to provide me with any details of these items they claim were left which they use as justification to keep my deposit indicates to me that there are no ************ are just grifters. I paid cash up-front for my rental *********** pocketed my $1,300 deposit with an 'f you, *** me' email. I reported them to local PD for suspected fraud/other crimes. Avoid these dishonest criminals, I wish I had... Maybe justice will be served & they will one day sit behind bars, that is my hope.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/22/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We rented a beach home from this company in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A day after leaving, we were notified of damages to a sleeper sofa and were charged for a new sofa. We had three adults at this 3 bedroom unit and our dogs. No one ever opened the couch. The manager asked us "well then how do you think it was broken?' He said maybe our dogs jumped on the couch and broke it. We have older dogs that do not jump on anything. He sent us a picture of the folding bar on the frame that was broken. We asked him how they thought a dog would jump on a couch, under a thick cushion and a metal bed frame, to break the folding leg bar underneath. He said they would do an investigation and he would get back with us. Upon hanging up he immediately put a charge on our credit card of $500 for the couch. This company has many, many complaints we have since found out on their facebook reviews of them doing this exact thing and keeping security deposits with claims of damage that were false. We did not do any damage to this property and did not authorize any charges. We want our money back. Thanks

  Business Response

  Date: 11/28/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/27) */
  The sofa bed was broken upon this guest departure. Our housekeeper that inspected the unit right after this guest's departure sent over photos showing it was broken. This sofa bed was not like this prior to his arrival, and he has confirmed he allowed his dogs to go onto the couch after putting down a slipcover for them to utilize it. According to our logs this was never reported as broken prior to his arrival. As well as this sofa bed was checked by cleaning staff prior to arrival and was in good condition. It is in our policies that we have the right to charge a guest for any damages during or after their reservation.
  
  
  Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/10/05) */
  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  As a long time VRBO member with no negative reports, during all of my stays, this is the first one we have encountered. Upon being notified of the alleged damage more than 24 hours after our departure, we immediately responded by phone to the property manager explaining that we never used nor opened the sofa bed, only used it as a couch. A sofa bed cannot be damaged unless opened. They provided linens for the sofa bed and they were still in the housekeepers sealed packing as we also told the manager. As he noted, we applied slip covers to the furniture in this dog friendly property to keep shedding off the couches. Our dogs are all older and do not jump and play and we explained this to the manager. He advised after the phone call that they would research and give us the results of the investigation. We requested that he supply logs/pictures detailing the weekly inspections of the furniture to VRBO, proving that the property had been thoroughly inspected after each guest. Anyone can take a picture at any time and show damage. Immediately after the phone call without time to even check on the validity of the damage, he charged my credit card $500. I responded immediately back to Michael, the manager, and he said he had no control over the charge. When we checked in we had dead roaches and live ants in the house, so apparently the maid service didn't see the large roach in the living room. The grass hadn't been cut for at least a month, so no one noticed that either. The bathtub upstairs did not drain, so that wasn't caught either. If the place was cleaned thoroughly as he noted these would have been addressed. We chalked these items up for a trade off of a dog friendly property, but they were annoying. After this incident, we researched this management company on social media and the BBB (F rating), all containing multiple complaints about this property manager/owner. If we had known that prior to our vacation, we would not have rented from this owner. We have since disputed the charges with the credit card company and an investigation is pending. We are also taking the issue up with VRBO.