ComplaintsforSandy Beach Vacation Rentals LLC

• Initial Complaint

  01/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I would like to report this company because they provided us with a space that was kinda disgusting (bugs, smells, dirty dishes, sticky messes on the floor) and had several broken items (bed broke, door fell off, door won't close, a/c won't work, fan won't work, lights won't work). There were several dangers/hazards on the patio (messy piles of construction materials, fallen siding, unattached stairs, etc.) that we had to move away/organize in order to prevent tripping/falling. It took us several days to figure out how to turn on the heat (there are no instructions in their book - the book is generic). We didn't have hot water upstairs so everyone had to take a shower downstairs. I mean - we tolerated it and were mostly focused on each other, but we did want to provide a list so the company would know. That's where things went wrong. The company responded quite nastily and I'm sure they will again to this. They claim things were not broken, blamed us for not knowing how to use things (provide instructions please!). I was quite taken back by their defensiveness so I wrote a review on ******** it's an honest review. But the owners responded to my review and posted that I am lying and that I threatened them. I have no clue what they're talking about cause I never spoke to them personally. I never threatened anyone nor did I ask for anything in return for my angst. I just wanted to inform so they could make the place better for the next people. I guess that's not a priority for them though.Thanks for listening! I hope this link works - you should see the review and owner response here: *********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

  

  Business response

  02/01/2024

  We rented the unit to ***********************. She viewed the property prior to renting it. ***** called with some items to be addressed and we offered on more than one occasion to repair the items she needed addressed. ***** is the one that signed the contract which I have attached for reference. The contract states a few things. 1) that they will advise and notify us as a company and allow us to repair the items. 2) That we will not provide a refund based on mechanical failure. Upon departure we received a phone call from *****. She stated that she is getting ready to leave a review but wanted to give us a chance to issue compensation. Implying that if we issue compensation she will not issue a bad review. This has become a rising trend among travelers and it is out of hand. We will not be blackmailed into making sure that we get a good review. We did nothing wrong. We offered to get some one out to repair multiple items. She declined on 3 occasions. She then sent a list and we went items by item and replied to them. See the attached list as well as the contract.

  Here is my response to the list: 

  Hi *****: 
  
  
  I am writing you regarding the list that you provided in a request for compensation. 
  I am sorry that you feel like the unit was not up to what you wanted. 
  
  
  First, at least two of our employees attempted to rectify the problems and you declined. 
  There is a contract in place that states a couple of things.
  The first one is that we are not responsible for mechanical failure. 
  The second one is to please report the problems so that we are allowed to rectify the situation. 
  
  
  An inspection was completed before your arrival as well as the inspection report after the cleaning 
  Neither person reported that the queen *** was broken. It would be hard to make the *** if the *** was broken before your arrival. 
  It was reported after your departure by the cleaner and he was not aware of your list. 
  
  
  There are mini splits in some of the ***rooms to supplement the central A/C unit. 
  The queen room has a mini split AND it has a return for the central A/C. 
  
  
  The bunk ***room door was not reported before your stay but has since been rectified. 
  
  
  We are installing a free-standing toilet paper holder in the upstairs bathroom. There is not a feasible spot close enough to the toilet to put it and have it reachable. 
  
  
  The hot water was tested immediately upon your receipt of your list and there was hot water in the upstairs shower. 
  
  
  I am sorry that you felt the comforter and shams had a scent. There are extras in the closet that are accessible for guest usage. 
  
  
  I am not sure about a sticky substance in the middle of the floor. Sorry that you cleaned that. We could have handled that as well. 
  
  
  Regarding the closet being smelly. I am not sure what it smells like. We did ask the inspector to check that and he said that it did not have a smell that he could detect. 
  
  
  We have pot holders in place at our office and could have readily provided them. 
  
  
  We have not had a bug problem as the units are sprayed regularly. We could have gotten it re-sprayed. It is not harmful to have the spraying completed. 
  The guests are relied upon to clean the dishes during the stay and sometimes when they are put away after being in the dishwasher could come out with stains or other things. 
  
  
  Again, we have never had a report of a ***** problem. As you are aware the unit was completely renovated and was gutted from top to bottom. 
  
  
  We have moved the siding pieces of wood outside and other items have been addressed. 
  
  
  We have installed a longer pull chain on the ceiling fan and there was no problem found with the lights. The remote for the ** (which you said there was no ** for) is workable by the remotes for the other units if it cannot be located. We are ordering extras to put in for the property. 
  
  
  No reports of any bad smells had been reported. 
  
  
  It was also reported after your stay that a bifold door had been taken off and we rehung the door. This was not reported by you. 
  
  
  Long and short, we could have rectified all of this pretty quickly and easily. You did not allow us to do so.
  
  
  We did allow you early access to put groceries into the unit and you were allowed a late checkout of 11 am. 
  
  
  We will not be issuing you a refund as stated in the contract on the above facts mentioned. 
  
  
  We have rectified all of the problems you reported and would have gladly handled them while you were here. 
  
  
  In the future when renting anywhere you should give the management company or the owner (depending on who you rented from) the opportunity to rectify the problems that you are having. 
  
  Kind Regards, 
  ******
  Sandy Beach Vacation Rentals 
  
  In return she sent this:
  I have sent to my daughter as it was family who stayed and they are very familiar renting from VRBO an airbnb. I am not.  I dont think you all handled the situation properly but thats ok. Your staff on the phone is great. We handled it all and was not going to call you for each thing. I asked for some funds to be returned and didnt give an amount. You could have offered a small to pay for the things we needed to buy to make it an enjoyable week. Thanks for your time. *****
  
  That is not what she asked for and that was not mentioned in the phone call. They broke the door as well as the ***. A good majority of the items were operator error and a couple exaggerated. We have pictures from the cleaners and inspectors before and after her stay. This list was all rectifiable within 30 minutes. 

  
  In turn we got TWO 1 star reviews on ****** and they were not the ones that signed the contract. In the future they may want to read and sign what someone else rented for them. 

  
  The part I said they were lying was that we blamed everything on them. That is a lie. We did not blame them at all and offered multiple times to help. 

  
  If **** and **** want to remove their reviews then we will be willing to remove the comment but it is true and we did not blame everything on them.

  We have a contract in place and we were not given the opportunity to handle any items. That being said it has been sprayed and we did not see any bugs at all.

  This unit is completely renovated and ***** knew EX**TLY what she booked since she went in and viewed it. She also was allowed to enter the property early and put in groceries - could that be how the stain got there? They were also allowed a late check out. Both of these items are things we normally charge for and did as a courtesy for them. 

  We are attaching a copy of the contract as well as the list she sent to us. 
  

  Customer response

  02/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 21204129
  
  I am rejecting this response because: they are addressing someone else in their response. My name is ***********************. I am not asking for a refund. I wrote my own independent review and this company continues to call me a blackmailer. I never spoke to them nor did I threaten anyone.

  Dear BBB, I do not think this company will ever understand my complaint or own their mistakes. I appreciate your trying to resolve the issue. I do not mind if you just publish this for others to see how this company behaves. Thank you for all you do.

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

  

  Business response

  02/02/2024

  Hi ****

  Due to you not being the guest who signed the contract you were not aware of the policies which is to give us the right to correct the items. I did not call you a black mailer. That was *****, the one who viewed the property, and signed the contract. 
  

  I am not sure what resolution you want. The only thing I stated was that you were not being truthful about was that you said we tried to blame everything on you. That was incorrect and my response by emails shows that. 
  

  The resolution I see best is to remove the bad review from ****** and it will alleviate all comments associated on both sides. 
  

  In the future, the person who books the unit and signs the contract for terms should relay what those terms are. We, as a company should have been given the opportunity to correct any items that needed to be repaired. 

*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. ↩