ComplaintsforLake Michigan Cottages

• Initial Complaint

  07/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On June 12, 2023, I booked a rental property based on the information provided on the Vrbo listing page. $915.87 was charged to my credit card immediately. A few weeks later, I received an email from the property management company, Lake Michigan Cottages, with an attached contract containing several additional items and new terms and conditions that were not disclosed prior to booking the property that they required me to sign. I explained that I did not agree to the additional terms and they insisted that unless I signed the contract, I would not be allowed access to the property. I contacted **** on July 11 and was told by the agent that it was against their rules for a property management company to require an additional contract. He said I would receive an email from the priority management team in a few days to resolve the issue. He said that I had the choice of a refund or Vrbo would handle the situation with the property management company. I called back the next day and told another agent that I just wanted a refund so that I could book elsewhere. I called again on July 17 and asked to speak to a manager to expedite my refund and was told that he was escalating my issue to a supervisor resolution team and I would hear from them soon. I have never received any confirmation or information as to the status of my case and no one has contacted me. I shouldn't have to make multiple calls in order to receive a simple refund when the project management company is threatening to hold the keys to the cottage hostage until I sign another contract with new terms that were not disclosed until after I booked and half the rental was charged to my card. Lake Michigan Cottages needs to make sure they disclose all of their terms upfront so that their terms are clear prior to booking. This is a very frustrating experience that could have been avoided if Lake Michigan Cottages had practiced good business. Please let me know if you need any further information.

  Business response

  07/18/2023

  Guest was reaching out to VRBO for refunds and leaving messages for management.  She has not requested that through Lake Michigan Cottages.  We have not been contacted by VRBO support on this matter as well.  I will cancel and process her refund right now, we have no problem with that. I will email the guest an updated invoice and cancellation so she has the proof it has been processed!

  This complaint really should've gone to VRBO, not Lake Michigan Cottages.

  Thank you,

  *************************

  Customer response

  07/19/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that as long as the refund is processed and charges refunded to my credit card, this resolution is satisfactory to me. In the future, Lake Michigan Cottages should be sure to communicate properly and try to offer a resolution when a guest does not agree to sign a contract instead of insisting that the guest sign the contract and offering no other option. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

*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. ↩