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:09/29/2022

  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.

  The date of transaction is the week of September 11 to the 16th, Sunday through Friday. We rented a house called Kure Dreaming at 837 Fort Fisher Blvd, NC 28449 with our sister-in-law and brother-in-law. The cost of rental 5998.00. Upon arrival we discovered that ongoing construction was in process on both sides of the unit. An entire house was being built on one side of the house while a pool was being constructed on the other side. The noise stemming from the construction, both inside and outside, was an unpleasant annoyance throughout the stay. We also had to deal with the stink of two portable toilets just outside the property, especially when they came to empty them. In addition, it was unsafe to walk from the gate to the cars during the hours of 7:30 am to 6 pm because tools or construction material could have dropped from the house under construction onto us. On day one, Sunday, the first floor air conditioner died. This issue caused the temperature to rise to 90 degrees on the first floor. After complaining Monday morning, the property management company did not send someone until Tuesday to fix the problem. The first night, Sunday, while relaxing, we discovered both decks overrun with Palmetto bugs. After complaining Monday morning, the property management company came and sprayed on Tuesday. However, the Palmetto bugs continued to pester us throughout the stay. Throughout the stay, all guests were unable to use the pool, during the day, due to the pool filling with saw dust from the construction. The ladies were uncomfortable using the pool because of the workers gawking at them while they swam. Our point is we paid for full use of the house and could not use the full amenities offered to us. Our problem also was the response we got. They said that all issues would be fixed within a day, which we assumed on Monday when we complained. They did not address the issues until sometime Tuesday, and even then, the Palmetto bugs were not exterminated.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/27/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/10/04) */ First, we must point our that the BBB complaint is filed by persons who are not our customers. We are not aware that these individuals have been appointed as our customer's authorized representatives, and our organization has no marketplace "relationship" with the persons filing this complaint. Our company rented the vacation property in this report to a different individual (the Guest) on January 24, 2022 for an ocean front beach vacation at the property Sept 11-16, 2022. The Guest checked in to the property on September 11, 2022. On Sep 12 2022, the Guest called to report the ceiling fan in living room closest to TV is not working - the AC in the living room will not cool down and is currently at 76 degrees - and reported lots of big bugs outside on the porch and requested that the grass be mowed. The upstairs AC unit was operating. Our company responded on same day. We mowed the grass, inspected the fan, and sprayed for bugs on the porch. We reported the broken ceiling fan to the property owner who ordered new fans. An AC technition appointment was made for the downstairs HVAC immediately. The technition was there at 8:00 AM the next day, installed a new part in the downstairs unit, and AC was operational by 10:30 AM on September 13, 2022. We are proud of our company's rapid response to these issues. We stayed in touch with the Guest, who communicated to us various updates and reports on the pogress of the above response time table. The only remaining complaint from the Guest was subsequent calls about bugs outside. Our maintenance company found that the bug activity in the exterior of the property is consistent with the local environment and island location of the property, not to any material disfunction of the property, and advised the Guest to keep the porch lights off at night if they wished to be outside after dark. Upon check out, another individual who reports that she stayed in the property with our guest emailed us to complain that there was construction of a new house going on next door during their stay and asked for a partial refund based on that fact. Our company does not control the neighboring property, nor have daily knowledge of construction time tables. We denied the individual's request for monies. That individual appears to be the same individual filing the BBB complaint. Sea Coast Rentals responded to every complaint lodged by the Guest with swift and appropriate action during the vacation. We are not going to be making any financial remuneration.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/31/2022

  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.

  The unit our family stayed at (605 Pelican Ct Kure Beach, NC 28449) was infested with beg bugs prior to our arrival. We suffered multiple bites since the first night we arrived, and assumed them to initially be mosquito bites before doing our research. We have never experienced bed bugs in our lives, prior to this visit. As soon as we realized the issue, we immediately contacted Sea Coast Rentals, which they flat out denied the possibility of bed bugs by making multiple excuses, such as calling the bites being caused by sea lice, or having the shown bugs with picture proof being called baby cockroaches or ticks. After capturing several live bed bugs, and even showing multiple of them in different Ziploc bag to a manager, they claimed they were too big to be one, and stated they were most possibly baby cockroaches, which has absolutely no likeness or similarity to bed bugs, AND cockroaches do not bite people to suck blood. Some family members had severe reactions, of which we went to a local urgent care facility that immediately confirmed the bites to be from bed bugs. Since the night we arrived home, we have been restlessly cleaning and being cautious for possible bed bugs that we may have brought home due to this rental's issue. To this day, we're still suffering from physical and emotional trauma, as well as dealing with further personal damages. Lastly, the host's response to the entire situation has not been helpful in the slightest, going as far as being very irresponsible and inadequate in terms of their actions taken. For instance, they have constantly minimized our issues until we had to demand an exterminator for an inspection, and within minutes of their arrival, they had found everything they needed to know. After the inspection, we also had to demand a new alternative housing, as the current housing (listed above) was uninhabitable. As of now, the company has ceased communications. We believe the best course of action is to receive a full refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/17/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/01) */ We are in receipt of The Consumer's complaint timeline and have the following observations: The property the consumer stayed in has never had complaint of bed bugs before his two week stay. The property owner stayed in the property a week before the consumer checked in and had no pests during his stay. It must be mentioned at this time that the consumer had occupied the property for 7 days before there was anything brought to our attention. We do not know how the bugs were brought into the property, but it was during that seven day period that they effected the property and the consumer's vacation, to our mutual dismay. We take complaint of infestations very seriously which is why we responded ASAP upon receiving the consumer's complaint! The consumer informed our office of the pest problem on the 8th day of his two week stay. Our maintenance manager came over to inspect the beds, same day, at first opportunity. There was no evidence on the first two beds and the bagged sample insects were not conclusive without seeing bugs in the sheets and mattress elastic. We were unable to inspect the last bed because the consumer's wife was in the shower, and the consumer turned us away from the third room. When we tried to reschedule, the consumer asked us not to come back until after noon the next day as they wanted to sleep late. The consumer advised us by phone that we could come at 2:00pm, which is when our manager came back and found the bugs behind the wall décor. Once she saw what she suspected to be bed bugs, our office immediately began searching for an alternative property for the consumer to move into, and meanwhile arranged a professional pest inspector who confirmed the species. This was the very beginning of an infestation, with only a small number of bugs. It is crucial to act immediately in these situations so that an infestation does not effect the entire condo building. Within 24 hours of the consumer's first complaint, we had relocated the family to a secondary property. The professional inspector informed us that this species could possibly transport to the new location, but only in bed clothes worn on the body at night. Our office requested that the consumer leave their pajamas and bed clothes behind to be treated in the property during the space treatment. We directed them to leave them behind and not to take them to the new location. We promised to have those items treated once in the effected unit, and a second time in high temperature dryers at our professional linen facility, where we treated the bed covers, sheets, and pillows. The consumer chose not to follow our directive and instead, took their own measures against our advice to move bed clothes and pajamas into the secondary property at great risk of transfer. We are in receipt of the consumer's statement that he had to demand to be moved, but this is incorrect. We had already started the process of moving the consumer once our manager saw the master bedroom. It is in everyone's best interest to begin immediate treatment once bed bugs are confirmed. We resolved the consumer's health and comfort issues within 24 hours of their report. We initiated the pest control treatment on the property at first opportunity after the consumer vacated the premises, and could have returned treated bed clothing before the consumer left town, had he followed our instructions. Our company responded in accurate and compassionate manner in the timeframe dictated by the consumer. We are sorry that his vacation was interrupted in such an unpleasant way, but we feel like our company appropriately handled this unpleasant situation. It is worthy to note that the consumer chose not to take this public until we debated privately, proving to him that our actions were timely and appropriate to this serious situation. The only reason he brought this review into the public is because we did not acquiesce to his financial demands. Sea Coast Rentals stands by our management of a very unfortunate situation. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/09/05) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This rebuttal was previously addressed "privately" over Airbnb's messaging platform. However, Sea Coast Rentals has ceased all communications up until our BBB complaint. The following statements, that they have not responded to, are adjusted accordingly to their BBB response. The original documents submitted via Airbnb have been already attached to this BBB complaint case. "The property the consumer stayed in has never had complaint of bed bugs before his two week stay. The property owner stayed in the property a week before the consumer checked in and had no pests during his stay. It must be mentioned at this time that the consumer had occupied the property for 7 days before there was anything brought to our attention. We do not know how the bugs were brought into the property, but it was during that seven day period that they effected the property and the consumer's vacation, to our mutual dismay." We suffered bed bug bites from the very first night and every day onwards prior to moving to the new rental. We never experienced bed bugs until this visit, to which we did our research to figure out what the issue could be. Additionally, we could not have brought bed bugs as the insects were behind their wall décor, as they stated themselves. They have additionally stated that the property owner had stayed in the property a week prior, to which they did not mention originally. "When we tried to reschedule, the consumer asked us not to come back until after noon the next day as they wanted to sleep late. The consumer advised us by phone that we could come at 2:00pm, which is when our manager came back and found the bugs behind the wall décor. Once she saw what she suspected to be bed bugs, our office immediately began searching for an alternative property for the consumer to move into, and meanwhile arranged a professional pest inspector who confirmed the species." We usually get up late during vacation, so when the manager asked over the phone what our time preferences were, we responded that any time after noon would be best - we never told them to "not come back". Moreover, there is no reasonable way the office could have immediately began searching for an alternative property, as they sent over someone to deliver new bed sheets, implying we would sleep in the same rental. We have never heard of or been informed of this moving arrangement prior to demanding it. An exterminator, which we explicitly suggested to the manager to call, came after the fresh bed sheets delivery. "This was the very beginning of an infestation, with only a small number of bugs. It is crucial to act immediately in these situations so that an infestation does not effect the entire condo building. Within 24 hours of the consumer's first complaint, we had relocated the family to a secondary property." We first complained of bed bugs on August 7th, Sunday afternoon, over the phone after discovering bed bugs at 2 AM that morning. We called and complained again on August 8th, Monday afternoon, which was when we found even more bed bugs that morning. We were not able to move until we were informed that an alternative new property was available at 3:50 PM. Moreover, we were not relocated as we had to move everything ourselves, and none of it was assisted or compensated. Since we had to get everything ready to move as well as move it which took more than an hour we were not relocated within 24 hours of the initial complaint. Moreover, if it was truly crucial to act immediately in these situations, it would be ridiculous to send someone to deliver bed sheets as the action taken, implying we would sleep in the same rental. "The professional inspector informed us that this species could possibly transport to the new location, but only in bed clothes worn on the body at night. Our office requested that the consumer leave their pajamas and bed clothes behind to be treated in the property during the space treatment. We directed them to leave them behind and not to take them to the new location. We promised to have those items treated once in the effected unit, and a second time in high temperature dryers at our professional linen facility, where we treated the bed covers, sheets, and pillows. The consumer chose not to follow our directive and instead, took their own measures against our advice to move bed clothes and pajamas into the secondary property at great risk of transfer." The issue with bed bugs is that they can affect any article of clothing and luggage, so only treating night clothes and pajamas is insufficient. Furthermore, they did not tell us to leave night clothes and pajamas behind, but rather suggested over phone putting our current clothes and pajamas in the same yellow linen bag for sheets and towels. This would never have been enough space to hold our clothing, let alone ALL of our fabrics and luggage on top of it. We did our research on bed bugs and learned that they are only vulnerable to high heat (130°F+) and steam for 30 minutes. Due to the concerns of bed bugs infesting the other rental, we carried all our potentially infected clothes in new, isolated garbage bags to minimize risk. From the first hour in the new rental space, we immediately showered and started to do laundry with high heat wash and dry (135°F-145°F industry standard temperature for dryers) for multiple hours. The next day, we went to a commercial laundromat to clean every possible article of clothing and luggage that we had, which we never unpacked at the new rental until we cleaned them. This rigorous, high-heat treatment did result in permanent damage to certain articles of clothing. "We are in receipt of the consumer's statement that he had to demand to be moved, but this is incorrect. We had already started the process of moving the consumer once our manager saw the master bedroom. It is in everyone's best interest to begin immediate treatment once bed bugs are confirmed. We resolved the consumer's health and comfort issues within 24 hours of their report. We initiated the pest control treatment on the property at first opportunity after the consumer vacated the premises, and could have returned treated bed clothing before the consumer left town, had he followed our instructions." This statement is a repetition of one prior, but with additional context that also does not make it any clearer. Again, to repeat, there is no reasonable way the office could have immediately began searching for an alternative property, as they sent over someone to deliver new bed sheets, implying we would sleep in the same rental. We have never been informed of this moving arrangement prior to demanding it. In final, the rental company had never admitted to bed bugs until after we messaged them on Airbnb, prior to which we had complained about them numerous times, to which the manager denied by never acknowledging them, or claiming they were another insect, e.g. "sea lice", "baby cockroaches", or "ticks". If they state that it is in everyone's best interest to begin immediate treatment once bed bugs were confirmed, it would be appalling to constantly deny their presence and let the issue simmer. Furthermore, it is very irresponsible for management to not provide any guidance for dealing with the aftermath. "Our company responded in accurate and compassionate manner in the timeframe dictated by the consumer. We are sorry that his vacation was interrupted in such an unpleasant way, but we feel like our company appropriately handled this unpleasant situation." The only time we have had an accurate, appropriate, and compassionate feeling is from the person who called and informed us that we could move to the new rental. "It is worthy to note that the consumer chose not to take this public until we debated privately, proving to him that our actions were timely and appropriate to this serious situation. The only reason he brought this review into the public is because we did not acquiesce to his financial demands. Sea Coast Rentals stands by our management of a very unfortunate situation." We did not "debate" as we followed Airbnb policy to reach out to the company first for assistance through Airbnb's platform, to which they responded to us only once and never replied to our rebuttal. We chose to leave a review on Airbnb to let other customers know of potential risks with both the rental unit and the company, due to their mishandling of this situation. As such, nothing was proven to us, as we had addressed their points directly, to no avail. Additionally, the rental company addressing our complaint as a review suggests that they do not take customer complaints seriously. Due to the company ceasing communications on the appropriate channels after their first and only message, they disallowed us to settle compensation amicably in "private". The original response from the company, and our response to theirs via Airbnb: ********************** Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2022/09/07) */ Sea Coast Rentals stands by our handling of this traveler's issue. We responded in expedient time as notified of issues, and addressed health and safety issues in a forthright manner. We will not be sending any financial remunerations to this traveler. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2022/09/18) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) As mentioned previously, Sea Coast Rentals has not satisfied our concerns and issues in the slightest. They mentioned that they responded in "expedient" time, however, their actions taken were highly inappropriate. As such, these "addressed" health and safety issues were not in-fact addressed properly, and we were left to figure everything out ourselves. In addition, their statement of responding with a forthright manner is only true in the literal sense, as again, they constantly feigned ignorance and actively denied the real issue (bed bugs) during the vacation, all up until we reached out afterwards. Even now, they continue to deny any mishandling and responsibility by backpedaling and now stating that there were no bed bugs previously until our stay. This would be very contradictory to their previous actions of consistently denying anything having relations to bed bugs. Not providing financial compensation would be heinous as we have suffered irreparable damage to certain articles, spent time and money just to have our vacation ruined, and are continuing to endure permanent emotional harm. Based on their responses to everything we have gone through, we have paramount reason to believe that this company will continue to behave irresponsibly towards its customers and would highly recommend others to steer clear from interacting or doing business with them.