Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I recently rented a home for the week in Old Forge NY and paid $1950 for the week with a $400 deposit. I worked with a woman from Adirondack Hearthside Realty in Old Forge NY. As this property was recently purchased by a new owner the original person I rented from had set up the contract. It was our seventh time renting this particular home. There was some confusion over the boat slip that came with the rental, we came with two boats as we had on the past. We were originally told by Elise from the agency that we could park on the left side, the second day of our stay she called/drove over to let us know that we were in the wrong spot, one of our boats was broken and we asked if we could say in the spot for two hours to try and get it running and we would remove it completely from the water, which she agreed to. Before the two hours was up she was calling us and threatening to have us evicted and call the cops. We promptly moved towed the boat out of the water and that was the end of the issue. The rental itself contained black mold and the grass was over two feet tall which I complained about and it was said that they would take care of it which they never did and my husband ended up getting a tick. Now they are giving us a hard time on giving us our $400 deposit back due to the dock issue. In the original agreement lists the situations where a deposit would not be reimbursed and no where in the document does it state anything about boats or docking. When asked about this Elise (the women from the realty) stated “I knew from the beginning that this probably wouldn’t be a good fit for you”. I was confused at first because we never had a conversation, only emails, and she had never seen or met me. It occurred to me that my last name is Hispanic and that’s the only thing she could have judged me on.

  Business response

  08/05/2022

  This is in response to Complaint ID: ******** Our agency accepted a weekly reservation from ******** ******* on a newly listed rental to our inventory for the week of 7/8 - 7/15.  As part of our procedure, guests are to sign a Rental Agreement which contains information and rules the guests are to uphold during their stay which Mrs. ******* did sign.  Mrs. ******* was a new guest of ours and a first in a series of renters at this rental.  However, she was not new to this particular rental as she had stated she had rented for the past 7 years.  The new homeowner had given us specific instructions on the boat docking and beach rights which is shared with other neighboring homeowners.  Mrs. ******* was emailed the check-in instructions prior to her arrival which clearly stated the docking instructions, as well as, a highlighted picture of where to tie a boat.  We had received a series of emails from Mrs. ******* prior to her check-in with questions and concerns on the cleanliness, the amenities the rental offered etc..., she also had asked if she could have an early check-in (we don't normally allow) which we granted her.   At no point in time prior to her arrival or in the series of emails, did Mrs. ******* mention that she was bringing more than one boat.  The new homeowner had called to let me know they were taking up two dock spaces and in the wrong slip preventing the other neighbors from using their boats.  She was asked to move it to the proper dock space immediately which did not happen in a timely manner.  The homeowner was told he would have to compensate the neighbors from the neglect on Mrs. ******* not moving the boat in a timely fashion.  We are still unclear as to why the boat dock space was confusing for Mrs. ******* since she had been a returning guest for 7 years.The rental had been cleaned, prepped and inspected.  We have multiple vacation rentals that we manage and deal with guests from around the world.  Our guest satisfaction is a priority.  We also have a NYS real estate license and fiduciary duty to uphold.  Mrs.  ******* was returned her full security deposit with the understanding we will no longer rent to them again. We have not heard from her since. 

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