VRBO Damage Deposit Dispute?

[importracer]

Hi Guys,

Looking to get some advice on disputing a portion of our Damage deposit which was kept by the rental company via VRBO.

The dispute is only for $240.00 deducted from the $1000 deposit, so wondering if it is worth any effort?

Long story short; we rented a place in Canmore which had a hot tub on site, however was not listed on the listing. Said hot tub was not locked and accessible so we decided to use it.

The rental company is saying that the Hot tub was not included in the rental, and the owners of the property are insisting that the Hot tub was locked. Now they are keeping $240 from our dd for cleaning/replacing filters on the hot tub.

Any advice on how to proceed will be appreciated.

Thanks,

[revelations]

File a credit card dispute. Ask the hosts how exactly the hot tub was locked.

[pheoxs]

Was it listed in the description as extra or not included? That'd help towards your dispute either via vrbo or your credit card

[importracer]

Thanks guys, Contacted the VRBO support and began the dispute process through them. If I get no where with them, I will contact my Credit Card.

Hot tub was not mentioned in listing, contract and or welcome binder, however a previous person who stayed at the place included it in their review on VRBO.

[spikerS]

My first question is, in what condition was the hot tub left in that they even knew you used it in the first place, locked or not?

[bjstare]

Originally posted by spikerS
My first question is, in what condition was the hot tub left in that they even knew you used it in the first place, locked or not?

That's what I'm thinking too haha. Someone would have to be pretty disgusting to change the cleanliness of a hot tub after one or two (or 5) uses.

On the other hand, maybe the homeowners just noticed no lock was on it anymore, and assumed OP removed it (when they could have forgotten to put it on or something).

GL OP, probably going to run into a bunch of he said-she said. Have fun with that.

[spike98]

Originally posted by cjblair


That's what I'm thinking too haha. Someone would have to be pretty disgusting to change the cleanliness of a hot tub after one or two (or 5) uses.

On the other hand, maybe the homeowners just noticed no lock was on it anymore, and assumed OP removed it (when they could have forgotten to put it on or something).

GL OP, probably going to run into a bunch of he said-she said. Have fun with that.

All you need it to wear a few articles of clothing for hot tubs to foam like a bastard. Hot tub owners know this and don't use fabric softeners or sheets for the tub suits. Its not hard to dirty up the tub water.

That being said, the VRBO owner is a bitch and should have explicitly stated it was not to be used.

[bjstare]

Originally posted by spike98


All you need it to wear a few articles of clothing for hot tubs to foam like a bastard. Hot tub owners know this and don't use fabric softeners or sheets for the tub suits. Its not hard to dirty up the tub water.

That being said, the VRBO owner is a bitch and should have explicitly stated it was not to be used.

I've literally had a hot tub my entire life, and maintained one myself for the better part of a decade now, and never once have seen my hot tub foam up. We don't use fabric softeners, but do use dryer sheets in everything, and for what it's worth, I had the same tub water in from Nov to nearly May this past year, and it was still clear when I changed it in the spring (use of hot tub was minimum twice a week).

May just be a classic case of YMMV, but based on my personal experience, it takes a lot to wreck hot tub water. Unless of course, your chemicals are a bit off - then it just wrecks itself, needs almost nothing to turn it grimy.

:dunno:

[importracer]

Just for some clarification;

We called the rental agency asking some questions about the hot tub while we were already in it. That is how they found out that we used it.

They told us at that point verbally that it was not included. They sent over a guy to verify we were not using it, and snapped a few pics of our party in the hot tub.(we werre all exiting at that point to comply with their request)

The water looked as it did prior to us using it, when we closed it all back up.

Had we not called, they would not have known that the hot tub was used.

[suntan]

LOL, $240. Set of dual filters for mine are around $110.

Tell them to fuck off and throw in some extra chlorine if they're so worried about your cooties.

[roopi]

Originally posted by cjblair


I've literally had a hot tub my entire life, and maintained one myself for the better part of a decade now, and never once have seen my hot tub foam up. We don't use fabric softeners, but do use dryer sheets in everything, and for what it's worth, I had the same tub water in from Nov to nearly May this past year, and it was still clear when I changed it in the spring (use of hot tub was minimum twice a week).

May just be a classic case of YMMV, but based on my personal experience, it takes a lot to wreck hot tub water. Unless of course, your chemicals are a bit off - then it just wrecks itself, needs almost nothing to turn it grimy.

:dunno:

Foam in a hot tub is very common just from lotions, fabric softeners, etc. You must have a magic hot tub if you've never had to put a chemical in such as 'Foam Away'.



Originally posted by suntan
LOL, $240. Set of dual filters for mine are around $110.

Tell them to fuck off and throw in some extra chlorine if they're so worried about your cooties.

Even if was used once there is no need to replace the filters.

[bjstare]

Originally posted by roopi


Foam in a hot tub is very common just from lotions, fabric softeners, etc. You must have a magic hot tub if you've never had to put a chemical in such as 'Foam Away'.



I think it's largely got to do with the fact that we only use one chemical (bromine). Never shock it, or put in things like 'Foam Away'. In my experience, simpler is better. If you haven't, next time you change the water, I'd strongly recommend just using bromine. No shock or other additives. It's much easier to maintain.

Sorry 'bout the derail OP :)

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by cjblair


I've literally had a hot tub my entire life, and maintained one myself for the better part of a decade now, and never once have seen my hot tub foam up. We don't use fabric softeners, but do use dryer sheets in everything, and for what it's worth, I had the same tub water in from Nov to nearly May this past year, and it was still clear when I changed it in the spring (use of hot tub was minimum twice a week).

May just be a classic case of YMMV, but based on my personal experience, it takes a lot to wreck hot tub water. Unless of course, your chemicals are a bit off - then it just wrecks itself, needs almost nothing to turn it grimy.

:dunno:

+1 we had a hot tub for ~10 years, never once did it require a de-foam. I don't think we even owned a de-foaming product. Nothing magical about what we did. Sure it bubbled a bit but nothing I could classify as foam or like a bubble bath.

If your washer does a bad rinse job and you use too much detergent or something on your clothes, I could see how the jets would make foam but we never had an issue at all. We used enzymes + tiny bits of chlorine for water treatment.

Back on topic, is VRBO like eBay/PayPal where they side with one party 100% of the time and you are screwed with any dispute? IMO this is totally the renters fault for not making hot tub use clear, and leaving it in a way that was obviously easily accessible (not locked or not locked well enough to tell it wasn't meant for use). You'd think they would have a sign on it or a notice in the unit at the very least.

Last resort would be to dispute the charge with the CC company as they will probably side with you.