Burned in Rome on Apartment Rental
Sep 1st, 2010, 07:18 PM
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Burned in Rome on Apartment Rental
I cannot recommend RomePower. Use a different company. My group paid a rental deposit on the Ovidius Apartment through RomePower.com for 5 days in Oct, 2010. We got a receipt for the deposit but did not receive the contract as is customary. We became very concerned when the Ovidius apartment continued to show available for these dates on the RomePower site. This continued for 7 weeks despite multiple e-mails, phone-calls, etc. Venere.com showed the apartment rented (but not to us) and RomePower.com, the last time I checked, still showed the Ovidius apartment available. We had fallen into a bait and switch. Marco and Valerie of RomePower told us the apartment was too far for us to walk, then told us the apartment would be painted during the time we had booked it, then told us that the area was not safe for women. They recommended an apartment near the Spanish Steps at almost twice the price (over 1700E for 5 days). When we declined, explained that bait and switch is a deceptive business practice and asked for our deposit of nearly $400 US to be returned, RomePower ceased to respond. Our deposit has not been returned despite all of our efforts. We were very fortunate to actually rent an apartment for the time period we needed (and got the contract with the receipt of deposit as is customary) but lost 7 weeks trying to work with RomePower. Learn from our mistake, take your business elsewhere. This advice could save you $400! Bri/Texas
Sep 1st, 2010, 08:09 PM
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I see you just registered today with Fodor's and am curious how you happen to find Fodor's to post your problem. I am not saying that you didn't have the problem but when a brand new poster registers to start a negative thread about a business/agency I am always a bit suspicious if the new poster is a competitor of the business/agency.
I could be wrong of course.
So what agency or whom did you rent your apartment with? And how was your time in Rome? A trip report would be interesting to read if you have the time to post one.
I could be wrong of course.
So what agency or whom did you rent your apartment with? And how was your time in Rome? A trip report would be interesting to read if you have the time to post one.
Sep 2nd, 2010, 12:10 AM
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What Love said!!
Too many red flags here when a first time poster puts up a rant about a certain company. We are a helpful, but appropriately skeptical community.
If you knew to post your rant here, what a shame that you did not first post to get feedback on your travel plans, before your bad experience!
PS Sorry if I am being too harsh, up at 4:00 AM EDT, online b/c of being unable to sleep!
Too many red flags here when a first time poster puts up a rant about a certain company. We are a helpful, but appropriately skeptical community.
If you knew to post your rant here, what a shame that you did not first post to get feedback on your travel plans, before your bad experience!
PS Sorry if I am being too harsh, up at 4:00 AM EDT, online b/c of being unable to sleep!
Sep 2nd, 2010, 01:43 AM
#6
I think that there are quite a few people who, after having a bad experience with a travel company, would think of finding travel websites on which to post a warning. I might do such a thing myself if I had not seen the way people here respond to such posts.
I do not see anything suspicious in this. Of all the many such posts I have seen here, I don't believe that more than a handful were phony posts by competitors, and it seems particularly farfetched here. Of all the rental agencies in Rome, why would a competitor single out this one for criticism?
And I am puzzled by the frequent response to such posts here that they would have more credibility if the poster also wrote something else about the trip. If I were a person who was registering on a travel site to post a bad experience, it would not be obvious to me that I would be more credible if I also posted a trip report or talked about the things I liked. Especially if, as here, the poster has not yet gone on the trip.
And I do not see how posting here before paying the deposit on this apartment would have changed anything about the poster's experience unless there were people here who had had bad experiences with the same agency.
These forums can be useful for many things. Posting trip reports or posting for advice on travel plans are only two of them. Posting reviews can be helpful to lots of people, especially reviews of bad experiences. If there is some reason to suspect a poster of dishonesty, that is one thing, but I see no evidence of it from the mere fact of having registered to post a negative experience.
I do not see anything suspicious in this. Of all the many such posts I have seen here, I don't believe that more than a handful were phony posts by competitors, and it seems particularly farfetched here. Of all the rental agencies in Rome, why would a competitor single out this one for criticism?
And I am puzzled by the frequent response to such posts here that they would have more credibility if the poster also wrote something else about the trip. If I were a person who was registering on a travel site to post a bad experience, it would not be obvious to me that I would be more credible if I also posted a trip report or talked about the things I liked. Especially if, as here, the poster has not yet gone on the trip.
And I do not see how posting here before paying the deposit on this apartment would have changed anything about the poster's experience unless there were people here who had had bad experiences with the same agency.
These forums can be useful for many things. Posting trip reports or posting for advice on travel plans are only two of them. Posting reviews can be helpful to lots of people, especially reviews of bad experiences. If there is some reason to suspect a poster of dishonesty, that is one thing, but I see no evidence of it from the mere fact of having registered to post a negative experience.
Sep 2nd, 2010, 06:45 AM
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Nikki, you have a thoughtful, and I might add, kind assessment. I am guessing that you are really a nice person! And you may be completely right in your take on it and I may be completely wrong in my feeling---and it is only that, a feeling---about this post.
Most people, in my albeit limited, (compared to some) time on this board do not do a first post to complain, but rather to seek advice/guidance. I think that is what seems to make me and LoveItaly (if I may be so bold as to speak for you, Love
) a tad skeptical when a first time post is put up to rant. If someone is so savvy as to find the forum to rant, then one would think---perhaps erroneously, I grant---that they would have found it for planning purposes as well.
Most people, in my albeit limited, (compared to some) time on this board do not do a first post to complain, but rather to seek advice/guidance. I think that is what seems to make me and LoveItaly (if I may be so bold as to speak for you, Love
) a tad skeptical when a first time post is put up to rant. If someone is so savvy as to find the forum to rant, then one would think---perhaps erroneously, I grant---that they would have found it for planning purposes as well.
Sep 2nd, 2010, 06:49 AM
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Bri,
I'm very sorry to hear about this bad experience. With today's travel costs, I would be extremely upset to loose that money!
I wondered how you hear about this company? I know there must be many, many apt rental "agencies", but this is one I've never heard of.
Maybe while you are in Rome, you can take further action? I would take proof of cashed deposit, all correspondence, and take it to the local authorities and see if you can make anything happen.
I would also let venere.com know about this. Maybe they can do something, or at least ban this company/apt from their website!
I'm very sorry to hear about this bad experience. With today's travel costs, I would be extremely upset to loose that money!
I wondered how you hear about this company? I know there must be many, many apt rental "agencies", but this is one I've never heard of.
Maybe while you are in Rome, you can take further action? I would take proof of cashed deposit, all correspondence, and take it to the local authorities and see if you can make anything happen.
I would also let venere.com know about this. Maybe they can do something, or at least ban this company/apt from their website!
Sep 2nd, 2010, 07:15 AM
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I agree with Nikki, I don't find these kind of complaints suspicious at all. I find ads or glowing reviews much much more suspicious and suspect a first-time poster who has never written anything is hardly likely to scour the internet to find a place to post a glowing review about a business for no reason.
However, I find it very likely that if someone has a very bad experience, they go to the internet to find a place to complain. What is so unusual about that. There is nothing that seems false about this post at all and I find it kind of annoying that anyone who posts a complaint on here is accused of making it up, even when it is very peculiar and very detailed in its presentation, which to me make the odds of fiction remote (I'm referring to many other ones I've seen on here).
Why do people think it is so strange for someone to complain on a travel website when having a bad experience. I myself think it very strange when someone posts a glowing review for no reason, as people just don't do that -- think oh I had a great time in this hotel so I'm going to research the internet to find a place to praise it. I don't think so. Complain, sure. Good reviews, you'd mention on Tripadvisor or a place like that, for hotels or something.
However, I find it very likely that if someone has a very bad experience, they go to the internet to find a place to complain. What is so unusual about that. There is nothing that seems false about this post at all and I find it kind of annoying that anyone who posts a complaint on here is accused of making it up, even when it is very peculiar and very detailed in its presentation, which to me make the odds of fiction remote (I'm referring to many other ones I've seen on here).
Why do people think it is so strange for someone to complain on a travel website when having a bad experience. I myself think it very strange when someone posts a glowing review for no reason, as people just don't do that -- think oh I had a great time in this hotel so I'm going to research the internet to find a place to praise it. I don't think so. Complain, sure. Good reviews, you'd mention on Tripadvisor or a place like that, for hotels or something.
