Just bought my husband a new VW Passat GLX last night and the dealership would not let me use my AMEX for any portion of the down, but gladly accepted MC and VISA. Seems like more and more people just do not even accept AMEX.

american express charges businesses more in service fees than MC or visa. if they want to remain competitive and not go the way of diner's club, they'll need to rethink this imbalance.

Calamari

By chance, I was on Londonby.com (part of the worldby network) and there they were - Kensington Park apartments. I thought, could that be the ones you had your nightmare with? Yep!

Although I've never used worldby to book, I have seen listings of other establishments on that site that I know to be reputable, unlike KP Apts. So maybe the managers of worldby would be interested to hear of your experience (particularly as you have photos and proof.) Surely they want to keep their site 'clean' of listings which would damage their reputation.

I note that on londonby.com KPApts states that the cancellation fee is 3 days - and here they were charging you 5!

Glad it all worked out for you with AMEX.

Hi Calamari! I would have read this post sooner if I had known it was about your KPA nightmare. So glad it was resolved to your financial satisfaction. Now you can either forget about it forever, or turn it into one of those great travel horror stories that just gets better as the years go by. (We have quite a few of those.)

Gualalalisa, hello! Did you ever post a trip report? So sorry you missed the SF GTG. It was great fun and we hope to do another in the spring.

We're doing another SF GTG in the spring?! Break out the limoncello! It's almost spring, right?

Marilyn. Sadly, I do not think I will ever forget THAT experience. What a drama! I am glad that I have closure and that I have done my best to warn other fellow travellers of this land mine! Good to hear from you.

Sue_xx_yy - I have never checked out the site you mentioned. All I can really say is it takes a lot of brass to promote KPA to anyone! Why would they recommend a place they have never seen for themselves unless they are getting paid? Buyer beware! Perhaps I will check it out. Thanks!

Sure, Betsy. But it doesn't feel like spring right now -- chilly rain here in Marin. I've offered my house for a GTG, probably in April or May.

Marilyn - will you be inviting us So. Cals to your party? I would love to come.

Sue xx yy - I could not resist. I went to the site Londonby. and sent them a detailed memo. Turns out they are located in Florence Italy and do not preview their properties, they are listed for a fee.

Calamari, absolutely! I'll post the info well in advance so anyone who wants to attend can make advance plans if they are coming from out of town. Would <i>love</i> for you to attend! But truthfully, I haven't even started thinking about it. Too many other things happening first.

Sue xx yy:

I wrote to Londonby and this is the response I recvd from the Marketing and Communications Director, Andrea Brown,&quot;Following receit of your comments on the heels of comments from another guest, we have decided to remove the property (KPA) from our catalogue. From tomorrow, it will no longer be online.&quot;

Oh, Calamari, doesn't that feel good?!

Yep!

See you in the Spring!

Calamari, Good for you!! Glad you stuck to your guns. And now you helped prevent someone else from having a similar miserable experience...

BTike - Yes indeed, but now I need to get over it and get a life!

Calamari, happy for you everything turned out well. Smart to take those pctures.

Calamari, that's great! Thanks for contacting the site, who knows how much grief you have saved others. Londonby's words &quot;coming on the heels of another complaint&quot; were telling indeed.

Get a life? Eh, been there, done that, got the tee-shirt already. I prefer to be a sloth....

Sue xx yy - Check out Londonby and you will see that they have indeed taken KPA off of their site! You have done well to notify a busy body such as myself! I best get back to work or I will never be able to fund another trip this year. Cheers.