Scam Alert!
 

I have had the misfortune of being scammed by "Rome Reservation" (209,000). I made the deposit in May and received confirmation. 3 weeks before departure, I received an e-mail stating that due to an error, the apartment I had made a deposit on was no longer available. Two other apartments were offered up, none of which were near the standards of the original accomodations. After finding suitable accomodations on my own, I twice requested my deposit back from the Rome Reservation representative I had been working with. I received no response. I then sent another message via the "Rome Reservation" website asking that the situation be handled by a "supervisor". Again, no response. Any suggestions on how to get my deposit back? Unfortunately I did not use American Express when I made my deposit. If you are thinking of using Rome Reservation to book accomodations, I highly suggest you use another agent.

Hi frankie,

Sometimes apartments are legitimately not available.

What did your contract say? Was the deposit a non-refundable fee to the broker?

Hi again,

You have my condolences:

Under Terms of Service it says

10. Deposit
At the time of your reservation we will take a non-refundable deposit to guarantee the booking.

See: http://www.romereservation.com/terms.php

I can understand being disappointed if you think the alternatives were not nearly the standard of what you reserved, however, I think you will have a lot of trouble getting a refund.

Did you read the terms of service of that site before sending them money? I just did and it clearly states deposits are nonrefundable except in cases of outright fraud or something. I don't think refusing an alternative apt would probably qualify for outright fraud. They also state that romereservation is not actually renting you an apt., it's just a website serving as a broker for owners or others who want to advertise on it, and it says Romereservation bears no responsibility or liability whatsoever if you don't like what you reserved or due to substitutions.

So, good luck with this, but it sounds problematic, and that legally you may not be owed anything based on the terms I read.

I trust and hope you made the deposit using a credit card. Notify the credit card company that the merchant did not provide the service requested. Indicate the efforts you made to resolve the matter with the merchant.

The deposit should be charged back to the merchant.

How much was the deposit and exactly how did you pay/send it?
Probably someone else came along and offered more money for the apartment.
So it seems a "confirmed" reservation isn't worth the paper its printed on.
Well at least they offered you some kind of alternative rather than just shut the door in your face.

My scam alarm just went off. Any well-intentioned hotel (or broker) will not keep your deposit if they can't deliver on an accommodation they agreed to. Absent some <i>force majeure</i>, there is no excuse for not having your apartment.

Bounce the cc charge.

The OP did not use a credit card.

The terms and conditions cover if you back out of the reservation... they don't cover if THEY decide that they don't have an apartment.

This is one of the reasons I try to avoid those larger apartment booking agencies. When they stipulate in their contract that they can substitute another apartment, I worry. Especially when your deposit is not refundable even if they change the apartment. Of course, some of those agencies are reputable, but there are just as many who show a couple of wonderful places and don't really book people into them but offer others as substitutes. I remember a report once about a couple who went by the apartment they had &quot;booked&quot; and got booted out of. They saw people coming out and struck up a conversation only to find out the people had been renting long term for something like a year -- so obviously the apartment on their original contract was never available when they &quot;booked&quot; it.

Which just goes to show that the only way to leave a deposit is with a credit card...and if somebody does not want to take a credit card I would never make a reservation as you have no leverage whatsoever.

A little reading comprehension.

The OP said s/he didn't use American Express. That leaves Discover, Carte Blanche, Visa, JCB, Master Card, and Diners' Club, and probably a few others I can't think of.

I looked at the Rome Reservation reservation forms, and they list an entry for a credit card number. So I Hope frankie3267 did in fact use some type of credit card, but not AMEX. If so, I think it would be reasonable to try to get the charge reversed.

Customer service in Italy is not what it is in the US. My dear Italian friend stated that if you buy a toaster and it does not work when you get it home, you have to buy another one. When I was in Italy with my sister she bought a purse from a lovely store in Sienna. They stated that the dye was Italian and would not come off like Chinese products. Three days later the color was coming off. We tried to return it in Lucca to the same store (like a GAP in Boston verses one in NYC). They would not deal with the situation. We drove back to Sienna on our way to Rome a few days later. They stated it was a used purse. We said it had only been used for 3 days, but no luck. No credit card refund or exchange of another item. They did take the purse and said they would mail it to their factory for further advice. This was done and my sister stopped payment of the item. Fast forward 6 weeks. The purse was returned to her in the same shape and the factory said it was not their fault. My sister refused to accept the package, and she lost the fight with the credit card company. No purse and she is out her money ($100.00). Good luck with this situation.