poorly handled problem- word not kept
Review Submitted: October 28, 2008
Date of Stay: September 2008
My husband booked a week at this home shortly before our arrival date. Upon arriving, we immediately noticed the strong smell of paint. The next thing we noticed was that our socks stuck to the floor. Upon closer inspection we found that a very shiny white paint had been applied to the wood floors over a duller white paint around the area rug, the furniture, etc. (as if someone painted quickly without moving a thing.)
We were disappointed and worried but tried to live with it & began to unpack after opening the few windows that would open and had screens. Before we were even done unpacking I felt dizzy & nauseous & had to sit down. (It was raining so we could not wait outside.) My husband suddenly had a big headache. So he decided to call to see what could be done. He spoke with Mr., who said he had painted 3 days before our arrival. He was very apologetic. Mrs. offered to put us up in a different home accross the highway for a few days, then we could come back for the remaining 3 days after it had aired out more. My husband hesitated. We would not have been able to walk to the park or the beach (our plan) & we would have to pack up and unpack several times. (We have 3 young kids and I am pregnant.) So she said that she was sorry for the inconvenience & then said she would just go ahead and refund all our money! So we scrambled & called other rental companies and ended up farther from the beach in a more expensive house after a lot of trouble.
The day we got back we received a letter from Mrs. that included a check for only the security deposit & 1/2 the rent because she said she lost funds for that week since it was reserved for us (despite our super-short notice rental). I argue that no one else would have tolerated the fumes either, even if she could have found someone else to rent the place in the 2 weeks we had it reserved. Additionally, we made our decision to rent a different place instead of just staying at a hotel for the night and going home based on the promised full refund which we did not ask for, were told we would get & then did not get. We had a horrible, inconvenient day, are worried about our exposure to such fumes, & now we have to pay 1/2 of the rent for that experience despite the homeowners word.
Owner's Response: Yes. We did paint three days before your arrival. We wanted everything to be fresh for you. We are very sorry that it did not dry in time but our maintenance company said it was dry the next day after the windows were open. We bent over backwards reserving you a nights stay at a bed and breakfast in town and were also refunding you for one night. Instead you ran out and rented another place without giving us a chance. We lost the whole week and refunded everything to you accept the security deposit. We hope you will give us another try. We will give you a discount if there is a next time.
Best Regards, Julie Williamson
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Helpful votes: 4/9
