SUSPECTED SCAM!

Other Scam
Houzlet

Date02/05/2024
PseudonymHouzlet
Url / Websitevrbo.com
Scamdoc Trust Score | Contact / Whois info
Scam contentsHouzlet is providing vacation rental properties in Florida and cheating people out of their deposits confirming reservations for properties to rent. They collect your reservation deposit of several thousand dollars to reserve a property, then shortly before you are to occupy the property, they cancel your reservation and offer a voucher to reserve other properties at a much higher cost. They operate on the platform VRBO-Houzlet, and I cannot find where they are licensed anywhere to do business in Florida.
Comment / ReviewHere is my experience:
In May 18, 2023, I paid $1642.15 deposit amount to reserve a vacation rental unit for the month of January 2024, which was cancelled by Houzlet on November 22, 2023 and as of February 5, 2024 has yet to refund me the deposit amount charged. Houzlet claimed the Owner of the unit was selling the unit and needed to cancel all reservations, which I found later to be a lie. They also said that deposit refund was not possible due to the original transaction being over 180 days from time of cancellation, which I did not initiate, Houzlet initiated the cancellation. I researched the unit ownership and found the owner, who informed me that the unit was not for sale, which made me realize that I was now a victim of fraud being acted upon me.
I had reached out to VRBO numerous times (Case Nos. 122081657, 122536687, 122688571) and each time they claimed to have talked to Houzlet, and a refund would be forthcoming, emailing me saying everything is resolved only for Houzlet to try other options rather than refund me the money. I finally agreed to have the refund applied to another Houzlet property that I had reserved for February only to have Houzlet then cancel that reservation, now owing me two sets of deposits!
I am now in the process of disputing the deposit charges on my credit card.