Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  04/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I recently had a terrible experience with Nomad Rentals during a trip to Mammoth Mountain. Unfortunately, our vacation coincided with a historic winter storm, which made it impossible for us to access the property for any period of time during our scheduled reservation. When we contacted Nomad Rentals for assistance; we were met with unhelpful and unresponsive customer service. They told us that travel insurance was the only way to get a refund, and refused to offer any other form of compensation or support. To add insult to injury, they also initially promised to refund our cleaning fee, but then decided that they couldn't refund the full amount because they had to pay the cleaning staff to check if the rental that we had never stepped foot in. We were shocked by their desire to have a customer pay their business expenses. We were left feeling frustrated, stressed, and out of pocket for both time and money. I would would caution others to be wary of their unprofessional and unethical business practices. They failed to provide adequate support or compensation for the disruption to our vacation plans, and their attitude towards us was rude and standoffish. If you are planning a trip, I would suggest looking for some other company.

  Business response

  04/18/2023

  This was a 3-night reservation of which the first night of arrival was inaccessible due to road closures. As we must adhere to our contractual agreement, this night was reimbursed; however, 2 nights remained on the reservation which were left vacant by choice. We also mention in our contract that refunds are not provided for early departures and that we will not be liable for such nuisances that the weather may cause. You can review these in detail in the rental contract agreed upon at the time of booking. When booking directly through Nomadness, you are offered at the time of booking the chance to purchase CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) travel insurance and are also sent a separate email with a reminder to purchase the travel insurance. As you are traveling to the Eastern Sierras amid winter, weather is always questionable. It is unfortunate this option was not selected, as you would have been able to file an insurance claim for the nights in question. However, Nomadness will not penalize our homeowners for our guests’ choices to not purchase CFAR. We also offered the cleaning fee refund once we confirmed the property was left vacant, which is also beyond our contractual agreement, and we were not under any obligation to do so. Since your reservation was never cancelled and still remained active on our calendar, it is necessary to check the property for use.

  Customer response

  04/19/2023

  Complaint: 19946076
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This is false. I did cancel the reservation. I called as soon as the road closed to cancel. It was not legal or possible to access the property due to government orders. This was beyond my control or simply “bad weather”. 

  
  Regards,
  
  Anastasia Chernov

  Business response

  05/02/2023

  We refunded this guest for the first night of their reservation, as they could not arrive that night due to road closures. The roads were opened the very next day, and the guest could have arrived for the remainder of their trip. The guest was a no-show for the remaining two nights of their reservation, when roads were open and there were no reasons the guest could have not arrived. Therefore, because they were a no-show, no refund was provided for those two nights. The guest could have purchased travel insurance to protect their vacation investment but declined to do so. Road closures in Mammoth and other mountain regions are common during the winter months, and guests should be prepared to adjust their travel plans accordingly. No refund will be allowed as per the rental agreement which is a legally binding document that states no refunds will be issued for no-shows.
  

  Customer response

  05/03/2023

  Complaint: 19946076
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  We were not a no-show. We cancelled the reservation. 

  Due to the road closures and stay-at-home orders, I was unable to stay at the property for the entirety of the reservation. It would have been unreasonable for me to attempt an eight-hour drive for a second time on Sunday, the second day of the reservation, with no guarantee of making it in.

  
  Regards,
  
  Anastasia Chernov

• Initial Complaint

  06/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I rented a townhome from Nomadness Rentals and was forced to deal with health, safety and a nuisance issue that were all out of my control over a three night stay. I reached out to Nomadness Rentals after our trip was over to ask for a refund based on the issues that we were forced to deal with during our stay and they quickly brushed them aside and gave us a 'final decision' that no refund was warranted. The issues that we faced are outlined below: - Morning one of the rental. I was woken up by a text from the unit owner at 7:45am asking me to move my car from a parking spot that came with the unit due to a pre-existing conflict with the next door neighbor. - Carbon Monoxide Detector went off on night two of the rental. The rental agency did not answer their phone. We were forced to call the fire department to have them come and check the rental unit as we ( 4 adults and 3 children) were very concerned about our health and safety. - Night three of the rental...the Carbon Monoxide detector went off again. The rental agency sent an employee to resolve the issue. She came to the unit twice and did not resolve the issue. She told me, 'I have no idea what I am doing.' It turns out that she replaced the Smoke Detector. The Carbon Monoxide detector continued to go off.

  Business response

  06/29/2022

  Thank you very much for sharing this information. 

  To note, parking restrictions are well-regulated throughout the complex and the policies are clearly stated in the check-in instructions and posted throughout the property.  Had these guidelines been followed, there would not have been a reason for the homeowner to reach out 
  Our call records indicate an after-hours emergency call on your 2nd night, June 17th, informing us you had already contacted the fire department due to the carbon monoxide detectors going off.  The recording notes that all guests were already outside the unit and we would be receiving a call back from the guest with an update.  We did not receive a follow up call, leaving the impression that everything was ok. 

  
  Since our emergency line did not receive a call back, our team reached out to check on you during regular business hours.  At that time, we were told the carbon monoxide batteries needed to be replaced and no harmful gases were detected.  We immediately sent a team member over to switch out the batteries in the carbon monoxide detectors. The team member was not familiar with the carbon monoxide system in this unit but reached out to our maintenance manager for guidance and instruction – completing full battery replacement in all detectors.  During our service visit, there was no evidence of alarms sounding off or outdated detectors.   

  
  After 6+ hours of our service team's departure, we received another call informing us the detectors were beeping again.  We once again sent a team member over to assist, even though all batteries were replaced, in case there was a faulty detector somewhere.  During the extended visit over 30 minutes, there was still no beeping for our team to investigate. 

  
  We received your compensation request based on the issues you had mentioned.  You had also advised we reached out to the fire department for the incident reports from your calls, which we did.  Per the records of the fire department, there was no evidence of carbon monoxide or hazardous materials at the property and that a reported headache was most likely due to alcohol.  Additionally, although we were advised the fire department came on 2 separate nights, they only had record of one visit.  

  
  Our team responded appropriately and handled the situation as would be expected. 

  As the report from the fire department did not support the issues mentioned and the parking regulations were clearly ignored, we were unable to grant your refund request. 

  Customer response

  07/05/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Nomadness continues to completely miss the point. They have spent a meaningful amount of time substantiating what occurred during our rental. What they continue to fail to address is the negative experience that all of this created and what a terrible place it put us in for two of the three nights that we were staying at their rental unit.

  In continuing to explain away what happened, Nomadness is not addressing the negative customer experience and is not offering up any sort of refund to recognize that the rental experience was well below any sort of standard that they have in place for their rental customers. What I am taking away here is that Nomadness is not apologetic at all for the health and safety issues that were part of our rental experience. They are not a customer friendly rental agency and protecting money collected from renters is hands down their number one priority. 

  I would like BBB to formally address Nomadness' lack of customer care that clearly comes through in how they handled their response to this situation. To be very blunt, their rental unit created a health and safety issue where parents and children were put into a challenging situation and Nomadness does not want to admit any sort of fault or provide a formal apology. This is a terrible way to run a business where return customers are likely a large part of a business model. 

  
  Regards,

  ***** ******

  Business response

  07/05/2022

  I apologize if this traveler feels our response does not address his concerns, however we very clearly went over each original complaint he made and directly addressed what he wrote.

  When consulting with the Fire Department, they reported that the traveler was intoxicated and although he claims to have called 911 twice, the records show only one call was made on one night during his stay, and that when the Fire Department arrived on scene, they quickly discovered no issue and that the beeping was due to a low battery on the carbon monoxide detector. Our team remedied the issue in a timely and satisfactorily manner. After addressing his concerns privately, and again publicly in front of the BBB, we get the impression that it is this traveler's intention defame our organization unless he receives monetary compensation.
  

  It is not uncommon in our industry to see travelers attempt to receive a free or discounted vacation by threatening us with bad reviews and online complaints, and we have a zero tolerance policy for this. We have black-listed this guest from staying with us in the future and have reported his name to our damage insurance company who insures tens of thousands of short-term rentals across the United States, and will now reject coverage for him due to this attempted extortion.

  We have no further comments on this matter, and urge the guest to contact us directly for additional discussion.
  

   

  Customer response

  07/05/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: This is insane and, honestly, slander Nomadness did not proactively reach out to anyone staying in the rental to discuss this matter. I said from the first outreach that I made that this was not about money, it was about acknowledgment of services not provided based on what we were forced to deal with during the rental period. We did and were more than willing to pay for a rental as we have many, many times in the past. I take extreme personal offense at the accusation of being intoxicated as a reason that our claim is invalid. I had maybe two alcoholic beverages that night. We were on vacation and I am not hiding that fact. My wife is pregnant and was completely sober as was my sister-in-law. This is yet another example of Nomadness ignoring what happened in a effort to distract from a rental that caused many challenges to a renter where compensation should be made without question. I will not rest until Nomadness recognizes these FACTS and reverses the damage that they are now proactively causing due to their ignorance surrounding this incident. 

  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******

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