Saturday, August 4, 2012

Destin Florida vacation condo rental scam-beware


My friends learned a valuable lesson as did I this last week. They were planning a family trip to Destin,Florida and looking for condo to sleep 4+. I found them a nice place (by pictures) and she proceeded to book it. When they got down there after driving for 14 hours, they were greeted with a "shady looking place". Once inside, they found dirty floors, picked up a broom and started sweeping. From there they found a child's underwear, half eaten yogourt container and it just got worse. Two things we should have done:
1. There was no cleaning deposit- this probably should have been a heads up.
2.The website I found this "great deal" on didn't have a feedback system.

My friend called to complain and get her money back. She was refused. They left to go find a hotel and the owner promptly locked them out (hence no pictures). She will be placing a chargeback through her credit card company.

Think twice before you grab a rental from a place you can not see a feedback system from. Don't trust pictures. Always follow your gut instinct.
He's running a "deal" right now. Hope you're not the next to be scammed by Ted Nehlsen in Destin, Florida.
http://www.valuevacationrentals.com/specials/Destin-Florida.cfm