 I booked a Lowery's Vacation home online for our Florida vacation. It had been recommended by someone I know. They'd used Lowery's and had a good time. So I spent a lot of time searching for a property. Booked it online. Paid the deposit, had to wait a little over a month for the remainder to be taken out of our checking. I didn't hear anything from Lowery's. Not one word. The month goes by and the remainder wasn't taken out. I waited a week. Nothing. I call three times and get an answering machine each time.
I've been scammed, right? I finally receive a phone call from them. Something was wrong and the remainder had to be taken out of checking manually. Assured that everything is ok with our reservation. They asked when we were coming in, I told her the date and time. "Ok, see ya Sunday!" I am emailed 2 receipts - one for the remainder and one for the extra $$ we paid to have our pool heated. I am also emailed a letter telling me when checkout time is and directions to the office.
The Saturday before we leave, I get nervous. I know we are getting in late on Sunday. I am second guessing the office being open. I call the office and get the answering machine, as usual. I advise them what time we're coming in on Sunday and request someone cofirm that they'll be there and request a call back. The call back doesn't come.
Sunday night we're standing in a thunderstorm outside of the office, which is closed and we have no where to stay.
I grab a handy brochure that's at the front door of the office and call every single phone number listed on there. Each number takes me to the same answering machine. I leave a message every time, with my area code and cell phone number, every time. I search through all of my papers in my folder and call every number that's listed on my emails as well. Same thing, same answering machine, I leave the same messages.
I check the Tourist Info place of business 2 doors down, which is open. The gentleman there informs me it happens all the time and he's sorry that he can't help me.
We stay at a nearby hotel, where the desk clerk informs me that it happens all the time. I'm seeing a pattern here.
Monday morning we're at the office. The office manager (that's what she says she is) tells me that she emailed me a lockbox code. I tell her she might have sent it, but I never received it. I tell her I called Saturday and no one called me back. I ask for a refund for the night's rental and I ask Lowery's to pay our hotel bill. She says no, they will extend our stay for 1 night though. I ask her if she thinks the airline will go for that and she drops it. She tells me that she will have to speak to the person who worked on Saturday to see if there really was a message left from me and to see if that person called me back. I tell her yes I really did call on Saturday and no, she did not ever call me back. She tells me the person will be in at 1pm and she will call me then.
I never hear from her again regarding this issue.
We discover that even though we paid a large sum to have the pool heated, it isn't heated. I call the office. I have to spell my last name FOUR times and give our address FOUR times. The person still doesn't understand that I'm calling from a Lowery's property. She states she'll "tell someone". I tell her I want someone to come fix it and I want someone to come fix it TODAY. Lo and behold, someone does come out. They explain that the pools aren't on regular pool heaters but on heater pumps, which take sometimes days to heat the pool. They explain that Lowery's doesn't turn on the heat pumps until 1 day before the renter gets to the property. Nice, huh? Anyways, she tells me that it should work now & start heating up the pool & if it doesn't to call the office back.
Well, wouldn't you know it but we're gone for the rest of that day and the next. We're doing Disney and the space center and don't get home until late and so there's no pool time. My husband calls the office because he realizes the pool isn't heated and he's told that the office manager tried to call the property phone twice. Even though the phone in the house has caller ID and the caller ID states "NO CALLS". The office manager tells my husband that she's also been calling my cell phone. She then relays a wrong cell phone number to my husband. I guess the four messages I left with my number weren't enough?
She tells my husband that Lowery's will refund the entire amount we paid to have the pool heated AND we can move to another property with a heated pool. He asks me if I want to move. Uh. NO. We have a week's worth of food in the refrigerator and in the pantry. Do I feel like spending a big chunk of one of our vacation days MOVING? NO NO NO. The office manager tells my husband that they will give us the full refund whether we move or not. She also tells my husband that if we change our minds, we are free to move to another property. The kids don't want to move and neither do I. It's settled. We don't move. The kids swim, we don't because it's too cold for us. Ah well, it's our decision we made, we have to live with it.
The office manager never calls me regarding the refund of one night's rental. I find that 11 BBB complaints have been made about the company and that each one was resolved by the company. That's a low number and it speaks highly of the company that each complaint was resolved.
I email the office manager and outline everything again for her, requesting that we be refunded the pool heating fee as well as the one night's rental fee. I state I understand that mistakes are made and things are overlooked. I state that we ended up enjoying our stay and I want to recommend the property but can't until this issue is resolved. I request that she contact me by email. I do this so I have a paper trail.
My plan is that if she still refuses to reimburse us that I will file with the BBB. I don't want to do this, because my husband and my kids all want to return there next year. If I file with the BBB, I don't think I'd want to book another rental with them - would you?
If I end up filing, does anyone know any other really nice vacation homes to rent in Orlando?
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