We rented a condo through Vtrips. We had never used this company before, but the same condo was found on VRBO so we thought we were safe. They had much lower fees than VRBO so we thought we were getting a good deal. We arrived on Saturday at 3:30 to Indian Shores Florida. We were supposed to check in at 4 so headed to the office. We were told that they had a large number of checkins and our room would not be ready until 5. They told us to go ahead and pick up our groceries and head to the condo. After purchasing over $200 worth of groceries for the week, we were told that the room was still not ready. After I pleaded with the lady because we had all our cold groceries, she told us we could go put our stuff in the refrigerator while they finished cleaning. When we arrived at 6, the cleaning staff had just gotten there and our condo was a nightmare. I'm not talking about needing a little cleaning, but the worst condo we have ever been in. This place did NOT look at all like the pictures. The carpet was disgusting, the blinds were all broken, the sliding door to the patio did not open, the dishes in the cabinets were dirty, entire chunks of tile were missing out of the shower walls (which left really sharp edges to cut someone while in the shower), the bed comforters were really stained, washer and dryer were old and all rusted out, the place did not need updating, it needed cleaned and maintenanced. It was in terrible shape. By this time, it's 7 and the kids are really wanting to go to the beach after being in the car all day. We took them to the pool and I immediately called Vtrips to ask for another place to stay or our money back. We were very rudely told that there was nothing they could do about our unit not being ready, there was no where else for us to go, and they had a signed contract so they would be giving us no money back. I begged and pleaded with the lady and told her this was not at all what was pictured in the photographs and that I had 2 small children. I explained I was worried they would hurt themselves in the bath tub. I asked to speak with the supervisor and she said the same thing then hung up on me. We made our kids go to the beach because the 3 foot deep pool was so dirty, you couldn't see the bottom of it.
After returning to our room from taking the kids to the ocean, I began checking our beds for bed bugs (this is something I do no matter where we stay). I was horrified what I saw when I began to pull the covers back. There were various dead bugs on the mattress, blood stains everywhere, and I found bug casings, and live larvae that was moving all around the edge of the mattress. I took photos and immediately called their after hours emergency maintenance number. I emailed the photos and was told by them that they confirmed these were bed bugs and that we should leave (you didn't need to tell me). We had to repack our car and get ready to go who knows where. I asked them what we should do and they told us they could do nothing to help us but someone from cooperate customer service would call us the next morning. By this time it was 12:30 and I was not feeling good about this company so I decided to call the police and make a report. They came out and confirmed what we saw and made a report. By now, it was 2 AM and we couldn't find a single hotel with a single vacancy. This means we spent the night in the Publix parking lot because we couldn't find anywhere to stay. Yes, me and my 2 kids spent the night in the car. I felt so terrible as both kids woke up crying in the night wondering where we were and why we weren't in a bed. They simply did not understand.
We began to message people about finding a place to stay for the rest of the week. Thankfully, we found a sweet couple in Manasota Key that had a little cottage that we could rent from them. It was a God send because the place was so clean and they were so nice. Not once did I get a phone call to check on us or follow up from Vtrips. I finally called them Sunday to ask how to get our refund. We were told that they were sending an inspector out to their own investigation and then would get back with us. By Wednesday I had still not heard from anyone. I called again for them to tell me that they were waiting to hear back from the inspector and someone would call me by the end of the day. No one called. I called again this morning, to be told that the inspector did not find bed bugs so they would only be refunding us $175 which is the cleaning fee for our inconvenience. I explained to her I had photos, a police report, and was told by their staff to leave. She said we left on our own free will and would receive no compensation since pests and rodents are in their contract. Let me also add, they would only give us the $175 if we signed a refund contract stating we would not put anything on social media about our experience or give any negative reviews. When I refused to sign they said I could not get any of my money back at all. I asked them to explain what kind of bugs they were if not bed bugs and since when did having live larvae in your mattress not mean something. I have cried, talked politely, and begged for them to tell me that they could do nothing for us.
Sucks! Never go through v trips! Scamers...,...,...,.,,,,...
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