British family in our country scammed: “We traveled to Belgium to find out our Airbnb didn’t exist” | Domestic
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A British family had imagined their trip to Belgium differently. They were scammed via the rental platform Airbnb: the house they rented turned out not to be a holiday home.
When the family arrived in Montigny-le-Tilleul, just south of Charleroi, after a long eight-hour journey from Birmingham, there turned out to be a tenant living in the house they had booked as a holiday home. Shortly afterwards, a second group of tourists showed up at the house, who had booked the same home through Airbnb.
“While we were waiting in confusion, another family came… they said they were from the area and that they had rented the place for their relatives,” said Mehri Jafarpour Shalmani, the British woman who flipped the house had tapped via Airbnb.
“Fantastic place”
The Belgian home was described on Airbnb as a “fantastic place that offers good times.” The host posed as “Danijel” and had not answered questions from British tourists for several days.
Shalmani immediately tried to call Airbnb, but got no answer, so the British woman called the police. A little later the owner of the house also arrived on the scene. He didn’t know about the Airbnb ad…
By the time Airbnb came up with a solution, it was around 7 p.m
Mehri Jafarpour Shalmani
Only after a few hours were they able to reach a representative of the rental platform. Airbnb eventually offered the family a night in another accommodation, which they could choose from a list. Bizarrely, the house they booked was also on that list again, but this time under a different name.
The next day, the group tried to secure a second night’s stay at Airbnb, but because they were unsuccessful, they decided to return home. They were refunded the rent. “It was so terrible, it was so stressful,” says Jafarpour Shalmani.
It’s ridiculous how they just advertise properties without doing proper checks or anything
Mehri Jafarpour Shalmani
Shalmani lost all her confidence in the rental platform and does not understand how she could have been scammed. An Airbnb spokesperson has responded to the incident, saying they are “very disappointed” with the family’s experience and that people are rarely scammed through the rental platform.
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He adds that they are doing everything they can to investigate the matter. “The advertisements have been removed from the platform and we are continuing to investigate. We are taking steps to address our original handling.”
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