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A class action lawsuit claims that HomeAway, a company that facilitates online vacation rentals, does not properly notify renters of scams perpetrated via its website.
The HomeAway class action lawsuit was filed by Linda Spacil, who says that she booked a vacation rental in Switzerland through HomeAway. Allegedly, the vacation rental turned out to be a scam, and HomeAway failed to properly notify Spacil.
Spacil says she provided HomeAway with her name, address, phone number, credit card number, email address, and possibly her date of birth.
HomeAway then reportedly provided it to the property owner, who then requested that Spacil cancel her HomeAway reservation so that a “discount” to the rental rate could be applied, and then funds could be wired from her bank.
Allegedly, she did as instructed and wired the requested funds to the property owner, who then “absconded” with the funds.
Spacil claims that HomeAway deleted the listing because it was fraudulent just after she booked her reservation.
The HomeAway class action states that the website is frequently used by scammers who create fake vacation rental listings to take advantage of people attempting to use HomeAway to book rentals.
She says that had she known that HomeAway was frequently used by scammers, she likely would not have used HomeAway at all, or would have taken additional efforts to verify the legitimacy of the scammer’s requests of funds prior to sending them.
The HomeAway fraud class action lawsuit says that Spacil contacted HomeAway to inform them that the listing was a scam.
Allegedly, a customer service representative told her that it was unsurprising that the rental application was fraudulent.
Spacil says she requested reimbursement for her payment, but the customer service representative said that they were unable to process her request.
The plaintiff claims that on or around April 5, 2019, she filed a customer complaint with HomeAway, but the company’s subsequent investigation into the alleged fraud did not result in a resolution or a return of the funds to Spacil.
The vacation rental scam class action lawsuit asserts that HomeAway has a duty to provide “fair and adequate computer systems and data security to safeguard the personal information” of its customers, per the requirements of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
According to Spacil, HomeAway misrepresents to customers that its website is safe to use, and the services offered are legitimate and not scams.
The plaintiff is represented by David H. Krieger and George Haines of Haines & Krieger LLC and by Matthew I. Knepper and Miles N. Clark of Knepper & Clark LLC.
The HomeAway Scam Listings Class Action Lawsuit is Linda Spacil v. HomeAway Inc., Case No. 2:19-cv-00983-GMN-GWF, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
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16 thoughts onHomeAway Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Fake Listings
Please add me and update this case
Please add me, I need to be advised on what to do when VRBO resolution team will not refund my money due to property owner scam.
Lost $1500 due to misrepresentation during Covid.
San Diego PROPERTY: 7765668
Reservation ID: HA-TX6Y67
Cancelled due to owner residing within the property though the listing states “Entire Property”, a deceptive listing on Home Away site. Home Away’s policy is that homeowners can not live on the property.
Please add me this just happened to me and I am out 1400.
We were also victims of fraud from the HomeAway website in the amount of almost $11,000 I would be interested in joining this Class action. Please advise.
Hi Alyce – I am interested in your case – I was frauded because of HomeAway – $6600 – would love to know what anyone else is doing about their cases and what happened to The Spacil case
Have any of your filed Small Claims? I am going to try it. They are just very nasty and vicious. Unbelievable. We also lost thousands.
How can I join this? I had a similar experience in August 2019.
Can someone advise me as to how I can join this Class Action?
Add me
I wish I got this before I paid Airbnb for a vacation rental for next week. I went and checked more reviews and you were right. They say the pictures lie. The rooms are small and dated. It is more like an outdated hotel than a condo unit. Too late to cancel. I have my fingers crossed my vacation isn’t ruined.
Please add me
The rules may say too late, but I’d certainly be trying to ask if they (either the property owner or airbnb) can possibly accommodate your request to cancel…you just never know, maybe you’ll get lucky!
Please add me