SimediaRE. This post is a brief overview of our experience with Simedia RE, With contact information based in Italy. I am looking for any information or comments- agreeing or not- about this company,
SimediaRE. This post is a brief overview of our experience with Simedia RE, With contact information based in Italy. I am looking for any information or comments- agreeing or not- about this company, as I still look forward to recovering my money.
My family had 2 reservations with Simedia- both in Paris, and both in the first week of January, 2012. I booked one apartment for my family of 5, and my father-in-law booked another for he and his wife. We found both of these online using Flipkey. Flipkey tells me they have removed all postings for Simedia RE and it’s alleged properties, and will no longer conduct business with them.
The first reservation was for an apartment in the first arrondissment of Paris. After a long and painful email exchange, I wired the full amount to a bank account in Milan, Italy. 2 days before we arrived in Paris we received an email telling us we had been re-located to a similar apartment. It was not an apartment but rather a hotel, it was in the 11th, and Simedia no longer answers our emails or phone calls.
That story pales in comparison to my father-in-law’s. He also wired the money directly. He was never contacted again, and upon arriving in Paris, discovered there was no such apartment in existence. This is correct: they left a 75 year-old couple on the street in Paris, middle of winter, no contact information or contact person, after taking their money the week before. This, for me, describes perfectly the kind of person/people we’re dealing with, no matter WHAT their story is after the fact.
Any questions about Simedia or it’s owners, feel free to email me at mtodell@msn.com.
I am horrified at your story, especially with the old folks, and wish (as you do) that you had never done business with this company of thieves. If you have had good luck with FlipKey previously, I can understand why you would have thought that all was okay dealing with SimediaRE through FlipKey. But I must tell you that I would have been most reluctant to WIRE(??) money to Italy for apts in Paris. I would have thought that something was quite amiss with a major company that does not deal with credit cards, and also requires payments in full. This really was a smelly deal from the beginning.
What responsibility does FlipKey have in this outright thievery? I think it should bear much responsibility, as it allowed SimediaRE to do business through them. Again, my sympathies, and keep us notified of any future happenings.
In the past two years, I have had excellent luck renting vacation apts in London and Avignon through HomeAway - great properties at very good prices. And no sending full paymen up front.
If I understand correctly Flipkey is a Trip Advisor subsidiary and if that's the case I have 2 questions.
1. Why would a company the size of Trip Advisor not take payment by credit card for accommodations on their site and thereby protect everyone involved?
2. How can Trip Advisor advertise and encourage us to do business with entities on their website and not stand behind the transactions.
This is what it says about payment on the Flipkey site:
Send your deposit. Most rentals request a small deposit to confirm the reservation.
Stay safe with your payment.Avoid paying by wire transfer (such as Western Union or Money Gram), and instead always pay by credit card or PayPal.
So they say don't wire money buy still represent property owners/mangaers who demand it.
This story seems altogether shocking and while there's some responsibility inherent in ignoring the advice to not wire funds, still, I'd very much like to hear what Flipkey/Trip Advisor has to say although I'm not holding my breath.
To add another layer, until last month when it was spun off in a public offering, TripAdvisor was part of Expedia. Given the timeframe of ChinaShark's rental issue, that might also be an avenue to pursue.
I wonder, though: TA/Expedia may take refuge behind that warning and claim that they were unaware of the rogue behavior.
Thank you for the responses/questions. Several things come up: *Wires/cash: over 2+ decades of travel, I've never been stolen from like this. I consistently use my credit card, however I have wired direct 5 or 6 times successfully, most recently this last Christmas for a chalet in the alps. CLEARLY this is a risk, yes I blame myself for ignoring the warning signs, no I don't recommend it... But it has/does work. *Acceptance of credit cards: there are legit businesses that do not have the ability to use the CC system, again the alps chalet- private owner, just one property, self-managed. I understand this as I myself have properties... Again, a risk. *Flipk/Tadvisor/Expedia, etc and the culpability/accountability... They are brokers, just like stockbrokers, and at the end of the day the transaction belong to you, the purchaser. You can sue, but given the dollar amount involved that will rarely happen. I've received several messages corroborating my experience with Simedia, unfortunately all booked through brokers. I hope to keep the pressure on till they are no longer found except at their own site. *Flipkey's response- supportive & claiming to follow up with the offender. I've no reason to doubt that, although they've ignored my request to provide copies of.
I've also wired funds in the past, although it was always either to a known broker in France, or to the owner identified by them and on the formal lease. Always made me nervous...the wider acceptance of cards and especially of PayPal has made things easier in many cases.
I think some of the online agencies are so anxious to have--or appear to have--a large number of listings that they are sometimes less than diligent in checking the bona fides of some of the listers.
PHeymont and I have both very successfully used AirBnB http://www.airbnb.com/ and when I posted my first response above I was thinking of them as a model that other online brokers might emulate. If the OP had gone through a similar broker website they would not be having the difficulties they've been having. The website handles all payment by credit card and does not hesitate to refund customers' money in the event of change of plans (if it falls within the owners' chosen refund policy which is given in the listing) or if something goes wrong. Property owners do not recieve funds from the company until after check-in and easy contact with the website precludes a ripoff. I see no reason whatever, in this day of more sophisticated online transactions, to put oneself in the position of trusting a stranger when there is no recourse as in this case. Wiring funds is also expensive and with all the downsides of such a transaction why would anyone abandon the protection of a website that values their clients as well as that provided by our credit card companies.
I understand that it can be tempting but is any property offered by an unknown entity worth the risk of one's trip when there are so many offered with protections? I don't think so.
I've long followed a policy that I will never pay in advance for anything with a bank transfer, or any other way than a credit card. Yes, I know some people have done it and it sometimes works, but if it doesn't you basically have no protection, and why take the risk? There are plenty of lodging establishments that do take credit cards, so I use them instead. I've never felt I'm missing out on anything.
I've sometimes actually said in my initial inquiry about a reservation that if they want a deposit or advance payment, please note that the only way I can do this is with a major credit card. I don't explain this, I just say that's how it has to be. Sometimes, not always, they've actually waived the requirement to wire them money. I guess it depends on how bad they want my business.
Another thing to keep in mind is the very high cost of sending a bank transfer from the US in a foreign currency. I've seen a flat charge of US $45 or more for doing this, plus you get a horrible exchange rate -- between the two, you can easily be shelling out as much as 15% or more over what a straight interbank-rate currency exchange would cost you, as opposed to typically only 3% that the cc foreign currency charge will pick your pocket of.
First- I want to thank you all for the intelligent, helpful, and broad-minded comments. I've run into far less accomodating 'perspectives' in the past, and I want to underline how much I appreciate the ability to share with a group that is willing to 'coach' as well as hear difficult or challenging content. So- Yes to all of the above. I'll be travelling again with my family, internationally, in the next few months, and will certainly look into jyphoto's suggestion as well as take ramblinman's comments into consideration. RE Rman's thoughts... I have several currency options available to me, and I'm in a spot with my bank where $15 cover the transfer. I think I'll lead, in the future, with your note about using major CC's, which could never hurt even if I find myself in love with a given locale. Thanks again! m
Quick follow up to my original post- I've received dozens of notes concerning similar or identical ones to what I laid out. I have about 10 of us with the interest and information to follow up 'effectively', and I'm hoping to be in Italy in the next several weeks where I will personally file paperwork and investigate our options. If you'd like to be involved/support this effort with your data and/or sopies of communications, please email me and I'll get back to you this week. Thanks
Have you contacted authorities in Paris and Milan about this?
I am asking while fully realizing that had this happened to me or my family in a foreign country, I wouldn't know what to do. But clearly you were robbed and I am not using the phrase jokingly. These people are thieves.
Where in Italy will you be traveling? Are you an American citizen? If so, do you think it would make any sense to talk with the American embassy in Milan about this? This was a Milan bank account. Expedia might respond to requests from the American government for records.
Italian banking laws are actually incredibly strict and getting more strict. While very little money is being spent on social goods, prosecuting people who abuse the banking laws or who don't pay taxes on their Italian income or assets is the one part of government spending that is growing.
By the way, if it makes you feel any better, I long ago got over being "nervous" about wiring money ahead for a rental, and since I travel in so many remote places in italy, it really has been a necessity. It is only recently that it has become possible to pay with a credit card or PayPal, and even then only in the cities. Like you, I've had such a long record of positive experiences with foreign landlords, I would just be a sitting duck for something like this. I think you are taking it very well.
I don't want to divert this thread, but one reason I never even consider looking at AirBnb and never recommend it to others is because my understanding has been that (a) you are often in a room in a stranger's home with the stranger sleeping there and (b) many of these apartments are not legal vacation rentals. They are just individuals willing to let you have their space for a fee. I am happy to be re-educated, because I know you two are not careless travelers, but I have had the impression this is just another form of VRBO, Craigslist or couch surfing.
Mushroom, AirBnB bears no resemblence whatever to Craigslist which is dealing with individuals and buyer beware, no website control. Couchsurfing is free lodging. Probably more like VRBO except, again, no payment is handled by the VRBO website as far as I know, simply a place to advertise.
AirBnB accommodations run the gamut from the spare room with the owner in residence to upscale apartments and homes. Something for everyone. The website handles payment by credit card and is very responsive to queries. It rates owners AND renters and monitors communications between the parties. Refund policies are set by the landlords (flexible, moderate, strict, super strict) and managed by the company. So, for instance, I became less comfortable with a reservation I had in France last year and cancelled with a "flexible" refund policy and had my refund the same day. Landlords are constantly monitored for response time with that information on the page with the listing. Both parties are reviewed so both landlords and renters have a history on the site so everyone can make informed decisions about who to rent to and from.
The website is very comprehensive and I suggest you spend some time on it, get to know it. I don't think there's another like it and many of the stories rampant on forums are long out of date and from before the entire site underwent a security revamping. Nothing is foolproof but I think they do an excellent job.
Thanks for the updated picture. My preference for renting through agencies who take full responsibility for the contract is that I know 90 percent of all rental apartments advertised anywhere have an owner somewhere who can pre-empt your reservation on short notice. When I rent through an agency, I know that they can't prevent that from happening, but that the good ones will take responsibility for finding me another apartment.
I just worry with AirB&B that the owners can't help it if they get sick and can't move out of their own apartment, or if the heater explodes, or whatever -- but they have no way to get me another apartment.
...the good ones will take responsibility for finding me another apartment. I just worry with AirB&B that the owners can't help it if they get sick and can't move out of their own apartment, or if the heater explodes, or whatever -- but they have no way to get me another apartment. Posted by mushroom
It's all covered on the website - please do have a look. In many, if not most, cases the apartments are not occupied by the owners, are income properties. The website people are available 24/7 and will transfer your money to another property if that's what's needed. As I said, very comprehensive help. They earn their money. I think you'll find that AirBnB has far more resources at their disposal than sites you now think of as the good ones. http://www.airbnb.com/help/topic/traveling
My only notes to add to JYPhoto's: One AirBnb improvement in the past year has been a shift from owner-provided photographs to pictures taken by AirBnb staff or contracted photographers; they can be identified by a watermark in the upper corner stating that it's an AirBnb Verified Photo; that's more the norm every day.
Once the rental is confirmed, you're in direct e-mail or phone contact with the host; in several cases, that's been like having a local friend to provide helpful information, as well as to give us a neighbor's name and phone number to help out when our laundry got locked in the basement!
Yes, I went to the link JYPhoto provided, and saw all the reassurances. I alsp spent time perusing the rest of the site, and even clicked on the link to articles written in the major press. I got curious about The Guardian had to say, and the headline of its article was "AirBnB: Grown-up Couch-Surfing." So that's where i got the idea. I read the Guardian travel section all the time, so that's how I formed my impression.
Back to chinashark's problem, I also spent time looking up SiMediaRE, I did find pictures of apartments in Paris they claim to be renting, and you could see how someone would be very eager to rent them, especially if part of the consideration was making sure parents were comfortable. Really a pity.
Mushroom, Very appropriate questions. I did not consider Paris (working on that now) however I've been in touch with the police (Carabinieri) in Milan... Language is a difficulty. I live in Amman, Jordan, and travel often- I'm hoping to drive into Milan if my schedule will allow it to follow up personally. Love the tax idea... I see there are 'Tax Police' in Italy, so I'm working on that now. Thanks for the thoughts/input. It sounds like you live there? If so, any additional thoughts or suggestions on how to handle this given the international aspect? M
