Complaint about a flipkey apartment

gas

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Jul 28, 2013
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I'm renting an apartment for 4 days from a real sleazebag lowlife realtor who is part of flipkey. Actually, the apartment is quite nice and a good deal, but lots of little things to complain about, though I won't. Suffice to say, they cheaped out on every little thing. Anyway, my real complaint is no hot water and not having TV for almost half my stay. I still don't have hot water and only a feeble attempt was made to fix it by the realtor after I threatened him with a bad review. The TV is fixed, if you can call it that, but I won't get into that.

My question --- the realtor seemed extremely concerned about a bad review. That is gonna happen without saying. But frankly, I don't think that's enough. I wonder if anyone has had any experience dealing with flipkey about such things.

Thanks.
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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Yeah. You have to be careful when you are renting a vacation condo that it is as advertised. Of course, they are concerned about a bad review because that will turn off other people. NO HOT WATER! He is just trying to save a few bucks are your account.Many people in the DR turn off the hot water and only turn it on when they need it. That is probably what he was doing to you. I doubt it was broken. Definitely tell it like it is. Maybe that will stop him from treating people this way.

LTSteve
 

Eugeniefs

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Jan 24, 2008
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Sorry to hear about your bad experience, I manage a number of apartments and one of my owners has his studio on flipkey. During his first couple of years he had a really good income with flipkey and as I manage the apartment I ensure that if there are any issues, then they are dealt with immediately. I explain to all renters that they must only turn on the hot water for 15 minutes or so before they wish to shower or have hot water and to remember to turn it off. I also tell them that a/c should be used conservatively not only because we like to keep costs down but also because we like to protect the environment, that generally works. However, if the realtor has let you down in a number of ways then say so... don't hold back, other people should be told what to REALLY expect!
 

gas

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Jul 28, 2013
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I wasn't gonna get into details, but I guess this will be practice for my review. Sorry to rant.

[rant on]About me. I've been to the DR enough times to know what to expect and more importantly, what not to expect. Still, sometimes I let the customs drive me a little bonkers. Anyway, in this case, I let my guard down and my normal suspicions about dealings in DR were mostly put on hold. The realtor got something like 64 out of 65 excellent reviews. He is an American and we hit it off on the phone when I first called about renting. As a result, lots of formalities were discarded with. For example, his website stated a $25 clean up fee and the invoice stated $35. There's more examples. But I called him out on that but did not ask to have it changed on the invoice. Never happened. Mea culpa.

Anyway, enough about me. Suffice to say I've learned to let the little things slide, including an extra $10 for clean up, a bull**** fee. First came checking in. I was in Santo Domingo at a hotel and tried calling and messaging the realtor about what time I could check in. It was not stated in the agreement. I kept getting messages back that he'd let me know and to that effect. Bear in mind this guy is allergic to the phone and addicted to whatsapp. Whatsapp and texts have their place, but sometimes a phone call can save lots of time and misunderstanding. Finally at 4, I was checked in by the realtor's assistant, a spanish speaking only handyman (I speak little Spanish) person. He knew nothing of the details of the rental and seemingly little about the apt. The apartment was a mess and he spent almost 2 hours cleaning it up while I was there. He was unable to show me anything, like the hot water switch, the safe which was very complicated, etc etc. I was left to figure things out for myself.

The TV was not working either. The handyman spent an hour trying to get it to work to no avail. At the time, I didn't realize there was no hot water.

Meanwhile, messages to the realtor were mostly ignored or I rec'd non-answers. All I got was VM when I called. The apartment happens to be big and very nice, though they cheaped out on all the furnishings.

The next morning, I realized there was no hot water when I took a shower. When I found the hot water switch, it did nothing. I called the handyman and told him. He said there was no hot water! Helloooo, they knew all along there was a problem. At that point I had it. My TV was still not working either. These were the only things I really cared about, mostly the lack of hot water. No, mostly the attitude. I messaged again a not so polite message - I had been very tactful up until then. No response. I said screw it and went to a hotel. I was literally at the reservation desk about to hand over my credit card when I rec'd a text from the realtor that he was coming right over - 20 minutes.

I cancelled the hotel and went back. 2 hours later he came. He proceeded to call me a complainer and was very disrespectful. It seemed he had a renter who wanted to pay a lot more than I was paying and he didn't care if I stayed. But I really had no desire to waste a half a day moving again. I should have. Again, mea culpa. But like I said, the apartment was nice in all other respects and is in a good area in Gasque. It took him 2 hours and he fixed the TV and several other things. He couldn't fix the hot water but promised to send someone later in the day. That was yesterday and the last I heard from him.

The only BIG problem now is lack of hot water. And frankly, I can live with that. It's not like it's ice cold. My beef is with this guy's attitude. An American with a bigger attitude and crap way of doing business than anyone I've ever come across.

The good part is I am able to put this aside and not obsess and enjoy my stay. I'll take care of this when I get back to the US. [/rant off]
 

drstock

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Oct 29, 2010
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It sounds to me as if the problem is with the local agent, not the owner, who is the one who will suffer most if you put a bad review on Flipkey. Maybe you would be better off having a word with the owner to let him know what is going on.

By the way, what is whatsapp?
 

Stefan1983

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Nov 6, 2013
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Looks like the problem lies in the communication from the start. How much time was there between booking and your stay?
Contact Flipkey, they have good customer service and will reimburse you in some cases.
 

gas

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Jul 28, 2013
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Thanks for the comments. I don't want to say anything further at this point. Once it's over and I receive or don't receive my deposit, I'll fill in all the gaps.
 

dulce

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Jan 1, 2002
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Thanks for the comments. I don't want to say anything further at this point. Once it's over and I receive or don't receive my deposit, I'll fill in all the gaps.

And here in lies the reason for complaints. He wants to relocate and wants his deposit back. He is threatening the landlord with a bad review if he doesn't let him leave early with his deposit.
He may have legitimate complaints but he forgets he is in the DR. His complaints seem like typical issues to me when renting in the DR. It takes time (Dominican time) to iron out the issues.
 
The guy wants to whatsapp b.c it's free! (with wifi/internet of course) Why pay for minutes! This guy sounds cheap and or poor!!

To the person who asked what whatsapp is. It is like free texting though out the world if you have an internet connection. You can do voice messages as well, maybe other stuff too but i don't bother with that.

I would just enjoy your trip and not care about the cold showers or little problems. It is not worth letting these little things **** you off!
If you have been to the DR many times you know how is it and all of things will be fixed a month after your stay if at all!!
 

gas

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Jul 28, 2013
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And here in lies the reason for complaints. He wants to relocate and wants his deposit back. He is threatening the landlord with a bad review if he doesn't let him leave early with his deposit.
He may have legitimate complaints but he forgets he is in the DR. His complaints seem like typical issues to me when renting in the DR. It takes time (Dominican time) to iron out the issues.

I'm sorry I even brought this up here. This is simply an ignorant comment. All I'll say is the realtor was never "threatened" and the subject of bad reviews was never discussed with him. Bash away.
 

gas

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Jul 28, 2013
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Thanks for the comment Harley. I am sorry I started this before its conclusion, but, like you said, I needed to vent. I let the situation interfere momentarily with simply enjoying myself and the great weather in santo domingo now, but it was only a momentary interruption. While I don't profess to be nearly accustomed to the ways of this crazy (but lovable) country as most of you, I think I'm realistic about my expectations. Until the matter is fully resolved one way or the other, I would prefer not to post specific information. However, I will post all the details once it's concluded. Thanks again.
 

dulce

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Jan 1, 2002
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I'm sorry I even brought this up here. This is simply an ignorant comment. All I'll say is the realtor was never "threatened" and the subject of bad reviews was never discussed with him. Bash away.

My comment was based on your original post where you stated that you threatened the realtor with a bad review. A couple of posts later you said you were going to check into a hotel. I based my statement on your statements.
Good luck getting the issues resolved. You are staying short term. Issues don't get resolved quickly in the DR.
I have had apartment issues and complaints in the DR while renting long term. From my experience the complaints did not get dealt with within days never mind hours.
 

arrugala

Bronze
Nov 7, 2010
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In the dr. Long term. You get it fixed. And taKE IT OFF THE RENT. Unless you have a. Decent, manager. Making sure u have. Receipt....short term your gone generally by the time its fixed! Thats paridise. For you
 

gas

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Jul 28, 2013
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My comment was based on your original post where you stated that you threatened the realtor with a bad review. A couple of posts later you said you were going to check into a hotel. I based my statement on your statements.
Good luck getting the issues resolved. You are staying short term. Issues don't get resolved quickly in the DR.
I have had apartment issues and complaints in the DR while renting long term. From my experience the complaints did not get dealt with within days never mind hours.

I understand the confusion. This is my original post that contains the reference to a bad review:

<<.....
My question --- the realtor seemed extremely concerned about a bad review. That is gonna happen without saying. But frankly, I don't think that's enough. I wonder if anyone has had any experience dealing with flipkey about such things.<<

It was the realtor that brought up reviews; I never even mentioned it and never acknowledged his comment. I'll also point out that I only rented the apt. for 4 days - today is my last day. Before that I was in a hotel. If issues don't get resolved reasonably quickly, it is a problem for a short stay. I am not here long term like you. The reasons I was about to move to a hotel was in good part because of the water and lack of TV, but more so because of the agent's seeming lack of caring. I'm here only for a week and I want to enjoy myself, not hassle with a realtor. I was willing to forego every penny I paid knowing that there was a good chance I would see nothing back, or only a portion.

I will say that things have improved. I have hot water and TV and I'm a happy camper now, but it took a monumental effort on my part to accomplish this and I spent half my stay without these "conveniences." As I said, I don't want to go into details now, and even though I might not write any review because things were eventually taken care of, I will report here all the circumstances to help others. I learned a lesson about renting apartments in the DR and maybe my experience will help someone else.

I don't think I'm unreasonable. I rented an apartment in Sosua that wasn't nearly as nice and had its share of problems, but the agent did everything in his power to make my stay pleasant and I had a great time. [Not that it matters, I wasn't in Sosua for the wimmin, though it was a pleasant diversion -). I accepted the situation, particularly a lack of sufficient AC in constant 95 degree weather. I gave the apartment a good review. I probably shouldn't have so as not to mislead others, but the agent promised to get the owner to fix things and I believed him based on my experiences with him.