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caissie · Oct 13, 2011, 09:56 PM

Vacation owner cancelled our one month confirmed reservation so they could accept another longer rental agreement for one year. Please advise, they told us that they are not responsible nor is it there job to fin us another accommodation. We made the confirmed reservation 3 months ago, flights time off work are pets are booked and confirmed to be taken care of for the month. We have been told to bad, go find something else. We are schuedled to leave Dec 15 till Jan 16. We booked the condo July 5th and gave a deposit and have a reservation confirmation. They have no clause to get out or cancel our reservation. They sent terms and agreement which has no mention of them being able to cancel us for any reason let alone a better Longer reservation. They also excepted a renatal deposit as confirmation to hold the condo.
Thank you.

ScottGem · Oct 14, 2011, 03:32 AM

You see if you can find another rental or hotel or other accommodation, you don't have to worry about the costs, because you can sue the other owner for the difference in costs and any other expenses incurred. If you cannot find another accommodation, you can sue for your losses in cancelling. Unless there is a clause in the agreement that allows them to cancel the rental you will win.

You can file in small claims court assuming the costs are below the threshold. The problem will be collecting. However, I assume they cashed your deposit check, so you should have info about where they bank. You also know where the property is, so you will be able to place a lien on it.

AK lawyer · Oct 14, 2011, 05:04 AM

Is the condo in the U.S.

caissie · Oct 14, 2011, 07:59 AM

The Condo is in Montego Bay Jamaica, The owners live in the Florida.
I have all cell numbers, home address work place etc

ScottGem · Oct 14, 2011, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by caissie

The Condo is in Montego Bay Jamaica, The owners live in the Florida.
I have all cell numbers, home address work place etc

And you are in Canada? Not sure how small claims court will work here given the three separate countries. But your only option will be to sue them for your losses.

As for finding a replacement accommodation, try the Jamiaca Tourism bureau.

AK lawyer · Oct 14, 2011, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by caissie

The Condo is in Montego Bay Jamaica, ...

Reason I asked has to do with ScottGem's suggestion that you place a lien on the property. It may be possible to place a judgment lien (from a Florida - or Canadian -small claims judgment) on property in Jmaica, but I have no idea how.

Enforcing judgments internationally is probably more trouble than it's worth. I suggest that, if you sue, you either sue in Florida (and go after their assets there) or in Jamaica. This assumes, of course, that they have no assets in the province of Canada where you are.

caissie · Oct 14, 2011, 08:16 AM

I actually called them last yesterday. They gave me a few suggestion. I have investigated but at a much higher cost. I rented a condo at the Palmyra/Condos in MBJ. I paid 2,500 to a private owner. The Hotel connected to the property wants 600 per night
I'm not even on the same playing field to pay up front for the equilivant in hopes to recoup my costs

caissie · Oct 14, 2011, 08:26 AM

This was a well needed \ stress free vacation. Recovering from cancer and 9 surgerys. Who does this to people, all for greed. The owner is a prominet surgeon in Floridai- Harvard grad, an inventor plus 23 pattends pending has written books bla bla. I read his bio. He has money. I don't

AK lawyer · Oct 14, 2011, 08:28 AM

Originally Posted by caissie

...
I'm not even on the same playing field to pay up front for the equilivant in hopes to recoup my costs

Don't pay a lot more in the hopes of recovering it from the people who breached their contract with you. At this point you cannot count on ever getting anything from them.

caissie · Oct 14, 2011, 08:35 AM

I actually called them last yesterday. They gave me a few suggestion. I have investigated but at a much higher cost. I rented a condo at the Palmyra/Condos in MBJ. I paid 2,500 to a private owner. The Hotel connected to the property wants 600 per night
I'm not even on the same playing field to pay up front for the equilivant in hopes to recoup my costs

ScottGem · Oct 14, 2011, 10:17 AM

This is what they are counting on. They figure taking them to court will be too time consuming and expensive.

Was it actually the owner you rented through or a management company. Have you asked them if they will reimburse you for the difference?

caissie · Oct 14, 2011, 10:24 AM

It's the owners that we have dealt with not a management company. I found them through VRBO.com. Also on flipKey.com. I emailed the owners directly. The money was sent through paypal. All emails and telephone calls were direct to the owners. They at first emailed and said they would fix this situation and find a new accommodation for us. They emailed back and said the difference is to expensive and we are now on our own

AK lawyer · Oct 14, 2011, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by caissie

... I found them through VRBO.com. Also on flipKey.com. I emailed the owners directly. The money was sent through paypal. ...

Have you looked into the rental guarantee programs offered by these sites? For example:

"Guarantees your payment if your vacation rental is not as described.

While most vacations go as planned, surprises do happen. Don't leave anything to chance. The Carefree Rental Guarantee from HomeAway protects your payments up to $10,000 if:
The home has been foreclosed or is in bankruptcy
The owner inadvertently double-books the property
The owner wrongfully withholds your damage deposit
The property is misrepresented
The listing is an internet fraud"

https://www.accessamerica.com/VRBO/Index

Never mind. You would have had to pay extra for that coverage.

ScottGem · Oct 14, 2011, 10:31 AM

Have you talked lawsuit? Do you have a friend who is an attorney? Sending them a letter on an attorney's letterhead stating that you had a valid contract with them and by breaching that contract, they are liable for any additional costs you incur, may get some action.

From what you have said, this is a slam dunk case. They accepted your deposit and sent a confirmation. They have no right to cancel.

And also enlisting the website as AK suggested might be a good idea. I'm sure they don't want to deal with owners who do this to their clients.

caissie · Oct 14, 2011, 12:21 PM

I have called them, they do have a rental guarantee, however they refunded my money so that's all it would have covered.
They said if I took the guarantee they would make sure my money was refunded, that's all (they returned my deposit) They said they allow people to advertise on the site, its between owners and renters

They also said that they will file a complaint against the owners, if they receive several complaints they will not allow them to advertise on the site
Pretty must told, that's horrible and sorry for your luck

I have sent a letter to the owners saying they have 48 hours to respond, which they did.
He did mention that it would not be in either of our best interest to both find lawyers
The owner went on to say it is not his job to find me a place and wishes me the best of luck
He said don't give up, think positive. "Im sure you will fine something better then my Humble Condo", He also wished me and my family a wonderful holiday

ScottGem · Oct 14, 2011, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by caissie

I have sent a letter to the owners saying they have 48 hours to respond, which they did.
He did mention that it would not be in either of our best interest to both find lawyers
The owner went on to say it is not his job to find me a place and wishes me the best of luck
He said don't give up, think positive. "Im sure you will fine something better then my Humble Condo", He also wished me and my family a wonderful holiday

That's chutzpah. You tell the owner that it is his job to honor a contract that he enters into. That since he reneged on that contract, it IS his responsibility to compensate you. That's how the law will view things. You can agree with him that it may not be in either of your best interests to deal with lawyers, but since he has broken your contract and refuses to make good on it, then he is leaving you little choice but to seek a legal remedy.

Did you try the Jamaica board of tourism?

caissie · Oct 14, 2011, 02:08 PM

Scott, Yes I agree! "That's chutzpah"

It is disgusting to me, He actually told me that he gave me plenty of time to find a new location. He said as soon as he found out that he could rent to a Long Term Renter he notified me right away (I booked July 5th, he told me Oct 1st)

caissie · Oct 14, 2011, 02:16 PM

I have contacted the Jamaican tourist board and they will contact the mbj Palmyra and let them know what has happened. Even though they are a private condo owner, it is still affiliated with the hotel and looks bad to the Palmyra Hotel / Condos

The owner is smug... He thinks he is untouchable because he has lots more money then I would ever dream of The condo is 2 bedrooms 3 bathrooms and sells for over 1 million dollars as he calls it his " Humble Condo"

I have tried everything and I'm at a loss

I did keep every email and text communication between us

I wish I knew of a lawyer that would take this on for me. My thinking is the cost will be outrageous, and he has the finances to carry it on I do not

ScottGem · Oct 14, 2011, 03:37 PM

I don't know. It seems to me that this can be handled in Small Claims court, which wouldn't need an attorney and could be handled more cheaply. The facts here seem very clear. You had a contract, he reneged on it for his personal gain. That's not allowed by law. Your real problem is collecting since I have little doubt you would win.

But that doesn't solve your immediate problem. The reason I suggested contacting the Tourism Board is to see if they could help you find replacement accommodations.