I needed a room for six weeks in a big German city. I went on Airbnb in September and found a room. The Airbnb description said it had Wi-Fi, a window in the kitchen, and was close to where I would be working.
I got along with the owner, exchanged numbers, and asked whether we could find a solution without Airbnb. We agreed that I would pay directly and avoid Airbnb fees.
On 02.11 I suddenly received a new address for the apartment. When I arrived, I found out he was renting out a student dorm room. This was never mentioned in the description. There was no Wi-Fi, the photos didn’t match, and the apartment was very dirty.
I needed the room, so I paid him the agreed amount, the same price we had agreed on for the original Airbnb apartment.
Immediately I was confronted with his rules. No guests, and if he found out I would have to pay. If the apartment was dirty, he would charge me extra. These were presented as threats.
Over the following weeks, every time I raised an issue, he threatened me with extra costs and insulted me.
I then started digging and found out he was a subtenant of a subtenant of a subtenant.
He had found the student apartment only five days before I moved in and lied to the tenant above him, saying I was a friend. He paid around 400 euros for the whole period while charging me 800 euros. He never mentioned Airbnb.
He is a student and openly bragged about running illegal Airbnbs as a side hustle alongside his studies. He is not allowed to do this because his visa does not permit it.
Because the insults and threats continued, I reported his Airbnbs to the German Ordnungsamt. The city has a platform to report illegal Airbnbs, and it was easy since all six of his listings were visible on his Airbnb profile.
I also reported him to the German finance authorities, as they investigate untaxed business activity.
Finally, I sent all screenshots to the police under the categories of insult, threats, and blackmail. Also, I know hiw visa is till 2026 , so he'll have fun trying to explain why he wasnt studying
Edit. I am well aware of having used Airbnb , and then not stuck to the platform. But just because you don't want to give money to a city destroying multi billion company, you deseeve to be treated with insults and threats.
Edit 2 When bring called out for illegally renting out a student room, one I could be constantly be kicked out, since I am not a student, he just insulted me and also said " I am a business man". So yeah, reporting him to the anonymous tip off pages for fraudulent business did seem rewarding
Edit 3 He ripped of the dude, he was renting from too. They agree he would pay 2 x 275 for two months. He paid 275 and then, 1 week before I left 170. Edit 4 He threatened me with a lawsuit , if I don't take down a post about him in a telegram group aimed at finding subtenants( where he found my Appartment) I warned about him, but in a way that I can't be suis for defamation
Thank you for pouring salt all over this leech.
Kill them with fire.
No tolerance policy for those scumbags.
It's Germany so maybe... not that
You should also try to report it to Airbnb so his listings will be removed. Provide all the documentation and conversations to support it.
I did. Airbnb was like, nah fam, can't do shit, you proposed to go offline, hehe
The property you stayed at wasn't Airbnb, so no they won't do anything. You could still possibly review where you booked. Put in you were scammed, didn't stay at the property advertised etc.
From you have done, the cogs of german bureaucracy turn very slowly, but once they catch things will get very uncomfortable for him!
When it comes down to chasing money, the Finanzamt doesn’t play. I have watched people suffer with a quickness! The German government knows how to speedily get their coins.
Burn, baby burn
Disco inferno
Show 'em now to do it now
thank you for your service. let the scumbag burn.
I mean you aren’t wrong in all of this. But also maybe just stick with the Airbnb for the contract and stuff to make this thing not happen in the first place but heh
Nah, not using Airbnb again
That’s fine but this is totally the type of shit that happens when you go no contract. You didn’t get shit in writing from the guy. Ya he ducks for trying to pull one on you but you are an idiot for going cash under the table with word only and no paper trail. Literally this is your fault
Yup, am aware of that.
Basically me then going ballistic on him Is also a way of last report since I am hating myself for having been scammed by him
Believe me I fucking hate Airbnb. But the people who use that site to rent properties are generally also trash. As I’ve gotten older if it’s money related then that shit will be in writing. If it can’t be in writing then fuck you. Hell if a friend or family asks me for money that shit is in writing and it’s funny how quickly they suddenly don’t need money if that have to sign for it. So ya you learned a lesson. Just get a hotel next time haha
Hahaha man, I learned lt
Kinda sounds like you wanted to scam Airbnb, and he scammed you instead. The scamming chain was instigated by you
? I just didn't pay a multi billion company? And then get threatened with violence? I don't think so
You used the website to find a listing (using Airbnb as a service) then thought you could get that same listing without paying Airbnb. Other dude took your money and provided you shittier housing than you expected based on the listing you didn't book
Sounds to me like both of you were making shady decisions. Of course it's not right he threatened you, but that's a situation you wouldn't have been in if you weren't choosing to take the shady path
Oh. The shittier housing is not my problem. Ahaha, it actually was closer to the place I was working That was all kinda expected.
But I got lied to and then the threats and blackmail etc etc
Especially here a lot of people are like huuu, you didn't pay our mighty capitalistic big dick beautiful company Airbnb 70 €, you deserve to die, muuuuh, plis love me capitalistic companyyyyy
You were both okay with scamming. You are only upset that you got left holding the bag
We live in a capitalist hellhole of a world. That's just kind of reality 🤷. You chose the wild west over paying for access to the protection of the big capitalist company
I chose not to pay a capitalist multi billion company.
I did not choose to be threatened.
Buuuut, hehe, his so called business will be discovered, since German law enforcement now has three threads where they can cut him
His illegal business Him running an illegal business on student visa The threats Him running Airbnb in places he shouldn't
But, you didn't, really....
...but you didnt use them.
Oh, I did in the past
You did though. You took advantage of their service to locate a property - which is using Airbnb.
Sue me
"I'll never use Best Buy again!"
\immediately drives to Best Buy to showroom, then buys off Amazon, then complains to Best Buy that the product they bought on Amazon doesn't work** <-- this is you
Where in your story did Amazon try to threaten me and Insult and talk about me deserving violence'?
You're special 😆
You are a hypocrite. You used it to get in touch with the host. You deserve everything that happened.
Really? Not paying a multi billion capitalistic leeching company makes me deserve to be threatened with violence?
Deserve absolutely not. But you should fully expect people to try and fuck you at every turn if shit isn’t in writing
Yup definetly learned that haha
If he's on a visa maybe also try Ausländerbehörde. They are stone cold killers.
I like it!
What i think is odd is that he had no contract that allowed him to charge you more! I would have laughed at his threats once I found out he was pulling this scam!
He has no contract and still tried to get money from me
I mean, he will be kicked out of Germany yaaaayyy
In Germany you can literally get away with murder, but not paying taxes could get a response…
I know, that's why I reported him
This is such a great case of "what they do with you, they will do to you."
The OP was happy to rip off AIRB&B with this person, and then is surprised when he gets ripped off in turn? Karma...
If it's a dorm room run by the Studierendenwerk or some other organization like that, you can also report the situation to them, as they are the landlord, they typically want students living there who are registered there as well and strictly forbid any sublease agreements.
He is a total tool, thanks for reporting him.
you could report him to his university also
Didn't think of that, thanks
such a fun read. good job. i wish i could see those screenshots.
To be fair, it's tame. But still enough for the German system to consider it insulting etc I've been called worse and had worse. But, screenshots are screenshots Important. I never never insulted him, just stated , what wasn't working. 1. Insults . Got called a psycho, mentally instable, stupid 2. Threat and blackmail and Nötigung I asked him, how he will make me pay cleaning , if the Appartment isn't his and he has no right to sublet it " I will make you pay" " I have my ways" " Guys like you deserve to be beaten up"
are u for real? that's literally abuse. good thing you reported it. but you need to think about your insult threshold. why didnt you do something the first time he insulted you?
Cos I don't care about the isnults. It's just his way of weakness. I basically hoped he would get angrier and more stupid so I could get more to report
Important. I never provoked , only stated truths regarding the Appartment.
Everything I wrote I double checked, so it couldn't be use against 'e
So wait ... AirBnB is destroying cities, but you are still taking advantage of the same short-term leasing schedule as AirBnB ... which means you're just as culpable as the landlord; you're just cutting out the middleman. Wow, hypocritical much?
Naaah, you have groups in each city, telegram , where you can rent out your Appartment.
I like those, cos it's not a business
... for whom? If you think the folks using those apps to list their apartment aren't in it to make money, you might want to check your naivete at the door.
Dude, there is a big difference between someone cos he is renting out his appartment " rent price" cos he is away for 2 months and a rentshark
And if you think everyone on Telegram is doing that ... then, I am astounded by your naivete.
I know the rent prices, no worries
So you were trying to run a scam but you got scammed instead, lol.
Where did I scam?
What I did goes against company policy, not against the law
You scammed the company. You dont have to break the law to scam.
How did OOP "scam" AirBnB when OOP didn't have a contract with AirBnB? The scammer scammed AirBnB because he was the fraudster.
I avoided go pay 70 euros to a multi billion company, that is destroying cities. I can live with that
Then why did you search AirBnB in the first place if they weren't providing a valuable service?
That's not even petty! That's consequences, baby.
Wow,you can rent an actual appartment for 800 bucks
Zo the German city I am in is pretty cheap. So 800 € for 6 weeks is pretty expensive
Oh my, I can understand the urge for revenge
Once you leave, you should also email him a list of all the things you've done with attachments.
So, I actually am now giving the key to the original tenant, who wasn't aware of the Airbnb.
No worries, he's chill, he just wants his key back
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!! There are WAY TOO MANY people doing things illegally and scamming good people. I doubt he would have done it to his own people so why do it in a VISITING country?! Clearly a human piece of shit that will hopefully get what he deserves. Thank you for standing up for yourself and the people he's defrauding.
You, OP , are fabulous!! I love how Karma works because his will be on its way. 😅
Revenge? That was on you dumbass. I have stayed in a lot of properties connected with Airbnb and even had a few landlords try that shit with me. "We can both avoid the fees" nope. I will only work through Airbnb because you are paying for that protection. We stayed at a place in Paris that was a nasty apartment that had mold along a wall. It was a dump. Airbnb found us a place that was more expensive, but they covered the difference and it turned out to be a nice stay.
There have been a few other incidents where the owner cancelled and Airbnb stepped in and made things right. No this was on you for being cheap and foolish.
The last time I tried renting through AirBnB I showed up at my downtown listing and the host ghosted me. So here I am at 10 pm in a no parking zone desperately trying to figure out where I'm going to spend the night. Airbnb offered me a "comparable" listing out in some suburb I'd never heard of with no nighttime public transit. Not even remotely suitable when the whole point was being walking distance from my event. I got an expensive last minute hotel room at the airport and Airbnb never answered my complaints.
That's a bummer. My experiences have been great. Maybe I'm just lucky. Did you ever get compensated for your room? Did you buy travel insurance? I always spend the extra few bucks on travel insurance because there are too many things that can happen. I'm sorry that you had a shitty experience.
I didn't get charged for the AirBnB room, but that did nothing to make up for the stress and time and expense of finding a last minute accommodation, the fact that I spent half a day of my vacation dealing with AirBnB customer service, and having to rearrange all of my plans.
I reserved an AirBnB downtown because I wanted to be downtown, not stuck out in the suburbs or at the airport.
I get it. One thing we all know as travellers is that shit always seems to happen when you're most vulnerable. Shit like what happened to you pisses me off, because there are a lot of good airbnb hosts. It's the shit ones that give everybody a bad name. Like the cabby or uber driver that sees you're in a bind and decides to overcharge you.
Ooof the arrogance coming off of this shit stain of a human being. I hope there are updates to this ridiculous idiot, this is appalling for everyone victimized by greed
love this 🤭
He's a business man .. and soon be in business back wherever he's from.
Yeah, in Bangladesh,
Beware of his hidden revenge against u . B alert whereabout u . Nowaday ppls stabs / shots with no times . Blessed Cmas
It's Germany If he tries to attack me,even better, that lawsuit gonna be lit
If you do it in Germany it’s fine.
If you do it in America ppl get upset and start waving the Mexican flag.
Do you need help and support?
I mean, to be very fair, he will not get his visa renewed
I'm European and I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about. Are you saying American people overlook all crimes commit by foreigners? Genuine question btw.
How would you like it if a neighboring country kept trying to send their poorest ppl to your country, as they use up social services, and when government officials go around to remove them, they wave the flag of their country in your country and have protests in the street.
They don’t bother to learn the language and expect everyone else to understand them.
What happens if a bunch of Americans go to Mexico snd wave the American flag and live there again the law. Would Mexicans feel offended.
Why don't you do that then? What actually percentage of Mexican people in the United States don't attempt to integrate, live off social welfare and expect people to cater to them? Honestly this is a genuine question.
I'm Irish, we lived under British rule with forced poverty for centuries and when some people from our country were able to leave, we were treated like sponges and scum by a lot of people. Particularly English people, who were actively using our resources for their benefit. Im not American so I'm in no position to comment on what life is like there, my understanding of life there is just from the media I consume, so I'm genuinely trying to learn and empathise with your viewpoint if you can provide some information and data points on it.
Honesty, speaking as an American this guy's comment is racist and totally false. The history of America is a history of immigrants. The Mexican population is not as he describes and his take on them living off our social welfare is demonstrably false. Every Mexican I have met has high moral and family values. They are hardworking and generally love America.
what an idiot, feel sorry for your pathetic life