Sunday, December 28, 2008
A season of goodwill
If just a very small percentage of the 800 plus visitors to this site have taken the warnings about Robin Larkins and The Real World Rental Company's fraudulent activities, then I am glad to have done you a favour, and saved your money from their clutches. I am also pleased to have prevented Larkins getting an average of GBP1,000 per head in illegally obtained funds.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
When is a complaint not a complaint?
I'm glad to note that Holiday-Rentals have published the review I wrote for the property we rented in Harcourt Terrace:
Reviews For London Vacation apartment - Property 86556
Holiday Rental Location: World, Europe, United Kingdom, England, London
A 2 Double bedroom patio garden flat in the heart of Chelsea
Rating: 1/5
Beware of this Agent
wefs Bangkok, Thailand.Date Submitted: December 12, 2008 Date of Stay: October 2008
From the beginning to the end (and it's not yet over), our experience with the Agent and his company has been utterly appalling. The inadequacies of the flat, (including inaccurate claims about what is on offer: uncleaned, stained carpets, lightbulbs not working in every room), to the incompetent service, (unreturned phone calls, unanswered emails, late arrival for our check in), pale into insignificance compared to the dealings with the Agent and his staff in trying to have the fully refundable deposit returned 2 months since leaving, and despite assurances given by them a number of times that the monies were to be transferred. I cannot stress enough to future prospective clients - do not rent this property.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes No
Reviews are the subjective opinions of Holiday-Rentals.co.uk travellers and not of Holiday-Rentals.co.uk Limited.
As they seem to be in some doubt about what constitutes a complaint, please be clear Holiday-Rentals: this IS a complaint. The terms and conditions for writing a review prevent anyone from being more explicit about their rental experience, but even following those to the letter, I think it's obvious to all that this is a bad review. This also highlights the problem of not getting back my deposit from The Real World Rental Company, and Robin Larkins.
Similarly, another review of another property, (the second negative one for the same property), would appear to me to be a "complaint":
Property 93739
2/5
Good if U dont like to shower!
Showerboy australia.Date Submitted: November 02, 2008 Date of Stay: October 2008
A poor start to our stay with the agent leaving us waiting on the street for 45 minutes after arriving late without so much as an apology. Just what we needed after a 13 hour flight! The unit itself is in a great location, noisy though as previously mentioned, but is poorly maintained. The unit was in a state of disrepair on our arrival with the following defects: two broken shower screen doors which were unusable with the only way to shower being to lift and hold each door in place whilst showering. The inner bathroom door handle was broken off and had been placed on the kitchen bench. The front door main lock was also broken and was beside the door handle in the kitchen. The television was unusable on any channel but came good after my husbands rewired and reprogrammed it! The kettle constantly tripped the electrical circuit breaker and we were forced to boil water for coffee on the stove for fear of being electrocuted! For a holiday let apartment there were minimal kitchen implements available (ie. no tea towels, plastic cutlery left by previous renter, no dishwashing liquid etc). As we didnt want to flood the bathroom whilst showering or be held responsible for the doors falling off completely, not to mention the safety of our children, we contacted the agent with our concerns. Someone did come and assess the situation but we were told that maintenance and the owner were already aware of these problems but as the unit is on the market the owner does not want to spend any money on it. The maintenance staff assured us it was a safe neighbourhood and we didnt need that lock and promised to return with a plastic shower curtain and extra towels so that we could shower. These items never turned up. The debacle continued as we tried to organise the return of our security deposit. Despite mulitple phone calls to the agent and his staff we couldnt pin anyone down to confirm the return of the deposit. After 7 phone calls the agent finally confirmed a time but was more interested in his upcoming holiday to eurodisney. Having stayed in numerous letted apartments throughout the world, we were disappointed by the agents incompetence and the fact that the unit continued to be rented out whilst there were known maintenance issues. Either the unit should have been repaired before being rented out or if the owner is unwilling to do this it should be removed from the rental pool.
I'm not clear why Holiday-Rentals think these are not "complaints", and therefore didn't merit investigation when they were written previously. Had they been properly investigated it is possible that many others like myself would not have become further victims of Larkins and The Real World Rental Company's activities.
I'm not clear how serious the complaint has to be for Holiday-Rentals to consider taking action against Larkins, but the reassurance from them that their team leader is "OK" with this company is very worrying indeed.
Reviews For London Vacation apartment - Property 86556
Holiday Rental Location: World, Europe, United Kingdom, England, London
A 2 Double bedroom patio garden flat in the heart of Chelsea
Rating: 1/5
Beware of this Agent
wefs Bangkok, Thailand.Date Submitted: December 12, 2008 Date of Stay: October 2008
From the beginning to the end (and it's not yet over), our experience with the Agent and his company has been utterly appalling. The inadequacies of the flat, (including inaccurate claims about what is on offer: uncleaned, stained carpets, lightbulbs not working in every room), to the incompetent service, (unreturned phone calls, unanswered emails, late arrival for our check in), pale into insignificance compared to the dealings with the Agent and his staff in trying to have the fully refundable deposit returned 2 months since leaving, and despite assurances given by them a number of times that the monies were to be transferred. I cannot stress enough to future prospective clients - do not rent this property.
Did you find this review helpful? Yes No
Reviews are the subjective opinions of Holiday-Rentals.co.uk travellers and not of Holiday-Rentals.co.uk Limited.
As they seem to be in some doubt about what constitutes a complaint, please be clear Holiday-Rentals: this IS a complaint. The terms and conditions for writing a review prevent anyone from being more explicit about their rental experience, but even following those to the letter, I think it's obvious to all that this is a bad review. This also highlights the problem of not getting back my deposit from The Real World Rental Company, and Robin Larkins.
Similarly, another review of another property, (the second negative one for the same property), would appear to me to be a "complaint":
Property 93739
2/5
Good if U dont like to shower!
Showerboy australia.Date Submitted: November 02, 2008 Date of Stay: October 2008
A poor start to our stay with the agent leaving us waiting on the street for 45 minutes after arriving late without so much as an apology. Just what we needed after a 13 hour flight! The unit itself is in a great location, noisy though as previously mentioned, but is poorly maintained. The unit was in a state of disrepair on our arrival with the following defects: two broken shower screen doors which were unusable with the only way to shower being to lift and hold each door in place whilst showering. The inner bathroom door handle was broken off and had been placed on the kitchen bench. The front door main lock was also broken and was beside the door handle in the kitchen. The television was unusable on any channel but came good after my husbands rewired and reprogrammed it! The kettle constantly tripped the electrical circuit breaker and we were forced to boil water for coffee on the stove for fear of being electrocuted! For a holiday let apartment there were minimal kitchen implements available (ie. no tea towels, plastic cutlery left by previous renter, no dishwashing liquid etc). As we didnt want to flood the bathroom whilst showering or be held responsible for the doors falling off completely, not to mention the safety of our children, we contacted the agent with our concerns. Someone did come and assess the situation but we were told that maintenance and the owner were already aware of these problems but as the unit is on the market the owner does not want to spend any money on it. The maintenance staff assured us it was a safe neighbourhood and we didnt need that lock and promised to return with a plastic shower curtain and extra towels so that we could shower. These items never turned up. The debacle continued as we tried to organise the return of our security deposit. Despite mulitple phone calls to the agent and his staff we couldnt pin anyone down to confirm the return of the deposit. After 7 phone calls the agent finally confirmed a time but was more interested in his upcoming holiday to eurodisney. Having stayed in numerous letted apartments throughout the world, we were disappointed by the agents incompetence and the fact that the unit continued to be rented out whilst there were known maintenance issues. Either the unit should have been repaired before being rented out or if the owner is unwilling to do this it should be removed from the rental pool.
I'm not clear why Holiday-Rentals think these are not "complaints", and therefore didn't merit investigation when they were written previously. Had they been properly investigated it is possible that many others like myself would not have become further victims of Larkins and The Real World Rental Company's activities.
I'm not clear how serious the complaint has to be for Holiday-Rentals to consider taking action against Larkins, but the reassurance from them that their team leader is "OK" with this company is very worrying indeed.
Friday, December 19, 2008
What planet are they on?
When my troubles first began with Robin Larkins and The Real World Rental Company, I thought at least I might be able to find some assistance from Holiday-Rentals, whose website I used to find Larkins and his company.
In the first instance, and after feeling somewhat worried by their unprofessional behaviour, I tried to seek reassurance from Holiday-Rentals that The Real World Rental Company was bona fide. I had completed the Rental Guarantee service offered by Holiday-Rentals, but I wanted some reassurance about what this actually meant, and so - as suggested from their "Rent with Confidence" registration email, I made further inquiries. This guarantee promises that they will respond within 24 hours. 24 hours on which planet? It's now over 3 months, and there has been no response.
Subsequently, after my rental had completed and my several requests to Robin Larkins and The Real World Rental Company for the return of my deposit amounted to nothing, I contacted Holiday-Rentals again.
I had a conversation with Sonia Diadhiou and explained the problems I had been having. She asked me to send her an email with all the details of my complaint, which I immediately did. She then rang Robin Larkins and based on a "reassurance" from him, replied to me that he would be repaying my deposit that week, (herewith the reply, dated 8 November:)
Thank you for your email.
I contacted Robin Larkins and he has been arranging your deposit with the owner. He is Ok as from my team leader because Holiday-rentals has used him before to rent out his properties.
He will be in touch next week.
In turn I wrote immediately back to Holiday-Rentals:
Thank you for your reply.
I am somewhat unclear what "he has been arranging your deposit with the owner" actually means. I have been told by both him (on 28 October) and his wife on 4 November that the money was being paid on those dates. It has not been. I was advised by Emma (their staff) that Rachel Larkins is the owner; She also said at our check out that the deposit would be refunded within 7-10 days. We left on 13 October. Their Licence Agreement states that the deposit will be refunded usually within 10 days. These deadlines have long passed
You will note from the websites I forwarded to you that others have been waiting more than 6 months for the return of their deposit, so I am eager to learn why his reassurances to you should mean anything. Can you advise?
Also, you state that your team leader is OK with Larkins because Holiday-Rentals has used his company before. Does this mean that Holiday-Rentals is "OK" with Larkins defrauding customers? Please advise, as obviously this is important in the likely legal proceedings that I will have to take, because unfortunately I have no faith in any assurances given by Larkins or his staff.
I look forward to hearing from you soonest.
Unfortunately Holiday-Rentals declined to respond. So on 12 December I obtained the name and contact details of the head of customer services, Sandy Kirk and asked him to please follow up. After no reply, I followed up again on 18 December and he has replied as follows:
...we are looking into your concerns, this agent has been with us for nearly 3 years without any complaints so far, and we are looking into yours. We have an internal company policy on complaints and will deal with this situation according to those policies.
I responded with this:
I note your comments regarding Larkins and The Real World Rental Company. I am truly surprised that the incidences that I highlighted to your colleague over one month ago produced no response whatsoever from Holiday-Rentals. It's not just my own complaint, (of non refund of my deposit), but there are many other customers who have been similarly defrauded, the details of which I have provided to you. Whether or not you have had a three year relationship with Larkins, you need to seriously question your vetting procedures for companies that advertise through your portal. It may be that I am the first customer to report these issues to you, but I doubt it.
I then went on to (again) provide them with the details of a customer who rented through their website, and who has waited 9 months to receive her deposit back.
So I ask you - what planet are they on?
In the first instance, and after feeling somewhat worried by their unprofessional behaviour, I tried to seek reassurance from Holiday-Rentals that The Real World Rental Company was bona fide. I had completed the Rental Guarantee service offered by Holiday-Rentals, but I wanted some reassurance about what this actually meant, and so - as suggested from their "Rent with Confidence" registration email, I made further inquiries. This guarantee promises that they will respond within 24 hours. 24 hours on which planet? It's now over 3 months, and there has been no response.
Subsequently, after my rental had completed and my several requests to Robin Larkins and The Real World Rental Company for the return of my deposit amounted to nothing, I contacted Holiday-Rentals again.
I had a conversation with Sonia Diadhiou and explained the problems I had been having. She asked me to send her an email with all the details of my complaint, which I immediately did. She then rang Robin Larkins and based on a "reassurance" from him, replied to me that he would be repaying my deposit that week, (herewith the reply, dated 8 November:)
Thank you for your email.
I contacted Robin Larkins and he has been arranging your deposit with the owner. He is Ok as from my team leader because Holiday-rentals has used him before to rent out his properties.
He will be in touch next week.
In turn I wrote immediately back to Holiday-Rentals:
Thank you for your reply.
I am somewhat unclear what "he has been arranging your deposit with the owner" actually means. I have been told by both him (on 28 October) and his wife on 4 November that the money was being paid on those dates. It has not been. I was advised by Emma (their staff) that Rachel Larkins is the owner; She also said at our check out that the deposit would be refunded within 7-10 days. We left on 13 October. Their Licence Agreement states that the deposit will be refunded usually within 10 days. These deadlines have long passed
You will note from the websites I forwarded to you that others have been waiting more than 6 months for the return of their deposit, so I am eager to learn why his reassurances to you should mean anything. Can you advise?
Also, you state that your team leader is OK with Larkins because Holiday-Rentals has used his company before. Does this mean that Holiday-Rentals is "OK" with Larkins defrauding customers? Please advise, as obviously this is important in the likely legal proceedings that I will have to take, because unfortunately I have no faith in any assurances given by Larkins or his staff.
I look forward to hearing from you soonest.
Unfortunately Holiday-Rentals declined to respond. So on 12 December I obtained the name and contact details of the head of customer services, Sandy Kirk and asked him to please follow up. After no reply, I followed up again on 18 December and he has replied as follows:
...we are looking into your concerns, this agent has been with us for nearly 3 years without any complaints so far, and we are looking into yours. We have an internal company policy on complaints and will deal with this situation according to those policies.
I responded with this:
I note your comments regarding Larkins and The Real World Rental Company. I am truly surprised that the incidences that I highlighted to your colleague over one month ago produced no response whatsoever from Holiday-Rentals. It's not just my own complaint, (of non refund of my deposit), but there are many other customers who have been similarly defrauded, the details of which I have provided to you. Whether or not you have had a three year relationship with Larkins, you need to seriously question your vetting procedures for companies that advertise through your portal. It may be that I am the first customer to report these issues to you, but I doubt it.
I then went on to (again) provide them with the details of a customer who rented through their website, and who has waited 9 months to receive her deposit back.
So I ask you - what planet are they on?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Smoke and mirrors
I was interested to hear from one of my readers and correspondents - another victim of Robin Larkins and The Real World Rental Company - from his own notes of telephone calls with Larkins and the staff at his office.
My contact thought that there were probably fewer people in the office than I was assuming. I had given the names of Vicki Saunders, Rebecca Hayes, Noreen Kelly. But he believed that these three might all be one and the same.
And another of the features of the scam was when you ring up and try and speak to Larkins, you are always told that he is either out of the office, or on another line. There is little or no point in leaving a message for him to call back, because that has never happened.
And Larkins is the only one, as the scam goes, who can discuss any aspect of the money. The return of the money that is. Others seem knowledgeable enough about taking money in, but unwilling or unable (suddenly) to know anything about returning it.
And to try and complicate the service, the "girls" are all new, and know nothing of your case, ("so Robin will have speak to you directly".) They are always new, and know nothing of your case, even if you just spoke to them a few days previously.
I have read on one review*, (a negative one of course), that when they were unable to get a satisfactory answer from Larkins about the maintenance of the property they went to the office in Fulham to confront him. I would be very grateful if this reviewer could contact me with as much information as possible about the office, staff etc. This reviewer also had a problem with a deposit return. No surprise there then.
*Nice flat, shame about the Agent
Estelle Auckland, New Zealand.Date Submitted: August 16, 2008 Date of Stay: May 2008
We stayed in this flat for 11 nights with our 17 year old son. On arrival we were very disappointed to see the whole building covered in scaffolding. Mentioning this to the agent he said there was nothing he could do about that but assured us that work was not starting for 2wks. When asked how many sets of keys were required we said 3. He wasn't sure if he could find 3 but would have a second set left on the table the next day and would also get cleaning lady to drop round iron and toaster. 3 days later we had a painter looking in the bedroom window at 8am, still only one set of keys, no promised appliances and several unreturned phonecalls. We caught train to Putney to confront agent. He would not take responsibility, said that he was doing his best and pointed out the number of properties he had to look after. He suggested we try and get our own keys cut. We did try but security numbers meant we needed owners written authority. By now we were getting worried at his incompetence and asked if he would definitely be at the property by 10.30am on checkout day(our agreed time at check-in) to hand over cash deposit. He assured us he would. The next day we did get a second set of keys and a new toaster and iron. We negotiated with the painters, and they agreed to not start painting on our level until 10am but we could never leave windows open as scafflod meant no security. On check out day we were packed and ready by 10.30am. Agent called at 10.35am, he was stuck in traffic about an hour out of London. He had our money in his pocket so no one else could give it to us. We were not happy. I wanted his office assistant to bring us the money but that wasn't possible he said. He suggested he give it to our daughter, who lives in London, later that day. As we were wanting to get on the road we didn't want her to have to chase him for it. After a heated exchange he said he would get someone to bring the money. 11/2 hrs later, 2 people turned up with the cash. The flat itself was very comfortable, good position, and very clean. The road is discribed as quiet but the flat, being on the corner, gets noise from busy Old Brompton Rd. The photo deceptively doesn't show that, but it never got unbearably noisy. We were not shown the garden and never found out how to access it. We would not recommend this property while it is managed by current agent which is a shame because the flat is very nice.
My contact thought that there were probably fewer people in the office than I was assuming. I had given the names of Vicki Saunders, Rebecca Hayes, Noreen Kelly. But he believed that these three might all be one and the same.
And another of the features of the scam was when you ring up and try and speak to Larkins, you are always told that he is either out of the office, or on another line. There is little or no point in leaving a message for him to call back, because that has never happened.
And Larkins is the only one, as the scam goes, who can discuss any aspect of the money. The return of the money that is. Others seem knowledgeable enough about taking money in, but unwilling or unable (suddenly) to know anything about returning it.
And to try and complicate the service, the "girls" are all new, and know nothing of your case, ("so Robin will have speak to you directly".) They are always new, and know nothing of your case, even if you just spoke to them a few days previously.
I have read on one review*, (a negative one of course), that when they were unable to get a satisfactory answer from Larkins about the maintenance of the property they went to the office in Fulham to confront him. I would be very grateful if this reviewer could contact me with as much information as possible about the office, staff etc. This reviewer also had a problem with a deposit return. No surprise there then.
*Nice flat, shame about the Agent
Estelle Auckland, New Zealand.Date Submitted: August 16, 2008 Date of Stay: May 2008
We stayed in this flat for 11 nights with our 17 year old son. On arrival we were very disappointed to see the whole building covered in scaffolding. Mentioning this to the agent he said there was nothing he could do about that but assured us that work was not starting for 2wks. When asked how many sets of keys were required we said 3. He wasn't sure if he could find 3 but would have a second set left on the table the next day and would also get cleaning lady to drop round iron and toaster. 3 days later we had a painter looking in the bedroom window at 8am, still only one set of keys, no promised appliances and several unreturned phonecalls. We caught train to Putney to confront agent. He would not take responsibility, said that he was doing his best and pointed out the number of properties he had to look after. He suggested we try and get our own keys cut. We did try but security numbers meant we needed owners written authority. By now we were getting worried at his incompetence and asked if he would definitely be at the property by 10.30am on checkout day(our agreed time at check-in) to hand over cash deposit. He assured us he would. The next day we did get a second set of keys and a new toaster and iron. We negotiated with the painters, and they agreed to not start painting on our level until 10am but we could never leave windows open as scafflod meant no security. On check out day we were packed and ready by 10.30am. Agent called at 10.35am, he was stuck in traffic about an hour out of London. He had our money in his pocket so no one else could give it to us. We were not happy. I wanted his office assistant to bring us the money but that wasn't possible he said. He suggested he give it to our daughter, who lives in London, later that day. As we were wanting to get on the road we didn't want her to have to chase him for it. After a heated exchange he said he would get someone to bring the money. 11/2 hrs later, 2 people turned up with the cash. The flat itself was very comfortable, good position, and very clean. The road is discribed as quiet but the flat, being on the corner, gets noise from busy Old Brompton Rd. The photo deceptively doesn't show that, but it never got unbearably noisy. We were not shown the garden and never found out how to access it. We would not recommend this property while it is managed by current agent which is a shame because the flat is very nice.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
One down
I am pleased to note that Vacation Rentals Direct has recently issued this notice and removed Robin Larkins and The Real World Rental Company from its listings:
RECENT FRAUD/SCAM REPORTS
-->
Robin Larkins - tip from a visitor - listings removed
Posted on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 - 15:32
I note that you have listings from the Real World Rental Company and Robin Larkins. This outfit is running a deposit scam. Google ''Robin Larkins' fraud' for further information from numerous victims.
http://www.vacationrentaldirect.com/fraudreport.asp
RECENT FRAUD/SCAM REPORTS
-->
Robin Larkins - tip from a visitor - listings removed
Posted on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 - 15:32
I note that you have listings from the Real World Rental Company and Robin Larkins. This outfit is running a deposit scam. Google ''Robin Larkins' fraud' for further information from numerous victims.
http://www.vacationrentaldirect.com/fraudreport.asp
Friday, December 12, 2008
I would like MY money back now please
For anyone even thinking about renting a property through THE REAL WORLD RENTAL COMPANY, in Fulham, London I have just one piece of advice:
DON'T
Don't have anything to do with them. They take your money and don't refund your refundable deposit, despite assurances to the contrary from the owner ROBIN LARKINS, or from his wife RACHEL LARKINS who along with staff REBECCA HAYES, NOREEN KELLY, VICKI SAUNDERS & EMMA STREET are in collusion with this fraud. Yes it's fraud. Don't pretend that skimming a few thousand pounds here and there is noting other than total thievery.
If anyone else has been ripped off - and I know there are a few of you - please leave a comment and we can devise a plan to get your money back and these people prosecuted.
I suggest you also see the following websites, which make reference to their other fraudulent activities:
http://homesickwanderlust.blogspot.com/search/label/Robin%20Larkins
http://faves.com/users/thingles/dot/131661111000
http://reviews.homeaway.com/review/list/trips/93739/81033?returnURL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.homeaway.com%2fvacation-rental%2fp93739
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4HPAA_en___TH219&q=Robin+Larkins
http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k1748346-l14645399-Real_World_Rental_Company_London-London_England.html
http://www.allagents.co.uk/the-real-world-rental-company/
and then I suggest you also contact the following:
1) The Metropolitan Police Fraud Alert: http://cms.met.police.uk/met/boroughs/hammersmith/09contact_us/index
2) The Department of Trade & Industry - Rip-off Tip-off:
http://www.ripofftipoff.net/
3) HM Revenue & Customs:
https://www.taxevasionhotline.co.uk/forms/employer.htm
2) & 3) can be done anonymously.
Please come forward and let's get these people to pay up, and then shut them out of business.
It's also important that you report their fraudulent activities to Holiday Rentals and Home Away. Send your email to: Sandy Kirk, (Head of Production, Customer Support: sandy@holiday-rentals.co.uk ) as clearly this company is not suitable to be listed on these sites. This is true of the many other sites they advertise on, and I will list these separately, and it would be helpful if you could send an email to them and detail the fraud that has been perpetrated against you.
The press later. I'm only just warming up!
DON'T
Don't have anything to do with them. They take your money and don't refund your refundable deposit, despite assurances to the contrary from the owner ROBIN LARKINS, or from his wife RACHEL LARKINS who along with staff REBECCA HAYES, NOREEN KELLY, VICKI SAUNDERS & EMMA STREET are in collusion with this fraud. Yes it's fraud. Don't pretend that skimming a few thousand pounds here and there is noting other than total thievery.
If anyone else has been ripped off - and I know there are a few of you - please leave a comment and we can devise a plan to get your money back and these people prosecuted.
I suggest you also see the following websites, which make reference to their other fraudulent activities:
http://homesickwanderlust.blogspot.com/search/label/Robin%20Larkins
http://faves.com/users/thingles/dot/131661111000
http://reviews.homeaway.com/review/list/trips/93739/81033?returnURL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.homeaway.com%2fvacation-rental%2fp93739
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4HPAA_en___TH219&q=Robin+Larkins
http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k1748346-l14645399-Real_World_Rental_Company_London-London_England.html
http://www.allagents.co.uk/the-real-world-rental-company/
and then I suggest you also contact the following:
1) The Metropolitan Police Fraud Alert: http://cms.met.police.uk/met/boroughs/hammersmith/09contact_us/index
2) The Department of Trade & Industry - Rip-off Tip-off:
http://www.ripofftipoff.net/
3) HM Revenue & Customs:
https://www.taxevasionhotline.co.uk/forms/employer.htm
2) & 3) can be done anonymously.
Please come forward and let's get these people to pay up, and then shut them out of business.
It's also important that you report their fraudulent activities to Holiday Rentals and Home Away. Send your email to: Sandy Kirk, (Head of Production, Customer Support: sandy@holiday-rentals.co.uk ) as clearly this company is not suitable to be listed on these sites. This is true of the many other sites they advertise on, and I will list these separately, and it would be helpful if you could send an email to them and detail the fraud that has been perpetrated against you.
The press later. I'm only just warming up!
I would really really like my money back. Now, please!
My refundable deposit of GBP950 (USD1,520) is overdue from The Real World Rental Company http://www.realworldrental.co.uk/ and despite the several false assurances from the owner Robin Larkins and his wife Rachel Larkins that they would make the refund, I still haven't received a penny.
My emails remain unanswered, my telephone calls unreturned. I'm feeling annoyed. So I thought I'd join others who have been similarly treated by these people (and there are many), and share my experiences publicly on this blog, so that you can avoid renting anything through their so-called "Real World". (Should that be "Steal World"?)
Other staff at this "company", (it doesn't appear to be registered at Companies House, nor does it have a VAT registration, so perhaps other terms like "outfit", or "bucket shop" would be more suitable), appear to be complicit in the fraudulent activities. They would be called Noreen Kelly, Rebecca Hayes, Vicki Saunders and Emma somebody (Street?), (who used to live in Bangkok and worked for a hotel search company; hard to believe, but that like most of the things I was told, is probably untrue).
They screen calls, and so it's difficult to get Larkins. Oh, and I did mention this email answering thing seems a bit beyond their ken. "Bucket shop", "unprofessional", "incompetent", so far are the kinder epithets; it may get worse, as others stung by the Real World Rental Company have claimed fraud, and those in America "felony".
So Larkins both, Noreen, Rebecca, Vicki and Emma somebody: I WOULD REALLY LIKE MY MONEY BACK!
You, Noreen, Rebecca, Vicki and Emma would probably prefer to stay out of clink. So you probably also know what to do. I'm sure "Robbin' them blind" wont help you when the deep doodoo hits the proverbial. Details of where to report commercial fraud, tax evasion etc are available in the websites linked. Think about it girls.
My emails remain unanswered, my telephone calls unreturned. I'm feeling annoyed. So I thought I'd join others who have been similarly treated by these people (and there are many), and share my experiences publicly on this blog, so that you can avoid renting anything through their so-called "Real World". (Should that be "Steal World"?)
Other staff at this "company", (it doesn't appear to be registered at Companies House, nor does it have a VAT registration, so perhaps other terms like "outfit", or "bucket shop" would be more suitable), appear to be complicit in the fraudulent activities. They would be called Noreen Kelly, Rebecca Hayes, Vicki Saunders and Emma somebody (Street?), (who used to live in Bangkok and worked for a hotel search company; hard to believe, but that like most of the things I was told, is probably untrue).
They screen calls, and so it's difficult to get Larkins. Oh, and I did mention this email answering thing seems a bit beyond their ken. "Bucket shop", "unprofessional", "incompetent", so far are the kinder epithets; it may get worse, as others stung by the Real World Rental Company have claimed fraud, and those in America "felony".
So Larkins both, Noreen, Rebecca, Vicki and Emma somebody: I WOULD REALLY LIKE MY MONEY BACK!
You, Noreen, Rebecca, Vicki and Emma would probably prefer to stay out of clink. So you probably also know what to do. I'm sure "Robbin' them blind" wont help you when the deep doodoo hits the proverbial. Details of where to report commercial fraud, tax evasion etc are available in the websites linked. Think about it girls.
Casting the hook, line..
Well naively, like so many before and since, (I wonder how many), I pursued my booking through this bunch of incompetents, asked for, and received their "Licence Agreement", and asked for a copy to be countersigned by either Larkins, the Agent, or the property owner. This query went backwards and forwards, and finally Larkins deigned to take my call and explain that a Licence Agreement didn't require the Licensor to sign. This is probably a legal nicety that I did not bother to explore further, but I remembered enough about the Law of Contract to know that a transfer of monies constituted a transaction, and I duly sent my GBP950 for my week's rental.
Again, much toing and froing to get what most of us understand is a normal business practice - a "receipt". (Look it up Larkins.) I put all this down to pure incompetence, but how naive can one be? It's all part of their attempt to leave as little a paper trail as possible. But like a number of other victims of this organisation, the warning bells were beginning to ring, and to ring quite loudly, and indicating that their activities were less than "above board". So I began to take detailed notes of conversations, and to insist that everything was in writing through email.
An email receipt was duly produced for the rental monies paid, together with an acknowledgement that the Licence Agreement had been received, and was valid. Subsequently, and just prior to departing to London, I made arrangements for a further "REFUNDABLE" deposit for GBP950, with a specific request that a receipt would be issued. Of course, none was. Initially. Neither was there any confirmation as to how keys would be handed over, despite giving details of flight arrival times, expected arrival at the flat etc.
Oh, and here a very nice touch by Larkins, who was uncharacteristically, (it turns out) helpful when the money was in the offing, suggesting that he could arrange a car to meet the flight etc. Oh, I fell for that.
I give you all these details because I'm sure they will sound all too familiar.
We arrived in London, rang the office as we were leaving Heathrow, and told them of the time we would arrive. We duly arrived. No one was there. Rang the office again, twice. "On their way" was the repeated excuse. 45 minutes later than the scheduled time, Rachel Larkins pitched up, as if nothing was wrong, suggesting that arrival times from the airport were so unpredictable, they usually waited until the clients had arrived, as they were "just around the corner", in Courtfiled Gradens, it would seem. Thanks Rachel. Thanks for being such a customer-oriented service company. Sitting on a London street with all your suitcases isn't much fun. The upstairs neighbour, (who was curious about why we were "lurking" on the street outside acknowledged that most of the clients for this rental had a similar welcome). How very thoughtful.
Anyway, I wont bore you with other details, but the flat was dirty. (The picture above is of the cloth we used to clean the kitchen floor, which had an unattractive sticky quality.) I will spare you a picture of the cloth to clean the lavatory. The carpets were grimy, un-hoovered, (how difficult is that, and for GBP50?), and I was beginning to feel sick in my stomach about this silly, silly mistake of using this awful outfit.
We persevered, but I think for GBP950 for 7 days the thought that this was a good alternative to an hotel quickly began to evaporate.
Lights didn't work in the kitchen, bathroom, one of the bedrooms, the two table lamps in the sitting room. Rachel very kindly (?) gave me her mobile number so that I could contact her and overcome the difficulty of getting anyone at the office. I reported these deficiencies. No one responded.
We decided to get on with our meetings and social activities in spite of the increasingly obvious rip off The Real World Rental Company, Rachel Larkins, Robin Larkins and his merry band of (fill in the blanks....) were perpetrating.
I did finally manage to get a receipt for the deposit, after several requests. REMEMBER the paper trail...
Again, much toing and froing to get what most of us understand is a normal business practice - a "receipt". (Look it up Larkins.) I put all this down to pure incompetence, but how naive can one be? It's all part of their attempt to leave as little a paper trail as possible. But like a number of other victims of this organisation, the warning bells were beginning to ring, and to ring quite loudly, and indicating that their activities were less than "above board". So I began to take detailed notes of conversations, and to insist that everything was in writing through email.
An email receipt was duly produced for the rental monies paid, together with an acknowledgement that the Licence Agreement had been received, and was valid. Subsequently, and just prior to departing to London, I made arrangements for a further "REFUNDABLE" deposit for GBP950, with a specific request that a receipt would be issued. Of course, none was. Initially. Neither was there any confirmation as to how keys would be handed over, despite giving details of flight arrival times, expected arrival at the flat etc.
Oh, and here a very nice touch by Larkins, who was uncharacteristically, (it turns out) helpful when the money was in the offing, suggesting that he could arrange a car to meet the flight etc. Oh, I fell for that.
I give you all these details because I'm sure they will sound all too familiar.
We arrived in London, rang the office as we were leaving Heathrow, and told them of the time we would arrive. We duly arrived. No one was there. Rang the office again, twice. "On their way" was the repeated excuse. 45 minutes later than the scheduled time, Rachel Larkins pitched up, as if nothing was wrong, suggesting that arrival times from the airport were so unpredictable, they usually waited until the clients had arrived, as they were "just around the corner", in Courtfiled Gradens, it would seem. Thanks Rachel. Thanks for being such a customer-oriented service company. Sitting on a London street with all your suitcases isn't much fun. The upstairs neighbour, (who was curious about why we were "lurking" on the street outside acknowledged that most of the clients for this rental had a similar welcome). How very thoughtful.
Anyway, I wont bore you with other details, but the flat was dirty. (The picture above is of the cloth we used to clean the kitchen floor, which had an unattractive sticky quality.) I will spare you a picture of the cloth to clean the lavatory. The carpets were grimy, un-hoovered, (how difficult is that, and for GBP50?), and I was beginning to feel sick in my stomach about this silly, silly mistake of using this awful outfit.
We persevered, but I think for GBP950 for 7 days the thought that this was a good alternative to an hotel quickly began to evaporate.
Lights didn't work in the kitchen, bathroom, one of the bedrooms, the two table lamps in the sitting room. Rachel very kindly (?) gave me her mobile number so that I could contact her and overcome the difficulty of getting anyone at the office. I reported these deficiencies. No one responded.
We decided to get on with our meetings and social activities in spite of the increasingly obvious rip off The Real World Rental Company, Rachel Larkins, Robin Larkins and his merry band of (fill in the blanks....) were perpetrating.
I did finally manage to get a receipt for the deposit, after several requests. REMEMBER the paper trail...
Friday, November 7, 2008
Things are not always what they seem
Welcome to the "Real World". Well The Real World Rental Company: http://www.realworldrental.co.uk/ in Fulham, London. On a recent visit to London we used http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/ which is part of the much larger http://www.homeaway.com/, both of the latter apparently well-known and respected resources for travellers seeking reasonable and decent lodgings in cities throughout the world.
Unfortunately their sites allow individual letting agents such as The Real World Rental Company to use them as a pool to advertise the properties these agents have on their books. The one that caught our attention was this:
http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p86556/calendar which sounded ideal. But of course, you assume that what is being advertised is actually what is on offer.
Items such as "daily maid service", "garden" are dishonest, as neither are provided. "New carpets" in the bedrooms is also a lie. Similarly for "newly renovated and decorated" throughout. These lies are compounded by The Real World Rental Company's "Licence Agreement" which potential clients are required to sign to secure the booking. This too refers to "cleaning of the flat Monday to Friday...between 9.30 am and 3.00 pm. The maids are allocated time to wash up no more than 12 breakfast items only".
The RWRC Licence Agreement also details another dishonest claim: "provision of fresh linen and towels at the start of the Licence Period and one change of linen and towels per week."
Anyway, you have to assume to some degree that what is written is done so in good faith. But our initial inquiry through the Holiday-Rentals website only received a computer-generated acknowledgement, and a confirmation that RWRC would make contact with further details. They didn't of course, which should have been the first clue that this company was incompetent. (If only that was the extent of their failing, but I'm getting ahead of myself...)
So, as I was keen to complete all the pieces of the jigsaw that comprise a holiday, I rang the number on the website for Robin Larkins. He told me that he was in Spain, and could I please ring the office landline. This I tried to do, but there was no answer. So I rang Larkins again, and he assured me that there "should be someone in the office shortly". (It was about 10 am UK time.) I suppose that was clue number two on the incompetence radar.
Sound familiar?
Unfortunately their sites allow individual letting agents such as The Real World Rental Company to use them as a pool to advertise the properties these agents have on their books. The one that caught our attention was this:
http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p86556/calendar which sounded ideal. But of course, you assume that what is being advertised is actually what is on offer.
Items such as "daily maid service", "garden" are dishonest, as neither are provided. "New carpets" in the bedrooms is also a lie. Similarly for "newly renovated and decorated" throughout. These lies are compounded by The Real World Rental Company's "Licence Agreement" which potential clients are required to sign to secure the booking. This too refers to "cleaning of the flat Monday to Friday...between 9.30 am and 3.00 pm. The maids are allocated time to wash up no more than 12 breakfast items only".
The RWRC Licence Agreement also details another dishonest claim: "provision of fresh linen and towels at the start of the Licence Period and one change of linen and towels per week."
Anyway, you have to assume to some degree that what is written is done so in good faith. But our initial inquiry through the Holiday-Rentals website only received a computer-generated acknowledgement, and a confirmation that RWRC would make contact with further details. They didn't of course, which should have been the first clue that this company was incompetent. (If only that was the extent of their failing, but I'm getting ahead of myself...)
So, as I was keen to complete all the pieces of the jigsaw that comprise a holiday, I rang the number on the website for Robin Larkins. He told me that he was in Spain, and could I please ring the office landline. This I tried to do, but there was no answer. So I rang Larkins again, and he assured me that there "should be someone in the office shortly". (It was about 10 am UK time.) I suppose that was clue number two on the incompetence radar.
Sound familiar?
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