Consumer complaint received 2021-09-16
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Banking errors
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (CA)

We booked a trip to XXXX, Oregon for XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. We booked a unit based on the description on XXXX, and decided that based on that description, it would have enough space for us, our XXXX dogs, and all of our stuff. 

As is noted by XXXX, the unit was listed as being the " size of a small studio apartment ''. According to XXXX, the average studio apartment is around XXXX  square feet. To be called a studio apartment, it must have a sleeping area, living area and a kitchen area. 

Upon arriving, we quickly realized that the unit was nowhere near the size of a small studio apartment. It is in fact, a single room with no closets that measures XXXX XXXX XXXX ', of which the majority of space is taken up by the queen bed. A bathroom was attached that was XXXX XXXX XXXX ' and that was it. Perhaps XXXX  square feet in total. That is NOT a studio apartment. It does not even have it's own HVAC controls, now does it have a kitchen or a sitting area. 

XXXX collects funds upfront upon booking, and the check-in process is automated with instructions being given to access a key box in order to enter. This is not like a hotel that allows you to see the room prior to arrival, so an accurate description is extremely important. Keep in mind as well, we had just driven 16 hours to get there and it was XXXX XXXX  at night on one of the busiest weekends in XXXX. There was no reason to cancel prior to coming, the reason we canceled is that the description was so inaccurate. 

We immediately tried to find alternate accommodations but finding a place that weekend was VERY hard due to the beautiful, XXXX  degree weather. The soonest we could get a place was Saturday but even then it was not guaranteed. We trucked through until Saturday and promptly left the unit once we could secure alternative housing. 

I have attempted to work with XXXX since the XXXX of XXXX and they refuse to be of assistance. They kept insisting that the unit was listed correctly, even though it says on the listing it is the size of a studio apartment and they will not acknowledge that this is NOT the size of a studio apartment in any definition. 

Furthermore, I left on the XXXX of XXXX around XXXX and Informed the Host of this. He went ghost on me the entire day and only responded when I cancelled the reservation later that night. I then double-checked, and he did indeed rebook the unit the nights I was not there. Yet, he still kept our money. 

This is a valid claim because his listing is incorrectly described. In fact, it is a small ROOM, not a small STUDIO. Using that kind of language encourages people to book the room based on incorrect information and then prevents them from getting their money back due to a restrictive cancellation policy. 

If I said the sky is green, is it? This host is trying to shift the definition of a studio apartment to mean a bedroom with a bathroom attached and a seperate entrance. That is NOT a studio apartment in any way and calling it such amounts to a deception that meets every definition of fraud. I have XXXX dogs and XXXX adults, why would I book such a small place? Small is XXXX square feet. Not XXXX square feet, which is EVEN LESS than a hotel room! Even a hotel room has a closet, this didn't even have that. 

Capital One " investigated '' our claim ( Claim # XXXX ) but denied it because XXXX provided a copy of their cancellation policy. We canceled after we got there, therefore putting us outside of the cancellation window. Again, we need to reiterate here that reason we canceled was because upon arrival, the XXXX was not as described. How are we supposed to cancel a room that isn't as described when we haven't even seen the room yet? This is a restrictive and unfair policy that offers no protection to buyers.