Homestay in Walsall

I booked and arrived at 9:30 pm, only to discover I was expected to provide a £150 security deposit. I asked for my money back and was refused. From my experience, getting this so-called bank deposit back seems almost impossible. Other reviews appear to describe similar issues, so I’m concerned something fraudulent may be going on. I’ll follow up with the UK Action Fraud Agency while I’m here to ask what to do. Foreign tourists should be wary.

After a booking is confirmed, guests may be asked for an unexpected £150-200 damage deposit, and access is refused if they don’t pay. That raises serious questions for me about transparency and fair treatment. If someone is prepared to spend £250, they’d expect the accommodation to match, not an extra fee that seems unjustified. These practices seem questionable and out of step with industry standards. It’s troubling to see a business appear to put charges ahead of providing the service guests paid for. Booking.com should vet its partners carefully so customers are treated fairly.

They ask you to send a £150 or £200 deposit by bank transfer after you’ve already booked, and you can’t get the money back if you cancel. It feels like a deceptive, predatory deposit scam. The place was filthy and full of bed bugs.

I accidentally booked this place because my phone filled in the postcode for my own home, just seconds away. They wouldn’t cancel or refund me, even though I live nearby. I wouldn’t stay in that hovel even if they paid me. It’s a run-down house in Leamore, with no parking on the main road and a ridiculous deposit due before arrival. In reply to the response: my cancellation and refund had already been denied before we had any direct contact, so the claim that exceptions are always made for errors is a lie. I wasn’t abusive; I just said I was unhappy with the experience and thought the pricing was deceptive at best. Several other reviews describe something very similar, so this hardly seems like a one-off. They seem aware of the confusion but don’t care as long as they keep making money.