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3203 Views 14 Replies Latest reply: Apr 14, 2012 10:18 PM by twobitrentals RSS
floridabeachsunset.com New Member
floridabeachsunset.com
14 posts since
Jun 14, 2011
Currently Being Moderated

Mar 20, 2012 5:11 PM

eCheck "bounced". What now?

I have a guest who chose to pay via eCheck, and they apparently put the

wrong account number or routing number into RM when they paid.  I got an

email from ReservationManager saying that the payment was reversed due to

the Account number structure being invalid.

 

And, I also got an email from VacationRentPayment, saying that the entire

amount had been taken out of my own account.

 

So..  a couple of questions......

 

a)    What now?  According to the web/Reservation Manager, they paid their

first payment, and my only option is to 'refund'.  Am I now 'off the

reservation' and on my own, or is there a mechanism in place to have them

repay (without, hopefully, having to make a manual payment, etc etc)

 

b)   VacationRentPayment took the entire amount back.  They should have, I

would assume, taken the amount minus the "fee"  (1% in this case).  Where

is my 1%?

 

Thanks.

 

--

 

Kirby Vandivort

 

  • floridabeachsunset.com New Member
    floridabeachsunset.com
    14 posts since
    Jun 14, 2011
    Currently Being Moderated
    Mar 23, 2012 10:14 AM (in response to floridabeachsunset.com)
    Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

    No one has had this happen?

     

    It keeps getting better.

     

    I was looking at my bank statement today.  I had noted in section 'b' above that the payment had been taken back out of my bank account.  It shows up on the bank statement as  RECAPTURE HOMEAWAY.  Ok.. Fair enough..  It's not right that I had to pay back the full 100% from my bank account when I only get to see 100% minus the transaction fee.  But oh well.

     

     

    But, there's now another fee..  $25..   FEES HOMEAWAY    That showed up the same day.   So, it looks like I'm getting charged 25 bucks because my guests apparently didn't type in their account number right.

     

    So, I'm out $25 plus the 1% so far;    reservation manager still thinks that the guest has paid their full payment and has no option for me to say "no, they haven't", and I'm not sure how to proceed.

     

    Can't say I'm loving the whole eCheck thing at this point.

    • floridabeachsunset.com New Member
      floridabeachsunset.com
      14 posts since
      Jun 14, 2011
      Currently Being Moderated
      Mar 26, 2012 2:02 PM (in response to floridabeachsunset.com)
      Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

      James?  Patrick?  Anyone have any guidance here?

      • twobitrentals Community Ambassador
        twobitrentals
        472 posts since
        Aug 5, 2011
        Currently Being Moderated
        Mar 26, 2012 2:31 PM (in response to floridabeachsunset.com)
        Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

        I thought that this couldn't happen and that is why they wanted to wait for 10 days before depositing???? This is scary!

         

         

        Are you looking for a vacation get-away 

        Check out this wonderful home in Springfield/Branson

        http://www.vrbo.com/281054  or

         

         

        http://www.flipkey.com/springfield-vacation-rentals/p354303/ 

        • floridabeachsunset.com New Member
          floridabeachsunset.com
          14 posts since
          Jun 14, 2011
          Currently Being Moderated
          Mar 26, 2012 4:19 PM (in response to twobitrentals)
          Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

          Wendy,

           

          I'm very surprised myself at how much of an annoyance this is turning into.  And, I need to get back with my guest so that they know that things are amiss.. but I don't want to do so without some solution.  Here's the current timeline for what has happened to me:

           

          March 14, 9:30 am:   Payment ($300) requested

          March 14, 10:04am:   Payment received in the amount of $300.00.

           

          March 16, 4:03am: email from VacationRentPayment (VRP) saying that $300 minus

                            1% ($3), or $297.00, had been deposited into my account

                           

          March 19...  online bank account shows the $297.00 deposited

           

          March 20,  1:52am:  I was notified via VRP that payment had been reversed

          March 20, 10:03am   email from VRP saying that $300 had been taken from my account

           

          March 21...  online bank account shows $300 deduction

          March 21...  online bank account shows $25 "Fees Homeaway" deduction.  This fee

                       hasn't been mentioned at all via any email that I'm aware of.  If I

                       wasn't watching my bank account it would be completely incognito.

          • twobitrentals Community Ambassador
            twobitrentals
            472 posts since
            Aug 5, 2011
            Currently Being Moderated
            Mar 26, 2012 4:47 PM (in response to floridabeachsunset.com)
            Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

            Maybe you are the first person this has happened to and they will get it straightened out for you. I would say that I would be charging the customer for all the extra fees (should they stand) because it was there error. However, that could also mean that you lose a commitment, should they get offended. Also, how would you enforce it, if it isn't in your contract? WOW!! That is sure something to think about. I don't think anyone has paid me with e-check. All credit cards! I do remember though that they stated not to accept an e-check within 10 days of rental so you do have at least that......(the time to prevent a check-in without payment).  Let me know how it all turns out....

             

            I have loved this system and have been thankful for it. My only frustration happened today when I had two different vacationers tell me that they didn't get the contract, when in fact they did (attached to funds request). Makes me wonder how they pushed the "accepted" button for contract when they didn't even know where it was on the e-mail??? hmmmmmmmmmmm? Oh well, I still love the system and just am confident that VRBO will fix any bugs that come along, like yours. They definately should reimburse you for the fees, since you were unaware of them before you accepted the e-check.

             

             

            Are you looking for a vacation get-away 

            Check out this wonderful home in Springfield/Branson

            http://www.vrbo.com/281054  or

             

             

            http://www.flipkey.com/springfield-vacation-rentals/p354303/ 

          • patrickduncan HomeAway Employee
            patrickduncan
            143 posts since
            Mar 21, 2011
            Currently Being Moderated
            Mar 26, 2012 10:17 PM (in response to floridabeachsunset.com)
            Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

            Hi Kirby -

             

            My apologies for the delay in getting back to you on this one. We needed to investigate. I'll send you a private message with what we found. It appears as though everything is working correctly, but please check your messages to confirm.


            Thanks,
            Patrick

          • patrickduncan HomeAway Employee
            patrickduncan
            143 posts since
            Mar 21, 2011
            Currently Being Moderated
            Mar 28, 2012 12:29 PM (in response to floridabeachsunset.com)
            Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

            Hi again Kirby -

             

            There was an error identified by our partner, VacationRentPayment, that resulted in the $300 being recaptured from your account (vs. $297). They will be despositing $3 into your account shortly.

             

            Here's what happened:

             

            1. Your guest made an eCheck payment using an incorrect account number on 3/14.
            2. On 3/15, VacationRentPayment made eCheck payments free
            3. Then on 3/19 the recapture was initiated and rather than capture only the amount deposited, the software recaptured the entire payment amount (assuming fees had not been withheld).

             

            We don't believe there were any other occasions of this happening.

             

            I hope this helps - thanks for bringing the issue to our attention.

             

            Best,

            Patrick

            • floridabeachsunset.com New Member
              floridabeachsunset.com
              14 posts since
              Jun 14, 2011
              Currently Being Moderated
              Mar 28, 2012 2:30 PM (in response to patrickduncan)
              Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

              Patrick,

               

              Thanks for tracking that down.

               

              Alas, the $3 is the least of my concerns.  But, thanks for tracking it down.  My only question concerning the "fee" would be what will happen with people who have had a deposit paid before the 15th via eCheck and need to refund it 6 months from now.  Hopefully their 1% will get back to them.

               

              But, for other things:

               

              1) RM still thinks that the person has paid their $300.  It even has an option for me to "refund" their $300.  I shiver to think what would happen if I exercised that option.  It appears that there is a disconnect between VRP and RM in the event that a person mistypes a number on an eCheck.  What's the best way to resolve this?

               

              2) I'm still not sure why I have been charged $25.  The person (presumably) had money in their account and (apparently) mistyped a number on a form.  If I have to pay $25 everytime some transposes two numbers on a form (where they aren't even asked to type it twice) that's not cool.

               

              Between the difficulties in resolution due to 1), and the costs associated with 2), accepting eChecks seems to be fraught with peril. 

               

              I'm confident that we'll get these issues resolved..  You guys have been nice to work with in the past, so I'm not terribly concerned at this point.  We just have to figure it out.  On a related note, I emailed my guest today and told them that there had been a problem and that I would get back with them later with some sort of resolution. 

               

              Kirby

              • patrickduncan HomeAway Employee
                patrickduncan
                143 posts since
                Mar 21, 2011
                Currently Being Moderated
                Apr 2, 2012 1:57 PM (in response to floridabeachsunset.com)
                Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

                Hi Kirby (et al),

                 

                My apologies for the delay in responding to your questions.

                 

                Regarding item #1, at this time there isn't a complete closed-loop between RM and VacationRentPayment for failed eCheck transactions. Our product / dev teams are working to close this gap, but unfortunately, I do not have a timeframe for this solve yet. To "resend" the initial payment request, you may use the "Add a Payment Request" button on the Payment details tab of the guest reservation page. When sending this ad hoc payment, the invoice will be sent immediately.

                 

                On #2, the $25 charge is a "pass-through" fee that VacationRentPayment collects to cover the fees they are charged. This is similiar to the "bounced check" fees that traditional retailers would pass onto their customers. We'll follow up with VacationRentPayment and send you a private message with our findings.

                 

                I hope this helps.

                 

                Patrick

  • highestr8 Contributor
    highestr8
    58 posts since
    Aug 23, 2011
    Currently Being Moderated
    Mar 28, 2012 6:59 PM (in response to floridabeachsunset.com)
    Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

    BEWARE: E CHECKS!!!

     

    Very timely discussion regarding e checks. I have spent several hours bouncing back and forth between VacationRent and Homwaway.

     

    I have STARTLING news to share with EVERYONE that uses the credit card option through Reservation Manager.

     

    3-plus weeks ago, a guest paid their $2450 deposit via e check (I didn't know payment was via e-check...assumed it was credit card) to reserve one of our homes. 24 days later (and with having turned away one other potential guest for that same week) I get notice from Homeaway that the funds were being deducted from my account via "payment reversal".

     

    I contacted Vacationrentpay who told me I had to handle through Homeaway. Got Homeaway on the phone and they said I should be speaking with VacationRentPay.

     

    Eventually, got both companies on the telephone and they determine that because payment was made via E check neither VacationRentPay nor Homeaway has any ability to stop the reversal...their suggestion is to hire an attorney.

     

    My next step was to eliminate the E check payment option on my property listings...VacationRentPay tells me that yes, it can be done but through the Dashboard/Homeaway. Got customer service at HA on the phone and they inform us that you CANNOT deactivate E check acceptance...if you offer credit cards then you offer e check payment.

     

    Bottom line: if you use VacationRentPay (through HA/VRBO) for credit cards, you HAVE to accept E checks.

     

    This opens up all of us homeowners to a tremendous liability...E checks provide only the same "protection" as regular personal checks: any reservations made via e checks can be cancelled at any time...EVEN AFTER THE GUEST STAY HAS CONCLUDED (the guest has 30 days after the echeck payment was made to initiate a "reversal".)

     

    The homeowners' ONLY recourse would then be to hire a lawyer to try to recoup.

     

    The dilemma : accept credit cards (and e-checks) and hope that more and more people do not learn about the weak security of e-checks and prey that most guests pay with credit cards! I am awaiting a call from the HA security people tomorrow and if they cannot arrange a method to allow us to choose if we accept E checks...bye bye!! Cannot afford to take any more chances with E checks...

     

    BEWARE E-CHECKS

    • swlinphx Senior Contributor
      swlinphx
      1,147 posts since
      Aug 30, 2011
      Currently Being Moderated
      Apr 2, 2012 9:02 AM (in response to highestr8)
      Re: eCheck "bounced". What now?

      I think it is important here to let eveyrone know that you were allowed to remove the e-check option from your account so guests must pay by credit card.  Also, another solution for those wary of e-checks is to take the credit card info by phone at time of booking.

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