Adventures in Southern California

How I Got Scammed in Amsterdam by Storestay Damsquare and Booking.com

Booking.com has a reputation for terrible customer service. I knew that going in. But I took the risk anyway, and I got scammed.

While planning a trip to Amsterdam, I found a listing on Booking.com for a place called Storestay Damsquare. It was a lot cheaper than similar options which were still available, so I booked it without reading the reviews or double-checking the fine print. That was my first mistake.

A few months went by, and it was finally time for the trip. Three days before our flight, I get an email from Storestay Damsquare requesting a $600 wire transfer as a security deposit. They made it clear in the email that they would only accept a direct bank wire transfer. If the money wasn’t received before check-in, they said it would be considered a no-show, and we would lose the $1,200 we had already paid.

An international wire transfer is a massive, obvious red flag. I’ve stayed in dozens of hotels and rentals and never once been asked to wire money directly from my bank for a security deposit. But with our flight 3 days away and no alternative lined up, we felt trapped and reluctantly sent the money. I told my wife as we wired the money, "we're probably not getting this deposit back."

When we arrived in Amsterdam, the apartment was pretty disappointing. It was tiny, didn’t include the advertised balcony, and had almost no insulation. It was loud and drafty, and the smoke from the tattoo shop downstairs would drift right through the walls. We didn’t complain because we weren’t spending much time there and just wanted to enjoy the trip and explore the city.

The real problems started after we checked out.

We left the apartment spotless, as we always do. But Storestay Damsquare withheld our $600 deposit and refused to explain why. I asked multiple times for an itemized breakdown of any supposed damages or fees and they would always dodge the question or pretend that they didn't understand the request. They never accused us of any damage.

When I left a negative review on Booking.com detailing our experience and the missing refund, things escalated. The “manager,” Carol, sent me a hostile and ominous email. She threatened legal action and hinted that they would find additional damages to charge us for, clearly as a way to pressure us into taking down the review. But I refused to take it down. Other potential renters should be warned.

Unfortunately, since we booked the rental with a credit card and were past the 120-day dispute window, there was nothing we could do through the card company. However, we were able to initiate a dispute on the wire transfer through PNC bank. I know the chances of recovering the money are slim, but PNC might come through. I also filed a complaint with the FTC and I posted reviews of Storestay Damsquare to Yelp, Google and Tripadvisor.

Storestay Damsquare is running a neat little operation scamming people. Learn from my experience. Always read the fine print, never wire money upfront, don't book non-refundable rooms and read the reviews. And remember, Booking.com wont lift a finger to help you.

Storestay Damsquare

Is PayPal Safe to Use For Travel?

After a fraudulent charge of over $900 was charged to my PayPal Account, I spent 2 weeks and several hours on the phone with PayPal trying to get my money back. I learned a lot about how PayPal operates and I thought I would share some of what I learned to help protect others from Fraud. Here are 5 reasons you shouldn’t use PayPal in 2022 when you travel.

PayPal handles disputes using Foreign Call Centers. The call center employees at PayPal don’t have the authority to resolve fraud. If you ask for a manager on the phone, they often just hang up. In several instances, they offered me a callback from a manager that never came. When deciding whether or not to reimburse you, PayPal uses an automated fraud detection system which is extremely limited and inaccurate. In my case, the $900 charge originated from an obviously fake website with broken links. The fraudulent website had the founders name listed as Jane Doe, a fake phone, and an email address that they did not answer. They didn’t even put a tracking number or product description on the order.

PayPal resolution time for a fraudulent charge can take a month. When I would dispute the charge as “fraudulent” on PayPal’s website, PayPal would immediately dismiss the claim and close it. After many phone calls and at least 8 hours of work, I was able to get a manager on the phone from PayPal who changed my initial claim from a “fraudulent” charge to a claim of “item not received”. The problem is that listing the claim as item not received can take a month to resolve. PayPal gives the seller 2 weeks to respond, then another business week for them to review the seller’s info, and then they tacked on another few days just for good measure. For a claim filed on August 13^th, PayPal gave me an estimated resolution date of September 2^nd. Notice they said “estimated”. This is not a guarantee of a date. In many cases, it may take longer. Imagine that you’re on vacation waiting for 2 weeks for a reimbursement for a fraudulent charge. This would ruin your vacation and might leave you stranded.

PayPal can take money directly from your checking account. If you link a debit card or a checking account routing number to your PayPal account, you want to make absolutely sure that your checking account offers “Zero Liability Fraud Protection”. In the event of a fraudulent charge, you should make a claim as soon as possible with your bank so that they can issue a Chargeback. PNC offered me a chargeback which posted back to my account within 48 hours.

After my chargeback through PNC, I removed my bank information from PayPal as a payment option. And here was where the real trouble started. After my chargeback, PayPal charged my account a second time for the full amount. PNC was powerless to offer a second chargeback until the second payment cleared. In my case the payment didn’t post for 2 days and it took an additional 2 days to get to the second chargeback. That’s 4 days where my account was sitting with a negative balance. I was ok, but what if this was your rent money or your food money. A negative balance could leave you stranded in a foreign country or in an airport. This is where having a PayPal could be very dangerous.

Using the “friends and family” payment option waives your buyer protection. Never pay anyone using friends and family for any type of good or service. If you pay for something by selecting the option for “friend and family”, you are waiving most of the fraud protection offered by PayPal and you have little to no recourse for recouping your money through PayPal. PayPal acts like a bank, but they aren’t regulated like a bank. The friends and family option is a real recipe for disaster.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that the illusion of convenience that PayPal offers is not worth the risk of fraud. After dealing with PayPal these last 2 weeks, I’ve decided to close my PayPal account. There are far more legal protections offered with a standard credit card. In the past, when dealing with an instance of credit card fraud, I was able to clear up the issue with a single 15-minute phone call. With PayPal, I’ve spent at least 8 hours in a 2-week period and I was never able to get PayPal to refund my money. I spent a lot of time and research fighting back against a fraudulent charge and I still got screwed by PayPal, twice.

In the end, I had to go through my bank at PNC for a second Charge back, but I was lucky, not all banks offer Zero Liability Fraud Protection. And this type of chargeback has a very limited time frame. If you don’t catch it immediately, you will be on the hook for the fraudulent charge.

Don’t bring large amounts of cash on your California Vacation

This is one of the most important aspects of planning a trip that I never hear anyone mention: You should NEVER bring large amounts of cash on a road trip in the US.

Federal Agents can seize your cash without a warrant even if you haven't committed a crime.

It's called a civil forfeiture. US Border patrol, US Customs, state or local police, the DEA, and the FBI can take your cash at any time. It's up to you to go to court and prove that the money is yours and that you obtained it legally. It's a difficult process. And it's time sensitive. In many cases, you have less than a month to prove it. If you don't follow procedure, the government takes the cash and you never get it back.

Don't Use a Debit Card unless you are at a Bank

Never use a debit card unless you are at a bank. It can take month to obtain a refund when someone uses your card without your permission. I can't tell you how countless many times Ive heard of cashiers, clerks and waiters stealing debit card numbers. A debit card is very different from credit. Debit fraud requires a significant amount of proof. The burden is on you. Many debit disputes are unsuccessful. The money is gone. The only safe place to use your debit card is a bank.

Nearly Every Single Business in the US accepts Credit

It's nearly impossible to find a business in the US who won't accept a credit card. I can't remember the last time someone said "cash only" to me. It's been at least 20 years. The only exception I can think of would be for very small purchase amounts less than $5 in a place like a gas station for gum.

Use a Credit Card

You are far more protected in cases where someone makes an unauthorized charge on your credit card. You can often get a refund to your account within a week of reporting an unauthorized charge.

I understand that not everyone can get a credit card, but it is quite simply the safest form of payment you can use on a vacation in the US.

You are more protected when you rent a car using your credit card in cases where you decline the coverage offered by the renter. Nearly all US credit card companies offer some form of insurance when renting a car. The insurance won't kick in unless you decline the coverage offered by the rental company. The deposit required for renting a car with credit card is typically lower as well.

Before my first trip to Europe, I read a giant article about avoiding foreign transaction fees. The rate can vary, but most credit card companies charge a foreign transaction fee ranging from 1-5 percent. $5,000 in expenses on your trip would cost you $50 in fees at a 1 percent rate. In my opinion, the $50 in fees is absolutely worth the peace of mind. With a credit card, you don't have to worry about losing your cash or having someone steal the information on your debit card and drain your account. Many credit card companies offer cards that waive foreign transaction fees. I used my card for 2 weeks in Europe and I got hit with less than $20 in foreign transaction fees.

Another reason to use a credit card is to avoid taking cash out the ATM all the time. Those fees can add up. When you make a withdraw from an ATM, you often get hit with multiple hidden fees. At a place like a Las Vegas casino, you might pay as much as $20 for a single ATM withdraw.

Another reason I like using a credit card on my vacation is the promotions. Most companies offer points back for every dollar you spend. My current card had a promotion that offered $200 in credits if you spent $500 in the first 3 months.

Downside of a Credit Card.......

YOU HAVE TO PAY IT OFF WHEN YOU GET BACK. Don't spend more than you can pay off quickly. Credit card companies offer the promotions so you rack up a bunch of debt and then kill yourself trying to pay it back. If you put $2,000 on a credit card with a 20 percent interest rate and make the minimum payment of $50 a month, you'll be paying off that debt for 6 years and spend an additional $1200 in fees.