Myrtle Beach vacation rental company accused by many of ‘false advertising’

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Many people are speaking out about a Grand Strand vacation rental company they accuse of false advertising.

Over the past few weeks, News13 has spoke with two people who said they booked a rental with Myrtle Beach Vacation Stations and the homes they were promised were not what they saw when they walked through the door.

“This is a mistake, there’s no way that they would rent this place out to anybody,” said Jennifer Flanders, a renter.

The last thing you’d expect while renting a vacation home is bugs, broken and stained furniture and wet floors. Flanders said she was visiting Myrtle Beach with her family of nine last fall.

They decided they wanted to extend their stay for a few days, so they booked a cottage in Cherry Grove with Myrtle Beach Vacation Stations.

Flanders said she called the company on the way to the rental and she was told the home she booked was not available because of hurricane damage from two weeks before their three-day stay on Oct. 13.

Flanders said the company would place them in another home. After a few phone calls and hours went by, they finally received a code to get into the home.

She said when her family walked in, it was a nightmare.

“Nobody could stay in that place. I mean, even if it had electricity and water and the appliances, you still couldn’t sleep in there,” Flanders said. “It was just covered in mud from the flood, and you could smell the mold and the musty air.”

Flanders said she notified Vacation Stations immediately that they were not going to spend the night there. She also requested a full refund, as their contract stated if a home is uninhabitable, a refund will be granted.

In an email, Vacation Stations told her all reservations are non-refundable. She said in the same email, they offered a free three-night stay before the end of the year.

They also offered her another home but just for one night, but Flanders said she refused both. She just wanted a refund at that point.

“Even I highlighted it and sent it multiple times and after I sent them copies of the contract, that’s when they ghosted,” she said.

News13 reached out to Myrtle Beach Vacation Stations, who did not want to go on camera but said a refund was eventually offered to Flanders.

Flanders said she had to file a dispute with her credit card company in order to get the refund. She also started a Facebook group that now has 30 other members who have experienced similar situations with this rental company.

Angela Stover is a member and another renter whose son planned to stay in a property. She said her son noticed bed bugs underneath the mattress, the trash can was full and the beds were unmade.

Stover was told in an email as well that they do not have a refund policy and could move her son for an additional charge.

Lisa Bender, with Myrtle Beach Vacation Stations, said that they feel they did everything they could to fix Flanders stay.

The Better Business Bureau confirmed that Myrtle Beach Vacation Stations has had 37 complaints in the past three years and 21 reviews.

BBB also confirmed that Flanders was one of the negative reviews.

On Google, the rental company has 163 reviews and is rated just 2.7 stars out of 5.