VRBO Bahamas - Wire Transfer owner?

International bank not accepting your credit card? What is that even supposed to mean? The bank doesn’t accept your CC, the merchant/landlord/owner accepts your CC. If he/she isn’t set up to take CCs, this should have been disclosed from the beginning. Offer to pay via PayPal or other third party service that will take your CC and send the funds to the recipients bank.

Do not wire funds. Once transferred, your money is gone. It is the equivalent of handing someone an envelope of cash in advance. You have no recourse to get it back if the deal goes bad (like the house being grossly misrepresented, already occupied, or filthy, etc).

Be very very leery of this. There is absolutely no reason for a wire transfer.

I used FlipKey a while back (similar to VRBO), and it was all credit card, no wire transfer. Not sure what protection VRBO can offer you if the owner already has your money....is VRBO going to give you a refund if things aren’t satisfactory? Owner could set up a cc receiving account of his own, but prob doesn’t want to pay the transaction fee.

I rented in Paris 3-4 years ago....paid a deposit in advance via cc, then merely handed the apt manager a regular personal check upon arrival.

Skipping the cc company means you shoulder all the risk.

Good luck Dtiger and thanks for your reply

I asked about paying other than wire transfer. Owners reply:

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Unfortunately VRBO doesn’t give foreign bank account holders and my Bahamian bank any online options. I really wish they did as it would be so much easier for me and for you of course. So sorry about that. I do sometimes accept personal checks but I won’t be back in the states to pick it up for another month . I’ll call you when I’m home to discuss possibly transferring to my mother's US account.

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quote:

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Unfortunately VRBO doesn’t give foreign bank account holders and my Bahamian bank any online options. I really wish they did as it would be so much easier for me and for you of course. So sorry about that. I do sometimes accept personal checks but I won’t be back in the states to pick it up for another month . I’ll call you when I’m home to discuss possibly transferring to my mother's US account.

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This makes it seem even more like a scam, they try to act like they'll try an option and then let you know it doesn't work. So they make it more personal so you think it's legit.

If she truly had an option like this ( and if legit they certainly would have multiple options it's 2018) then there's absolutely no reason for them not to use another option.

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We've done this twice with vrbo on Eleuthera.

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Where did you stay on Eleuthera? My wife and I honeymooned there a little over 10 years ago. Hoping to go back soon.

That's just strange. Sounds like some here have done it, but it's hard for me to believe this day and age they have no way else of accepting payment besides wire transfer.

I would absolutely never wire transfer money for something like that.

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Where did you stay on Eleuthera?

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We like to stay on Winding Bay. The beach is a couple of miles long and only about 7 houses on the entire bay. Even though it is on the Atlantic side, the bay is protected by the reef, so it's great for the kids to snorkel and swim without worrying about them.