Companies taking advantage after USASA Nationals Canceled

[TVR]

So, like others, I rented a Condo in Copper Co. The property is under management from 'Rocky Mountain Resort Management' company. The company was good up until now. Here is a snippet from what they sent in the last email:

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This is our last email to guests due to arrive from today through April 30 regarding getting credits.  If you do not respond requesting the credit, your reservation will be cancelled and no

credits will be provided.  The county has stopped check ins for all guests until further notice.  The offer to credit towards a future stay is listed below.  Again if an email as stated below

is not received 24 hours before your check date we will simply cancel the reservation.  We have created the credit option below to create fairness to everyone involved.  We wish you

the best and hope you stay safe and healthy.  Thank you.
For those without insurance for their stay,  we are offering 50% credit towards a future stay.  We would need an email back saying you want us to cancel your reservation and apply 50% of the rental toward a future reservation in our system.  This credit would apply to the retail rate on a future stay within 365 days.  Thank you."

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The challenge here, and why I am writing this is, no company can benefit from any contract without being subject to that contract. In the above, he is now going to cancel the bookings, all of them, and is threatening that anyone who doesn't accept his offer will lose all their moneys. This is not legal to do, as the moneys were paid for goods and services. By this, I am referring to their company offering a rental of a property with cleaning services and such, and now looking to collect 50% without providing any of the goods or services they were contracted to provide. If anyone else is in this same boat, be aware that your credit card company will back you, as part of their merchant agreement, they will not require you to pay for goods or services not rendered.

So here I am pointing out a poorly run management company and asking the rest who had plans to not just feel pressured to take the first offer of any refund without looking at the total of it in full. I have issued a charge-back with my card and informed Jeffrey DePaola of my action and potential other future actions, but let's not be bullied by people like this.

[Corey]

What did the contract say before the outbreak?  For reference; I recall most Aspen-area places having essentially no cancellation refunds.  

I agree that they can't change after the fact.  If they're trying to change the policy due to a pandemic, well, they're a**holes, and your credit card company is your best bet.    

[TVR]

A no refund policy only applies where as the provider is willing and able to provide the product or service paid for, but the consumer no longer wants it. If the consumer is willing to take delivery, but the provider is no longer willing or able to provide the product or service, the no cancellation policy does not apply.

 Rocky Mountain Resort Management cancelled all reservations. They are the provider, and are unable to provide the product and services paid for. They are, however, looking to keep the funds.

This would be analogist to ordering a set of tires online, and them having an issue with shipping, so they cancelled your order and decided to keep the money. Their merchant agreement along with the laws of commerce in each state prevents such issues with law. 

Most people don't know what is in the merchant agreement with CC companies, and this is why I posted, as they cannot do what they are attempting to do to me, and my credit card ultimately will back me. Everyone else in a similar situation need to know or look up their rights and not allow these companies to bully and scare you into a loss you are not responsible for. This is why the email content I posted was worded to scare people into taking their deal before they could look into their options.

[bucky]

The VRBO in Frisco we rented from provided a full refund

[TVR]

Thank you, and lets all post the good as well as the bad, so as we can know who are the good companies available for future Nationals.

[Jack M]

I agree the wording of the contract is important, as Corey said.  If it said no refunds, then they probably think they're being generous.

It does seem like they should be obligated to give you a full credit towards a future stay, if not a full refund.  Kind of like how a ski area will give you a voucher for a future lift ticket if an act of nature shuts down the resort the day you are there.  FWIW, Sugarloaf is giving full refunds.  Guess they don't want to deal with the additional organization of credits.

A lot of companies are in uncharted waters in these situations these days.  If you think they're wrong and they won't accommodate you, I think your CC company is your best bet.

Just before things got really serious, I registered my daughter for USSA Nationals for $275 and 12 hours later the event was canceled.  They refunded $232.  I guess my $43 is now a donation for the privilege of having been able to sign up.  I guess I'm ok with that.

[TVR]

UPDATE TO THIS TOPIC:

Since I had no good correspondence with the property management company, and since they attempted to strong arm me by threatening to give me nothing if I didn't take a 50% voucher, I did the charge back with my credit card company. I figured it was a 50/50 shot when I did it, but with them unwilling to satisfy the accommodations, I figured it made sense.

As it turns out, I was right. According to the Fair Credit Billing Act, ( https://www.lexingtonlaw.com/credit/fair-credit-billing-act ), their company being unable or unwilling to satisfy the terms of the rental creates a situation where I was entitled to the 100% refund of my moneys. It didn't matter that I went through Hotels.com (also unhelpful) but rather, I was not liable. It also mattered little if there was a clause stating no refunds, as the no refunds policy only kicks in if they were willing and able to provide the goods or services and I didn't want them any more. Their clause does not remove their responsibility liability to provide the product or service, if I was willing to accept it as defined in the contract.

I have since been permanently refunded the moneys, and anyone who has anything from USASA Nationals 2020, or any other venue that have not accepted a partial refund should look into this for themselves. I hope this was helpful, and I caution anyone from using any property managed by Rocky Mountain Resort Management moving forward, as they certainly don't have their client as their first priority.

 

Edited June 2, 2020 by TVR