ComplaintsforCreek's Crossing Cabins, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  05/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Upon arrival to the Creekside Cabin my family and I encountered unsanitary conditions such as; an infestation of flying ants (for lack of the specific insect type) covering the floors of the cabin, in the cupboards, refrigerator and mouse feces when the sofa was moved. I informed the owner Gary immediately upon arrival. Gary then confirmed there was an issue with the insects, advised he tried to rectify the issue previously by sweeping them up, spraying with a repellant, then he offered to send a cleaning crew to the cabin. I then explained to him that my daughters did not feel comfortable staying there because of health concerns. My youngest daughter even experienced a panic attack upon our arrival due to the amount of insects crawling around. Gary then apologized for the issue, and verbally agreed to refund my money. He stated he was out of town on a fishing trip at Lake Erie. I have multiple witnesses of these events including my three adult children, and my son's wife. I also have witness to the phone conversation I had with Gary because I was using my hands free calling from my vehicle. Today as of 5/9/2023 Gary called me again, verbally accused me of lying, questioned my integrity, and also said I ruined his anniversary and refused to refund my money.

  Business response

  05/13/2023

  We take this complaint very seriously as we have rented this cabin for over 14 years to more than 450 families/2,000 guests without a single grievance. Our response has been delayed due to working with a professional.
  
  When this customer called, she said the cabin was full of flying ants, “in” the cupboards and all over the refrigerator.  I believed her at the time, and initially agreed to a refund.  I was unable to address the situation immediately as we were out of town for our anniversary visiting friends (not fishing). I did, however, offer to have our cleaning staff come over to take care of it, but the customer declined my offer.
  
  We cut our trip short to come back early the following day, but upon arriving at the cabin were astonished to find there was not a single flying ant or insect anywhere. From our research they could not have left completely without a trace; there would have been dead ants, wings, etc.  We observed the guests had gone upstairs to the bedroom, and pulled back the bedding including the mattress covers as if they were looking for bugs, and left it that way -- there were none. We moved the couch to only find a few very small hemlock pine needles – no mouse droppings – as we have the cabin specially treated for mice year-round (this is done by many other cabin owners).
  
  Anyone else who would have walked into a rental cabin that had flying ants as she described would have simply walked out, and immediately given me a call, but this customer did not. For whatever reason It appeared they decided they didn’t want to stay at the cabin, and were looking for a reason to get a refund. All of our guests sign a “Rental Agreement” and agree to our Rental Policies. One of the policies states: “INSECTS, SPIDERS & CRITTERS: Our cabins are treated for pests, but due to their surroundings, you may encounter insects, spiders, mice, etc. Please let us know if there are any issues, but we do not offer refunds for these encounters.”
  
  A couple of weeks ago we had our first ever occurrence of flying ants that came into the cabin in between reservations.  I immediately sprayed for them and cleaned them up.  Because it “appeared” it happened again according to this customer, I offered to address this issue by sending our cleaning crew, but this customer was adamant about me not doing it.
  
  We contacted a local longtime and reputable exterminator, **** Pest Control, to come to the property to do an inspection.  They confirmed that if there had been flying ants (or a similar insect) as the customer described there would have been even more by the time we arrived at the cabin, and there would have been dead ants everywhere especially on the windowsills. We will attach a formal letter from **** Pest Control this week when they provide it to us.
  
  I would have gladly given her a refund if I had found what she said was true, but because we could find no evidence of flying ants, insects or mouse droppings, and the exterminator confirmed this, I could not. So, we stand by our "PEST, INSECT & CRITTER Policy: ...we do not offer refunds for these encounters”.
  
  Attached is a copy of our Rental Policies, the signed the Rental Agreement by this guest, and a document from **** Pest Control will be provided this week.
  
  

  Customer response

  05/15/2023

  [If you do not say why you are rejecting the company's response, BBB must close your complaint.] 
  
  Complaint: 20036650
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 

  If you check the bbb website you will see a previous complaint regarding this business. I wish I would have researched the business/owners prior to booking the cabin and then I would have realized not to book with them. The other occupants of the cabin we my 3 adult children. Two of them are police officers and one is a nurse (all professionals). None of us would fabricate a story to get a refund or back out of a rental contract. We certainly didn't go looking for reasons not to stay there. Yes, the rental contract does state "insects, spiders, and critters" but no one would rent a cabin if they knowingly knew there was an infestation of an insect. The fact that there was still a Christmas Tree in the living room in May indicates to me that the cabin must have not been rented yet this season and the cleaning crew needs to do a better job. 

  Again upon arrival to the cabin is when my daughter noticed the "flying ants". At that time, I did call Gary the owner and the call was not answered. Therefore, we attempted to sweep up the flying ants with a broom and spray the area with the provided home defense throughout the lower level and kitchen area but there were just too many insects (hundreds) to combat them. While attempting to clean the insects of the floor is when the sofa was moved and we discovered mice droppings. We then continued to inspect the other areas of the cabin for insects, mice, etc... There were additional insects found in the refrigerator, cabinets, window seals, and the floor of the upper level.

  By this point, my daughter was having a panic attack and did not want to stay there in fear of health concerns. I called Gary a second time and that is when he offered to send a cleaning crew. Yet, my family did not feel comfortable staying in the cabin. I expressed that to him at the time. He then apologized and admitted there was a previous issue with such insects and offered to refund my money. He even advised I call another business (gave me a referral) that should be able to help us find a rental for weekend. The fact that he called me Monday morning with a completely different attitude and verbally insulted me was surprising and upsetting to me.

  This seems like a deliberate attempt to negate any wrongdoing on their part and rescind on their verbal agreement to refund my money. I am not convinced that these business owners are not performing this practice to other non-suspecting customers, and I question their credibility. This is why I filed the complaint with the BBB in hopes that other consumers will review this complaint before doing business with them. I reject this claim and in hindsight the only other thing that I should have done was take photos of the state of the cabin when we arrived. I'm disappointed that if they are a "reputable" company as they claim to be would not be more receptive and follow through. Integrity is everything and they should have done the right thing in this situation. 

  Business response

  05/21/2023

  We take precautions to make our cabins clean, comfortable and a pleasant experience for all of our guests. We also have had to take precautions to protect ourselves by having Policies in place, and a signed Rental Agreement by our guests to avoid people taking advantage of us.  Because of our findings, we rescinded our offer of a refund to **** ********* because we found no evidence of an insect infestation.
  
  Another clarification is warranted about our phone call on the day of check-in. **** ******** states she informed me immediately upon arrival, and was using her hands-free calling from her vehicle. So, she had left the cabin when she placed the call. She states that she called me at 6:07pm, but the call was not answered. However, I only received the one phone call from **** – it was at 6:07pm, and lasted 6 minutes (see call record attachment). She never mentioned to me over the phone that they had attempted to clean or spray for any insects. If they were that bad, why would a guest attempt to do that? And if they had attempted to do that, but there were too many to combat, why didn’t we find dead insects the following day?
  
  It’s unfortunate that **** ******** has made defamation comments about our business and livelihood in an attempt to discredit our business for standing by our Rental Policies.
  
  1)     We have NOT had an on-going infestation of insects as **** ******** claims.
  2)     After being in business for over 14 years, having over 12,000 guests between our 3 cabins, we have sustained an A+ rating with the BBB. The complaint **** ******** refers to is the only other complaint we’ve had. It was 3 years ago, because we charged for extra guests who stayed at another cabin for a New Year’s Eve Holiday.  Our Policies address having visitors and extra guests -- this renter was provided this information, signed a Rental Agreement, but thought they shouldn’t be charged. Our BBB rating was not affected by this complaint, and maintained our A+ rating.
  3)     As for the evergreen pencil tree, we leave it up year-round which is not decorated with Christmas ornaments, but rather birds and wildlife. Contrary to her comments, we have had many guests stay at this cabin this year already without an insect incident.
  4)     Again, when we arrived the following day, and if according to ****, “we attempted to sweep up flying ants… but there were just too many insects (hundreds) to combat them” why didn’t we find any. According to the **** Pest Control technician, there would have been more by the time we arrived. We also checked inside the cabinets, inside/outside the refrigerator, on the windowsills, etc., but did not find any. 
  5)     I actually contacted **** Pest Control to come out as much for us to see if in fact I had overlooked flying ants/insects somewhere, but they confirmed they did not find any evidence of an outbreak.
  
  We rescinded our offer to a refund to **** ********* because “doing the right thing” was that the insect story wasn’t true. Bottomline, this appears to be social media revenge. **** wants you to believe that a rental business of 14 years with an A+ BBB record has ants in the refrigerator, ants in the cupboards, ants too many to combat. She had to know that when we and **** Pest Control inspected the cabin, and found nothing we had known that she had made it up.  It is so unfair that the same people that will make up stories to you to get a refund are the same ones that will try to destroy your hard-earned business with the same stories.  Fair goes both ways.
  
  Attached are 2 more documents:
  1)     The letter from **** Pest Control with the results of their thorough inspection and not finding any evidence of insects.
  2)     A call record of **** ********’s phone number ###-###-#### calling me on 05/05/23 at 6:07pm; we spoke for 6 minutes. I did not call her back, and she did not call me at 6:15pm as she claims after she attempted to clean up some of the insects. “Outgoing” calls are indicated with the name of the city, and “Incoming” calls are indicated with the caller’s phone number.
  

  Customer response

  05/23/2023

  1. This business is not an accredited member of the BBB. The A+ rating is default for all businesses without a history of complaints.

  2. I stand by original complaint and have no reason to lie or attempt to defame anyone. I have no personal gain from reporting the issue and there were additional witnesses to back my claim.

  3. Phone calls made from the cabin did not go through because there is no signal (not within service area). Therefore, the call was made from my GMC hands free calling once service was available.

  4. My request for a refund is because we did not stay in the cabin and had to find a different accommodation. Upon initial inspection of the cabin it did not meet expectations and had an insect issue.

  At this point, I agree to disagree with the owners of the cabin and refuse to spend anymore time arguing with them. 

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