Client Review on Surf Or Sound LTD

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We rented a home through Surf or Sound on our recent vacation to the Outer Banks in Salvo, NC. During our stay high surfs from tropical storm Melissa washed out a sand dune and closed NC 12 near Rodanthe. We first heard of this closure from Surf or Sound on Friday morning. The message we received from them was the road was closed, but we still needed to be out by 10:00 AM on Saturday. We should plan according and be prepared to leave as soon as the road opens. The road never did open. Saturday morning, we called asking if we could stay at the house until the road opened. We were told no, since the house was booked. We could not get out so the next guest could not get in. Their explanation was that if the road opened late and the next guest got through, they would expect their home to be ready. I could understand that.What happened next is why I’m writing this review of Surf or Sound. I understand weather related issues are unpredictable and at no fault of anyone. We were not looking for a free place to stay. We were willing to pay for an additional night, or more depending on how long the road remained closed. We asked the agent if she could assist us in finding another place to stay. She was happy to assist for a big profit for her company. Surf or Sound used our situation as an opportunity to profit. They have a 3-night minimum stay policy and a $375.00 minimum booking fee. We had already stayed for 7-nights, that should have counted. The house we were moving to was not rented. 1-night stay is better than no night stays, we were paying a cleaning fee no matter how many nights we stayed. We didn’t expect to have a company take advantage of the situation as Surf or Sound did. We accepted their terms, since our only other option was to camp out in our car until the road opened. We were told the house was ready and we would receive the code to enter the home shortly. This was at 9:30 AM Saturday morning. By 5:30 PM we still did not have a code. We left multiple voice messages throughout the day. We drove down to their offices and finally were given the code. I saw others in their parking lot trying to figure out what they were going to do after being told to vacant their rentals. It was a disgrace the way they were treating people. Other rental companies in the area were allowing people to remain in their homes until the road opened. I can understand that the house is rented and needs to be available when the next guest arrives. What I find unacceptable is that they used the situation to profit. Then to make a bad situation even worst, at 8:30 they called us to let us know the road was open. We had only been in the house for 2 hours and no offer to refund our money for a 3-night stay we no longer needed. We stayed since we already paid. Our 1-night stay ended up costing us $600.00, plus they are now holding a $600.00 security deposit for 45 days. I expect our next issue will be getting our security deposit back. Their customer service is horrible. I would not recommend Surf or Sound to anyone. Choose another rental company if you are traveling to the Outer Banks!