TROUBLE BREWING - Please help

mnfun2bme · Post by **mnfun2bme** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 6:43 pm

Hi All,
I just had a friend who we met on St John several years ago call me... and she finds herself in a bit of a dilemma. I hope someone here can help.

Great Caribbean Getaways (who they have rented from for years) has allegedly filed for bankruptcy. Our friends have 1/2 down on a villa for rent this February from GCG. The only reason the renters know about this (the bankruptcy) is because the OWNER of the villa called them and stated that Great Caribbean Getaways has not paid the owner of the house for a very long time. When the villa owner called the renter, they asked that when the second half payment is due on the villa, the owner requested that the renter pay the owner directly as opposed to giving more money to Great Caribbean Getaways (which the owner is apparently not seeing any of).

Does anyone know if this is true? Has Great Caribbean Getaways filed for bankruptcy? Does anyone have recommendations for our friends? (she is not on the forum). She is in a contract with GCG obviously.... but she feels for the owner.

Her concern is that they have paid for 6 airline tickets and 1/2 down on a villa for February. The last thing she can have happen is to get "on-island" only to have the same villa rented out to two different people.

Thoughts? Help? Ideas? Knowledge?

AquaGirl · Post by **AquaGirl** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 8:44 pm

Yikes! What a way to have your vacation anticipation bubble popped. I would be very nervous about this situation. Very sorry to hear this. I wonder if your friend can find out where the Great Caribbean Getaways business is officially located and get bankruptcy info from the official records of that municipality's court. I see that GCG has an address in both St John and North Carolina.

Is your friend within the timeframe where she can cancel the reservation and get all or most of her money back? I think I might be tempted to cancel and ask for a refund, rather than pay more money that might be going into a black hole. Then she would have to find another villa to rent, which is a nuisance, but might give more peace of mind.

I hope it works out. It sounds like the villa owner may be in for some problems as well. Let us know how it gets resolved.

seagrape · Post by **seagrape** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:29 pm

Last we heard from these people was that their son was running the business from NC. That was quite a while ago. We rented through them years ago. I hope your friend's troubles turn out okay!!!

lprof · Post by **lprof** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 10:46 pm

Funny this thread came up... today I noticed a post on a closed group Facebook page by someone I didn't recall "seeing" around before, named Dave Redinger. He posted a link to "Great Caribbean Getaways". https://www.facebook.com/GreatCaribbeanGetaways

I am not familiar with the business or him.
If I were your friend, I would give GCG a call and ask if they are having financial problems, as she has heard the rumor that they are, and wonders if her reservation is secure. Something seems fishy somewhere here to me.

I hope it all works out okay.

mnfun2bme · Post by **mnfun2bme** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 10:55 pm

Iprof - do you mind sharing what closed group facebook page you saw Dave's post on?

I do think you're right. The first thing I would do is call the GCG to find out what's going on from their end. The whole thing stinks.

I just don't want them to get down there in February after having paid for 6 flights only to find out they are without villa.

I know they have always had "on island" representation. I recall one year them needing new beach chairs and they received them the following day. That's pretty good customer service. I know on the phone tonight when I spoke with the renter, she stated something about North Carolina. Perhaps that is where the person is who took over the company?

lprof · Post by **lprof** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 10:58 pm

Dave Redinger "lives in Washington, North Carolina" according to his profile.

ms411 · Post by **ms411** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 2:53 am

Please contact the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs. On St Thomas and see if they can get answers for you. If the property management is properly licensed and following correct procedures, deposits should be in a separate escrow account.

You might want to contact a similar office in NC.

They must have some employees on island who can shed some light on what's going on.

ms411 · Post by **ms411** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 3:07 am

I did some googling and this page came up. http://www.islandiarealestate.com/villa.html

Though I don't think it's a current.page, I would still call Islandia and let them know of your concerns. They might have some answers or ideas.

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 6:58 am

This seems fishy to me (but I could be totally wrong)

First what would happen if this "owner" is not the real owner and she pays the balance to him only to find out they were a scam and they arrive on island and they need to pay the balance to GCG before they are allowed into the villa or even worse they loose their villa and deposit as they balance was never receive in time. Also what came to mind is how did this "owner" get her phone number and info to be able to call- did GCG give it to the owner? and if this owner has not been seeing any revenue for a long time why would they not switch rental companies ?

I have no idea if GCG is having difficulty but a phone call is in order like ms411 recommended and in the meantime I will try to ask around and see if any of the other rental companies on island have heard about their situation

Pia

Randy in MD · Post by **Randy in MD** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 7:21 am

Like Pia, the story from the owner sounds a bit fishy to me.

We rented from GCG a couple of times about 7 years ago. It is/was a small family business and Dave Redinger was our on-island contact and part of that family...

Seems to me that going straight to GCG and voicing your concerns is the right way to go...

Go further if you don't like what you hear from them...

Puddlejumper · Post by **Puddlejumper** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 8:29 am

Please keep us posted on your friends progress. Hope things work out for them.

mnfun2bme · Post by **mnfun2bme** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 8:32 am

Like you guys, I believe it's smart to go straight to the source and I did recommend that.

I posted the story because some of you are so well connected that I figured you had either heard of it before or perhaps, a similar story and you might have some easy answers.

Allegedly, the "owner" had the name of the renter and then found them online and called them.

Thanks for your help. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

lazylane · Post by **lazylane** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 8:51 am

We rented thru them a couple years ago and Dave lived in Washington, NC then also and his contact info is right on their site. I would definitely call the on-island number and tell them your concerns (340) 693-8692 and talk to Dave at the 800# (800) 341-2532. I would not trust a phone call from an "owner" as monies are to go thru the management company. I do this for a living and I can assure you that no owner should do that. In addition, I'm not sure how they work, but in our business, the owners never know the names of our guests or their contact info. I find that suspicious.

ms411 · Post by **ms411** » Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:47 am

Please also alert Licensing. You never know if this is an isolated incident or a well-planned scheme that is targeted to others. A few years ago a realtor allegedly ran off with millions of dollars in deposits for properties collected from Statesiders.

Licensing's number is 340-774-3130. If this is a scam, the "owner" is probably looking for other victims.

dreamshark · Post by **dreamshark** » Sat Nov 23, 2013 12:27 am

We rented a villa through GCG last July. As a couple of other posters said, Dave Redinger runs the business from North Carolina. He has employees on the island (obviously) but no office on St. John. I exchanged several emails with him and one or two phone calls. He seemed very pleasant and professional. However, there were communication issues. It took 4 days to get in touch with him to ask about renting the 2nd bedroom - he didn't respond to email or phone messages during that time. There were also issues during our visit. Nothing drastic, just more communication failures. Shortly afterwards, the owners of that villa switched to another management company. The GCG web page was "under construction" and significantly out of date last summer. I just looked at it, and it is still "under construction." Very attractive and ambitious web page, just not finished.

In short, the company appears to be struggling and I wouldn't be surprised if it were in bankruptcy. The owner seems to be a decent person, but in over his head.

usvi-on-line