Home Exchangers Let Down
I’ve just been contacted by a very concerned member. She supplied me with a copy of an email she had just received from another member explaining that she was initiating contact because she had been let down at the last minute by another exchange partner.
As it happens, the member who sent the contact had only joined ExchangeHomes this morning (May 25th), so whomever it was who had let her down is most certainly not a member of ours. It’s a great pity that she failed to mention this in her email.
Checking her logs I see that she has actually emailed a total of eight members, so I imagine one or two more will be contacting me wanting to know what steps we have taken regarding this exchanger from another web site who, they will naturally assume to be our member.
ExchangeHomes views people who cancel definitely arranged exchanges very seriously. In fact our policy clearly states:
One of the most critical parts of home exchanging is understanding that once you make a firm commitment, people miles away are counting upon you to honor that arrangement. If they have committed themselves to actually purchasing tickets, then their financial outlay has been considerable and once that point has been reached, it would be reprehensible for you to cancel.
If we ever hear of a member canceling an exchange once a firm commitment has been made and tickets have been purchased, that member will be blacklisted and barred from future membership with ExchangeHomes.com and a warning will be issued to all other clubs.
In all the years we’ve been associated with home exchange (since 1986), we’ve only had to deal with two proven let-downs and one of those turned out to be the complete reverse of the initial complaint. Member A accused member B of canceling their exchange at the last minute, but the reality was that Member A had preemptively demanded an up front payment to cover electricity, gas, telephone and “wear and tear”?? on the home.
We have always found the vast majority of home exchangers to be a very reliable bunch who view their commitments to exchange arrangements very seriously. Cancellations due to family illness can never be avoided but even these members go to great lengths to help exchange partners who have already booked air tickets. They still provide them with use of their home, a friends or relatives home or will help find alternative accommodation.
I find it a great pity that this new member is implying by omission that the delinquent member who walked away from an exchange agreement is ours. Now that the content of her email has been brought to my attention, I shall write to her and gently suggest that she makes the circumstances of her let-down somewhat clearer in future contacts.
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