Searching for a vacation rental in NYC, I browsed the well-known classifieds section of Craigslist.org, a website I had only good experiences with so far. Corresponding via e-mail commencing July 9th, I rented a 2BR-apartment in 179 Essex Street from Mr. Marc Anthony Russo for USD 2,300, - for the period from September 6th to September 14th. Mr. Russo asked for a deposit of half the total price payable via Paypal.
One day before my arrival he informed me that he is not able to fulfill the contract because of a problem with bed-bugs in the apartment. Mr. Russo alias Russ offered me another apartment charging an additional "cleaning-fee" and referred me to another seller to which he paid my deposit of USD 1200, - via his caretaker Sharelle. The apartment was not available for the whole time I rented from Mr. Russo/Russ but only for 6 instead of 8 nights. Nevertheless Mr. Russo insisited that I pay the amount we agreed upon earlier for the first apartment plus the cleaning fee for the second apartment. Arriving in New York, I contacted the new landlord and explained to him that I would not pay the sum Mr. Russo promised him. He declined to pay my deposit back, so I was forced to negotiate a new price with him in order not to lose all my money.
The phone-number 917-215-0695 Mr. Russo provided was never answered, his website http://www.nycvillageapartments.com was offline one week before my travel to New York. He communicated with me via several e-mail addresses such as: [email protected], downtownnycrentals@gmail. C om, [email protected], and [email protected].
When I tried to reach a settlement with him regarding the missing two nights he declined to correspond further with me. I think a serious businessman would have tried to provide me with an accommodation equal or better than the one reserved after cancelling the agreement one day prior.
Since Mr. Russo and the company My NYC Apartment LLC were not able to provide me with the services they promised I am seeking a refund to compensate the additional costs I had to bear during my stay in New York City. Mr. Russo should have provided me with a replacement under the same or better condidtions as I had paid the deposit for.
Now, I need to cover my expenses caused by Mr. Russo's / My NYC Apartment LLC unprofessional business practices. Mr. Russo declined to deal with me any longer after he referred me to the owner of the replacement apartment. The replacement was not available for the period I made the reservation with Mr. Russo / My NYC Apartment LLC. I had expenses for 2 hotel nights for four people from September 6th to September 8th and 2 hotel nights for two people from September 12th to September 14th.
I immediately reported this incident to state and federal authorities and I would strongly recommend to deny this person to publish ads related to his business and not to rent or make any payments to him!
Alex
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
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