Safe way to transfer money

April 9, 2008 11:40 AM

How to handle an international refundable payment so that all parties are satisfied?

I will be staying in an apartment rental on my upcoming trip to Paris.

I went through a website that a friend has used before, but the person renting the apartment is new to the site. They are asking for a security deposit upon our arrival that will be refunded at the end of our stay in case of damage, etc to the apartment.

I am a little uncomfortable just handing over a stack of euros in an envelope to a complete stranger. What steps should I take to maximize a safe transaction for all involved.. Should I request a receipt? Give him the deposit in some other format? personal check? international money order? Should I also request a list of items that would result in the money not being refunded?

posted by Julnyes to travel & transportation (3 comments total)

I'm not sure that the payment format makes much difference. It's got to be as good as cash (that is, he really has the money -- it's not in some sort of limbo somewhere) or it's not really a deposit. Definitely get a receipt, and the terms for (non-)return of the deposit in writing.
posted by winston at 12:05 PM on April 9, 2008

Just as an FYI, this is typical of all of the holiday lets I have done in Europe. You hand over cash on arrival, and get back cash minus the cleaning fee on departure. I live in Europe, so we do this with some regularity in a variety of countries, and have never been screwed. Get a receipt, sure, but I wouldn't be too anxious about it.

If you think about it, the risk is shared. Sure, they could refuse to give you your money back. By the same token, you could clean out the apartment and walk off into the sunset the day before your scheduled departure, and the value of the rental plus the deposit wouldn't come close to covering it.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:19 PM on April 9, 2008

Thanks for the reassurance ... and why does my link not lead back to my previous paris question? odd.
posted by Julnyes at 4:56 PM on April 9, 2008