In the early 2000s this site seemed utopian, it was 100% FREE, and the people who participated in it were respectful and genuine, today with the new generation of CS this site has become a nest of disrespectful rats, and after the pandemic the site forces you to pay what is 100% unacceptable to me, I am not going to invest my money in a site like the one it has become, what a shame.
-5 stars
I am honestly SO MAD
They have been scamming people with the "lifetime verification" they did not say that I would be charged $87 CAD until after the fact.
Please, please, please use another platform.
If you have also been scammed out of money... you can file a report through your country's department of consumer protection or go through small claims.
One of my favorite sites. Host and get hosted. Travel and meet people. Meet interesting people in your community. It is a great way to travel and meet people by getting hosted. Host people to get to know interesting persons. I am almost 10 years member in this site. Unfortunately now it grew so big that a lot of people who do not share the hosting idea are members, however the concept is still great.
Their website cites that they will not issue refunds. To add insult to injury, most of the hosts on the site are long-inactive, so I couldn't even utilize the service, while I was being overbilled.
Hey charge me every year even though each year I cancel my membership and deactivate my account. I have to dispute the charge each year with my bank. They dont even have my current bank card on file but are still able to charge me. I now have to change my bank to get away from them. They make it impossible to contact them. I stopped using their services years ago. Dont sign up! You will be charged by then forever!
Couch Surfing can be really cool. I've stayed with two nice people and had a really great guest stay with me. But lately I've been getting 2-3 requests a week from backpackers wanting free accommodation. I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't just totally ignore me when I respond to their messages with information about how to get to my house and some ideas for things they might like in my local area. I put effort into responding to their requests and they never let me know whether or not they are going to turn up, leaving me keeping nights free for them and then discovering they don't bother.
Dear Couch Surfers - Have some courtesy to potential hosts. Tell us if you are not going to turn up.
Do I recommend it - yes, with caution.
I know Flickr has been the biggest photo sharing website popular to photographers. I'm a casual photographer and I had to sign up for this when I took a course in digital photography. First, I'm not too happy about having to sign up with Yahoo just have to a Flickr account. It's like what Google pulls people to do with having a Gmail and a Google Account.
Second, the navigation is complicated and confusing, in my personal experience. It's really hard to navigate and the batch organizer looks really outdated. It's like you could go to the same page in two different ways for no reason. Deleting photographs or editing data on it is hard to find and also could be done in multiple obscure ways.
I'm deleting my account right after my photography course is over.
I tried CS for a while but for safety I decided to erase all my data and get out. I made a mistake by contacting CS board for asking how to do it. Since then, they confiscated my account and although it exists, I cant access it! Who is using my data right now, no one knows!
A site like Couchsurfing, which was once a good site to meet new cultures, couldn't get any worse than this. I highly recommend that you stay away for your security because of dozens of men who would send horny messages just because you are a girl.
The site itself also charges as much as 50$ without your permission. Couldn't get any worse than this indeed.
Ever since I heard of CouchSurfing I have been crazed over this phenomena. The Couchsurfing project has been up for I'd say a couple years. You make a profile that includes your philosophy, why you're on the site, where you've traveled and where you want to and the list goes on. You can search for other people in the area that you are traveling to that are allowing "surfers" basically people that are traveling that need a place to stay and want to meet locals, etc. and message them to see if you could crash at their pad. I've met so many awesome folks on the East Coast. Couchsurfed a good handful of times and plan on traveling the world this way :D in love with this site. If you're a nomad, bookmark this site.
Couchsurfing is a scam, I pay to be a member and start a trip with my husband. But it's been a long time. Sofa available but not for married couples. Payment to send and reply messages again I have been cheated.
Couchsurfing is a complete sham. What a bunch of arrogant, high handed fools running the customer service dept of the site. They run the site like they are emperors and treat site users like their subjects. Their attitude of disdain, disrespect and disregard with which they treat users is disgusting. I only recently joined the site and set up a profile. All of a sudden, with no reason given and no explanation or e mail from them, they blocked my access to my account. I decided they are not worth my effort and time to contact them and inquire why the blockage. For all I care, its good riddance to a stupid $#*!ed bunch of fools and their dumb site.
The app is ok, the problem is that Couchsurfing delete accounts with any verification, you get angry with someone? You report that person to Couchsurfing support with false accusations and they close his account instantly! There's many good people in this site but there's many bad people too! Any person can open one account in this site same delinquents and mad people! Fortunately I have made very good friends that are in my Facebook that I made in Couchsurfing but like any social network Couchsurfing are only for the money!
I wanted to sign in to this website, they asked 50$ to activate my account, then I wanted to cancel my subscription and requested to give me back my 50$, they said they will send it in my credit card after 10 working days,... until now I dont have any answer... guess what we name this: SCAM!
When I just started using couchsurfing, it was quite good, i met a few people with whom i am still in touch. Then i didnt use it for a while to my great surprise found out i was charged with a membership fee without my permission because age ago i verified it with paypal. It was too late to claim the refund as i found out the transaction accidentall only through my bank statement. In the sector about local advice loads of people discussed the safety issues regarding hosts, some people shared their negative experiences, quite soon all of that was removed leaving only questions about transportation dated months back. Loads of men without hesitation trying to use it as a dating site (that type of men would think that any socializing site is for them to find a girl for sex though), it is not safe to use especially if you travel alone.
I had a recent issue where i tried to help someone on couch surfing that was desesperately looking for a host, i tried to help her but her response wasnt nice and i replied, she bullied me posting a reference and in the public forum, and turned out its a FAKE profile. And yet despite 3 different stranger people messaged me to support, Couchsurfing dismissed my inquires, and ignored to really address the situation.
I stayed with Chiara, and Lorenzo. They were such great hosts from making me feel welcome, to great conversations; and great food! I had a great experience with couch surfing, and recommend it to anyone!
Couchsurfing robbed me.
I was sure I was making a card verification transaction, but I didn't notice a price in LIGHT GREY COLOR on the last screen. These scammers took ridiculous amount of money for that stupid green check mark in my account.
When they refused to cancel my payment, I promised to write negative feedback wherever I can. Hell, with covid and stuff, these guys seem to have nothing to lose.
Half the time it has been fun and good to Host. The other half the time has been a pain with immature, dirty and dishonest moochers. I suggest that you NOT host unverified surfers. One had good reviews, but was unverified and it was a royal pain. Didn't want to explore outside the house. Up all night. All the lights on. Totally Messy. Ill-fit. Make sure the surfer is mature and has a clue how to be a decent guest would be my advice.
Couch surfing scammed me through verification. I thought they were just going to confirm my identity and I was not informed I was getting charged $60 until it was too late. Now they are refusing to refund me. They ruthlessly robbed me in the middle of a pandemic! They are criminals!
Overview
Couchsurfing.org has a rating of 1.6 stars from 66 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with Couchsurfing.org most frequently mention and credit card. Couchsurfing.org ranks 134th among Rental Homes sites.
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- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members