Party Planning · Newnan, GA

How to Book Your Inflatable Rental with Confidence

You found a bounce house rental for half the price everyone else quoted, on a Facebook post with a phone number and a Venmo handle. Before you send anything, here’s what you need to know.

Inflatable and party rental scams have been climbing across Georgia, and Coweta, Fayette, and Troup counties are not exempt. The pattern is almost always the same: a too-good-to-be-true price, a request for a deposit or the full balance up front, and then radio silence the week of the party. By the time anyone realizes what happened, the “company” has vanished, the listing is deleted, and there’s no bounce house, no refund, and no birthday party.

How the scam usually works

Most of what we’re seeing follows a familiar script:

1. A listing appears on Facebook Marketplace or a local buy-and-sell group Photos are often lifted from a real rental company’s website or Instagram, sometimes with the watermark cropped out.
2. The price undercuts everyone else A unit that legitimately rents for $150–$250 gets listed for $60–$90, which is the bait.
3. Payment is requested through Cash App, Venmo, or Zelle These apps don’t offer buyer protection the way a credit card does, and once the money moves, it’s gone.
4. Communication slows down as the date approaches Messages get shorter, calls go to voicemail, and delivery-day details stay vague.
5. No one shows up The listing disappears, the phone number stops working, and the “business” has no storefront, no other reviews, and no way to track them down.

Red flags to watch for

• No business website, only a personal Facebook or Instagram profile
• Payment only accepted through Cash App, Venmo, or Zelle, never a card or invoice
• Full payment required up front, with no contract or rental agreement
• Prices well below every other quote you’ve gotten locally
• No proof of insurance when asked
• Stock photos or images that also appear on another company’s page
• A phone number with no answered calls, only texts
• Pressure to “lock in the deal today” before you can think it over

How to check before you book

Not just a Facebook page. A legitimate company has a website, a phone number that gets answered, and often a physical location or storage yard you could visit if you needed to.

Any company running inflatables commercially should carry liability insurance and be able to send proof of it without hesitation. A scammer either won’t answer or will stall.

A card or an invoice through a real payment processor gives you a way to dispute the charge if something goes wrong. Cash App, Venmo, and Zelle don’t.

If the same bounce house photo turns up on three other pages under three other business names, that’s your answer.

Google reviews, the Better Business Bureau, or a quick search of the business name plus “scam” or “review” will surface complaints fast if there are any.

What to do if you’ve already sent money

If you paid through a card or PayPal goods and services, contact your bank or PayPal immediately to dispute the charge. If you paid through Cash App, Venmo, or Zelle, recovery is much harder, but you can still report it to the app and file a report with local police and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Reporting it also helps flag the account faster for the next family that finds the same listing.

Questions we get about this

Shindigz Event Rentals serves Newnan and all of Coweta, Fayette, and Troup counties with bounce houses, combos, obstacle courses, waterslides, tents, tables and chairs, and concessions.