IMHO Unfair Deposit.
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nicknike
Posts: 15 Forumite
Hello
My wife booked a holiday cottage.
She booked it over the telephone and paid a deposit of £30 by debit card.
We later decided to book a couple of foreign holidays, and so decided to cancel the cottage, giving more than 6 months notice.
We were prepared to lose the £30 deposit.
The company telephoned us asking for a further £140.
They stated that the £30 was a low rate deposit, and at the time of booking, my wife believed this to be the total deposit. They did not say there would be additional charges and the paperwork did not indicate this. If we had been told about the total of £170, she says she would not have booked it.
I have now read their terms and conditions. They state that if canceled by the number of days we are giving, the total deposit becomes £170.
Bear in mind we have booked many cottages over 45 years, and the usual procedure is to pay a deposit, and then pay the balance at a predetermined date. We have never had to read T&C before.
I feel asking for more ‘deposit’ of £140 is unreasonable.
The £30 is a deposit as we have deposited that money with them. The rest they are asking for has not been deposited, and I would claim is a penalty that cannot be claimed under common law (I have read on the INTERNET).
I believe they are entitled to claim reasonable costs and the £30 should cover their costs in booking the holiday. They have no further losses and it is the owner of the rental property that 'loses' the main amount. The property is booked each week either side of our booking, so is popular and hopefully it will get booked-up.
I have read other peoples' reviews on the Internet covering this matter with the same company, but they did not say what the outcome was without paying.
I'm wondering if anyone reading this has had the same experience and whether they did not pay, what the next course of action would be, what happened eventually and will they be kind enough to offer any advice?
Thanks.
My wife booked a holiday cottage.
She booked it over the telephone and paid a deposit of £30 by debit card.
We later decided to book a couple of foreign holidays, and so decided to cancel the cottage, giving more than 6 months notice.
We were prepared to lose the £30 deposit.
The company telephoned us asking for a further £140.
They stated that the £30 was a low rate deposit, and at the time of booking, my wife believed this to be the total deposit. They did not say there would be additional charges and the paperwork did not indicate this. If we had been told about the total of £170, she says she would not have booked it.
I have now read their terms and conditions. They state that if canceled by the number of days we are giving, the total deposit becomes £170.
Bear in mind we have booked many cottages over 45 years, and the usual procedure is to pay a deposit, and then pay the balance at a predetermined date. We have never had to read T&C before.
I feel asking for more ‘deposit’ of £140 is unreasonable.
The £30 is a deposit as we have deposited that money with them. The rest they are asking for has not been deposited, and I would claim is a penalty that cannot be claimed under common law (I have read on the INTERNET).
I believe they are entitled to claim reasonable costs and the £30 should cover their costs in booking the holiday. They have no further losses and it is the owner of the rental property that 'loses' the main amount. The property is booked each week either side of our booking, so is popular and hopefully it will get booked-up.
I have read other peoples' reviews on the Internet covering this matter with the same company, but they did not say what the outcome was without paying.
I'm wondering if anyone reading this has had the same experience and whether they did not pay, what the next course of action would be, what happened eventually and will they be kind enough to offer any advice?
Thanks.
0
Comments
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Most of these sites are acting as agents for the owner, when you book via them you are actually entering into a contract with the owner, not them - so if they are claiming any cancellation fees, it will likely be on behalf of the owner.
Theres no automatic right to cancel contracts like this so technically, you are in breach of contract by cancelling and as such, are liable for actual losses incurred.
Now if they manage to resell, then they should not charge you anything other than a reasonable fee for the admin involved. However if they do not manage to resell, then you may well become stuck.You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride0 -
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As Unholyangel says it's all about them mitigating their losses.
You could write to them stating that as the date is still some time away they will need to mitigate their loss and as they don't know what that loss is yet the demand for payment is unreasonable. It's up to the company to prove their losses not the other way about.
Most people on here know by know that companies T&C's are often unreasonable (for consumers) and unenforceable so the courts decide what's reasonable or not, not the company writing them.George_Michael wrote: »The time to decide if it was unreasonable or not would have been before you ticked a box agreeing to the T&C's without actually having read or even looked at them.0 -
Most people on here know by know that companies T&C's are often unreasonable (for consumers) and unenforceable so the courts decide what's reasonable or not, not the company writing them.
But how could other people know or even suspect that a set of T&C's might be unreasonable if they didn't even bother reading them in the first place?
"We have never had to read T&C before."
If the OP had taken an extra minute or two to read what they were agreeing to they wouldn't be in the situation that they are now in.0 -
Where and how were these T&Cs presented? Remember that the booking was made over the phone ........0
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Where and how were these T&Cs presented? Remember that the booking was made over the phone ........
It may not be in the OP's interests to go down that route.
With T&C's his maximum liability is £170. Without them, its the whole contract price.You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride0 -
Booking was made over the phone.
Unless the OP's wife specifically agreed during the conversation to be bound by the T&Cs on the website, it's difficult to see how they are relevant to her.0 -
I don't seem to be able to answer each helpful (thanks all) individual comment, so I'll answer all with this one posting.
Agreed.
But I would have normally expected a single tier deposit, not two amounts according to the circumstances.
I didn't read the T&C and I should have, but would have believed that the deposit paid would be lost if reasonable notice is given, longer than 6 months being reasonable, and would not even have thought there was another deposit amount.
We didn't tick a box. We booked over the phone, and no explanation of the two tier deposit was given.
I would have thought that two deposits, starting at £30 and ending at £170 were unreasonable,0 -
Agreed.
But I would have normally expected a single tier deposit, not two amounts according to the circumstances.
It's not that unusual and you aren't paying "two" deposit amounts. The deposit is £170 but the offer allows you to only have to pay £30 of the deposit on booking but the £170 is still due in full and always will be no matter if you continue with the booking or cancel
TUI offer a similar thing with a "low deposit" offer and you only have to pay something like £50 when you book but the deposit is £200 and you have to pay the £200 no matter what.0
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