Rented Private Villa and charged for something not requested

Mr_Friendly

Hi,

The family and I recently returned from a holiday to Florida where we hired a villa.
It is owned by a UK couple that simply rent it to holiday makers.
On our return we have requested the return of our security deposit.

The couple (UK based) have taken out £30 cleaning fee for the villa (as previously agreed), but also £20 for the use of a safety deposit box which was never mentioned at the time of hiring the villa nor did we use the box.

The first we heard about it was the day before we were due to depart for the states the couple had emailed us to advise that they had requested their management company to leave the key for the safety deposit box but at no point did they mention a fee.

I have politely requested this £20 back and am waiting on their response. What I wish to know is if I have an legal recourse to formally request this refund should it not be immediately forthcoming? They have effectively charged us for a service that we did not use nor request. Even the cleaning fee was agreed prior to departure.

Thanks

MrF

shadej

I have hired a villa in Florida twice and have never heard of this nonsense.
They really are riping you off. I would send a formal email informing them that you will be starting county court proceedings to recover the amount. Go over the contract/terms one more time to make sure. If they dont refund then lodge a claim with you local county court. If it is proven that that was not part of the terms the court will order them to pay you and your costs. I am sure they will prefer to avoid this. i am sorry you have been treated badly.

Mr_Friendly

Well after several emails back and forth they have agreed to refund the £20 also. They claim my wife asked for the safety deposit box but she keeps all her emails sent and received and she hasn't. Nor would it be something we'd use.

When the woman emailed me with a reluctant refund offer she thought it prudent to resend the email no less than ten times. Showing her annoyance I expect. I wonder which Villa we wont ever be using again eh

crowlands

Just a thought, was this villa advertised on an internet letting site?? If it was you could always let the web site administrators know of your problems with this renter. We have booked many apartments/villas thru various web sites and have always been very lucky and encountered no problems. Once you have had the refund you could then e-mail them and 'politely' tell them that you wont be recommending them to your vast family and friends network!!!

Voyager2002

Give the owners a break! They have now refunded the money. Probably they went to some trouble to get the key to you, and assumed that you somehow knew about the fee. They were not very professional, but worse things happen.

If you were happy with the villa, and felt the price was reasonable, then mention these facts. I doubt if the couple will be so careless about the fee next time.

shadej

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Give the owners a break! They have now refunded the money. Probably they went to some trouble to get the key to you, and assumed that you somehow knew about the fee. They were not very professional, but worse things happen.

If you were happy with the villa, and felt the price was reasonable, then mention these facts. I doubt if the couple will be so careless about the fee next time.

They clearly tried to rip you off, not a mistake

sukey13

Cheeky blighters! That is really not on.

I hire out our Florida Disney Villa and have a clear set of terms and conditions, I have only ever once had to not return the entire security deposit to a family - as they stayed an extra night! Once we had someone break a lamp and they automatically rang our management company and paid for a replacement - so they still got all their security deposit refunded!!!

We do not charge extra for use of our safe or use of a cot and highchair, either. I know many villa owners try and bump up their prices with loads of extras and you end up not getting the best deal.

I would advise that everyone looks to make sure they know the total cost and get it in writing (I always provide a break down) then you know where you stand.