Advice on failed holiday

natanddan1

Hi guys

Wanted some advice please on what can be done with regards to the holiday i have had ruined.

I booked the following Gite in france

( http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/France/Midi-Pyrenees/holiday-farmhouse-Tarn-et-Garonne/p8507.htm )

Whilst the place looked nice with regards to photographs etc, it was very much different on arrival.

We set off from the UK on Sat (2nd Aug) morning and drove for 16 hours. On arrival, the whole place just looked like as scrap yard of old vehicles and a real dumping ground. The Gite was filthy and dusty and had a horrible smell to the place. The pool was ok but there was dog excrement everywhere around the pool from the 3 large dogs these owners had. We were even told to use the washing machine and use the controls by means of pliers because the knobs were broken. There were stained bed linen and threadbare carpets. it was horrendous! :mad:
We slept one night but the kids really were unhappy and i felt the place was quite dangerous with broken and loose plug sockets and poor wiring throughout. We ended up leaving on the Sunday and spent 13 hours driving back to the UK a there were no available accommodation due to France bank holiday.

Anyway, I have emailed the owners ( they are English but live out there) and said i would accept a partial refund and asked them to make an offer! don't hold out much hope though.

I paid for the holiday direct into their UK bank account.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what recourse i have and what i should do.

many thanks in advance.

natanddan1

Incapuppy

How disappointing - the pictures on the link do look nice.

I'm not at all sure how you stand legally but hopefully someone else will be along with some helpful advice.

Did you take any photos of conditions at the gite to back up your claims?

melb

I'm sorry that I have no advice to give you but I just wanted to say how sorry I am for your horrendous experience - there but for the grace of god go a lot of us who take people on face value and book rental accommodation assuming people will be honest and true. You could maybe look on the holiday truths website and on the discussion forum there is a section for complaints in which there are details of a solicitor who specialises in travel problems and gives (I think) free advice. Best of luck.

Pooky23

I am really sorry you had an awful experience.

I have looked at the link and the photos look nice, however, in the description the owners have mentioned it is historic (old and dusty) and budget ( very basic). They also mention their numerous animals. Those three things alone set off warning bells in my head!

There is however no excuse for it being unsafe, whether that be dodgy wiring or a badly maintained washing machine. As for dog poo everywhere and stained sheets, that is plain dirty.

Did you speak to the owners whilst there and explain your concerns? Did they know why you left in such a hurry?

I do hope you are able to obtain some sort of refund, although it will be down to the good will of the owners I suppose.

Good luck...

zenmaster

There is a "Write a Review" link at the bottom of the page you linked to.

I would hold off until you hear back from the owners then write an honest review for the benefit of others. It may be [STRIKE]censored[/STRIKE] moderated though.

littlestar1981

Couple of things I noticed:

- The week you were meant to be there does not show as booked
- 'Dogs are considered if well trained' seems you would be :rotfl: at that one!
- The reviews are all added on the same day and taken from the 'guestbook'? Couldn't those guests add their review online?

natanddan1

Thanks for your responses does anyone know if i can do the following

is there a way of suing these owners who are `english but reside in France.

I paid them with a direct bank transfer into a UK bank account! is there anyway of getting this back?

I know these owners are trying to sell the property, is there a way to place a charge on their property in order for them to refund the money paid?

Many thanks
natanddan1

TriciaE

As a holiday home owner I can tell you about how the HR review system works. You write a review, if it is a bad one then HR forwards it on to the owner giving them I think 14 days to respond before the review is submitted. The response time is to allow the owner a chance to stop the review if they believe the person did not stay at their property (believe me it has happened & can damage a reputation so the owner has to have a chance to request proof that the reviewer did in fact stay). HR might then ask the reviewer to provide proof that they stayed, then publish the review, then the only recourse open to the owner is that they have a 'right to reply' underneath the bad review.

I know there are some 'not so good' owners but I also know a lot who bend over backwards to ensure people are happy & provide wonderful accommodation for a budget price. I also know (thankfully not through my own experience) that some guests will use any opportunity to complain, demand recompense & basically make the owners life a misery. Now, please don't think for one minute I am accusing you of this, I am merely asking that you look on it from the 'other side'. If you were unhappy then why did you not contact the owners straight away, take photographs to show evidence, or speak to them personally seeing I assume they were on site.

As far as I am aware you would have a hard time getting any money back as you have no proof & gave the owner no opportunity to put anything right.

natanddan1

((If you were unhappy then why did you not contact the owners straight away, take photographs to show evidence, or speak to them personally seeing I assume they were on site.

As far as I am aware you would have a hard time getting any money back as you have no proof & gave the owner no opportunity to put anything right.))


On the contrary, the owners were living next door to this hell hole. I explained to the owners the very next day, face to face, that we were not happy and also showed then all the issues. They said that they had never had a problem before with anyone and that it was a very old place!!! They told me that they would like to offer a refund but could not due to finances!!!!

I have however, now agreed a settlement with them where i have accepted a 2/3 refund. This has now been paid. I think i have been more than fair by accepting this reduced refund.

At the end of the day, there is no excuse for the condition of the property. If one wants to live like pigs thats fine (bit of a slur on pigs though!!!) but dont assume we have such low standards.

I am sure you would not intentionally advertise your holiday home as something it is not! but look at this from the renters point of view. We pay good money for a service and should expect good service and accurate advertising.

Just to note, the owners have now changed their website to state (budget holiday and not suitable for asthmatics) I think that says it all!!!

Pooky23

I am glad you reached an amicable solution.

TriciaE

natanddan1 wrote: »

Just to note, the owners have now changed their website to state (budget holiday and not suitable for asthmatics) I think that says it all!!!

I'm amazed they needed to do that as surely anyone asthmatic wouldn't consider accommodation where the owners state there are dogs around the property. Anyway, glad you got it sorted.