How to complain about a sub-standard B&B?

Kess

My parents have just got back from a disasterous week at a B&B in Bournemouth. The place stank, hadn't been cleaned in years, etc. They were also the only occupants. Unfortunately they paid the bill and didn't complain to the owner (they aren't the complaining type), but urgently want to take some kind of action to get the place inspected and sorted.

Does anyone know where they should start, e.g. contact the local council, tourist board, citizens advice board, or what?

Antispam

If the place is dirty environmental health

Dont forget to name and shame the place below

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/

Oh and perhaps local rag http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/

some papers have forums or letter pages. Not sure about this one

Kess

Thanks - I'd forgotten about environmental health.

kjmtidea

I live in Bournemouth and the Bournemouth Echo might be interested, so I would definitely contact them.

p00hsticks

kjmtidea wrote: »

I live in Bournemouth and the Bournemouth Echo might be interested, so I would definitely contact them.

I think this is only a good idea if you've complained to the people in question first and given them a chance to respond - after all, as far as the people running the B&B are concerned, the couple in question had a perfectly acceptable holiday with no cause fo complaint.

If the couple weren't prepared to complain to the owners face at the time, are they really going to want to do it via a newspaper article ? A reputable newspaper wouldn't allow them to make allegations like this anonymously.

Altough cleanliness (and possibly the fact that 'it stank', depending on what it stank of!) is certainly an issue that should be taken up with Environmental Health, and it's well worth putting up a review in TripAdvisor to warn others, I don't see that you can really lodge a compaint on the grounds that there were no other guests

Kess

p00hsticks wrote: »

I think this is only a good idea if you've complained to the people in question first and given them a chance to respond - after all, as far as the people running the B&B are concerned, the couple in question had a perfectly acceptable holiday with no cause fo complaint.

I agree - I wouldn't advise my parents to run to the press.

I think they were silly not to say anything to the owner - a rather eccentric old lady with a lot of dogs, apparently - but it's not in their nature.

rowantoad

Did they have to stay the whole week if it was bad? How much did they pay?

Kess

I don't know all the details yet - they only got back today, and my Dad (who doesn't have Internet access) phoned to ask me to find out what steps they might take to complain and get the place inspected.

Personally I think they should've complained immediately, checked out and found somewhere else. However they do have a dog, and this B&B is one of the few places that accepts dogs, so I guess they decided to grin and bear it...

NannyB

Hi,

I run a b and b in devon.

Firstly, did they make a telephone booking or did they arrive on spec?
The place to complain to is the environmental health.
Checks are usually done by the environmental health every 12 months to 36 months.
It would have been better if they complained at the time, as there isn't usually any comeback once the guests have paid and left.

The environmental health can certainly close the place down if it is unscrupulous, there are a lot of bad b and b's out there i'm afraid, and a lot of owners cutting corners in the current economic climate.
It is quieter for visitors this year, but that alone doesn't make for a bad b and b.

Kess

A small update. My parents have contacted Bournemouth environmental health, who said they will go and look at the hotel, and they've also contacted Citizens Advice who advised them to call Consumer Direct.

The place was even worse than I thought. As well as the smell and uncleanliness, the owner's dogs had free run of the house. Unbelieveably, one day my parents spotted a dog standing on their dining table just before dinner :mad: .

My parents know they should've complained there and then but they are pensioners, not in the best of health, and said the B&B was run by an eccentric family and were nervous about how they might react to a face-to-face complaint.

Anyway, they cancelled the cheque they gave the place but have now received an invoice. It wasn't cheap - almost £100 per night (for which they got a cramped non-ensuite twin room) - so they were expecting a quality establishment. The question now is: do they pay the invoice, pay a proportion of it (e.g. what they think it was worth), or pay nothing and seek further advice?

p00hsticks

Kess wrote: »

The question now is: do they pay the invoice, pay a proportion of it (e.g. what they think it was worth), or pay nothing and seek further advice?

I'm not a legal expert - perhaps they should check with Consumer Direct - but I think that they should pay at least a proportion of the bill. After all, they've stayed there for the full week, eaten all the meals and didn't even compain. Did they book an ensuite room ?

Personally, I think that by not leaving early or complaining at the time in order to give the B&B achance to put things right they've really restricted their options, morally if not legally.