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

Kess

p00hsticks wrote: »

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 ?

It was a last-minute impulse booking and there was limited information about the place. Given the high prices I think they made the mistake of assuming it would be a quality place with en-suite rooms; if fact none of the rooms were en-suite.

Hopefully Consumer Direct will advise them on the best action to take.

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.

I agree, but as I mentioned earlier they were the only people staying and the family running the place was a bit odd, so they felt it was better to grin and bear it.

Kess

Sorry to resurrect this thread but there have been some developments and I would appreciate any further comments or advice.

My parents phoned the hotel the day after they got back, ran through their complaints, and suggested they should pay only the amount they thought it was worth. The lady who runs the hotel literally said "you do that" - and hung up.

So, after seeking guidance from Consumer Direct, my parents did just that. They carefully worked out what they thought the stay had been worth, and sent a cheque for that amount together with a carefully worded letter stating that they considered the hotel to be unsatisfactory as per the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, detailing their complaints, and explaining how they calculated the amount they enclosed. This was sent to the hotel by Recorded Delivery about 10 days ago.

Yesterday, my parents received a terse undated handwritten note from the hotel simply demanding full payment by 24th July (i.e. the day the note was received!) or else they will "call the debt collectors". The note did not acknowledge receipt of my parent's letter and cheque, and we don't yet know if the cheque has been cashed.

This is in danger of spiralling out of control. My parents are old and this is upsetting them, and they could certainly afford to pay, but they are reluctant to cough up the full amount as they feel ripped off. They are inclined to ignore the note received from the hotel. Have they acted correctly so far? Could they suddenly find debt collectors showing up on their doorstep?

Thanks for any comments (and sorry about the length of the post),
Kess

PS The amount the hotel is now demanding is for 4 nights stay - almost £400 - whereas my parents only stayed 3 nights (they did book for 4 nights but left after 3 and, most importantly, received an invoice from the hotel requesting payment for just 3 nights). Can the hotel now decide to ignore its own invoice and demand payment for the 4 nights booked?

PPS My parents also contacted Environmental Health who did visit the place. Although the EH officer agreed there was a smell and it was a bit grubby, he said there was nothing he could do. The Bournemouth Tourist Board were disinterested because this place isn't on their books and doesn't appear on their website.

PPPS I've avoided the urge to name and shame this place or leave bad reviews on TripAdvisor etc. (yet) in the hope of resolving this amicably.

Burlesque_Babe

they can't instruct debt collectors to visit your parents property without court action. It's just bluff and if anyone does turn up demanding money, they are quite within their rights to tell them to f off and to call the police.

As someone who has worked in local PR for far too many years and knowing many of the Echo journalists, I would think that the Echo would be interested in the story if your parents were willing to be photographed and interviewed - they like a good tabloid 'horror' story, eccentric owners with animals would make some great candid photographs but it would have to be a warts n all type story as they do like to dish the dirt these days as a publication, so probably not a comfortable experience for your parents.

Unfortunately, Bournemouth does still have some rather dingy nooks and crannies and there are some pretty dire hotels in some parts of town, particularly around Boscombe.

For next time, tell them to try a B+B in Poole. There aren't nearly as many and the standard is high.

p00hsticks

Kess wrote: »

PPPS I've avoided the urge to name and shame this place or leave bad reviews on TripAdvisor etc. (yet) in the hope of resolving this amicably.

Please leave an (honest) review on Tripadvisor, whether you get a satisfactory resolution or not, - that is exactly the purpose it is for.

Out of interest, have you looked for any recent reviews of the place on there and if so, what do they say - have others experienced the same ?

What sort of percentage of the original invoice did your parents pay ?

hayley11

Don't worry about debt collectors, if they are running such a shabby b&b, there's no way they could afford to send debt collectors after your parents. They are just trying to scare them into paying. They sound like horrible people to be honest. They also sound like scam artists, imagine charging £100 a night and you don't even have your own bathroom??

I'd be inclined to ignore them for now. If your parents hear anything else then it might be worth going to see a solicitor.

I agree with leaving a review on tripadvisor, it's there for negative reviews as well as positive. And if it stops some another couple going there and having the same experience as your parents, it can only be a good thing?

McKneff

If comes to a small claim from them, they wont stand a chance especially if the EH office has been called in and his description.
Undated notes, wrong invoices etc etc etc.
Your parents can give you leave to act on their behalf.

eslick

bet it will already have bad reviews on tripadvisor

Kess

p00hsticks wrote: »

Please leave an (honest) review on Tripadvisor, whether you get a satisfactory resolution or not, - that is exactly the purpose it is for.

I understand, but I didn't want to risk a bad review antagonising the (very eccentric and odd) hotel owner and making a sensible resolution harder to achieve. Strangely I can find NO reviews of this place whatsoever - I even put a query on Tripadvisor's Bournemouth forum saying I was thinking of staying there and asking for any comments, expecting to get some reactions, but there was no response. Perhaps I'll leave a review once the situation is resolved.

What sort of percentage of the original invoice did your parents pay ?

The place charged £42 pppn for B&B, i.e. £84 per night for the two of them in a small grubby non-ensuite room (so small it had narrow 2' 6" beds!), plus an extra £15 each for dinners. Such prices are comparable with many reputable 2 star (and higher) places in Bournemouth, leading my parents to expect a lot better. I think my parents decided to give £70 total per night, and even that seemed generous.

McKneff

i would actually offer to pay half the cost and take it from there.

terryw

I am really really sympathetic to your parents' problem. But by giving a cheque which sequentially bounces they have really weakened any case that they might have. The bounced cheque is enough for the owners to sue for the full amount. I am a little surprised that any concern would accept a cheque without a guarantee from a new customer. Any separate claim against the concern will mean that the question, "Why did you stay for so long in such conditions?" will have to be answered.