Stolen wedding gift's from hotel

annadee

Could I please ask for advice on where I stand with the following problem ?

I had my wedding ceremony and day/evening reception at a well known five star chain hotel.

Within their service they provided a gift table. I have photographic evidence that this table was full with presents and at the end of our evening we saw all guests out of the lodge and my husband and I stayed behind to discuss all our belongings with the staff in charge. They advised us they were collecting all our belongings I:e gifts, cake , candy buffet jars and locking them in a secured conference room that had been used for us the night before as storage.

We then left the staff who had already started this process and we proceeded into the main bar of the hotel before retiring to our honeymoon suite.

The next day we went to the storage room with the key card provided and the only gifts there were 4 gift bags from an estimated 15 -20. We reported this on the same day to the staff and went on honeymoon.

2 weeks later we returned and no messages had been received. Our wedding date was 1st Oct 2010 and it took the hotel until 23rd December to ask us to come up with an estimated figure of our loss. Never has the hotel answered our questions on CCTV or had they found any information from quetioning the staff that were clearing on the night.

We had to estimate a figure for he hotel based on the average price of gifts we did receive as I refuse to ask my guests how much they had paid for our presents. I sent the hotel his figure on 23rd December and have only just received their response.

Their response was that their finance team who deals with their insurance have decided that hey are not responsible for our missing gifts but as a goodwill gesture have offered us half of what we quoted.

I would really like to know if they are right in saying they are not responsible. We left our gifts in the hands of their staff and as part of our package we were told they provided a gift table and secure lock up of these overnight.

I would appreciate any advise you can offer us.

Thanks

fthl

You will need to show that the hotel was negligent in some way and this left them open to a theft that would not have otherwise have happened. Easier perhaps if you can show that the gifts reached the secure room.

annadee

I think the hotel know they were negligent which is why they have dodged every question regarding the cctv and questioning of their staff.

I will keep fighting them and thanks for your response.

shellsuit

Oh that's awful!

Have they not asked the staff who were on duty that evening? Was there CCTV?

I'd go straight to the Police, see if they can get any information from them. Was it not reported at the time?

(And congrats on the wedding, I got married the day after you )

kazwookie

Report it to the police, today, before any more time laspes. Theft is theft.

It sounds like the hotel are trying to 'sweep it under the carpet'.

If the hotel does not start to take notice of your problems the local newspaper might!!!

Keep records of who you spoke to and when, send anything recorded delivery to them, keeping a copy etc etc

Did you have wedding insurance? may be having a read of the small print

annadee

Shellsuit - Congrats to you too.,I hope you managed to get all your gifts home safely ! ! As I mentioned they have not answered about CCTV once and the two people on duty we left with the gifts were supposed to be interviewed but again never got an answer from that either.

Kazwookie - We had wedding insurance but again because the hotel seemed to be dealing with it when we reported it the day after the wedding we didn't feel it necessary to claim and same for the police. The staff did begin to look as though they were helping and searching the hotel incase some were locked in the wrong room.

I will now have to look at contacting the police as you have suggested and explain why I am only just reporting it now.

The sad thing is, although we are after them paying up for what has happened. No money will ever make up for the bad memories we now have from our wedding day and will never have those sentimental gifts our guests went out of their way to choose for us.!

valos_mummy

Maybe once this is all sorted and you get your money back, you can go to your guests, explain what has happened and ask them what present they bought for you; you can then go and re-buy it with the money?

shellsuit

anna, the only thing I can think of regarding your guests and the presents, is to write to each guest (if you can remember everyone!) and in the letter, explain what has happened and state what you ended up with in a list. (so for example the list would read, a toaster, a silver frame, a black frame, a knife block and 4 seperate £50 of BHS vouchers) Write that if their gift/card/voucher etc hasn't been mentioned, to let you know ASAP, so you can go armed to the hotel and Police with a list of what has gone missing.

esuhl

Normally a hotel isn't responsible for lost/stolen items so long as they haven't shown negligence (by employing a convicted thief and leaving him/her with an opportunity to steal, for example) and the items haven't been left in their care (e.g. in safety deposit box at reception).

I wonder whether you could argue that you had left the gifts in their care, as they were in the process of moving them to a secure room. If this is the case, then perhaps you could quite legitimately claim the full amount from the hotel.

Have you been able to identify the staff who were responsible for moving the gifts to the secure room? Have they confirmed whether they moved all the gifts or left them unattended, or offered any explanation as to what might have happened?

In any case, a crime has been committed and the police should be involved. The sooner they can take statements and examine any CCTV evidence, the better.

PasturesNew

If you've got nowhere within 2 weeks, then every Saturday turn up at the hotel and stand at the door in your wedding dress holding a placard that says "This Hotel lost my wedding gifts and won't accept responsibility" ... oh and phone the papers.