Welcome cottages cancellation policy

Smileyface59

I have requested that a week long break booked with welcome cottages be cancelled and they have requested that we pay 50% of the total charge. They want a princely sum of £140.00 on top of the £25.00 deposit already made. The booking is for October and we are giving much more than the 70 days notice required. There argument is that this is in their policy. Naively I didn't notice this when booking but I still feel this is unreasonable and unfair. Has anybody else had this problem and been able to resolve it without having to pay so much money for nothing? :mad:

Smileyface59

Thanks for the adivse FireyFaerie, I never thought of that!! I'll ask around if all else fails. I still think though that there should be some way of softening the blow. I was thinking about cancelling in writing and enclosing a cheque for £50.00 and request they accept this as full and final settlement. Has anybody done this and had any success?

geordieracer

what are their T&Cs?

tomwakefield

The terms and conditions are a little odd.

Number of days before the start date of your trip that we receive your notice to cancel
More than 70 days
Cancellation charge (plus all booking fees, insurance premiums, credit-card charges or administration fees you owe)
Full deposit (including any balance of the deposit due)

but earlier on it talks about partial deposits

Occasionally, we make offers giving you the chance to book properties with either no deposit or a deposit which is lower than usual. We will give you details of any extra terms that may apply to the offer before, or when, you make your booking. You should read these with these booking conditions. If you book a property with either no deposit or one which is lower than usual, you also agree to pay the difference between the amount paid and the usual deposit, plus any booking fee and any travel insurance premiums due, either at the time the balance of your booking is due or, if you cancel, at the time you cancel the booking.

and I think this is the bit which they are trying to sting you with.

Smileyface59

The T & C's appear quite vague. In the booking T & C's it states - If you book a property with either no deposit or one which is lower than usual, you also agree to pay the difference between the amount paid and the usual deposit. In the cancellation part it states - if you have not paid your total booking cost, including any booking fee and the premiums for any insurance (if you have bought this) by the time of your cancellation, you may have to make a further payment to cover the cancellation charge. It then goes on to state that prior to 70 days before the holiday the full deposit is due. The problem I have is that at no point can I find any information about the rate for the full deposit. It just feels like they have pulled the figure out of the air.

tomwakefield

Which cottage were you planning to stay at? Can you try running through the booking process again, checking to see if they say what their "standard" booking rate is?

For instance, one establishment says (under the "Continue to Book" button)

Prices are per property not per person
Price includes a booking fee of £25.00 (this represents a 5GBP reduction on our standard booking fee).

which suggests that £30 is the "standard" booking fee for that property.

Smileyface59

Hi Tom Wakefield thanks for that. It just confirms what I'm thinking. I'm glad it's not just me getting mixed messages here. I'm still not sure how to proceed with this though. I don't want to be stung, but I also know I can't ignore it. I'l love to hear from somebody who has dealt with this to their satisfaction.

Smileyface59

Hi Tomwakefield. I've tried your suggestion but they are asking for deposits of £110.00 now. I'm sure this was not part of the booking conditions at the time I booked. They have possibly changed their T & C's (it was booked in October last year, after all) since it was booked. Unfortunately I do not pocess the original brochure now and there is nothing to help me on the booking confirmation either. It is so frustrating!!! AGGGHHH.

Thanks very much anyway.

Flyboy152

Smileyface59 wrote: »

Thanks for the adivse FireyFaerie, I never thought of that!! I'll ask around if all else fails. I still think though that there should be some way of softening the blow. I was thinking about cancelling in writing and enclosing a cheque for £50.00 and request they accept this as full and final settlement. Has anybody done this and had any success?

Seriously? Do you really expect them to chase you through the courts for a hundred and fifteen pounds?

They are only entitled to any losses they incur. So, if they re-let the property there are no losses. Ask them if they will give the money back, if they re-let it.

If you are adamant on paying them, tell them that you will only do so after the proposed date of the let and that if they can prove it wasn't let.

starrystarry

The cancellation charge they've quoted sounds about right to me, having looked at the T&Cs. You don't get a refund on the booking fee (£25) and there is a cancellation admin fee (£36). The T&Cs make it clear that the fee for cancelling is the full deposit plus any booking fees, insurance premiums, credit card charges & other admin fees.

So, assuming you didn't take insurance, your cancellation charge is:

Full deposit £110 + Booking fee £25 + Cancellation admin fee £36 = £171
Minus deposit already paid £25 = £146

I've been using Welcome for more than 10 years and always found them to be very fair. They make it very clear that if you take advantage of the low deposit offer (£25) you are liable for the full deposit if you cancel. I would ask them for a breakdown of how they calculated the charge, if you want to make sure it's correct.