Holiday cottage rental disaster

Arthurian

Loanranger wrote: »

I'm with you Joanne on this.
I don't tolerate vermin at home nor on holiday. End of.
I too would have left immediately and claimed a refund.
I have rented holiday cottages in the wilds for many years and never found any evidence of mice, rats, squirrels, cockroaches nor any other insect infestations.

Put your review on Trip Advisor, Joanne, it's your civic duty to do so.

I agree - post your review on tripadvisor, please.

Joanne_c_3

tomatoe wrote: »

............no. You use the word 'even' as though I have mentioned something about it, most confusing !

Get over yourself " tomatoe"

Lance

shellsuit wrote: »

I don't understand why some of you are giving the OP a hard time.

I wouldn't want mice in a place I had paid to stay in, so why should the OP?

And as for the OP putting food in the kitchen on the sides, were else was she meant to put it? In the bath?!

I'd like to see all those against the OP complaining, how they would put up with sharing their holiday living place with mice.

Someone suggested that OP should have just not eaten there. To eat out all the time would cost a fortune, so why should they if they have paid for a place with a kitchen??

I think keeping the food in the bath would be a very last resort. Were there no cupboards or a fridge? There are mice everywhere in the UK so we all live with / very near to them. If I left food out in a country cottage and mice nibbled it I would clean up and not leave food out again. As for traps well live and let live or kill them if it bothers you. How exactly does the owner stop mice getting in a country cottage? Find and bung up every hole, keep doors / windows shut?
OP over-reacted as she is doing here and did not get the result she wanted as she is doing here.

shellsuit

Lance wrote: »

I think keeping the food in the bath would be a very last resort. Were there no cupboards or a fridge? There are mice everywhere in the UK so we all live with / very near to them. If I left food out in a country cottage and mice nibbled it I would clean up and not leave food out again. As for traps well live and let live or kill them if it bothers you. How exactly does the owner stop mice getting in a country cottage? Find and bung up every hole, keep doors / windows shut?
OP over-reacted as she is doing here and did not get the result she wanted as she is doing here.

I keep my fruit on the worktop in a fruit bowl, not in a cupboard of fridge, so why would I change that staying elsewhere?

The OP is probably the same as me and that's why they put their fruit on the worktop too.

And Yes, if the owners are having paid guests, they should do their best to stop any mice from getting into the house!

If you think the OP is over reacting, then I'm over reacting too, as I would have done the exact same.

*Robin*

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

If the cottage had been infested with mice as you seem to think, you would've noticed it before Sunday lunchtime.

Joanne, I am sorry to read that your holiday was ruined, but right through this thread I have been wondering why you didn't notice evidence of mice as soon as you arrived?

If they were already in the cottage you would have spotted droppings, especially in the kitchen.

If rats or mice are present when I arrive anywhere with my dogs, they let me know all about it within seconds! (This has occasionally led to surprise on behalf of the householder who had no idea that there were uninvited residents in their home :eek: ).
None of my dogs are terriers, but even the dozy pair will sniff about madly if rodents are present although they would be unlikely to chase a mouse that appeared in front of them.

So because you didn't spot any mouse-sign on Saturday, and your dog didn't make a fuss as soon as you arrived at this cottage, it's my suspicion that it was a simple country mishap - you left food out which attracted the attention of a foraging 'local resident' - have you seen the tiny holes mice can squeeze through? (The last one to brave my place came up through the plug-hole of the bath, then was stuck of course. I assume it succumbed to a heart-attack when the dogs smelled it and lined up along the outside of the bath barking their heads off!).

Like you I sometimes rent pet-friendly country cottages for a break in the UK, because for me it's not a holiday without my dogs; we are keen ramblers. My kit includes a heavy-duty plastic box where I keep all food that is not in tins, glass bottles or the fridge. Wherever I am preparing food I start by wiping down the surfaces with a decent cleaner brought from home - as someone said, the last tenant might have sat their baby on the surface with full and leaky nappy - yeuch! - that would repulse me more than mice which can turn up anywhere, even the most exclusive and expensive place. Of course my most persistant hound would not rest until every last rodent was gone - and have a whale of a time doing it; perhaps the most perfect holiday I could arrange for that dog would be a few mice to evict from our lodgings! :rotfl:

Unfortunately, although I have every sympathy for the upset and disappointment you suffered, I'm afraid I agree with the general opinion here; that you should have let the owner try and rectify the problem swiftly, which you say they offered to do the same day. Maybe you could have suggested that your rent for that day should be returned, allowing you to use the money to go out, and stay out until the traps were laid and the kitchen cleaned before your return.

That would be reasonable for a pet-friendly cottage in the country.
Oh and by the way, no, I wouldn't leave fruit in an open bowl in one of these holiday lets, it stays in the box with everything else.

pararct

I think everyone is losing the plot a little here.
The OP was perfectly within her rights to abandon the property if she so wished, so would have been any other posters who state they would have done the same. Some people have higher standards cleanliness wise and cannot abide small furry things but hey that again is their right.

If the posturing is simply about trying to get compensation or work up a body of opinion that relates to getting it, then I must say the chances are very slim, for the reasons I gave in my earlier reply.

Rightly or wrongly a mousey type incursion into a country cottage kitchen is probably something the owner could not have guarded against or stopped outright, no court in the land will I am confident find otherwise. Pretty much in the same league as getting a puncture in your tyre on the way there. Who would you sue for that?

Leave a review on tripadvisor if you wish but I would advise you to stick very much to the facts. A family member is a small accommodation provider in a seaside town, some Months ago a lady phoned and asked to book a room, she was given a price and agreed the terms. Details were taken as was the means for the deposit. At the conclusion the lady asked for a room over looking the car park as she would be leaving her two dogs in the car overnight. After terminating the call a quick search was done as to the recommended practice and an opinion of what the RSPCA would advise. An hour or two later the lady was called and informed the booking would not be honoured as they were not willing to have a car left on their car park with dogs left in it overnight. The lady was of course not best pleased.

Anyway to cut a long story short as a result of this refusal she left a very negative review for the place on Tripadvisor commenting on the cleanliness of the room and state of the breakfast amongst other things (even though she has not stayed there). At the end she identified herself by referring to the two dogs. Of course the owner has her name and address and is considering legal action against both her and Trip Advisor for what could be considered libel.

Joanne_c_3

I left the cottage. Im not getting a refund. Do dogs not generally make a fuss smelling a new environment? How do the above differentiate? A holiday with vermin, is not a holiday to me.... End of! Holidaying with tuperware boxes? Sounds like camping. For all you brainboxes out there do you not think the owner who lived next door would ensure that worktops were mouse dropping free before our arrival to ensure we werent intially put off as she showed us around. This cottage is on not on trip advisor and Im sure if I gave my opinion she would sue me. For anyone else who wants to psycho analyse the whole situation, just go and make a cup of tea instead and read the paper. Feel like im being stalked by great mouse hunters!

thegirlintheattic

milliebear00001 wrote: »

Blimey - there are some really dirty people on this board! Do any of you ever clean? There's no way I'd put up with mice in my house, anymore than I would cockroaches or fleas.

A dirty house does not equal mice, neither does a clean one. Mice live everywhere and can fit though the smallest hole, unless you are going to go around and plastic coat all walls/doors etc. your never going to 100% keep mice out.

hcb42

pararct wrote: »

Of course the owner has her name and address and is considering legal action against both her and Trip Advisor for what could be considered libel.

Just on this, she doesnt need to consider expensive legal action. She can contact Tripadvisor and they will take untruthful replies from the system. Much cheaper.

Why do dog owners do that! It's not on. leave the dog at home or dont have one if you cannot get regular dogsitter for it.

soup

If I booked a cottage in the countryside and there were no mice to be seen or heard I would want a refund. I would have thought that mice, and owls at night hooting, were a minimum requirement.