Poor standard at self catering cottage should I complain

emmadilemma1976

Hi,

I need some advice... I have just got back from a 2-night break in the New Forest. My husband and I plus our two small children age 3 & 5 all stayed in a self-catering bungalow paying £180 for the two nights. However, hubby and I were not happy with the following:

• The agent did not give me full checking in details so we had problems locating the correct property in the first place. I contacted the agent and they were very rude, telling me that I clearly hadnt read their documents properly. I have checked and they never sent me the correct documentation
• There was no control over the heating (I did look in boiler cupboards etc). The heating was off when we needed it most (ie morning and evening) and would come on at 2am. We spent both evenings freezing huddled round a rubbish portable radiator.
• There was very little hot water in the taps. There was a note on the boiler advising the water was on a timer to come on for 30 minutes at 5pm each day. I had to boil kettles for washing up.
• The shower ran off electric but the shower head was broken so having a shower was a nightmare as very little water came out!
• The boiler cupboard with storage tank was in the twin room where our children slept however the door containing the boiler did not have a lock on it (It didnt even shut properly).
• When the boiler came on at 2am it was so noisy it woke my boys and they never really settled after that
• The bath and sink had not been cleaned properly (could feel the grime on your finger when running it round the sink)
• The main bedroom light was not working, there were two lights on the wall above the bed but they did not give off a lot of illumination
• The temperature controls on all the dials on the cooker had been cleaned off. It was impossible to tell which switch did what and I could not tell what temperature I was cooking at either.
• Full linen including towels was promised but only 3 towels were available
• There was only one smoke alarm which was at the other end of the cottage to the kitchen. I burnt some toast trying to guess the temperature of the grill and the alarm did not go off
• Speaking to the cottage owner was not an option as the letting agent had already told me that she was deaf and disabled. When I did have to contact her on arrival to find the key she sat in her kitchen for 15 minutes staring at me while I was knocking at the door and ringing her phone then she eventually decided to get up after lots of banging on the windows and she thought I was her son!
• There was only one door in and out. Shouldnt there be a second exit?

So..... I'm just wondering if I am moaning for no reason or whether I have grounds to persue this complaint further. I am particularly interested in the smoke alarm, boiler and cooker.

Any advice would be greatful....

Thanks!
Emma

greenface

are they members of any trust or star ratings then yes . If you are going to "moan!" (i think its a valid complaint)to the letting agents then do it but what a difference it makes is unknown. When someone here or any where else asks if any one reccommends ??? you can say avoid here . good luck

emmadilemma1976

Thanks! I will also leave feedback on their website guest book ;-)

OneYorkshireLass

There was a note on the boiler advising the water was on a timer to come on for 30 minutes at 5pm each day

That's ludicrous. I assume you didn't know about that before you arrived?

I was going to ask whether you complained when you were there, but I suppose you wouldn't want to ruin the short time you had there.

zenmaster

Yes, I think you are being very picky.

The hot water situation might possibly be grounds for complaint but the fact that the owner was deaf and there was only one entrance/exit - no.

marywooyeah

I think the majority of the points raised are valid grounds for complaint, particularly the issues with the boiler and the place being dirty - the fire alarm I wouldn't have expected to go off from some burnt toast when the alarm was on the other side of the house, and the fact there was only one entrance/exit is likely to be due to the layout of a cottage by their very nature. I'd definetly be complaining about the other stuff though.

greenface

care to share where ????

emmadilemma1976

I thought the lack of hot water & no way of turning on the heating were my main points of complaint along with the lack of labels on the dials on the cooker. Imagine if I was trying to cook a chicken for instance - run the risk of food poisioning.

So who do I complain to? The owner of the property of the letting agent?

milliemonster

I would complain to the letting agent personally, I do think you have valid grounds as there appears to be poor standards of communication regarding how to use appliances in the property, general cleanliness and also things not working, safety aspect regarding the boiler etc etc, if you put your complaint along those lines and give your examples. I wouldn't bother complaining to the owner as by all accounts if they were sat staring at you for 15 minutes and couldn't recognise you from their own son then they are highly unlikely to be able to deal with a customer complaint effectively?