Holiday Cottage companies

WeAreGhosts

Are they completely unregulated?

I know some of the larger ones like Haven are part of ABTA, but the smaller ones seem to be completely unregulated and get away with all sorts.

bris

Thats what trip advisor is for, you need to do your own due diligence on private lets.


If you have a problem the most powerful regulator in the country can help you if you have a case, it's our courts.

pinkshoes

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

Are they completely unregulated?

I know some of the larger ones like Haven are part of ABTA, but the smaller ones seem to be completely unregulated and get away with all sorts.

What do you mean by "get away with all sorts"? Do you have a particular example?

I've used home and away holiday cottages four times now, and never had any problems, but I also research the place I'm renting i.e. trip advisor reviews, type of area it is in etc...

And then there's travel insurance which is always useful.

WeAreGhosts

pinkshoes wrote: »

What do you mean by "get away with all sorts"? Do you have a particular example?

I've used home and away holiday cottages four times now, and never had any problems, but I also research the place I'm renting i.e. trip advisor reviews, type of area it is in etc...

And then there's travel insurance which is always useful.

I mean they write stuff on their website about how the customer always comes first and that any problem will be put right immediately but in reality it's a load of rubbish.

bris wrote: »

Thats what trip advisor is for, you need to do your own due diligence on private lets.


If you have a problem the most powerful regulator in the country can help you if you have a case, it's our courts.

I used a decent-sized company that concentrates of the south of england, but there are very few reviews on tripadvisor for their cottages.

p00hsticks

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

Are they completely unregulated?

I know some of the larger ones like Haven are part of ABTA, but the smaller ones seem to be completely unregulated and get away with all sorts.

Touch wood, I've never had a problem with the companies I've used - however you do need to be aware that most Holdiay Cottage companies are simpy acting as introduction agencies for private owners - so it's usually the owners that are "getting away with all sorts" rather than the companies themselves.

What sort of things do you have in mind ? I think things like last minute cancellations, cottage not being as advertised etc should be covered by a variety of consumer legislation and as a last resort you could use the small claims court to pursue them?.

I'm not sure what you would want the companies themselves to do other than have some sensible vetting procedures in place when they take cottages onto their books and investigate and remove any where they are gettting multiple complaints.

WeAreGhosts

Yep, my contract was with the owner. i was aware of that. i'm not sure how i can have a contract with someone that i'm not allowed to communicate with though.
the company sided with the owner over a problem with the cottage. it was not up to the advertised standard. i asked for some compensation as out holiday was disrupted because one of the beds was absolutely awful and i was unable to sleep on it. it was like sleeping on a wooden floor cos the mattress was completely worn through. in fact the floor in the bedroom was more comfortable than the bed (i have experience of that!).
the cottage was dirty etc, lots of problems in the kitchen with lack of cooking facilities, crockery broken etc.
they haven't even bothered to go and look at the property. just said the owner is 'sorry'

p00hsticks

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

...any problem will be put right immediately ....

Unless they're Mary Poppins or Dynamo I very much doubt that they say this - companies like Haven I believe own the properties, so might be able to make promises to address compaints directly, but as I stated in my previous post, many of the letting websites out there are simply acting as agents, and your contract is with the owner of the property, not them.

I've just looked at the website I tend to use and it states quite clearly in the booking conditions that "....in the unlikely event that you feel you have a cause for complaint then you should contact the Homeowner or Keyholder immediately. The contract for your accommodation is between you and the Owner so any queries or concerns should be addressed to them and it’s important that you make contact immediately so that any issues can be quickly resolved."

p00hsticks

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

I'm not sure how i can have a contract with someone that i'm not allowed to communicate with though.

In my erxperience, I've always been given contact details for the owner when I booked the property....

WeAreGhosts

p00hsticks wrote: »

I've just looked at the website I tend to use and it states quite clearly in the booking conditions that "....in the unlikely event that you feel you have a cause for complaint then you should contact the Homeowner or Keyholder immediately. The contract for your accommodation is between you and the Owner so any queries or concerns should be addressed to them and it’s important that you make contact immediately so that any issues can be quickly resolved."

i had a number for the housekeeper, who spoke to the owner on my behalf when i was there. the housekeeper couldnt do anything to help. the owner refused to do anything.
the cottage company continues to market the property as 5 star
makes me think twice about booking holiday cottages.
i wish there was an alex polizzi type of person who could go round and critique some of these cottages!

wealdroam

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

i wish there was an alex polizzi type of person who could go round and critique some of these cottages!

Well you could do that, couldn't you?

Have you written your TripAdvisor report?

WeAreGhosts

wealdroam wrote: »

Well you could do that, couldn't you?

Have you written your TripAdvisor report?

i tried to!
How do i add a property onto TA if it's not already there?