Excessive Villa Rental Damage Charge - Help

hms396

I would value some advice. We recently stayed in a villa in France - I agreed to a damage deposit with my Barclaycard.

We had a great time however we managed to lose one of the three remotes to open the gates. On the final inspection they noticed some damage to a bedside lamp which they acknowledged had been previously broken and repaired with glue. It was a cheap Ikea type lamp not a Ming Dynasty Vase.

I appreciate that we lost the remote and was expecting to pay something. A universal door remote from an Online supplier was £16 here in the UK

I have checked my credit card and they have charged me €750. I have emailed for an explanation but this seems extortionate profiteering.

I would value any advice - should I dispute it with my credit card company? We had a lovely trip but this has really soured the holiday. Thanks Howard

shaun_from_Africa

A universal remote is only good as a replacement if it can be programmed to operate the original equipment.
This isn't always possible to do, especially if the remote that was lost was the only one in existence as these remotes are sometimes programmed by using an existing remote.
If the lost one was the only one, the villa owner may have had to get a complete transmitter and receiver kit. (unlikely but possible).

What you should do is to contact your card issuer explaining what has happened and tell them that you want to dispute the payment and ask if it can be put on hold until you receive proof of the actual costs incurred by the owner.
Then contact the owner asking for a copy of the receipt for the remote and anything else that they are claiming for.

Andypandyboy

I would check the contract. What does it say about how damages will be treated? It is more usual to agree a figure at the outset which would be retained in the event of damage, rather than give them carte blanche with your credit card.

I would also then as for them to itemise how the amount was reached. I would register my issue with the CC company now rather than later.