Section 75 - inadequate holiday accommodation

Squiggles86

Can anyone tell me if it's possible or worth claiming for a refund under section 75 for holiday accommodation which was filthy? We paid the deposit of £192 on our credit card. I contacted the letting agent to discuss the issues we had during our stay but the owner is refusing to offer any recompense because we didn't tell them at the time.

Has anyone had any success with claiming for something similar under section 75? It cost us £600 to stay in a cottage for a week in the new forest and the place was filthy including slugs coming in the lounge every night!

Thanks
S

DCFC79

Why not give it a try, the worse will happen is they reject it.

Why didn't you mention it at the time ?

Squiggles86

Thanks for the reply. We didn't contact them because we didn't feel there was much they could do and with 2 small kids I just wanted to clean the place as good as I could and get on with the holiday. The huge rug in the lounge absolutely stunk and the other soft furnishings and furniture hadn't been washed or cleaned for about 10 years so apart from replacing all those things during our stay I doubted that they could really do anything. I wish I had reported it now just so that it was noted. I did email them the day we returned home though. Thanks

HappyMJ

Squiggles86 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. We didn't contact them because we didn't feel there was much they could do and with 2 small kids I just wanted to clean the place as good as I could and get on with the holiday. The huge rug in the lounge absolutely stunk and the other soft furnishings and furniture hadn't been washed or cleaned for about 10 years so apart from replacing all those things during our stay I doubted that they could really do anything. I wish I had reported it now just so that it was noted. I did email them the day we returned home though. Thanks

Why did you continue to stay in the property?

If it was as bad as you say then I would have left before staying the first night. You stayed for a week so it can't have been that bad.

Squiggles86

With a 10 month old and 3 year old it's not quite that easy just upping and going. Besides we had already made other financial commitments for days out etc so all would have been wasted. We spent as long as we could out of the property during the day because I couldn't let my kids play on the floor but as you're probably aware getting ready in the morning to spend a whole day out is challenging without having to keep your kids contained because the place is too dirty to let them play.

takman

It's a bit stupid not telling them at the time!. They might have been able to come and clean it for the day while you are out!.
If they couldn't clean it to a good enough standard then you could have looked for a different place to stay for the rest of the time.

I don't think you can expect to get anything back when you didn't say a word to them and only tell them after you returned home and now expect some money back!. Ridiculous!.

If I was the owner I would think your just trying it on especially when you were happy enough for your two young children to stay there all week.

Squiggles86

Yes thank you. Hindsight is wonderful and we should have said something at the time. I think the owner is well aware of the shortcomings of the place especially as they had a myriad of slug repellent kept in the utility. I'd welcome any comments about using section 75 too if possible.
Thanks

bigadaj

Not much chance I would have thought.

Section 75 is unlikely to cover for what is after all a subjective assessment of quality.

Logic would dictate that if you thought the accommodation were really that bad not only would you report and try to resolve it but you would have moved to somewhere more suitable, whether that be a hotel, b & b etc

I thought British people had become better at complaining, being honest and resolving issues as they arose.

What do other reviews state?

bris

No, the only way S75 will even get involved is if you document it, ask the vendor to put it right and if not move out and find some where else to stay.


By staying you accepted it.


Can you imagine the amount of S75 claims there would be if we all decided to claim something was wrong after we get home.

eddddy

Section 75 specifically only covers breach of contract and misrepresentation.

However, every service contract includes a statutory implied term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill.

So perhaps your options are...

- If the trader said the accommodation was clean, but it wasn't, that would be misrepresentation

- You can argue that providing dirty accommodation is not performing a service with reasonable care and skill.

eddddy

Also...

Squiggles86 wrote: »

I contacted the letting agent to discuss the issues we had during our stay but the owner is refusing to offer any recompense because we didn't tell them at the time.

So you told the owner's agent, and the agent didn't tell their principle (i.e. the owner). That's an issue between the owner and their agent - so it's not normally your problem.

But... did the agent tell you to contact the owner? Was there a term in the contract that said you had to notify the owner directly?