Accidentally broke bed in hotel

SJI85

Hi, sorry for the ling post. I recently stayed at a hotel/country house. Thebed in the room was four poster and quite high (almost to my hips and I am 5 11 in height.

At one point I got off to get a book. I got back on and the bed broke (you could hear two cracks). I informed staff who were not surprised, telling me it has broken before when a manager "jumped off" the bed and they are old beds. He was apologetic and informed me it was not good enough. After checking the damage he arranged for us to move rooms.

He later told me that he was mistaken, it was a different room that the manager was in when he broke that bed. Nevertheless there was no suggestion by him we were at fault or would be charged.

On checking out we discovered we had been charged £50 for the damage. When I queried this the employee (different to the previous nights) said I had told her colleague I had "jumped" on the bed. This is not true. I was told I would receive a phone call to resolve this but have heard nothing.

Can anything really be done? Yes technically there was damage but it was not caused by recklessness or improper use of the bed. I would hope tjat if accidental, and you inform them immediately, hotels are understanding. Plus the staff who dealt with it did state the beds were old, apologised and told us "it isn't good enough".

As far as jumping on the bed goes I believe due to my embarrassment I perhaps admitted mire responsibility than I should have - explaining that due to the bed's height I might have accidentally shifted too much body weight on one part of the bed. I did nit "jump" on it though.

missile

You do not deny you broke the bed.
£50 appears to be a reasonable charge.
Do you claim the bed was defective?
The time to dispute this charge was when you checked out

newatc

missile wrote: »

You do not deny you broke the bed.

As I read it the OP , the bed broke which is quite different from being responsible for breaking the bed.

I do agree that it would have been better to sort it out at check-out time. If you paid by credit card, you could complain to the credit card company but it has been effectively authorised.

SJI85

newatc wrote: »

As I read it the OP , the bed broke which is quite different from being responsible for breaking the bed.

I do agree that it would have been better to sort it out at check-out time. If you paid by credit card, you could complain to the credit card company but it has been effectively authorised.

missile wrote: »

Do you claim the bed was defective?
The time to dispute this charge was when you checked out

Sorry for not being clearer. I did object at check out but the emoloyee said she knew little of the situation and her colleague said I "jumped" on the bed. I had to pay it under protest while waiting for a call back. Yes, my point is the bed was not fit for purpose really.

Spoke today and initially they stuck to their guns stating the "money for repair has to come from somewhere." I assrrtively reiterated that her colleague said, how I sat on the bed, and after noticing some alterations which suggested a previoys repair job/strengthening attempt it was agreed the fee be refunded.

ThumbRemote

missile wrote: »

You do not deny you broke the bed.
£50 appears to be a reasonable charge.
Do you claim the bed was defective?
The time to dispute this charge was when you checked out

What a load of tosh. It is not the responsibility of a hotel customer to pay for all items of wear and tear in the hotel.

If the hotel wish to claim it's been damaged by misuse, then it is for them to demonstrate this fact - not to just charge the customer irrespective.

At least it appears the hotel have seen sense now and refunded the money.

happyinflorida

What a cheek to try and charge you for a broken bed.

I'm glad to hear they have finally come around and agreed to refund you.

Keep a close eye on the refund coming through and I would also email the hotel involved to get it in writing, I'd put something along the lines of "I spoke with XYZ today and just wanted to confirm that you have agreed to refund me the charge of £50 you have made to my credit/debit card. I would appreciate your emailing me when you have made the refund so I can check it has arrived in my account"

No hotel should charge for a broken bed unless it's been deliberately broken and you admit to that ie you're a rock star like Mick Jagger!! lol

£50 is also a very little amount in comparison to how much a new bed actually costs, a good one would be over a £1000 or more, so I cannot see where they've dreamed up the amount from!

Good luck.

Mr.Generous

Had a mate years ago who broke the bed in a Blackpool hotel through vigorous physical activity with a young lady. Not only was he asked to pay but he was asked to leave before completion of his activities.

greenface

Mr.Generous wrote: »

Had a mate years ago who broke the bed in a Blackpool hotel through vigorous physical activity with a young lady. Not only was he asked to pay but he was asked to leave before completion of his activities.

so they went before he arrived

missile

SJI85 wrote: »

Sorry for not being clearer. I did object at check out but the emoloyee said she knew little of the situation and her colleague said I "jumped" on the bed. I had to pay it under protest while waiting for a call back. Yes, my point is the bed was not fit for purpose really.

Spoke today and initially they stuck to their guns stating the "money for repair has to come from somewhere." I assrrtively reiterated that her colleague said, how I sat on the bed, and after noticing some alterations which suggested a previoys repair job/strengthening attempt it was agreed the fee be refunded.

Thanks for the clarification. Glad you got a refund :A

Jaymie_kate

If the staff can testify that the beds are indeed a little old then the hotel should eve be faulted for using such old beds. If anything you should not be made to answer for it.