Dog injured at holiday cottage...what to do

star2sparkle

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this.
I have been researching my situation a lot on the internet but no joy.
We stayed at a holiday cottage for a week. The way it was described and pictured on the agent's website was not quite how it was. For example, it said it had a microwave when it didn't, said it was quiet and hidden away, when it wasn't.
Then my dog got injured in the garden. The owner had not put up a fence or anything at a certain section of the garden and there was a hazardous drop from the top of the garden to the bottom. My dog fell down it and has hurt his legs. He already had arthritis.
The agency said they did a risk assessment but as it was raining, missed this area. All they have offered is a refund of my dog staying which is just £30. The holiday cost close to £1200.
They just apologised for the window cleaner turning up and peering in at us (real invasion of privacy with no prior warning).
The agency said that if I wanted more, they would have to contact the owner.
I don't know what to do next. I think they are going to try their best to get out of it. I did pay via my debit card and could try chargeback. I don't know whether to threaten them with a solicitor or a small claims court. My dog, in theory, is covered for his vet bills under my pet insurance.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

Fosterdog

The lack of microwave is a minor issue as long as they provided other cooking facilities, it could be that theirs broke the day before you arrived or even a previous guest has stolen it.

The location, people have different ideas of what a quiet location is, did you not look it up online to see exactly where it was and what amenities were nearby?

As for the dog, as the owner it was your responsibility to supervise your dog in the garden, I would never let my dogs out in a strange garden without doing my own risk assessment first, there could be poisonous plants, litter thrown over fences, wildlife, or any number of other things that could be a potential hazard. I can't see you having a valid claim against them for this at all.

elsien

No fence = dog not being allowed loose in the garden. Which could have prompted a request for money back for not having the promised facilities, but I do thInk you have to take some responsibility for the dogs injury yourselves.

The window cleaner is a overreaction. It's hard not to peer in a window when you're standing in front of it cleaning it, and as invasions of privacy go it's not exactly high on the scale.

If you want to follow up the complaint, leave out the trivia and stick to the more important issues such as possible misrepresentation.

KatrinaWaves

If they had left dangerous things in the garden, like bear traps or large rusty spikes, then maybe.

You should have looked round the garden first before letting your dog loose if this drop was going to be an issue for your dog.

Aylesbury_Duck

star2sparkle wrote: »

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this.
I have been researching my situation a lot on the internet but no joy.
We stayed at a holiday cottage for a week. The way it was described and pictured on the agent's website was not quite how it was. For example, it said it had a microwave when it didn't, said it was quiet and hidden away, when it wasn't.
Then my dog got injured in the garden. The owner had not put up a fence or anything at a certain section of the garden and there was a hazardous drop from the top of the garden to the bottom. My dog fell down it and has hurt his legs. He already had arthritis.
The agency said they did a risk assessment but as it was raining, missed this area. All they have offered is a refund of my dog staying which is just £30. The holiday cost close to £1200.
They just apologised for the window cleaner turning up and peering in at us (real invasion of privacy with no prior warning).
The agency said that if I wanted more, they would have to contact the owner.
I don't know what to do next. I think they are going to try their best to get out of it. I did pay via my debit card and could try chargeback. I don't know whether to threaten them with a solicitor or a small claims court. My dog, in theory, is covered for his vet bills under my pet insurance.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

Accept what they've offered. It sounds reasonable. Look at it from their point of view:

No microwave - did you bring this up straight away or are you only raising it now the holiday's complete? If the latter, you didn't give them a chance to correct the mistake. Did the lack of a microwave prevent you from cooking food?

Dog injury - I'm afraid the dog is your responsibility to supervise. You could have checked the garden and asked them to sort it out immediately, before anything happened. If the cottage was described as safe and secure for a dog then you have grounds for complaint, but they've already offered something in response to this.

Window cleaning issue? Trivial. What loss did you suffer?

Quiet and hidden away - again, did you raise this when you arrived?

Of all of these, the location is the one I think you have most grounds for complaint about but I'm inferring from your account (and I may be wrong) that you are complaining about these things after the holiday is complete. A chargeback won't work, you are simply not entitled to a full refund of the full holiday you've had because of a few minor issues. As for a solicitor or small claims court, I'm afraid that's completely unwarranted.

Fosterdog

elsien wrote: »

No fence = dog not being allowed loose in the garden. Which could have prompted a request for money back for not having the promised facilities, but I do thInk you have to take some responsibility for the dogs injury yourselves.

It doesn't sound like the garden was not fenced around the boundary just that it's a split level garden and there was no fence between the higher level and the lower level and the dog fell off the edge. I've lived in a few homes with my dogs with split level gardens with no fences and none of my dogs have ever fallen off the edge, although they have purposely jumped down occasionally. Most animals even running full pelt will stop themselves before going over the edge of a drop, unless OPs dog has vision issues in which case it would be even more important for OP to supervise and be extra careful.

hollydays

I'm a dog owner and I'd consider it totally my responsibilty to check out a garden was ok for my pets before I let them loose.

macman

Lack of microwave: no quantifiable loss.
Startled by window cleaner: no quantifiable loss.
Dog injury and subsequent vet's bills: covered by your pet insurance, so no quantifiable loss
So precisely what would your claim be for? Canine emotional distress?

star2sparkle

Fosterdog, indeed looked it up but on streetview, it looked like a quiet lane. It wasn't. You'd only know that through being there.
I disagree about my dog. The agency do a risk assessment to make sure the garden is safe and there was fencing in other areas for this purpose. And this cottage is not just for adults (and dogs) but families. A toddler could easily fall. It takes just a moment of an averted gaze, that's all. And what's more, I know the agency are now making sure that area of the garden is secure. If this wasn't an issue, why bother to do that?
Elsien; the agency have apologised for the window cleaner and said that he should have called first and arranged a date. The cottage had large patio windows and he looked in when I was half naked. We could have been having sex! So I don't think that's an overreaction unless you don't mind a complete stranger seeing you naked. But yes, what I did mean was misrepresentation. I did actually make a claim many years ago on exactly those grounds through a small claims court and got all I paid back.
KatrinaWaves, they said it was safe, they did a risk assessment. They made the assurances. Of course we looked around the garden, we didn't see this area until he fell.
Aylesbury Duck, seriously, you think £30 is adequate for my dog going through pain and suffering? Would it be if it was a child? I don't think so.None of this is 'unwarranted' but thank you, your response in particular has made me more determined! My dog in particular is not a minor issue and the agency themselves don't consider this to be a minor issue either.

star2sparkle

macman, always surprises me why people bother to answer when they are so dismissive! There was more than this in my complaint, I was more so focusing on my dog. But misrepresentation is important actually. If you say you are going to provide something, you should provide it. It is against the law to misrepresent. You pay for something, not there, then you get the money back. Simple. That is quantifiable.

comeandgo

I agree, your dog, your responsibility. Would you know if any other dogs have fallen down the same place? Maybe a chance of more money if agents or owners knew this was a hazardous area and had done nothing.
Window cleaner, no way you can claim anything for that. Microwave, inconvenient but not worthy of any compensation.