Holiday Cottage in UK - is it legal for agents to keep monies not belonging to them

sassy_one

They claim that the price for 2021 will be the same price as 2020, this being part of their goodwill.

Anyone who has issues I suggest reports it to Trading Standards for one, who in the end will flag this company highly for investigation.

But my main advice is those affected if all attempts fail to obtain a refund, then it's only chargeback that you can do.

The banks will be more willing to side with bookers now than ever given the circumstances too.

It would fall on failing to deliver goods or services within the required time frame - a holiday in a years time is not a reasonable period of delay.

marlot

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/cottages.com

couriervanman

Aylesbury_Duck said:

couriervanman said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

couriervanman said:

marlot said:

I'm in a similar boat, also with cottages.com.
My uncle owns a couple of cottages, and they're not paying him - they just seem to be hanging on to everyone's money as much as they can.
I paid the £20 low deposit, and the rest of the payment is due in a day or two.  It really pains me to honour my side of the contract and pay the rest, knowing that cottages.com are unlikely to refund if they cannot honour their side of the contract.
I can't see a legal way out.  Tempted to not pay and let them sue me.

If all you've paid is £20 for a holiday in near future ie May which will clearly be cancelled......i wouldn't pay the balance

That's risky, and only an advisable course of action if OP is prepared to defend the company's attempts to recover the money they're owed.

Recover money for what.........a holiday that has been cancelled and "Do not travel warning by the gov/foc".....i'd love to see them try

I bet you would, but it's not your money at risk.  It's not a good idea to advise someone to renege on their contractual commitment to pay the remainder of their deposit.  Unless you're happy to underwrite any costs they incur if it is challenged successfully?

Oh trust me i would and have done in the past........

"It's not a good idea to advise someone to renege on their contractual commitment to pay the remainder of their deposit"

Its been cancelled nothing to pay i would love take them on if i was in the OPs situation but as already mentioned its cancelled nothing/nadda/nowt to pay.It would be different if it was a holiday later on in the year which hadn't been cancelled yet in which case you would have to pay the balance until it was cancelled then claim back.

[Deleted User]

I definitely would not be paying anything more to this company.  As couriervanman asks "what are they offering?" a holiday that can't be taken?    

marlot

Just received an email from them:
"We wanted to let you know we have updated our balance payment process to support you to pay the remaining cost of your holiday.  We usually request this at 10 weeks from the date of your holiday.  To help during this period of uncertainty we now only ask for full payment 5 weeks from your holiday arrival date."
Hopefully we'll have some clarity on continued lockdown by then.

Aylesbury_Duck

couriervanman said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

couriervanman said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

couriervanman said:

marlot said:

I'm in a similar boat, also with cottages.com.
My uncle owns a couple of cottages, and they're not paying him - they just seem to be hanging on to everyone's money as much as they can.
I paid the £20 low deposit, and the rest of the payment is due in a day or two.  It really pains me to honour my side of the contract and pay the rest, knowing that cottages.com are unlikely to refund if they cannot honour their side of the contract.
I can't see a legal way out.  Tempted to not pay and let them sue me.

If all you've paid is £20 for a holiday in near future ie May which will clearly be cancelled......i wouldn't pay the balance

That's risky, and only an advisable course of action if OP is prepared to defend the company's attempts to recover the money they're owed.

Recover money for what.........a holiday that has been cancelled and "Do not travel warning by the gov/foc".....i'd love to see them try

I bet you would, but it's not your money at risk.  It's not a good idea to advise someone to renege on their contractual commitment to pay the remainder of their deposit.  Unless you're happy to underwrite any costs they incur if it is challenged successfully?

Oh trust me i would and have done in the past........

"It's not a good idea to advise someone to renege on their contractual commitment to pay the remainder of their deposit"

Its been cancelled nothing to pay i would love take them on if i was in the OPs situation but as already mentioned its cancelled nothing/nadda/nowt to pay.It would be different if it was a holiday later on in the year which hadn't been cancelled yet in which case you would have to pay the balance until it was cancelled then claim back.

Has it?  I understood that it was yet to be cancelled but that the remainder of the deposit is due "in a day or two".  That timing is the critical point.  If marlot doesn't pay the remaining deposit, they will have effectively cancelled before the company cancels, and therefore are liable for the remaining deposit amount.

Aylesbury_Duck

Tedber said:

I definitely would not be paying anything more to this company.  As couriervanman asks "what are they offering?" a holiday that can't be taken?    

But it hasn't been cancelled yet, and the remaining deposit is due.

I fully expect it will be cancelled, but if the deposit isn't paid, the customer is deemed to have cancelled, so they lose the £20 and are contractually liable for the remainder of the deposit.

marlot

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Tedber said:

I definitely would not be paying anything more to this company.  As couriervanman asks "what are they offering?" a holiday that can't be taken?    

But it hasn't been cancelled yet, and the remaining deposit is due.

I fully expect it will be cancelled, but if the deposit isn't paid, the customer is deemed to have cancelled, so they lose the £20 and are contractually liable for the remainder of the deposit.

Yep, that's exactly the dilemma.
If I cancel now, I lose the deposit.
If I wait for them to cancel I probably lose all the money, unless I can find a suitable alternative date AND it doesn't cost much/any extra AND they're still in business by the time of the holiday.
I suspect the real reason they're giving an extra 5 weeks before the balance is due is that they're waiting for ABTA/the government to rule that vouchers are acceptable instead of a refund.

SamDexter

Thanks, it is disgraceful that people are seeking to profiteer from others during these troubling and uncertain times. 

stulaunch

I hope this link is of help to some people https://theconsumerlawyer.blog/2020/04/05/uk-holiday-refund-action-group/
It started with him aiding thousands of Sykes holiday customers. But is now assisting other British holiday customers.