Holidaycottages.co.uk

Amateurd

coey, unfortunately a cottage rental doesn't come under the same category as a package holiday. Our booking (again a cottage in Northumberland through Cottages.com) can be cancelled (we get back 10%) or we can rebook at the inflated prices. Since we can't make the few dates available, we've lost hundreds. Companies like cottages.com can hide behind their terms and conditions and there's nothing we can do about it - they have point-blank refused to help.
I understand you're trying to help but you could sadly be raising unrealistic expectations. Cottages.com aren't going to change their minds.

coey

amateurd , all holiday cottages have been told legally to close until at least 14th April , this will almost certainly be extended beyond this period. This means that if your holiday is in that period you are entitled to a full refund within 14 days as the COMPANY will have to cancel YOUR holiday [ ie fail to deliver on the contract ] This is what the Which article says if you don't get hung up on the " package holiday " terminology. Companies are trying to hoodwink customers by getting the CUSTOMER to cancel and agree to rip off transfer of date options....In my opinion Consumer and contract law support my view and I will be demanding full refund for my holiday which starts on 9th May once this date is covered by the legally enforced closure of commercial holiday rentals.  

Skippy13

Ours has been understandably cancelled by Sykes and they aren't offering refunds.  I would understand if I was choosing not to go but I'm not, the government has made that decision!  That's the first and last time I book with Sykes!

J_B

Just seen this - make of it what you will ....

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/mar/30/coronavirus-travel-shutdown-your-rights-flights-tours-accommodation 

What about accommodation I can’t get to?

If you booked a holiday in the UK, and a cottage owner is refusing to give you a refund or move the booking, there is sadly not a great deal you can do. The fact that the cottage exists and is still being offered, has allowed owners to deny refunds. Several Scottish firms are refusing to refund bookings, even though ferries are not open to non-residents.

Two lawyers have said that if a contract becomes impossible to perform, or can only be performed illegally, it is considered “frustrated”. The threat of legal action to reclaim denied payments, may be enough to force a refund. Ultimately, you may have to go to court to get the money back, but who knows when that will possible.

Some more expensive travel insurance polices will cover UK trips, so it is worth checking.

cornwallholiday

I would appreciate some advice please. We have a holiday house booked in Cornwall for 10-17 April. Obviously we are now prohibited from going and owner prohibited from letting out his property due to coronavirus.

The owner is refusing any form of reconciliation: he won’t give any refund or credit voucher. We are at an impasse.

He says we should cancel the holiday with the agent.  But the contract clearly says that if we cancel we are not entitled to any refund. So we are in breach of the contract if we cancel.

If he cancels we are due a full refund under the terms and conditions. But he won’t do this.

So we have a stalemate with a live booking that we can’t use. Has this booking been cancelled by default due to situation?

He is holding a damage deposit and the full rental which is over £4K. The agent has confirmed they will refund their service fee but only if we cancel.

This feels grossly unfair and we are now trapped in this impasse. We are strongly considering taking him to small claims court if this can’t be resolved. But would a claim be based on frustration of contract (would this be successful?) or can we argue that, by default, the holiday is cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions and therefore we are due a refund?

Thank you for reading this - any advice very gratefully received.

cornwallholiday

Just realised that the contract says this:
”  If the house is not available or has become wholly unsuitable for holiday letting due to reasons beyond the Owner’s control the Owner’s/Agent’s liability shall be limited to a refund of the rent paid in respect of the period of unavailability:”

can I rely on this for a refund?

Aylesbury_Duck

cornwallholiday said:

I would appreciate some advice please. We have a holiday house booked in Cornwall for 10-17 April. Obviously we are now prohibited from going and owner prohibited from letting out his property due to coronavirus.

The owner is refusing any form of reconciliation: he won’t give any refund or credit voucher. We are at an impasse.

He says we should cancel the holiday with the agent.  But the contract clearly says that if we cancel we are not entitled to any refund. So we are in breach of the contract if we cancel.

If he cancels we are due a full refund under the terms and conditions. But he won’t do this.

So we have a stalemate with a live booking that we can’t use. Has this booking been cancelled by default due to situation?

He is holding a damage deposit and the full rental which is over £4K. The agent has confirmed they will refund their service fee but only if we cancel.

This feels grossly unfair and we are now trapped in this impasse. We are strongly considering taking him to small claims court if this can’t be resolved. But would a claim be based on frustration of contract (would this be successful?) or can we argue that, by default, the holiday is cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions and therefore we are due a refund?

Thank you for reading this - any advice very gratefully received.

cornwallholiday said:

Just realised that the contract says this:
”  If the house is not available or has become wholly unsuitable for holiday letting due to reasons beyond the Owner’s control the Owner’s/Agent’s liability shall be limited to a refund of the rent paid in respect of the period of unavailability:”

can I rely on this for a refund?

You can, but if they are difficult, you'll just have to take them to court for your money.

Linuxgeek

same boat here booked with cottages.com
was going to be my last holiday before becoming a student they cancelled but wont give refunds just credit note

japitts

Aylesbury_Duck said:

cornwallholiday said:

Just realised that the contract says this:
”  If the house is not available or has become wholly unsuitable for holiday letting due to reasons beyond the Owner’s control the Owner’s/Agent’s liability shall be limited to a refund of the rent paid in respect of the period of unavailability:”

can I rely on this for a refund?

You can, but if they are difficult, you'll just have to take them to court for your money.

MoneyClaim online fees can be added to your claim, and might just call a few bluffs..

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

J_B

coey said:

Don't give in , demand a full refund , Latest [today] advice quoted from Which on UK holidays , unable to add link but easily found on google search......l

You must have a different Which? magazine to me .....

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/03/coronavirus-should-you-cancel-your-summer-holiday/#accommodation

<<If you booked with an accommodation booking site, check its terms.>>

What do your terms say?