Getting deposit back from "agent".

bap98189

Sometime last year my parents booked a holiday cottage in Northumberland for August of this year. They paid a deposit of £350 by credit card and the booking was made via an online company, not direct with the cottage owner. 

About a month ago they were contacted by the owner who as very apolgetic but said she wouldn't be able to carry out the recommended additional cleaning that is now required due to COVID-19, so had decided to cancel all bookings for this year. Since then they have called and Emailed the company with whom they made the booking over 10 times, but no Emails are replied to and the phone is never answered.

This afternoon they received an automated Email saying that the remaining amount would be debited from their credit card on Friday. They have contacted their bank and ensured that will not happen, but they now want their deposit back which is proving difficult as the company is not communicating. The owner of the cottage has apparently been very helpful but says she cannot get any response either hence why she tried to contact people directly to at least let them know she was cancelling bookings. She also doesn't get paid until the final amount is paid so doesn't have the deposit, it is still with the booking company.

My first thought was that they could get the deposit back via a Section 75 claim, but the very first paragraph of the T&C's of the booking company state that they "act only as agents for (i) the owners of the accommodation...." so presumably this will be refused by the bank. My question is really is there anything they can do aside from sending a "letter before action" and potentially using the small claims court?

eskbanker

Chargeback should be applicable here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback/

jonesMUFCforever

1 Name the company you are dealing with.
2 It seems that you have asked the bank to stop future payments to this company - they are treating it like a continuous authority - great nothing to worry about there - if they do debit the amount just ask the bank for it back citing the fact that you have already withdrawn your authority to pay.
3 The owner has confirmed no bookings this year - so ask your bank to chargeback the deposit amount. I am sure you have enough compelling evidence to support this.  

Sandtree

eskbanker said:

Chargeback should be applicable here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback/

They said the booking was made some time last year so well outside the 120 day limit on a chargeback.

What do the T&Cs say about deposits if the cottage owner cancels?

eskbanker

Sandtree said:

eskbanker said:

Chargeback should be applicable here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback/

They said the booking was made some time last year so well outside the 120 day limit on a chargeback.

As explained in that article (and elsewhere), the 120 days starts from date of expected service provision for future-dated purchases like this, so time-barring wouldn't be relevant here....

Sandtree

eskbanker said:
As explained in that article (and elsewhere), the 120 days starts from date of expected service provision for future-dated purchases like this, so time-barring wouldn't be relevant here....

Being my pedantic self... I guess that depends what you consider a "deposit" to be... if its the service to reserve some accomodation then that commenced from the moment of payment. A second payment, the final settlement, pays for the actual ability to stay in the property.

PS. Have very bad experiences with banks and chargebacks!

eskbanker

Sandtree said:

eskbanker said:
As explained in that article (and elsewhere), the 120 days starts from date of expected service provision for future-dated purchases like this, so time-barring wouldn't be relevant here....

Being my pedantic self... I guess that depends what you consider a "deposit" to be... if its the service to reserve some accomodation then that commenced from the moment of payment. A second payment, the final settlement, pays for the actual ability to stay in the property.

PS. Have very bad experiences with banks and chargebacks!

If the sum involved was described as a 'reservation fee' or similar, and clearly differentiated from the actual rental cost, then that argument might hold water, but I'd be amazed if OP's £350 could legitimately be regarded as anything other than a partial payment towards the overall cost of the rental....

eddddy

bap98189 said:

...the T&C's of the booking company state that they "act only as agents for (i) the owners of the accommodation...." ...

My question is really is there anything they can do aside from sending a "letter before action" and potentially using the small claims court?

So presumably your claim is against the owners of the accommodation, because that's who your contract is with - so you should be asking them for your £350 back from them.

And you should be sending your "letter before action" to the owners of the accommodation.

If the owner's agent has failed to pass the money onto the owners (or breached the contract between agent and owner in some other way) then the owners might want to take court action against their agents - but that's nothing to do with you.

But as others say, it might be worth trying a chargeback first.

born_again

Sandtree said:

eskbanker said:

Chargeback should be applicable here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback/

They said the booking was made some time last year so well outside the 120 day limit on a chargeback.

What do the T&Cs say about deposits if the cottage owner cancels?

It is 120 days from the date the service is due to start. So long as the debit is no more than 540 days ago. Anything over 540 days and chargeback can not be actioned (Visa limit) Mastercard are usually the same.

bap98189

jonesMUFCforever said:

1 Name the company you are dealing with.
2 It seems that you have asked the bank to stop future payments to this company - they are treating it like a continuous authority - great nothing to worry about there - if they do debit the amount just ask the bank for it back citing the fact that you have already withdrawn your authority to pay.
3 The owner has confirmed no bookings this year - so ask your bank to chargeback the deposit amount. I am sure you have enough compelling evidence to support this.  

The website they booked through www.northumbrian-cottages.info but it seems is not an actual business, rather the website is just part of a larger network called cottages.com which is in turn owned by a company called Vacation Rentals (UK) Ltd. which appears to be owned by a company called Hoseasons Ltd.

There is no risk of future payments. The bank have ensured that.

As the original booking was made over 120 days ago I though a chargeback would not work. I don't know the original booking date but it was probably a year or so ago. I will get my Dad to ring the bank again and try to talk them into a chargeback. If they refuse then it looks like it is a letter before action against the owner.

jonesMUFCforever

bap98189 said:

jonesMUFCforever said:

1 Name the company you are dealing with.
2 It seems that you have asked the bank to stop future payments to this company - they are treating it like a continuous authority - great nothing to worry about there - if they do debit the amount just ask the bank for it back citing the fact that you have already withdrawn your authority to pay.
3 The owner has confirmed no bookings this year - so ask your bank to chargeback the deposit amount. I am sure you have enough compelling evidence to support this.  

The website they booked through www.northumbrian-cottages.info but it seems is not an actual business, rather the website is just part of a larger network called cottages.com which is in turn owned by a company called Vacation Rentals (UK) Ltd. which appears to be owned by a company called Hoseasons Ltd.

There is no risk of future payments. The bank have ensured that.

As the original booking was made over 120 days ago I though a chargeback would not work. I don't know the original booking date but it was probably a year or so ago. I will get my Dad to ring the bank again and try to talk them into a chargeback. If they refuse then it looks like it is a letter before action against the owner.

Tell him not to mention chargeback or S75 - just say that you want to dispute the transaction for the reasons already mentioned. Don't get too technical - let them claw back the funds by whatever method they think best.