Mis-Selling of Holiday Let

Dr._Zoidberg

Good afternoon,

I apologise if this is in the wrong area, please move it if necessary.

I wonder if anyone can provide some advice.  I recently booked a week in a Devon apartment through booking.com which was very clearly listed as having a washing machine and patio, amongst other issues.  On arrival at the apartment we found there to be no washing machine or patio along with a poorly stocked kitchen inventory, defective windows (they were weather tight but came off their alignment when opened) and dirty towels.

The total cost of the apartment was £680.

The primary issue is the lack of washing machine and patio which were essential reasons for booking the apartment, otherwise we wouldn’t have booked this property.  I have raised a dispute with booking.com who accepted that we have a valid complaint but state that they have no responsibility for what is listed on their site and that it is a matter for the property owner.  Despite that, they initially offered £136 in compensation which I didn’t think was acceptable.  A further offer of £216 has been made which I still don’t think is acceptable, I believe somewhere in the region of a 50% refund would be acceptable as we did stay in the apartment for the week as it was clean and liveable but it is the mis-selling I am seeking compensation for.

Firstly am I being unreasonable in asking for 50% and should I take what they have offered?

Secondly, I do believe that booking.com are responsible for the accuracy of the listing as they are the agent selling the stay in the apartment.  I’m not very savvy when it comes to the legislation but is there anything legal that I can put to them in terms of their responsibilities?  I live in Scotland if that is of any consequence for legalities.

I am looking for any advice which would be gratefully received.

Thank you in advance.

The_Unready

On the first point, I think a 32% refund is very reasonable. As you say, you did stay the whole week, and presumably were able to either bring clothes home to be washed after wearing them a few times, or went to a local launderette.

£216 would seem to cover that inconvenience to me.

I'm not clear what the loss was in monetary terms of not having a patio?

Dr._Zoidberg

Thank you for your reply.  This isn’t something I’m good at!

There is no monetary loss from not having a patio but having our own outdoor area to sit in was a major reason in taking the apartment and it was something we were deprived of.

The_Unready

Did the property have any kind of garden where you could sit out (ie, not necessarily a patio, but outside space nonetheless)?

Dr._Zoidberg

None at all unfortunately.

onashoestring

Did you raise these issues with booking.com customer services on arrival ? 

Dr._Zoidberg

Unfortunately not, realise that I should have done so.

macman

Not that booking.com or the owner would have been able to rustle up a patio or a washing machine, has they been alerted on arrival...
But, as above, the time to complain is on arrival, not after your rental period is complete.

Dr._Zoidberg

Lesson learned I think!

Should I accept their offer in this case?

WeAreGhosts

Dr._Zoidberg said:

Lesson learned I think!

Should I accept their offer in this case?

I cannot stress enough how rare it is to have an offer of a decent partial refund. I've had nightmare holidays with several companies - Sykes, Helpful Holidays and Lakelovers - and I've been offered £50 or vouchers at best. I had to sleep on a blow-up mattress on the floor at one property as the mattress was so bad I could feel the slats of the bed, and I got nothing!

Dr._Zoidberg

WeAreGhosts said:

Dr._Zoidberg said:

Lesson learned I think!

Should I accept their offer in this case?

I cannot stress enough how rare it is to have an offer of a decent partial refund. I've had nightmare holidays with several companies - Sykes, Helpful Holidays and Lakelovers - and I've been offered £50 or vouchers at best. I had to sleep on a blow-up mattress on the floor at one property as the mattress was so bad I could feel the slats of the bed, and I got nothing!

Many thanks, I need up accepting the offer