Mis-Selling of Holiday Let

Murphybear

Dr._Zoidberg said:

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.

I don’t think that makes a difference.  The drive to Devon from Scotland is a long one so I can imagine how annoyed (I’m being polite  ) you must have been.  I hope you enjoyed Devon, we lived there for 14 years.

We had a problem with a cottage in Ireland.  After a 12 journey on the Swansea Cork ferry and a 3 hour drive to the cottage we weren’t very happy to see it hadn’t been cleaned.  There were dirty cups and plates, crumbs and a full coffee percolator.  The firm we booked with was in Ireland and when we complained they moved us to another much bigger property and we had a lovely 2 weeks.  

We’ve always booked with a reasonably big firm because if there are major problems they may have alternative places especially if you’re outside July/August.