James Villa, rip-off

Kor65

 Hi could anybody help with this situation sorry for such  for such a long post,

We have just returned from a holiday in Cyprus. We booked our accommodation with James Villas. We paid £3,644 for 14 nights stay in the Coral Bee Villa. On arriving to the villa ( 2nd of August) we were shocked at its appearance. It was in a neglected state and appeared to look abandoned. The inside of the villa was filthy and there were numerous issues,Our major concern was the unsafe pool area. There were several safety hazards .We raised our concerns on the first day to  James Villa. On the second day we got through to a man called Connor, who was based in England. On the second day there were 17 emails exchanged - the majority were from us illustrating the issues. Both on the telephone and in the emails, James Villa  did  agreed that the property should not have been let out. He advised us that they would have to go through the property management company who were based in Cyprus. 

The initial Villa that we booked through James Villa was cancelled by them early this year, leaving us limited choice for an alternative Villa. We had already booked the flight tickets. The reviews for this Villa were around 4 out of 5 the reviews do seem to alternate. We now know that these reviews are quite selective. In these reviews James Villa gave reassurances that any problems raised in the reviews would be rectified. What we booked on the website through James Villa was not reflective of the real life state of the Villa.

On the the James Villa website the villa was described as: charming and delightful. The photographs used on their website were 11 years old. We were informed of this on our first full day by the property maintenance man and later confirmed by a supervisor from James Villa. This is clearly evident if you compare the palm trees by the pool which are about 4 ft high on the website and are now about 20 ft high. We revisited the reviews to find the villa had dropped to below 3 out of 5. The issues raised on the website were reflective of what we had arrived to. A lot of these issues would have been known to James Villa but not resolved or addressed.

One of our main concerns were the safety issues around the hazardous pool area and electrical concerns. From day one we asked to be moved. We advised that if this was not possible that we have a full refund, so that we could source somewhere else to stay and try to redeem our holiday.  This villa that should have never have been let out in such an appalling condition, which was confirmed in an email by James Villa. It ruined a precious 2 week holiday with our young children and we cannot get that time back. We strongly believe that we were just strung along by all parties involved - they had no intentions of moving us and played us for time until it was too late.

After playing us for time, James Villas advised us that we would need to look at going down the compensation route. We were hoping at that point that any money offered would enable us to move out of this terrible villa and situation. On Thursday 10th August James Villa emailed to offer us 500 euros - this equated to £431 and was less than the cost of 2 nights stay in this villa

James Villa is saying that the contract is not with them, it is with a third-party. These are in their terms and conditions  (in the small print) and that they are also not responsible for how properties are advertised or described on their website. The issues were known to James Villa and they are on the reviews on their website. Is this right that they can act in this way in this country?

We are looking at going to the small claims court./ ABTA Arbitration We spoke to a legal helpline through our insurance. They advised us that the terms and conditions that James Villa are operating under would not be relevant. As our contract is with them irrespective of what their website states. James Villa still insist that their contract is with a third party. The helpline were very certain of their response. However, we cannot  afford to lose any more money trying to pursue this without further help and advice. I don’t think the terms and conditions they are operating under our legal. 

You are not made aware at the time of booking that you are entering into a contract with a third party. You are also not supplied any information regarding that third party or given a copy of the contract with them. Post covid James Villas have changed their terms and conditions dramatically. We feel that most people booking with James Villa are not aware of how much they have changed, compared to how they used to operate. It is only when something goes wrong that you are made aware of this. 

This information should be more open and transparent as you navigate the booking process. For example, when we booked the car hire for this holiday we booked through auto holidays. We were given all the information and made fully aware that we were booking through a third party. We were supplied with a list of all the companies, review options of these companies and were able to read their terms and conditions before making a booking. However, James Villa are operating in the same manner but do not provide that level of information, choice and service. In short they take a large amount of money from you and when things go wrong inform you that it is not their responsibility.This is surely a breach of trading standards. 

We are also waiting for the outcome off  the Credit Card section 75 with nation Wide .

The chargeback declined the case on the MasterCard the Chase bank .

ABTA are useless and saying the contract is  with a third-party they have not acknowledged that  there member have advertised and sold something in this condition and yet has no responsibility for it.  

James Villa appeared to be moving with impunity. They  have told us that they will not use this villa and the property management company next year

 and are leaving  ABTA. 

Has anybody been in a similar situation could help thank you Kevin. 

NoodleDoodleMan

"The chargeback declined the case on the MasterCard the Chase bank ."

The Chase UK card is not a credit card - so I'm not sure chargeback is applicable ?

Kor65

They still have a process chargeback for this, although they’ve declined. 

section 75 is the credit card which is ongoing through Nationwide building Society
at the moment. Fingers crossed