Don't know what route to go down to try and get a refund/compensation

lichio2024

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

user1977 said:

lichio2024 said:

Ergates said:

lichio2024 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

lichio2024 said:

Why only 1/6 of the booking refunded for chargeback? That would be less than £100.
That wouldn't cover the cost, and I feel I'd rather pursue small claims (money claim online?) if that was the case. 
If I did that should I put the property owners or booking.com on the form? 
The owners have openly admitted that the property was not as described, on WhatsApp, and have already offered a refund (but they are now ignoring any attempt to get them to follow through)

For what?  The court won't award you more than you incurred in cost.

For the cost of the hotel we had to book? That was £180. Plus the cost of taxis to and from the hotel to the accommodation. 
The 1/6 of the booking would have been about £80. I don't see why I should be out of pocket because the property owner had, by their own admission, removed one of the beds?
I do appreciate that my own feeling of being aggrieved holds no weight legally, which is why I'm asking, but what I incurred in cost was just over £200, which is more than someone suggested I could get via chargeback. 

You wouldn't be able to claim for both the 1/6 of the accommodation *and* the hotel.  It would be reasonable to be reimbursed for the hotel (+ taxis) as that was an additional cost.  

I was after advice on whether I should be putting booking.com or the property owners on the money claim online, or if there was another approach I hadn't considered. 

booking.com are merely agents, so it's the owners your claim is against. As they say in their terms: "We’re not a party to the terms between you and the Service Provider. The Service Provider is solely responsible for the Travel Experience."

Hello OP

This is the important thing to note, your claim is with the accommodation owner rather than Booking.com.

Booking.com might offer a few quid go away money but probably not as much as you feel you are due. 

It is a shame you paid again after they refunded as that would have been a real bargaining chip to pay much less.

OP can you advise what the purpose of the stay was?

@born_again does the refund/repayment actually have any bearing on S75? 

The refund/repayment was just after I booked, and two months before we actually stayed there. I only mentioned it to explain why I accidentally ended up paying on a debit rather than credit card. I still don't really understand why they did it. I had to repay or they would have cancelled the booking.

I've already mentioned, but it was leisure. A university reunion weekend. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Thanks OP

If you have a name and address for the accommodation owner you could send a letter before action claiming the cost of the alternative accommodation as foreseeable damages due to the breach of contract (I.e missing bed) + a figure per person for loss of enjoyment as established under Jarvis vs Swan Tours LTD (1973).

Loss of enjoyment is a tricky one to put a value on, on the one hand a reunion sounds like a bit of a special occasion somewhat spoilt by the disruption but also booking accommodation with a sofa bed is sort of sacrificing an amenity presumably for paying a lesser price, i.e this wasn’t a booking for 3 double rooms suggesting the accommodation itself wasn’t as relevant to the enjoyment, so you could pitch at around £80 per person for that loss of enjoyment.

I’m not sure on the taxi costs, perhaps they weren’t that much (apologies if I also missed that you mentioned their cost ) and £480 + the Travel Lodge cost would set you whole  

If the letter doesn’t get you anywhere and you decide to follow through with small claims it would be worth a read of the below link for much more detail on what the position is with loss of enjoyment as the case law has progressed over the years:

https://www.dekachambers.com/2020/06/09/general-damages-in-holiday-claims-a-recap/

Sorry to add, it would be interesting to know if S75 applies or not with the refund issue but by paying Booking.com it may break the chain and not apply regardless, born_again will no doubt post further on this  

Hoenir

lichio2024 said:

I initially paid via booking.com on a credit card. For some inexplicable reason the property owners refunded the whole amount directly to my card a week later and then sent me a new link to pay

You paid them directly not through Booking.Com?  Makes you wonder you were actually dealing with. Whether the "Landlord" is even aware of the subletting. 

powerful_Rogue

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Thanks OP

If you have a name and address for the accommodation owner you could send a letter before action claiming the cost of the alternative accommodation as foreseeable damages due to the breach of contract (I.e missing bed) + a figure per person for loss of enjoyment as established under Jarvis vs Swan Tours LTD (1973).

Loss of enjoyment is a tricky one to put a value on, on the one hand a reunion sounds like a bit of a special occasion somewhat spoilt by the disruption but also booking accommodation with a sofa bed is sort of sacrificing an amenity presumably for paying a lesser price, i.e this wasn’t a booking for 3 double rooms suggesting the accommodation itself wasn’t as relevant to the enjoyment, so you could pitch at around £80 per person for that loss of enjoyment.

I’m not sure on the taxi costs, perhaps they weren’t that much (apologies if I also missed that you mentioned their cost ) and £480 + the Travel Lodge cost would set you whole  

If the letter doesn’t get you anywhere and you decide to follow through with small claims it would be worth a read of the below link for much more detail on what the position is with loss of enjoyment as the case law has progressed over the years:

https://www.dekachambers.com/2020/06/09/general-damages-in-holiday-claims-a-recap/

Sorry to add, it would be interesting to know if S75 applies or not with the refund issue but by paying Booking.com it may break the chain and not apply regardless, born_again will no doubt post further on this  

Sorry, you're seriously suggesting the OP claims for £480 (£80 each for loss of enjoyment), plus £180 for the travelodge and then the taxi fares on top? The entire booking was only £480.

born_again

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

This is the important thing to note, your claim is with the accommodation owner rather than Booking.com.

Booking.com might offer a few quid go away money but probably not as much as you feel you are due. 

It is a shame you paid again after they refunded as that would have been a real bargaining chip to pay much less.

OP can you advise what the purpose of the stay was?

@born_again does the refund/repayment actually have any bearing on S75? 

Yes.
As OP would then have had a full refund.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

powerful_Rogue said:

Sorry, you're seriously suggesting the OP claims for £480 (£80 each for loss of enjoyment), plus £180 for the travelodge and then the taxi fares on top? The entire booking was only £480.

The value of claim looks at the occasion and the manner in which enjoyment lost rather than the value of the booking. 

It doesn't matter if you book a bunk bed in a hostel or a £10k per night penthouse, the number of spaces for people to sleep is a fundamental you'd expect to be as advertised, for 6 busy people who have found time to meet up* and wasted time messing about to find another bed to receive just £80 each is hardly excessively IMHO. 

*Maybe OP sees these people all the time, maybe it's once a year, once a decade, I don't know but in previous cases awards for holiday-goers on ruined “run of the mill holidays” attracted between £83 and £876 and £80 each is right at the bottom of the spectrum. 

powerful_Rogue

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

powerful_Rogue said:

Sorry, you're seriously suggesting the OP claims for £480 (£80 each for loss of enjoyment), plus £180 for the travelodge and then the taxi fares on top? The entire booking was only £480.

The value of claim looks at the occasion and the manner in which enjoyment lost rather than the value of the booking. 

It doesn't matter if you book a bunk bed in a hostel or a £10k per night penthouse, the number of spaces for people to sleep is a fundamental you'd expect to be as advertised, for 6 busy people who have found time to meet up* and wasted time messing about to find another bed to receive just £80 each is hardly excessively IMHO. 

*Maybe OP sees these people all the time, maybe it's once a year, once a decade, I don't know but in previous cases awards for holiday-goers on ruined “run of the mill holidays” attracted between £83 and £876 and £80 each is right at the bottom of the spectrum. 

Have you got some similar examples to the OP's situtaion?

Yes there does appear to be some inconvenience, but they did all get to meet each other. If the person staying at the hotel got a taxi back when everyone was going to bed and then a taxi back first thing in the morning the lack of time together would be minimal.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

powerful_Rogue said:

Have you got some similar examples to the OP's situtaion?

Yes there does appear to be some inconvenience, but they did all get to meet each other. If the person staying at the hotel got a taxi back when everyone was going to bed and then a taxi back first thing in the morning the lack of time together would be minimal.

I would imagine these issues result in two types of thought 1) I'm really annoyed our time was spoilt 2) this is a good excuse to get some money. 

Loss of enjoyment is mental distress and we'll never know the inner workings of the poster's mind but given the effort involved and that most people feel some guilt about being dishonest I would imagine in the main it's those who felt their time was spoilt that go to the effort of pursuing a loss of enjoyment claim. 

Above is just a general comment with no reflection on OP  

lichio2024

Thanks very much all.
To clarify, I'm not particularly interested in pursuing a loss of enjoyment claim. I think at this point I mainly want to recover c. £200 which is the Travelodge plus taxis (need to dig out receipts for exact amounts). I do feel aggrieved that our first evening was effectively spoiled by having to deal with the property owners and booking somewhere new, but overall it's just one of those things. I have been made more aggrieved by the crappy attitude of both booking.com and the property owners. They are a small business with their own website and are listed on companies house, so I have an address. Run by two Russians out of Saffron Walden it turns out. 
I will use the above post as the basis of a letter before action.

Also FYI someone above stated the whole weekend booking was £480. I'm not sure where that figure came from, it was I believe about £560. 

And we meet approximately every 18 months I'd say. It takes a lot of organising to coordinate the calendars of six people with many children and commitments between us, not to mention agreeing a location and accommodation that suits all!! I will not be volunteering for booking accommodation duties again. 

eskbanker

lichio2024 said:

Also FYI someone above stated the whole weekend booking was £480. I'm not sure where that figure came from, it was I believe about £560.

Presumably your own words?

lichio2024 said:

The 1/6 of the booking would have been about £80.