Villa Plus refusing refund - could anyone please advise where we go next?

born_again

db3333 said:

Sorry for the typos! She was very clear it was ours for the 2 weeks, even if we decided to leave. She told us several times that nobody else would be using it.

Why technically it was yours for the 2 weeks, even though you had moved elsewhere. Did you raise a complaint that it was unsuitable?
Who does the debit on the CC say?

Did/Have you contacted your holiday insurance over this?

Aylesbury_Duck

Thanks for the extra detail.

I'm not convinced the sole access issue helps here, other than as a minor negotiation point.  It's not as if the presence of the impromptu pool party rendered the villa unusable for the remainder of the fortnight.  The problem is the uninhabitable state of the villa.
  
Assuming you've exhausted Villaplus's complaints process, you need to look at other options.  Did you speak to your insurer?  What have ABTA said?  Have you approached your credit card yet?

db3333

The credit card payment was to VillaPlus, not the owner.

We initially thought VillaPlus owned the villas when we booked.

We raised a complaint the morning after we arrived with VillaPlus. They have reps who work in the country and one came to the house within an hour of us phoning to complain about the state of the house.

My father-in-law made the booking so he started the claim with VillaPlus and then escalated it to ABTA but I don't think he contacted the insurance company.

db3333

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Thanks for the extra detail.

I'm not convinced the sole access issue helps here, other than as a minor negotiation point.  It's not as if the presence of the impromptu pool party rendered the villa unusable for the remainder of the fortnight.  The problem is the uninhabitable state of the villa.
  
Assuming you've exhausted Villaplus's complaints process, you need to look at other options.  Did you speak to your insurer?  What have ABTA said?  Have you approached your credit card yet?

ABTA have said there's nothing they can do. They seemed very uninterested.

I've told my father-in-law to contact the credit card company but it looks like we've timed out now for that avenue as the villa was paid for in June.

I think he was trusting that VillaPlus would do the right thing and offer a refund based on all the issues mentioned and that ABTA would protect us if not.

They've both had photographic evidence of our complaints.

Does the law not protect us as the accomodation was not fit for purpose?

Is it too late to contact the insurance company now?

Aylesbury_Duck

db3333 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Thanks for the extra detail.

I'm not convinced the sole access issue helps here, other than as a minor negotiation point.  It's not as if the presence of the impromptu pool party rendered the villa unusable for the remainder of the fortnight.  The problem is the uninhabitable state of the villa.
  
Assuming you've exhausted Villaplus's complaints process, you need to look at other options.  Did you speak to your insurer?  What have ABTA said?  Have you approached your credit card yet?

ABTA have said there's nothing they can do. They seemed very uninterested.

I've told my father-in-law to contact the credit card company but it looks like we've timed out now for that avenue as the villa was paid for in June.

I think he was trusting that VillaPlus would do the right thing and offer a refund based on all the issues mentioned and that ABTA would protect us if not.

They've both had photographic evidence of our complaints.

Does the law not protect us as the accomodation was not fit for purpose?

Is it too late to contact the insurance company now?

As I understand it (others may know more), your father-in-law has 120 days from the start of the booking to make a section 75 claim on his credit card.  He's timed out if he hasn't spoken to them before now.  

I suspect it's too late to claim from insurance, too, but there's no harm in asking.  I'd expect them to ask why he didn't notify them immediately.

UK Consumer Law does protect you if your contract is with a UK retailer.  That's why people have been asking who the contract is with.  Small Claims Court is a route your father-in-law may take, once he understands exactly who it is he's suing and assuming it's a UK entity.

elsien

I’m not sure that this would be a travel insurance issue anyway. Travel insurance is for illness or missed flights or things like that, it does not usually cover dodgy properties that aren’t up to expectations. 

With the added complication if your father-in-law made the booking and you have your own separate insurance policy and I’m not sure how claiming on your own insurance would work. 

If villa plus are based in this country and your contract was definitely with them rather than with the Villa owner then whoever made the booking would potentially be looking at the small claims court as the only option left open to you.

Abta do say “

• ABTA isn’t an ombudsman or a Government body, and we can’t award compensation, or require our members to offer compensation in disputes.”

However, if it goes to arbitration through the Alternative Dispute Resolution then potentially, you could be awarded more. You probably need to find out from your father-in-law how far he got with Abta and whether he has formally registered a dispute? it may be that he phoned them, feels a bit fobbed up, and hasn’t taken it any further.

https://www.abta.com/help-and-complaints/customer-support/resolving-disputes

elsien

Also to add, I have no clue whether that dispute resolution scheme is fit for purpose or not.  

db3333

Thanks for your advice.

My in-laws were on the holiday with us so they booked and paid for the whole thing on their credit card and we then paid them back our share.

I did think that insurance wouldn't help and that's probably why my Father-in-law didn't contact them too.

He made an official complaint in writing to VillaPlus as soon as we got back (after initally complaining the morning after we arrived) and then escalated it after they offered nothing. They then came back with the £700 offer.

He then contacted ABTA.

I did suggest using Resolver in the beginning but they wanted to give VillaPlus a chance to resolve it first! He did that anyway last week but it straight away came back that he's already escalated it as high as he can by going to ABTA.

VillaPlus are based in the UK which is why we thought they'd be more reasonable.

Our thinking was that they wouldn't have to pay the villa owner if we showed them proof that his family moved in ten minutes after we moved out!

Aylesbury_Duck

Is the £700 offer still on the table, or has that gone?

I think your FIL has a choice.  Accept the £700 if it's still on offer, or try small claims court.  What he'll have to do is calculate what a reasonable claim would be.  12/14ths of the villa cost would be the obvious amount to claim for.

sheramber

The water in the pool smelled stagnant.

But usable as the owner’s family were using it.