Small claims help for property damage

catow22

We run a holiday let in beautiful Pembrokeshire. After spending all our money buying, renovating and furnishing the house, we welcomed our first paying guests in autumn 2023. In May 2024 we had our first awful guests who broke our rules, leaving their dogs in the house all day and arriving home drunk at 1am. I had a call from our neighbours to tell us the guests (a couple in their 50s) were shouting in the street at 1am and when I arrived (with my two youngest children in the back of the car) found them slumped in our porch and their dogs locked inside. They had urinated on every surface they could access, soiled and scratched the furnishings. As the guests were bladdered, and I was alone with two children, I stupidly left them (after telling them to clean up and shut their dogs up). The next morning I told them to leave and threatened to phone the police. They left and I found the house trashed. One of them had urinated in the bed and put the covers back on to try and hide it. My rugs and sofa cushions were stained and stinking with dog urine, it was devastating! All of the furniture was less than a year old. 

Through our agency we put in a claim against the bond, which the agency held the card details for.. of course, the claim bounced as the bank card was cancelled! These people had likely done this before.
i put an appeal on social media, knowing the county where these guests had come from but not their address.. from this and some very kind strangers I managed to track down the address of this couple, with their car parked on the drive on Google Maps for good measure.

I have sat on this claim for 9 months as I am scared of the process and what people like this are capable of. This is a couple in their 50s, she works for the NHS and we went out of our way to provide them with a lovely brand new holiday home with a complimentary welcome basket and they threw it in our faces. They neglected their dogs for 12 hours while out drinking in a strange house and then failed to pay for the damages they made to our new small business. I cried when I had to walk through my house taking pictures of the dozens of dog sprays on the walls and running down each skirting board. 

I can’t let this lie and I have to pursue a claim for my peace of mind. I have all the evidence, I have time stamped photos and receipts for absolutely everything that had to be replaced (like for like) following their damage. I also have the cleaning invoice as I for the first time (and only time) had to employ a cleaner and laundrette to help me get the property turned around. Many things couldn’t be saved, of course.. one mattress was soaked through, two rugs and handful of cushion inserts. The total claim is over £900. 

Please, if anyone has any advice about the process and what to expect, I would be so grateful. The thought of putting together the forms is daunting enough on its own. I am fairly articulate and can compile evidence but want to make sure that I leave no stone unturned.

DullGreyGuy

So the items were 6 months old? In principle you may have issues claiming for new, rather than secondhand replacements, given your items were no longer new however that would only be if they defended the claim and brought it up. The overwhelming majority of claims are never defended and are awarded in default so whatever was claimed. The courts dont track what percentage of cases are ever settled, they do to a degree for B2B but not when a consumer is the debtor. 

Surprised you had to play detective, would have thought the agency told you their address. 

Ultimately it's a commercial decision on if you think they have the means to repay you else you may be just extending your losses. At least you know one of them at least is gainful employment so an attachment of earnings order may be possible if the judgement remains unsettled.

user1977

Do they own the house they live at?

Alderbank

catow22 said:

We run a holiday let in beautiful Pembrokeshire. After spending all our money buying, renovating and furnishing the house, we welcomed our first paying guests in autumn 2023. In May 2024 we had our first awful guests who broke our rules, leaving their dogs in the house all day and arriving home drunk at 1am. I had a call from our neighbours to tell us the guests (a couple in their 50s) were shouting in the street at 1am and when I arrived (with my two youngest children in the back of the car) found them slumped in our porch and their dogs locked inside. They had urinated on every surface they could access, soiled and scratched the furnishings. As the guests were bladdered, and I was alone with two children, I stupidly left them (after telling them to clean up and shut their dogs up). The next morning I told them to leave and threatened to phone the police. They left and I found the house trashed. One of them had urinated in the bed and put the covers back on to try and hide it. My rugs and sofa cushions were stained and stinking with dog urine, it was devastating! All of the furniture was less than a year old. 

Through our agency we put in a claim against the bond, which the agency held the card details for.. of course, the claim bounced as the bank card was cancelled! These people had likely done this before.
i put an appeal on social media, knowing the county where these guests had come from but not their address.. from this and some very kind strangers I managed to track down the address of this couple, with their car parked on the drive on Google Maps for good measure.

I have sat on this claim for 9 months as I am scared of the process and what people like this are capable of. This is a couple in their 50s, she works for the NHS and we went out of our way to provide them with a lovely brand new holiday home with a complimentary welcome basket and they threw it in our faces. They neglected their dogs for 12 hours while out drinking in a strange house and then failed to pay for the damages they made to our new small business. I cried when I had to walk through my house taking pictures of the dozens of dog sprays on the walls and running down each skirting board. 

I can’t let this lie and I have to pursue a claim for my peace of mind. I have all the evidence, I have time stamped photos and receipts for absolutely everything that had to be replaced (like for like) following their damage. I also have the cleaning invoice as I for the first time (and only time) had to employ a cleaner and laundrette to help me get the property turned around. Many things couldn’t be saved, of course.. one mattress was soaked through, two rugs and handful of cushion inserts. The total claim is over £900. 

Please, if anyone has any advice about the process and what to expect, I would be so grateful. The thought of putting together the forms is daunting enough on its own. I am fairly articulate and can compile evidence but want to make sure that I leave no stone unturned.

Welcome to the forum.

I don't see why this is a consumer rights issue?

The consumers here are the people who rented your property and consumers rights are rights they could claim against you if your business had not provided what they had paid for and been led to expect. However this case looks like a simple county court claim for damage to property.

You have several years  in which to bring a claim and take them to court. They are responsible for the actions of their dogs, damage caused by the dogs can be added to your claim. Did you have to cancel any bookings because of the state of the house? You might be able to claim for those losses as well.

Do you have business insurance to pay for losses caused by your customers? If so you must contact your insurer.

Court should be seen as a last resort. Now that you have quantified your losses you should start the recovery process if your insurers are not supporting you, you speak to your customers to explain the damage and losses you had and you should give them the opportunity to pay for the damage.

Why do you reference the NHS? The NHS is a huge employer, perhaps the biggest in the UK. Was this rental related to their employer in some way, for example because they were attending a conference and the NHS was paying for the booking?

catow22

DullGreyGuy said:

So the items were 6 months old? In principle you may have issues claiming for new, rather than secondhand replacements, given your items were no longer new however that would only be if they defended the claim and brought it up. The overwhelming majority of claims are never defended and are awarded in default so whatever was claimed. The courts dont track what percentage of cases are ever settled, they do to a degree for B2B but not when a consumer is the debtor. 

Surprised you had to play detective, would have thought the agency told you their address. 

Ultimately it's a commercial decision on if you think they have the means to repay you else you may be just extending your losses. At least you know one of them at least is gainful employment so an attachment of earnings order may be possible if the judgement remains unsettled.

Thank you for your reply.
The items were 9 months old, but my understanding is that all items have an expected lifespan eg flooring in high-traffic areas is 5years whereas carpet in a bedroom is 10 years as an example. I work in long-letting so deal with ‘fair wear and tear’ often.
My ingoing pictures show everything in excellent order (all reviews before and after these guests have been 5* so far too - I would never allow standards to slip). I know I can only claim what is ‘reasonable’ hence with all items being only 9 months old, I will try my luck for the whole lot! Let the judge decide.

It’s interesting that so few claims are defended, but not surprising (again, lesson learnt from work - Tenant/Landlord disputes).

The agency were useless, and made no effort to recoup our losses. I ditched them immediately after this booking, I even paid a £600 release fee to avoid their 6-months notice period. There’s some bad feeling there but that’s a fight for another day!

Ok, I think I have accepted already that the ‘win’ is worth more than the money here. It’s about principle and the right thing. If this 50 year old couple with dogs they neglect can’t pay their dues to a young family with kids to feed then at least I will sleep at night knowing I tried. And knowing they wet the bed when drunk helps too. 

Will give it a go and post back with the outcome.. win or lose! Thanks again

catow22

user1977 said:

Do they own the house they live at?

I didn’t manage to find out. Trust me, when I found out where they lived it was tempting to load the kids in the car and make the 6 hour drive up there to confront them.. but I’m not that far gone yet!?

I don’t think there’s a renting registration system in England yet so not sure if there’s any way of me finding out, unless I buy a copy of the title?

TheSpectator

catow22 said:

user1977 said:

Do they own the house they live at?

I didn’t manage to find out. Trust me, when I found out where they lived it was tempting to load the kids in the car and make the 6 hour drive up there to confront them.. but I’m not that far gone yet!?

I don’t think there’s a renting registration system in England yet so not sure if there’s any way of me finding out, unless I buy a copy of the title?

As outrageous as what they did is, what do you think confronting them will achieve?

DullGreyGuy

catow22 said:
 I will try my luck for the whole lot! Let the judge decide.

It’s interesting that so few claims are defended, but not surprising (again, lesson learnt from work - Tenant/Landlord disputes).

The agency were useless, and made no effort to recoup our losses. I ditched them immediately after this booking, I even paid a £600 release fee to avoid their 6-months notice period. There’s some bad feeling there but that’s a fight for another day!

Ok, I think I have accepted already that the ‘win’ is worth more than the money here. It’s about principle and the right thing. If this 50 year old couple with dogs they neglect can’t pay their dues to a young family with kids to feed then at least I will sleep at night knowing I tried. And knowing they wet the bed when drunk helps too. 

Will give it a go and post back with the outcome.. win or lose! Thanks again

Predominately our judges are there to judge based on the case as presented to them, they are not investigatory like they are in other jurisdictions; we'll ignore judicial enquiries. It's therefore very much what the two sides present and argue. My background is in depending liability claims so had many a third party claiming £3,000 for a brand new bike and us settling for £1,000 because it was 12 months old and thats what they resell for. 

Its mid-high 90s, the percent that are default judgements, that will include all those cases sent to the wrong address, people just ignoring them, administration errors meaning the deadline to file is missed etc. 

As long as you go eyes open into the fact the prospects are never great thats fine... we see many cases on here of people assuming that if they sue they will get paid, some can double their losses with the court fees. 

catow22 said:

user1977 said:

Do they own the house they live at?

I didn’t manage to find out. Trust me, when I found out where they lived it was tempting to load the kids in the car and make the 6 hour drive up there to confront them.. but I’m not that far gone yet!?

I don’t think there’s a renting registration system in England yet so not sure if there’s any way of me finding out, unless I buy a copy of the title?

Title is public record, you can buy a copy from the Land Registry for a few pounds

catow22

TheSpectator said:

catow22 said:

user1977 said:

Do they own the house they live at?

I didn’t manage to find out. Trust me, when I found out where they lived it was tempting to load the kids in the car and make the 6 hour drive up there to confront them.. but I’m not that far gone yet!?

I don’t think there’s a renting registration system in England yet so not sure if there’s any way of me finding out, unless I buy a copy of the title?

As outrageous as what they did is, what do you think confronting them will achieve?

Interesting comment.. I did not confront them. I just said that. 

catow22

Alderbank said:

catow22 said:

We run a holiday let in beautiful Pembrokeshire. After spending all our money buying, renovating and furnishing the house, we welcomed our first paying guests in autumn 2023. In May 2024 we had our first awful guests who broke our rules, leaving their dogs in the house all day and arriving home drunk at 1am. I had a call from our neighbours to tell us the guests (a couple in their 50s) were shouting in the street at 1am and when I arrived (with my two youngest children in the back of the car) found them slumped in our porch and their dogs locked inside. They had urinated on every surface they could access, soiled and scratched the furnishings. As the guests were bladdered, and I was alone with two children, I stupidly left them (after telling them to clean up and shut their dogs up). The next morning I told them to leave and threatened to phone the police. They left and I found the house trashed. One of them had urinated in the bed and put the covers back on to try and hide it. My rugs and sofa cushions were stained and stinking with dog urine, it was devastating! All of the furniture was less than a year old. 

Through our agency we put in a claim against the bond, which the agency held the card details for.. of course, the claim bounced as the bank card was cancelled! These people had likely done this before.
i put an appeal on social media, knowing the county where these guests had come from but not their address.. from this and some very kind strangers I managed to track down the address of this couple, with their car parked on the drive on Google Maps for good measure.

I have sat on this claim for 9 months as I am scared of the process and what people like this are capable of. This is a couple in their 50s, she works for the NHS and we went out of our way to provide them with a lovely brand new holiday home with a complimentary welcome basket and they threw it in our faces. They neglected their dogs for 12 hours while out drinking in a strange house and then failed to pay for the damages they made to our new small business. I cried when I had to walk through my house taking pictures of the dozens of dog sprays on the walls and running down each skirting board. 

I can’t let this lie and I have to pursue a claim for my peace of mind. I have all the evidence, I have time stamped photos and receipts for absolutely everything that had to be replaced (like for like) following their damage. I also have the cleaning invoice as I for the first time (and only time) had to employ a cleaner and laundrette to help me get the property turned around. Many things couldn’t be saved, of course.. one mattress was soaked through, two rugs and handful of cushion inserts. The total claim is over £900. 

Please, if anyone has any advice about the process and what to expect, I would be so grateful. The thought of putting together the forms is daunting enough on its own. I am fairly articulate and can compile evidence but want to make sure that I leave no stone unturned.

Welcome to the forum.

I don't see why this is a consumer rights issue?

The consumers here are the people who rented your property and consumers rights are rights they could claim against you if your business had not provided what they had paid for and been led to expect. However this case looks like a simple county court claim for damage to property.

You have several years  in which to bring a claim and take them to court. They are responsible for the actions of their dogs, damage caused by the dogs can be added to your claim. Did you have to cancel any bookings because of the state of the house? You might be able to claim for those losses as well.

Do you have business insurance to pay for losses caused by your customers? If so you must contact your insurer.

Court should be seen as a last resort. Now that you have quantified your losses you should start the recovery process if your insurers are not supporting you, you speak to your customers to explain the damage and losses you had and you should give them the opportunity to pay for the damage.

Why do you reference the NHS? The NHS is a huge employer, perhaps the biggest in the UK. Was this rental related to their employer in some way, for example because they were attending a conference and the NHS was paying for the booking?

If I have posted this in the wrong section of the forum then I apologise. I didn’t state it was a consumer rights issue.. I have simply asked for advice on pursuing a small claims case, as I can see many have done before me.

We have insurance but this is a breach of contract issue with evidential losses.. I would rather people pay for the damages they caused rather than the innocent having their/and our premiums rise. 

I reference the guest’s job as it was something I managed to find out when tracking down their address. Isn’t it helpful to know that the defendant is/was working in a trusted profession when they trashed our house? It certainly was to me when I found out. They also drove a white Ford Fiesta, another useful bit of info which helped me track them down.. but we’re not slating Henry Ford here either. 

lincroft1710

One thing you must do if you take this to court is to keep emotion out of it.


Just state the facts about the damage done.