Company (ExclusiveShortStays) asking me to sign a tenancy contract for a 2 night stay in Birmingham

soomwat

Booked a 2 night weekend stay in Birmingham for me, my wife and our 3 year old son. Paid up front £235 for a 1 bed apartment.

Once the money had left my account, they ask for my ID (not legally required for UK nationals, but they say they need it so whatever). They say they can't take it at the property so need me to email a photo of my ID to them to their business email address.

They also ask for a £300 damage deposit (mentioned in their listing) but say I can only supply it by giving them my credit card details over the phone, or using a link which includes a £12 transaction fee, or by invoicing me and taking a bank transfer. None of these are the hold on card that any reputable hotel or holiday landlord will use.

I sent the ID over, then they say they want us to sign a 10 page contract via docusign that looks an awful lot like a rental contract. It has dodgy terms including a £600 damage deposit (double that listed in the booking.com listing), £1000 fine for disruptive noise or disturbance, vague mentions of additional admin fees and mentions of keeping my personal data for an unspecified amount of time for their own purposes, among others.

Contract was the last straw, I refused to sign, I'm still awaiting refund.

Has this happening to anyone else?

elsien

Did you not read the terms and conditions before booking, because the fees for noise etc are on their website?
To be honest, their terms and conditions look so over the top that if you’re outside of the 30 days I’d be tempted to cancel and go somewhere else anyway.