cottage- bond,help please.

miacat

hi , i went on a coastal holiday three weeks ago and stayed in a cottage. the owner sent me a letter in advance stating that i had to pay £100. as deposit because other tenants had left the place a mess,and his cleaners had complained, therefore i must ensure,

1. all surfaces are wiped down.
2.all the carpets are vacuumed.(3 floors)
3. fridge is emptied.(i,d do that anyway)
4.that all rubbish removed.
then he quotes, i do not wish to start your holiday on a "sour "note, i,am concerened to ensure that you leave the cottage as you found it.
actually it did leave me alittle sour,especially as when i arrived i had to 1. remove loads of cobwebs including 9 spiders c,os the kids would,nt sleep in there rooms. Had to move there beds out and found used earbuds bottles of cosmetics, labels, tissues etc.
2.clean kitchen bin,lid with stains all over.
3.empty clothes dryer filter, it was stuffed.
4.empty hoover, that was stuffed.
5.wash a cushion, that was wet and smelling on windowsill.
finally the back door did,nt lock and the cooker hob did,nt work.

to top things, the owner has not sent my £100. back, and every time i call he is convieniently with a client. it is supposed to be payed back within 2 weeks ,providing everything is o.k. well i guess it is now i,ve cleaned it. any way the people who i booked it with are looking in to it for me now, when i send a letter of complaint in that is. but i just wondered if anyone else has had this sort of trouble with bonds,i don,t feel i can trust it. my holiday for i week was over £600.,now £700, if i don,t get my bond back, it makes me really angry!!

wobbley

The asking for a bond for a holiday let sounds totally out of order to me. Would you pay a bond on a hotel room ??? I can sympathise with the owner but by the law of averages they are going to get crappy holiday makers some time and that should be taken into account. Alternatively they should check the cottage out on departure. I'd suggest a letter by recorded delivery asking for the £100 deposit within 7 days otherwise interest will be incurred and legal action swiftly follow. If I were you I'd also ask for a few quid for having to do the cleaning and tidying that you mentioned. Try find out from where you made the booking (internet, guide book, whatever) if they are registered with any of the many tourist organisations for this type of establishment. If it goes further a threat to contact them or the local tourist board may carry some weight.

miacat

hi, thanks for that wobbley, if the holiday company can,t help me i,ll take your advice on legal action, but guess what, the owner is a solicitor and i think he,s using this to put people off trying to do anything. the letter he sent me is on an official looking letter with his solicitors address on. no one has his personal address or phone no.

paul_h

I would tend to avoid booking properties which ask for bonds. If I did, it would be a post dated cheque which should be returned uncashed. If the owner retained the cheque without good reason, they would find it would be stopped when they tried to cash it.

I know this does not help you now, but did you book through an agent? If so your contract is with them and you should certainly pursue it with them in the first instance. If the owner made demands for a bond after the booking was made, I'm afraid I would have told them to stuff it.

Do as wobbley says, demand your bond back, with a clear penalty if it is not immediately forthcoming. If all else fails go to the small claims court or do it here

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco/index.jsp

Altarf

paul_h wrote:

If the owner retained the cheque without good reason, they would find it would be stopped when they tried to cash it.

You do realise that they could sue on the cheque not being honoured (including interest and costs) and they would receive judgement in their favour.

By giving someone a cheque you are acknowledging that you owe them money and there are very very few grounds for stopping the payment.

paul_h

Altarf wrote:

You do realise that they could sue on the cheque not being honoured (including interest and costs) and they would receive judgement in their favour.

By giving someone a cheque you are acknowledging that you owe them money and there are very very few grounds for stopping the payment.

It's a very good and valid point, but I still think I'd take my chances if I knew I was 100% in the right.

If, after a satisfactory inspection of the let by the owner and agreement that the cheque would be returned, the cheque was subsequently withheld and cashed, then I would think that the owner would be in breach of the original contract made over the bond.

If there is a dispute over the condition of the property, then that is a different matter entirely. You would have to stand the payment and pursue this through the correct legal channels, and make sure you gather as much evidence as possible to substantiate your claim.

Probably a better answer would be to pay the bond to a third party, say the letting agent, who could release the bond to the relevant party upon receipt of valid evidence in case of a dispute.

Or avoid property owners who make this demand... I have been booking holiday cottages for fifteen years, not once have I encountered having to pay a bond. However, this does not mean you are not liable for any damage caused...

miacat

thanks paul for your good advice. in future i,m only going to book property's that don,t ask for a bond, best to be safe then sorry!!!