Problems with getting my security deposit back from recent holiday!!!!

banana1975

I am not sure that I am posted in the right area but I am fuming with the service that I have/am receiving in regards to getting my security deposit back from a recent holiday in Cornwall.
We booked to stay in an apartment in Carbis Bay as a family of 5 and paid the money and also a 100.00 deposit we booked this through a letting agency called Carbis Bay Holidays.

Since return we have found out that the house owner of the property is also the housekeeper and has told the letting agents that they needed to clean the flat for 10hours!!! to make it presentable and that we left it in a filthy state and they have seen how the other half live.

I dispute this and spent the morning of departure cleaning the house but admit to leaving some food in the fridge and that my son used the toilet before he left and used the toilet brush and left a bit of poop on it. I have apologised for this.

They have stated that I left the dishwasher dirty, furniture had been moved and left - this is not true we did move the furniture but only because the fireplace had the sharpest corners for our baby and did not want him to hurt himself. We moved everything back before we left.

I am livid as the letting agents are only interested in what the housekeeper/owner is telling them. They are based in Nottingham so would not have been able to see what "filth" I was supposed to have left it in.

Now to add insult to injury they have stated that I damaged a table which was part of a nest and they need to replace the whole thing - It looked like it had come from IKEA and was white chipboard. I did no such thing at all.

I have now checked the website and they are now stating that the owner will only accept children over 7, when I asked why this is now on there and was not on the site when I booked the holiday they have advised that the owner has the right to impose any conditions that they like in regards to their bookings.

What can I do in regards to disputing the damage to the flat? Seems to me to be a scam that they get more money for the booking.

IvanOpinion

banana1975 wrote: »

... my son used the toilet before he left and used the toilet brush and left a bit of poop on it. I have apologised for this.

Damned right you should apologise to him ... making the poor wee soul use a toilet brush ... toilet paper is much softer

Ivan

IvanOpinion

Without casting any jufgement .. I have rented houses out and some peoples definition of 'clean' really does leave a lot to be desired. I usually clean my rentals myself (and it does take about a day to do properly) but on one occasion after a tenant claimed to have cleaned the house I had to get a team of professional cleaners in and carry out some decorative work.

On the other hand, while I don't 'expect' there to be any damage (assuming people treated the contents with respect) I often come across minor damage and ignore it (such as chipped furniture, chipped crockery, scratches in woodwork etc.) ... especially if the tenant was pleasant and points it out and apologises ... on the other hand writing on the walls, putting stickers over the walls, filthy carpets, kicked in door, broken windows, collapsed bed etc. I would, and have, charged for. Moving furniture round should not have been an issue (unless carpet got damaged).

My pet hate though is people who do not leave the bathrooms/shower rooms as they find them .. simply because I hate cleaning these (not even fussed on doing my own not to worry cleaning up after someone else).

I am afraid that while you may have got a dodgy landlord there will very much be two sides to this story. If the landlord is anything like me then the one thing I have on me as soon as I get possession back is a camera.

Ivan

banana1975

IvanOpinion wrote: »

Damned right you should apologise to him ... making the poor wee soul use a toilet brush ... toilet paper is much softer

Ivan

This made me chuckle!! Made my morning.:rotfl:

banana1975

IvanOpinion wrote: »

Without casting any jufgement .. I have rented houses out and some peoples definition of 'clean' really does leave a lot to be desired. I usually clean my rentals myself (and it does take about a day to do properly) but on one occasion after a tenant claimed to have cleaned the house I had to get a team of professional cleaners in and carry out some decorative work.

On the other hand, while I don't 'expect' there to be any damage (assuming people treated the contents with respect) I often come across minor damage and ignore it (such as chipped furniture, chipped crockery, scratches in woodwork etc.) ... especially if the tenant was pleasant and points it out and apologises ... on the other hand writing on the walls, putting stickers over the walls, filthy carpets, kicked in door, broken windows, collapsed bed etc. I would, and have, charged for. Moving furniture round should not have been an issue (unless carpet got damaged).

My pet hate though is people who do not leave the bathrooms/shower rooms as they find them .. simply because I hate cleaning these (not even fussed on doing my own not to worry cleaning up after someone else).

I am afraid that while you may have got a dodgy landlord there will very much be two sides to this story. If the landlord is anything like me then the one thing I have on me as soon as I get possession back is a camera.

Ivan

Thanks for this Ivan

I know in my heart that I left this property in a good clean condition and did not break anything as otherwise I would have pointed this out.

I made sure that my children were respectful of the property and would not dream of letting them draw on walls use stickers etc in a rented house.

I believe that there is always going to be cleaning after a rental and that is why I did not make the beds to the standard at home but everything else including the kitchen was clean and presentable.

In regards to the bathroom I did leave it as I found it with the exception of the toilet brush but at least it was used for was it was intented would be a different story if we had used something else.

What do you do in the situation that I am in?

I was more upset by the comments against us on the report such as we have seen how the other half live - must have let the children eat off the floor!! I did point out that as there was no hoover in the flat which was meant to be it was a case that I had hand picked all the items up off the floor but could not hoover if there was not one.

I am still mad as a hatter about this. 100.00 is a lot of money to us. We have used these people before a couple of years ago in another property. I have pointed out that I left this one in the same condition and was not imposed such penalties but seems that the company are not interested in my opinion.

hollydays

If you left some food in the 'fridge,I guess this may also mean you didn't clean the 'fridge.This is one thing self catering places really hate.
Think I would expect a Hoover in this country,unless they were all tiled floors.If they were,was there equipment for you to clean them?

IvanOpinion

Drawing on a couple of things you mention

banana1975 wrote: »

I believe that there is always going to be cleaning after a rental and that is why I did not make the beds to the standard at home

I wouldn't expect beds to be made on the final day (usually left in a semi-neat turned down form) since I expect to have to remove and change all linen. Strangely I am most happy at those that strip the beds and fold the dirty linen into a corner of the room (however other landlords may not like this).

What do you do in the situation that I am in?

Sadly the report by the 'cleaner' is probably all anybody has to go on (rightly or wrongly).

I was more upset by the comments against us on the report such as we have seen how the other half live - must have let the children eat off the floor!! I did point out that as there was no hoover in the flat which was meant to be it was a case that I had hand picked all the items up off the floor but could not hoover if there was not one.

If there was no vaccuum one has to wonder how you were expected to clean the floors

The sort of comments you mention are out of order and while I may sometimes think it I keep any reports strictly factual backed up with photographs.

Ivan

banana1975

hollydays wrote: »

If you left some food in the 'fridge,I guess this may also mean you didn't clean the 'fridge.This is one thing self catering places really hate.
Think I would expect a Hoover in this country,unless they were all tiled floors.If they were,was there equipment for you to clean them?

I was only there 4 days so I think that the fridge was clean except for the few items I left in it. It was only milk, butter etc that was in there. I don't even clean my fridge at home every 4 days and I use and abuse that much more.

I thought that this point was really petty along with some other points. I have stayed in other accomodation and not taken such care when I leave as I did here I think that is why I am so upset and angry about the situation.

I am not a filthy person and have a neat and presentable house and I left there flat in the same condition. We were a last minute reduced booking and I feel that they are trying to recoup their monies by keeping my deposit.

pinkshoes

It's a holiday let, and any professional company would encorporate a cleaning fee into the rental price. The £100 deposit should be for any severe breakages like child kicking football through window, or smashing the tv etc... and not for cleaning.

You could write to them stating that the apartment was cleaned as requested in the paperwork, and unless you receive your deposit back within 7 days, you'll be starting the procedure to take them to the small claims court.

banana1975

Thank you for your reply Pink Shoes

I think that this may be the route that I have to take but worry that I also have no proof how I left the flat as much as they do not have any proof that I did not leave it in the condition that they say I left it in.

I am going to speak to the letting agent today as they seem to have sided with the owner but it states in the contract that the monies will not be released to the owner until both parties are happy.

stugib

I had the same thing with a private residential flat let after spending hours cleaning it and the letting agent doing an inventory and not reporting any problems. I'm pretty sure some landlords see it as a nice little bonus they can demand from everyone because they know a lot of people won't take them on. It's certainly the last time I let a landlord hold a deposit, as the letting agent advised me to do.

I wrote my landlord a legal-sounding letter (complete blag but what the hell!), and demanded to see receipts for the cleaning work he said he had to have done - he caved in and, along with a very bitter letter paid me my money back.