£4000 taken from credit card for damages to holiday apartment

PamelaNapier · 16 May 2018 at 10:40AM

I am looking for advice. Last week my 2 sisters and I (all of mature age) stayed in an apartment in Leeds. We found this apartment on booking.com. The stay went without problem there was just one detail we felt required addressing regarding the patio doors so I emailed them and thanked them for a lovely stay just before we left. We were not the first to pick up on this problem as noted in another review. When my sister who booked the apartment looked at her email on Monday morning. The company owners of the apartment had emailed to say we had left either accidental or malicious damage to the property. It was not concerning the patio doors but they sent photographs of a shower head detached from the hose part lying in the bath. The hose lodged underneath the shower panel. It was flooding the floor. They claim the flood was reported by downstairs flat 2 stories down 50 minutes after we left. They also claim that the door was unlocked and the neighbour had been able to gain access to situation. This person went on to take photos and videos which have been sent to my sister. We are very obsessive when leaving an apartment and ensured the apartment was not left like this and the door was definitely locked. Witnessed by all 3 of us. They have taken £4000 from my sisters credit card. They claim we have damaged to 3 apartments. When booking this apartment my sister signed a contract online which talked about taking £250 if any sign of smoking in bold letters and further down states any damages will be debited from bookers card. We have asked the credit card company to dispute this and are about to complete a form. We have reported the matter to the police but they think it may be a civil court matter. Booking.com can not help. We are devastated as we know the flat was left the way we found it and have been wrongly accused. Any advice?

tacpot12 · 16 May 2018 at 12:35PM

If you know the hose/shower head were still attached when you left the property, I think you have to fight this through the courts. It is not unreasonable for the owner to think that the last occupants were the ones to cause the damage, so you are going to have to find out who else had a key.

I would try to speak to the neighbours to see if they know anything, or can tell you who might have had access to the flat. You need to share any evidence you find that another person could have done this with the owner and the card company. Without any evidence you will find it very difficult to dispute it. I know you will not want to travel back to Leeds if it is any distance but given the sum involved, I would suggest that it is both worth it AND necessary. I would ask to see the damage to all three appartments and document what the extent of the damage is yourself.

If your sister (card holder) has buildings and contents insurance she may well have access to a legal help line that might be able to provide some good advice on how to proceed.

Worst case is you split the cost three ways so that your sister is not bearing the entire cost herself.

The police won't get involved unless you can provide evidence that the owner knows who did cause the damage and has fraudulently claimed it off you. Your sister needs to find a cheaper way to borrow her share of the cost if she doesn't have any savings that would cover this - she doesn't want to be paying credit card rates on a large bill like this.

Good luck with this - it's nasty problem to have to deal with.

pimento · 16 May 2018 at 1:12PM

Presumably, the cleaner would have gone in after you left and might reasonably have been using the shower head to rinse off the bath. I would be suggesting that she flooded the flat.

Browntoa · 16 May 2018 at 1:39PM

Ring the credit card and dispute the charge

jonnygee2 · 16 May 2018 at 2:00PM

The credit card company dispute system is the way to go. Hopefully it will be successful.

Sounds extreme, but I always have a spare credit card I use for deposits and nothing else. When I leave a flat or car rental, I cancel the card and order a new one. This kind of thing is quite common and once someone has your active card details, there's very little you can do to stop them from using them. I've seen car companies issue presentments for damages months after a car has been returned.

Candyapple · 16 May 2018 at 2:15PM

jonnygee2 wrote: »

The credit card company dispute system is the way to go. Hopefully it will be successful.

Sounds extreme, but I always have a spare credit card I use for deposits and nothing else. When I leave a flat or car rental, I cancel the card and order a new one. This kind of thing is quite common and once someone has your active card details, there's very little you can do to stop them from using them. I've seen car companies issue presentments for damages months after a car has been returned.

It wouldn't prevent a company from taking money out just because you've cancelled the card because you have already pre-authorised them to do so, so it's a pointless exercise you doing this. The same way that continuous payment authorities will still keep taking payments regardless of if you say the card has been lost/stolen.

zagfles · 16 May 2018 at 4:04PM

I'd be very suspicious of a rental that included such terms - it's not normal at all. Sometimes a limited deposit is required, maybe £100 or so, but never in the thousands (or unlimited).

How did you checkout, what did you do with the keys? Was it physical keys, or a code, or a card? What was the problem with the patio doors, were they insecure, could someone have got in through them?

Disputing it with the CC company is the way to go.

PamelaNapier · 16 May 2018 at 10:26PM

Thanks for all your comments. We are hoping credit card company will take this on but we are also in process of seeking advice from citizens advice. Going down to Leeds is very tempting but for all I know these neighbours could be part of this set up. I don!!!8217;t think they would be keen to let a stranger into their apartments. The keys were picked up from shop keeper over road but they don!!!8217;t know which apartment you are in as code is given by us to them to release keys. The code is emailed to us before picking keys up. The patio doors are worth thinking about. They were certainly locked from inside when we left but they were definitely faulty.This is an awful situation and everyone I speak to says they have never heard anything like it. Thanks once again for your time and efforts to answer my query.

maxximus75 · 16 May 2018 at 10:32PM

I am surprised that they managed to come up with a £4000 figure so quickly for repairs?

Emily_Joy · 17 May 2018 at 7:13AM

PamelaNapier wrote: »

We are devastated as we know the flat was left the way we found it and have been wrongly accused. Any advice?

I would go to Leeds simply to see that the damage is indeed in the apartment we've stayed in. The showers in the same apartment blocks quite often look very similar.

2e0arr · 17 May 2018 at 7:24AM

pre authorisation breaches the principles of the fca. the fca are currently looking at pre authorisation and the recent issues at asda. You can take your credit card company to the FO.

I wonder if a section 75 claim can apply here or a chargeback?

get your money back!

Have you been charged with criminal damage vandalism ?

Who decides you are at fault ?

£4000 seems a rounded up figure, different to £4,097.31. its an over estimated guesstimate

£4000 taken from credit card for damages to holiday apartment

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