Being taken to small claims court
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KevinM2k_2
Posts: 91 Forumite
Hi,
I got married on the 25th August 2012, which cost easily over £10,000 just for the venue. I also paid for all 11 of the rooms for the family guests that we wanted to stay.
The day after the wedding we all checked out and all was fine... the day after that I was contacted by the hotel saying there was a coffee stain in one of the carpets that one of the guests had stayed in and they would try and get the stain out otherwise they would pass cost on to me.
I spoke to the guest in question (sister in law) who said her and another sister had been in the room before checking out and it was in absolute perfect condition - no stains at all.
She did mention that the kids where playing with the coffee granules in a cup with water, but had put them in the bin before leaving.
She spoke to the hotel about it, and they came to no agreement with the hotel manager saying his wife was one of the cleaners.
When they sent the photo to us, we studied it and it looked to us as if the cleaner had picked up the bag (with the coffee and water in it without checking), had walked across the room with the bag leaking which had then possibly hit a wall and split.
They have now contacted me telling me if I don't pay £180 to them they are going to take me to the small claims court as i'm liable as i'm the one that rented the room out for the guest.
I am not very happy about paying this for multiple reasons:
1. We paid over £10,000 at the venue (moot point granted)
2. I wasn't staying in the room at all
3. Both sisters in law have said there was nothing wrong with the room when they left so it is there word vs ours.
4. They have basically ruined our day as we will always look back at the hotel and think about them harassing us with letters about this stain.
5. We won't be able to ever stay there again for anniversary's etc because of the whole incident.
Where do I stand on this and what would other people suggest?
Thanks
Kevin
I got married on the 25th August 2012, which cost easily over £10,000 just for the venue. I also paid for all 11 of the rooms for the family guests that we wanted to stay.
The day after the wedding we all checked out and all was fine... the day after that I was contacted by the hotel saying there was a coffee stain in one of the carpets that one of the guests had stayed in and they would try and get the stain out otherwise they would pass cost on to me.
I spoke to the guest in question (sister in law) who said her and another sister had been in the room before checking out and it was in absolute perfect condition - no stains at all.
She did mention that the kids where playing with the coffee granules in a cup with water, but had put them in the bin before leaving.
She spoke to the hotel about it, and they came to no agreement with the hotel manager saying his wife was one of the cleaners.
When they sent the photo to us, we studied it and it looked to us as if the cleaner had picked up the bag (with the coffee and water in it without checking), had walked across the room with the bag leaking which had then possibly hit a wall and split.
They have now contacted me telling me if I don't pay £180 to them they are going to take me to the small claims court as i'm liable as i'm the one that rented the room out for the guest.
I am not very happy about paying this for multiple reasons:
1. We paid over £10,000 at the venue (moot point granted)
2. I wasn't staying in the room at all
3. Both sisters in law have said there was nothing wrong with the room when they left so it is there word vs ours.
4. They have basically ruined our day as we will always look back at the hotel and think about them harassing us with letters about this stain.
5. We won't be able to ever stay there again for anniversary's etc because of the whole incident.
Where do I stand on this and what would other people suggest?
Thanks
Kevin
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Comments
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Either pay or go to court and defend it. Up to you.0
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Why on earth did your sister-in-law throw the water and coffee granules in the bin rather than down a sink or loo? Bit of a silly thing to do wasn't it?0
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Either pay or go to court and defend it. Up to you.
Is it worth talking to the hotel in question? I've never been to court so don't really know what they are looking for...
Seen as there is no 'proof' that it was caused by the sister... how on earth could I be guilty for it? isn't it innocent until proven guilty?0 -
Is it worth talking to the hotel in question? I've never been to court so don't really know what they are looking for...
Seen as there is no 'proof' that it was caused by the sister... how on earth could I be guilty for it? isn't it innocent until proven guilty?
You could ask for a meeting with the manager and explain how the situation arose and also point out everything you mentioned in your first post. Maybe you'll be able to reach some agreement without going to court over it.
Are you on good enough terms with your sister-in-law to ask her to cough up say half the cleaning costs and offer that to the hotel? You could point out that you accept it wouldn't have happened if the coffee hadn't been put in the bin in the first place but that it was the cleaner who dripped the coffee all over the floor so you feel that you/sis and the hotel paying half each is fair.0 -
You could ask for a meeting with the manager and explain how the situation arose and also point out everything you mentioned in your first post. Maybe you'll be able to reach some agreement without going to court over it.
Are you on good enough terms with your sister-in-law to ask her to cough up say half the cleaning costs and offer that to the hotel? You could point out that you accept it wouldn't have happened if the coffee hadn't been put in the bin in the first place but that it was the cleaner who dripped the coffee all over the floor so you feel that you/sis and the hotel paying half each is fair.
I have tried that, but the manager says one of the cleaners is his wife, who tells him it was already there and our fault... so we are in a bit of a loop.
The actual total cost was £1800 apparently and they are only asking us to pay £180...
Although I do wonder about this, I mean surely a hotel would have insurance for a start?0 -
You'd have thought so wouldn't you? I think they're taking the !!!! a bit now from the sounds of it. £1800 for cleaning a coffee stain? Come off it.
If they won't be reasonable you might have to let it go to court so you can have a chance to explain your side of things.0 -
You'd have thought so wouldn't you? I think they're taking the !!!! a bit now from the sounds of it. £1800 for cleaning a coffee stain? Come off it.
If they won't be reasonable you might have to let it go to court so you can have a chance to explain your side of things.
They said they needed to replace the entire carpet as they couldn't get an exact match... it was a bit far fetched what they came up with.
If I did lose the court claim... what costs would be added to the £180?
TBH, a lot of the problem is the way they have ruined our experience... its a once in a lifetime experience (hopefully) and it cost a LOT of money, and for it to be ruined over something so small is just disappointing.0 -
Is it worth talking to the hotel in question? I've never been to court so don't really know what they are looking for...
Did you not say they were looking for £180 in damages?
Yes, it is always best to try and reach a mutually agreeable resolution out of court.
Court action should always be seen as a last course of action, certainly not the first.
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£1800 for replacing the carpet? How bigs the room?
We've just replaced the carpet in a 4m by 10m room, Really good quality carpet with the very best underlay, fully fitted, grippers, door bars, door resizing and rehanging for £800.
They would only have the carpet to replace, not all the other costs, so that price is totally OTT. Also surely in somewhere like a hotel they would get stain resistant carpet.Zebras rock0
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