Holiday Deposit Refund
Discussion
Back in April my Dad booked a holiday cottage for August and paid a £680 deposit - although we were talking about this holiday, it took me by surprise that he booked this as I was expecting to deal with it. My Dad has a number of care needs and on review the property he had booked was not going to be suitable.
Within a week I contacted the owners of the property and let them know we needed to cancel the booking - explaining that it wasn’t suitable given his needs and requesting that the deposit was returned.
They acknowledged this and immediately relisted the property for the week it had been booked, but did not return the deposit, instead saying that a (non-specific) portion of it would be returned in the event of it being booked for that time period and referring me to the T&Cs (deposit not refundable).
I’ve now checked and according to their website the property has been booked for the week in question and I’ve chased them to ask on the status of the refund. What should I reasonably expect to be given back to my dad, and what are the next steps I should take if a disproportionately small amount is given back or none is given back?
In my completely non-expect view, taking into account they had 4 months to relet it and have appeared to have done so I can’t see the justification for anything beyond a £50-100 administration fee, if not the whole thing? I know the T&Cs say what they say (non-refundable deposit etc) but it can’t be considered a fair contract where they’re getting money for absolutely nothing?
But like I say, I’m not an expert so curious as to how hard I should be pushing them?
Within a week I contacted the owners of the property and let them know we needed to cancel the booking - explaining that it wasn’t suitable given his needs and requesting that the deposit was returned.
They acknowledged this and immediately relisted the property for the week it had been booked, but did not return the deposit, instead saying that a (non-specific) portion of it would be returned in the event of it being booked for that time period and referring me to the T&Cs (deposit not refundable).
I’ve now checked and according to their website the property has been booked for the week in question and I’ve chased them to ask on the status of the refund. What should I reasonably expect to be given back to my dad, and what are the next steps I should take if a disproportionately small amount is given back or none is given back?
In my completely non-expect view, taking into account they had 4 months to relet it and have appeared to have done so I can’t see the justification for anything beyond a £50-100 administration fee, if not the whole thing? I know the T&Cs say what they say (non-refundable deposit etc) but it can’t be considered a fair contract where they’re getting money for absolutely nothing?
But like I say, I’m not an expert so curious as to how hard I should be pushing them?
They can keep a portion for admin costs etc, but cannot keep the full deposit. That would likely constitute an unfair contract term under the Consumer Rights Act.
You can remind them that failure to comply with trading standards law can lead to enforcement action and to sanctions, which may include a fine and/or imprisonment.
You can remind them that failure to comply with trading standards law can lead to enforcement action and to sanctions, which may include a fine and/or imprisonment.
abzmike said:
If the T&C says non-refundable deposit, they are not obliged to give you anything. You’ll need to appeal to their good nature.
Agreeing with Thesprucegoose, this is incorrect. Contracts with consumers cannot simply say anything or they risk falling foul of the unfair contract terms rules.Thesprucegoose said:
Wrong they can write whatever contract they want but they MUST refund a portion minus admin costs, if rented out again.
Hmm, ok good to know, I stand corrected. However I would have thought best for the OP not to resort to quoting the Consumer Rights Act in the first instance and try a gentler approach.garyhun said:
Sounds like the OP has already tried to be gentle.
Yeah, and maybe they’ll respond and it’ll be fine but I get the feeling it won’t go that way. I’m wondering whether threatening to start the Money Claim Online process would be a good next step? I’m not sure how easy that would be to do on behalf of my dad though. 4 months I would ring them up, give them 7 days to resolve, send a letter to confirm this, inform trading standards then do a moneyclaim. Keep all evidence as well, like advert showing not available etc, before they remove it.
You state your rights(dads) because they are your rights and 5 months on, no money received isn't acceptable behaviour. I've sent money claims to very big companies before, got very quick results, the law is on your side..
You state your rights(dads) because they are your rights and 5 months on, no money received isn't acceptable behaviour. I've sent money claims to very big companies before, got very quick results, the law is on your side..
Begall said:
garyhun said:
Sounds like the OP has already tried to be gentle.
Yeah, and maybe they’ll respond and it’ll be fine but I get the feeling it won’t go that way. I’m wondering whether threatening to start the Money Claim Online process would be a good next step? I’m not sure how easy that would be to do on behalf of my dad though. CMA said:
Businesses can keep your deposit or advance payments, or ask you to pay a cancellation charge, only in certain circumstances.
If you cancel the contract, the business is generally only entitled to keep or receive an amount sufficient to cover their actual losses that directly result from your cancellation (eg costs already incurred or loss of profit).
Businesses must take reasonable steps to reduce their losses (eg by re-selling the goods or services).
Non-refundable deposits should only be a small percentage of the total price.
Cancellation charges must be a genuine estimate of the business’ direct loss.
.If you cancel the contract, the business is generally only entitled to keep or receive an amount sufficient to cover their actual losses that directly result from your cancellation (eg costs already incurred or loss of profit).
Businesses must take reasonable steps to reduce their losses (eg by re-selling the goods or services).
Non-refundable deposits should only be a small percentage of the total price.
Cancellation charges must be a genuine estimate of the business’ direct loss.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cancell...
Write to them pointing out the above and giving them 7 working days to refund the money less an amount for reasonable admin costs.
Those will be small especially if the advertising/letting is being conducted online.
Get the evidence you need so that if they fail to respond your Dad is ready to pursue the matter further.
First step: a Letter Before Action (this is a must). If they ignore that then off he goes to MCOL.
You can do all the donkey work but he has to be the one to sign the letters and pursue any litigation if needed.
You only need to send one letter. MCOL costs money so better to try and resolve but if not resolved you do a MCOL, another letter will be sent by MCOL.
There are loads of templates by key details should be amongst many, a deadline for reply and
that you’ll start court proceedings if you don’t get a reply.
But try to resolve first, by telephone etc..
There are loads of templates by key details should be amongst many, a deadline for reply and
that you’ll start court proceedings if you don’t get a reply.
But try to resolve first, by telephone etc..
Edited by Thesprucegoose on Saturday 6th July 14:47
Thesprucegoose said:
As stated before it is irrelevant.
Only if it's unfair. If they have let it then, of course, they can only keep what is reasonable. But they may be able to keep it until the second party have paid in full or the deposit may still be less than the loss of profit if the contract had been completed.
We have a holiday let and our terms and conditions set out the cancellation charges at the time of booking.
The % cancellation fee increases the nearer a booking gets to the start of the stay, this means that the nearer the stay the less chance of rebooking.
This is a fair and reasonable interpretation of the law.
The OP needs to check the terms and conditions they agreed to initially and see if they are being complied with.
If they are not being followed then they know where they stand.
If they are being followed the property owners will need to justify the basis of them to demonstrate they are fair.
I suspect most property owners are ignorant of the law and try and impose unfair terms.
However, in my experience cancellation fees are a cause of resentment, as renters believe it has not cost you anything for them to cancel.
The % cancellation fee increases the nearer a booking gets to the start of the stay, this means that the nearer the stay the less chance of rebooking.
This is a fair and reasonable interpretation of the law.
The OP needs to check the terms and conditions they agreed to initially and see if they are being complied with.
If they are not being followed then they know where they stand.
If they are being followed the property owners will need to justify the basis of them to demonstrate they are fair.
I suspect most property owners are ignorant of the law and try and impose unfair terms.
However, in my experience cancellation fees are a cause of resentment, as renters believe it has not cost you anything for them to cancel.
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