to think holiday lettings was rubbish and we should get some money back

[witch6]

So, we rented a property as a large group over new year. The day after I arrived, I complained that the place was not clean, the microwave did not work and the bins were overflowing.
Cue- man coming to look at microwave and no further action.
On our last day, we asked them to come over to see what we were unhappy with and they declined and asked for an email.
We sent a complaint email on our return with photographic evidence, received an unsatisfactory response, and then responded to this.
The owner is now refusing to answer further and refers back to his nonsense response.
I am more than a bit hacked off that I paid £680 for 4 nights staying in a dirty place- cobwebs, grimy carpets, knackered bathrooms, dead insects in light fittings and picture frames, and most importantly overflowing bins from the time of our arrival..
My son found a pretzel, when no-one in our party had brought pretzels....

[WorraLiberty]

He didn't take action on the microwave but did he empty the bins?

Why did you leave it til the last day, to ask them to come over and see what you were unhappy with?

Sorry, a little more info is needed.

[witch6]

no they did nothing. Bins were not emptied even though the wife agreed that they were overflowing and they should take some rubbish to the tip.
We complained that it was dirty and we were not happy. That the standard of accommodation was not as advertised.
We were expecting them to get back to us over the microwave and they did not communicate again with us.
What further information is required??

[CharminglyOdd]

TBH I would have chased them in the afternoon of the next day rather than leaving it, so YABU in that respect.

OTOH YADNBU to ask for a refund. Can you withhold payment or have you paid in full already?

[ThatVikRinA22]

did you get it through a holiday lettings agency or privately?

[witch6]

We had to pay the full amount in advance, so did so.
We booked it through their website.
I have to point out that the day I spoke to them was NYE, so next day was NYD, first family left that day, next 2 on 2nd Jan and us on 3rd.
So thought it was fair to leave it on NYD and bank holiday of 2nd Jan. Therefore asked on 3rd. They didn't want to look and asked us to send email instead; then they had a moan about the size of email as it contained the photos to show our points...

[butterfliesinmytummy]

I rent a holiday property through holiday lettings and that sounds horrible. I would be mortified if my house was rented in that state. Was the owner local to the rented property or was she relying on someone else to manage the house?

You should have complained more strongly at the start of your stay and I would have threatened to move into a hotel and bill the owner if no immediate action was taken.

I would write to Holiday Lettings, explain the situation and ask what recourse you have as a client. Holiday Lettings is the agency for Trip Advisor ... you might want to see if you property is on Trip Advisor villas too and leave some feedback.....

[ThatVikRinA22]

whose website? was it an agency you booked it through? or did you just book it privately with the owners?

if through a company i would complain in writing to them.

[CharminglyOdd]

Fair enough :) For comparison's sake we had a problem over Christmas and our holiday letting sorted a handyman out on Christmas Eve and gave us money off our electricity (we had to run extra fan heaters). I'd ask them for a discount for the cleaning and also the microwave and agree with the people who say write something on Trip Advisor.

If they really don't offer you anything then the final step could be to contact any agency/tourist information place that has them on their website/in a tourist book. Hope you get something sorted.

[witch6]

The owners' house is next to the rental property.
As it was a large group with multiple small children and dogs, moving would not have ben an option and the adults agreed to make the most of the time as we don't get to hang out so much anymore.
I agree maybe we weren't forceful enough, but the couple do really seem to be good cop, bad cop. She's very sweet and pacifying- she admitted they were having problems with their cleaners, offered a replacement microwave (didn't happen) and said they would take rubbish to the tip. He seems to be a lot of an A@£$. Has not responded to our complaint in full and not addressed out points.