Came back from a lovely self catering holiday in a cottage
Night before leaving cleaned the place thoroughly. Mopped all floors. Hoovered the rug. Washed and dried all towels we'd used.
Saturday morning just before leaving I straightened a chair and it knocked over a vase. And smashed it.
I'd no idea how much it was worth so left a note (I thought) swept up the bits and popped them in the bin.
Lady phoned me today (cottage owner) did I know anything about a missing vase. Said I'd left a note but apparently it wasn't there?
She said the vase was 15 years old and expensive £200 when bought new. She would take £100 as a replacement amount.
She asked if I used the hoover I said yes she said when the cleaner came to use it it wasn't working it was only a month old. I said it was working fine when I used it and it was.
Also she said some of the cleaning items were missing from the cottage (i used their bleach and disinfectant) and also there were no loo rolls left in the house or kitchen rolls. I used my own kitchen rolls and loo rolls.
She said she was aware that we had damage insurance. I was going to send her the money for the vase but am going to hold fire until I've spoken to the insurance company.
fed up feel like I can't have done much more than I did?
AIBU?
holiday cottage damage
careergirl · 17/08/2010 23:43
starbuck 999 to clarify the point it was a box of Roses and a little card. Thanks for the insinuation there! Made my day! I suspect the insurance company will ask for an itemised damage list and there will be a lot more on there than the items mentioned thus far i.e. inflated damage claim. Let the company and her slug it out between them. I'm sure I left a note about the vase she said there wasn't one there so there you go..
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
Surely a month-old vacuum cleaner will be under warranty? You didn't misuse it so even if it had (miraculously) stopped working after you used it it's not your fault. I'm assuming that, like most us, you have plenty of experience of vacuums at home, it's hardly like you were using a new and rare piece of specialist equipment 
).
The loo rolls, kitchen roll and cleaning products are there to be used - you shouldn't have to replace them (not when you're paying £600 per week). Likewise, breakages should be seen as part of holiday lets. I'm not advocating that it's ok to stay somewhere and carelessly fling the glassware around but I do think that leaving an expensive vase around is pretty stupid. If the vase was so valuable I should have expected her to point it out to you so that you could put it away if you wanted to. Was the rest of the place filled with priceless antiques?
I agree with everyone else that she's trying it on and, btw, I think it's pretty nasty of her to do so, especially when you'd been kind enough to leave the place so clean, leave chocs, etc..
Let the insurance company handle the vase issue (perhaps express your reservations to them), tell her to get the vacuum fixed under warranty and ask her to demonstrate why she is seeing this as your responsibility. I would also contact the letting agent and let them know about how she's treating you (a dishcloth FFS!). You could say that you would have let the lack of cleanliness and other shortcomings go but, given her conduct since you left, you feel pretty peeved and want to express that to them.
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