holiday cottage damage

[careergirl]

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?

I work in the holiday let industry and whilst some of the owners have antique/expensive items on display most do not.They are always insured for these items.

Anything which was not for guest use should have been locked away (cleaning supplies etc)
Most owners will provide toilet rolls and kitchen roll as standard practice.

I am baffled by her behaviour. Does she have a security deposit from you? If so, then you can probably kiss that goodbye but do not give her any more money.

(I really hope I don't get to work tomorrow and find out this is one of the holiday homes I look after)

She's trying it on.

I would go through the letting agency. Tell them you are sorry for the accident but that you left a note, left the place spotless and were very disappointed with the condition it was in when you arrived - then tell them you don't want to hear another word about it or you'll be taking it further.

If I could guarantee people like you, I'd have a holiday let - you went well over your duty of care there !!

A dishcloth? She sounds a little bit loopy!

But, I can't work out how you only just "remembered" that you left a note and box of chocolates? How could you not know if you had or hadn't done this?

She's absolutely trying it on. I work in insurance law, and if someone makes a claim against one of our insureds, the first thing we'd do is demand an itemised list of damages with receipts, etc. So you need to ask her for that, first off. The onus is on her to prove her loss. Or, yes, let your insurance company deal with it. She'll probably just let it drop.

Starbuck999 - maybe "just remembered" because, being a nice person, and a thoughtful visitor (with just that vase as a blemish to an otherwise 'OK' stay - cannot say 'great' as finding cobwebs and so on gives a poor starting impression), it might just be that careergirl is fuming at the suggestion they had damaged the Hoover, nicked the loo rolls and kitchen towels, and then with a fuss being made over a grotty dish cloth, seems like plenty enough to have overlooked in the original post that she left a gift and a thank you note... probably felt it was undeserved after the contact since returning home...

Frankly, sounds to me like the cleaner helped herself to a loo roll and some kitchen towels, fibbed about the vacuum, and is leaving owner to accuse careergirl of excessive use...

"demand an itemised list of damages with receipts"

I think it might be worth saying that the insurers will expect that, and to be frank, while careergirl could pass the whole thing over to insurers, it'd be much nicer to give the other party the news she will need the receipt to prove her loss, just to hear her squirm!

careergirl - I'd suggest a text message (and explain no e-mail received so far - so in the text confirm your e-mail address too).

Might also be worth adding that having taken photos of the cobwebs and so on, you'll be only too happy to put a reviews online (and if you want it, I'll register a domain for the purpose, with a gallery facility for you to upload your photos!)... what should it be called? www.UK-holiday-lets-from-hell.info ?

maybe UK-hellish-holiday-let . info

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..

Cleaner probably took chocs,we hAve rented cotteages at least once a year for 20years,we try always to leave clean,but have never washed linen etc.Very few owners do own changeover so not surprised she didn't have note,but she sounds barking.I would leave letting agency to deal

This is shocking behaviour, I've never had any problems with any lets we have taken.
Make sure you keep us updated what the insurance company says.

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.

She is definitely a chancer. 200 vase in a holiday cottage, my butt. We used to have a friend who let holiday cottages, and she pulled this crap all the time. She said quite openly that it would boost her revenue. She routinely withheld deposits for things. One of her 'rules' was that no-one could ear shoes in the house, then would claim that someone had and she 'had to professionally clean the carpets' as a result. She said that most people would pay up to avoid nastiness, and if they did not she would threaten with small claims court.

This is one iof the many reasons why she is an EX friend..... that kind of dishonesty was a feature in her life in other areas too.

Really sorry careergirl, what a nasty end to a holiday. Good on you for taking photos though.

We do B&B, someone broke one of our DC's beds (don't ask) it is going to cost us £300 to replace with the same one. As a holiday provider we have sucked it up and will claim on insurance that is what it is there for.

Don't pay anything yet.

Also, we rent my old apartment out (full time tenants, not holiday) and we EXPECT that there is going to be a fair amount of damage that we just have to wear. It is just something that comes with the territory.

But oh heavens, using cleaning items?!!! (Honestly, that sounds so much like our former friend that I was wondering if it could be......)

Call her bluff careergirl. I love network guy's idea of a review site also. :)

No way was the vase £200, nobody puts that kind of thing in a holiday let. Our holiday apartment that we rent out is full of low-cost but very 'robust' items and we haven't yet had to spend any money on breakages over 3 years (apart from glasses/crockery which gets topped up every 6 months). I wouldn't dream of asking a customer to pay for breakages anyway, unless it was something obviously careless like the screen of the TV smashed in etc. Even if a leg of the dining table broke, I would probably still just suck it up and think hey ho, need a new table now.

Some people can be ridiculous though, I once stayed in a place where you weren't allowed to put anything hot or cold (like not even a clean dry cup) on the kitchen worksurfaces as they were slate and would mark. So what's the point in having them, and having the gall to call them worksurfaces. The cottage was full of little notes and rules about 'we have equipped our cottage with nice expensive things not cheap Ikea cr@p so we will be charging you £8 per broken cup/plate etc.' or words to that effect. Madnes...

She's trying it on, give her very short shrift and don't claim anything on your insurance.

D

I think you're getting too tangled up in this. I'd do two things and then forget it.
1 Contact the agency you found the cottage through and make a formal complaint in writing.
2 Contact your insurance company and do what they tell you to do.

If the Hoover is only a month old, then it'll still be under warranty.

Basically, until she comes up with a receipt for the vase and proof that it was you who broke the hoover - and then the insurance company can deal with it - she doesn't have a leg to stand on. It's as simple as that.

hate people like this, she sounds terrible. You went above what most would do and she clearly see your a nice person and trying it on. Tell her you need reciepts or valuation of vase.
cheeky moo

Gosh you are nice.

I tidy up, make sure nothing is broken and toss the towels in the machine.

What is the cottage so that none of us accidentally rent from her?

She is taking the piss.

Ask for reciepts and do nothing.

I suspect if she realises that you are not a pushover then the claim won't materialise.

Complain to the letting agency.

I agree with Myleetepony - contact the agency straight away and tell them exactly what you've told us. Also contact your insurers.

I'd make a further call, to your local trading standards office. I realise they aren't in her area, but they are incredibly helpful. I've phoned them many times over the years for various things and even if they can't help directly they a source of very helpful advice and suggestions as to what you can do.

As many have said, this woman is a con merchant - the £200 vase the 'missing' note, the broken vacuum cleaner, the inference that you 'stole' cleaning materials. It's bs.

How HORRIBLY grasping!

As everyone else has said, this person is really trying it on with you. My toddler broke I, too, have broken something when staying at a rental. We left the pieces with a note (which just happened to mention that the lamp came from BHS - the label was still on the base), and the owner wrote back to us asking us to give £10 a charity she supported. She also posted back a silk pillowcase that I had left behind.

I would not go through your own insurance. Why bother? It's her problem. Is it a one-off insurance premium (eg travel insurance) or would you be going through your home insurance? If you let your home insurance deal with it, they may not bother to argue the toss, just pay up and then hoick your premiums. Just like car insurers often do with relatively minor claims.

Definitely speak to the agency and complain very strongly about her behaviour. You have behaved perfectly well. She is being outrageous.