to think hotels shouldn't invoice you for the toiletries?

[frangipani13]

Booked a weekend away for Dsis and DN for the former's birthday treat. DN must've got a bit carried away and took the mini shower gel/moisturiser home with her. B and B have left me a voice mail and sent an invoice for £44 quoting "stolen items" and threatening legal action if the invoice is unpaid. I've stayed in many many places of varying quality and have never experienced this. Has anyone else? AIBU to think this is a bit much?

To those saying they'd decant it before posting back,I think you'd find yourself charged for the product.

But....they're the tiny hotel ones? Used. How can it possinly be stealing. They barely last one wash! The conditioner especially.

Personally I wouldn't pay it or send the toiletries back. Really what can the hotel do about it? Chalk it up to being a lesson to your Dsis and DN not to take stuff if they haven't asked if it is free/part of the deal and for the hotel to be more specific with their guests re the toiletries not being part of the cost of their stay/for multiple guest usage.

However again I will say I think it is minging that a hotel would have a large bottle of shampoo in the guest bathroom and then all and sundry makes use of it. For how long is that bottle going to be sitting ther?. Is it topped up after each guest? Does that mean the old bacteria ridden product remains at the bottom of the bottle for ever more?

And why should guests have to bring their own? If I wanted to provide my own toiletries I would stay in a caravan or go camping. When I stay in a hotel I expect toiletries to be provided as part of the cost of my stay.

That said, I would expect small bottles of shower gel and shampoo, enough for a couple of uses. Not full size bottles.

They're 250ml bottles so not huge but not miniature either and definitely not worth 22 quid a pop but we've all learnt a valuable lesson! I'm guessing they refill them after every stay. I did say to the hotel they ought to put a note in the room regarding toiletries and the threat of debt collectors was harsh and the receptionist agreed...

250ml is hardly massive. I'd be tempted to decant them too. Well who am I kidding I'd have decanted them before we checked out and left the bottles with a bit of shampoo still in the bottom. I have short hair and DH has none. So we never use our fair share on site.

Send back the bottles 'with love from Rapunzel'

I'm really surprised they tried to charge you nearly the price of a crate of the bottles! 250ml really isn't that big and I wouldn't want to use a bottle of anything that had been used by previous guest who knows what they've deposited in it everyone takes hotel toiletries and I can't understand why they didn't just write it off as a normal cost! Weirdo b&b owners!

Of course they shouldn't have taken them, but the hotel are being ridiculously heavy handed over it. Put a review on trip advisor.

ha ha... ItMustBe I was going to say put a review on Trip Advisor!

The B&B should put a note re toiletries in future.

This is why I hate B&Bs, going into someone's home and following their bonkers rules.

So your sister didn't tell you the truth when you first asked. I wouldn't be repeating that present idea for her in a hurry!

I'm not surprised your sister is mortified. These weren't single-use bottles and that was quite obvious. It doesn't matter how much they cost, the hotel wasn't expecting them to be stolen and they were obviously 'nice enough' to be stolen. Perhaps the hotel should put obvious signs on the wall but really, do they need to do that? It's really low behaviour to steal.

I get that some of the 'decanting' to make it cheaper posts are joking. If I were the hotel, I wouldn't accept the bottles back - I'd go with the charge and, in the face of a huffed "I won't stay there again".... my response would be, "No, you will not."

Sorry that your gift has fallen a bit flat, OP. Hopefully your niece will have learned something about hotel-etiquette.

I did say to the hotel they ought to put a note in the room regarding toiletries and the threat of debt collectors was harsh and the receptionist agreed...

Good for you. It's really threatening behaviour.

Lying, how high is your moral high ground and is it edifying up there?

Wow, I'd leave them a stinking review on Tripadvisor for their behaviour! Usually, the toiletries in a hotel are free because the whole idea is that you use them... They don't accuse you of stealing when you use a bit of loo roll/shampoo/tap water, because they're consumables. It's natural to assume you can take consumables home with you and they should make it clear if they're not included in the room rate.

And 44 squid is greedy, given that they'd get trade prices for this stuff.

Plus they were being total bullshitters about 'theft' and 'debt collectors'. It was thoroughly unprofessional and I would tell them to do one. They should have left out signs or sent a polite note asking if there'd been a misunderstanding, at most.

Theft is theft Only. I don't like it. Perhaps stop with the moral high ground comments, they're a bit silly when there isn't one.

If I read a review on Tripadvisor as xia suggests, I'd just think what scummy guests - not for the mistake in taking the stuff - but in thinking they have the right to complain about being called on it.

Some of us don't want to stay in b&bs which, due to the actions of former guests, have signs up reminding people not to steal.

Not stealing should be pretty obvious. Especially large bottles of shampoo and toiletries, towels, bath robes, etc. as opposed to minis or sachets. Some people just can't help themselves, but at some point they have to learn a lesson. That's all that's happened here. No need for bad reviews on Trip Adviser (though to be honest, if I read a review from someone ranting about being hauled up for stealing, I'd be more likely to book it in the future, as it would be a good indication of the clientele of guest preferred).

Me too, TheChandler. I stay in hotels/B&Bs several times every week and hate the feeling of staying in places where some guests are so lacking that they have to steal everything not nailed down. The fact that some think it's justified makes it worse. I wasn't brought up to steal, the girl is 13, old enough to know and, if she was mine, she'd be enclosing a letter of apology to the B&B in with the (un-decanted from) bottles.

Lying, no, you are very much assuming the moral high ground going by your posts.

There is 'calling' guests on stealing (preventative measures like a polite sign and/or invitation to buy your own versions of the products; a polite letter afterwards saying things seem to be missing) and then there is a threatening letter out of the blue talking about "stolen items" and threatening legal action immediately. Not to mention marking up the price on the products massively.

I don't think the guests did right but I think the response was disproportionate. I'd be more unimpressed with the B&B than with the guests.

I did say to the hotel they ought to put a note in the room regarding toiletries and the threat of debt collectors was harsh and the receptionist agreed...

Couldn't agree more. I would find the idea of being threatened with debt collection agencies far more insulting that a politely worded note on consumables to request that the bottle be left for future guests to use. Trip Advisor provides an excellent forum on which to offer constructive words of advice for hotels and B&Bs - use it with gusto, OP!

Not for trade: according to the OP, £54 for a case of 20 250ml bottles of shampoo.

Slightly off topic but I think it's a bit eew having reusable large bottles of toiletries in B&B or hotel bathrooms (unless they are attached to a wall).

Only because I have some hotel owning friends who tell me stories of guests- who, when a bit drunk- have done some grim things in hotel kettles etc. I don't want to ask what has been put into the large shower gel/shampoo bottles. They have sealed lids for a reason.

It might not be that obvious to a 13 year old,that the bigger bottles can't be taken if she has stayed in other places that have mini bottles that you can take away with you.

The 250ml bottles are £2.95, so even if it was 3 bottles they don't cost more than a tenner. I bet they get loads of people who do take them. They are not going to take legal action for something of that value.

Well I don't steal. I don't make excuses or apology for that, Only. The 'good for you' in your post tells me that we're polar opposites on this. I'm ok with that.

Do you know much about buying in products for hotels? I know a bit. Some of the products are minimum order for buying bulk. There's VAT on top of that so whatever prices people are looking up, they need to add that on, plus courier/whatever.

If people don't want to be presented with an invoice (and I'm sorry it was the OP who got one), don't steal from these places you stay in. When I read the OP, I knew straight away it wasn't the single use bottles she was talking about. Hoteliers/proprietors should take action more often than they do and not be help to ransom with threat of bad reviews. It's easy to read reviews and see the real picture.

I took the mini bottle of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel from the hotel in which we spent our wedding night. They're in my 'wedding memories' box.

They were only the tiny ones, though.