My husband and I have just had a week in the Lake District in a self catered cottage. It was a lovely cottage, but we did notice early on that a couple of the cushions were a bit grubby, as well as there being spiders webs in a few corners etc. Given that it was such beautiful week, we were barely inside at all, and it didn't bother us at all.
Unfortunately the one evening we went out, we locked the dog in the kitchen to prevent them jumping on the sofa, and being an opinionated little brat who is used to having the run of the house, she responded by chewing a towel and the edge of rug.
As we left today, we stripped all the beds, and thew them beside the washing machine to make it easier for the cleaner. As an afterthought, I stripped the dirty cushion covers too and put them with the linen so it wouldn't be missed/ covered up for the next people. We also emailed the agents running the house, apologised for the damage and asked them to let us know the cost of replacement and that we would transfer the money to them.
We've just arrived home and have an email from them saying that we left the house in an unacceptable condition (we didn't- we brushed, cleaned and vacuumed, as we always do), and that they are charging us for the following items: Rug and towel with hole in them- appears to be chewed by dog. Cushions and throw: stained and needing dry cleaned.
I'm super naffed off because we could easily have hidden the damage, and now just feel that they are taking advantage of our honesty. The things that they want dry cleaned are all the things that I set aside to bring to their attention. I realise now that I should've complained straight away, but really, on a week like we've had, we spent all day out exploring and evenings in the garden, so the living room barely got used.
So would I be unreasonable to reiterate that we will gladly pay for the damage we caused but that we won't be paying for the rest?