Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Holiday accident...can they do this?

53 replies

Br1256 · 12/09/2018 07:23

I am on holiday with two friends in Spain in a very nice two bedroom two bathroom apartment. Unfortunately it has no air con. The receptionist gave us a fan for one of the bedrooms and told us to open the windows. Apartment block is on top of a v. steep hill, about 15 mins walk up from the beach and we are on the 14th floor ...lovely views with a wrap around balcony.....so quite safe to leave the windows open. It was really hot opened all the windows and went out. When we came back we found the tv had blown off the sideboard resulting in a black line about an inch deep on the screen. We reported it and they are saying we have to pay for a new tv.... What do you think?

OP posts:
Isadora2007 · 12/09/2018 08:19

@nutkins24

A break-in on the 14th floor would be pretty impressive!!!

I think the OP followed the advice given and the accident is therefore NOT her responsibility. And that’s also what their accidental insurance cover should be for.

senua · 12/09/2018 08:20

You can open the windows how wide on the 14th floor?Confused

The standard Mediterranean approach to sun is windows /shutters/curtains shut during the day and then open at night.

eelbecomingforyou · 12/09/2018 08:32

Aren't there safety locks on the windows preventing you opening them too wide, ie wide enough to fall out of??

It can be very windy and hot at the same time in the Med - especially near the sea.

I wouldn't have opened all the windows and gone out. (Mind you, the accident could have happened when you were in.)

Standard in hot countries is closed curtains/shutters in the day, open at night.

I think you're an adult so you should have been able to gauge the TV weight and wind. If you've opened windows on two/three sides of an apartment you can get a through wind which can be strong.

However, the owners advised you to open the windows! They should have accidental damage cover, so I think this is down to them.

Where are you? How warm is it? Still warm enough to swim in the sea? Have a lovely holiday!

hiddenmnetter · 12/09/2018 08:33

I wouldn’t pay. Accidental damage is the point of insurance. If they suspect it’s maliclious damage then prove it. You’re not obligated to pay. Did you have it all paid via a credit card? If so you’re in the fortunate position of being protected by section 75 protections. Do everything you can now to collect evidence that you were advised to open the windows to cool the apartment down, and then just disregard the issue.

Banks almost never take the side of the business. Got caught for an issue with a car hire company and went through s75. Once I could demonstrate I had tried to make contact with the company and they hadn’t responded the bank said yep fair enough, their problem, and gave me the money (£400) back.

GetOffTheTableMabel · 12/09/2018 08:34

Frankly, if a strong gust of wind caught the curtain and toppled the tv, I think that’s the sort of thing that could have happened right in front of you. If you’d be inside the apartment and on the other side of the room, it could still have fallen, surely? I think the fact that you were out is a bit of a red herring. You opened the window, as instructed, and then something blew over. I don’t think it’s your fault and it’s a matter for their insurers.

Aus84 · 12/09/2018 08:37

You were told to open the windows. You did just that. I don't see how you can be blamed for this??

powerwalk · 12/09/2018 08:37

The hotel should have insurance. Secondly you as a guest should be warned about the winds and to take care not to leave the windows wide open. This can not be the first time this has happened tbh

ShoobahProbottom · 12/09/2018 08:45

If it's that hot I can't imagine it would be that windy...

@Nikephorus you’ve clearly never experienced a sea “breeze” in a hot country then. They can reach 30-40mph mean wind speed in some cases.

OP is in a hot country near the beach - hence sea breeze.

Nikephorus · 12/09/2018 09:01

@Nikephorus you’ve clearly never experienced a sea “breeze” in a hot country then. They can reach 30-40mph mean wind speed in some cases.
You're absolutely right, I haven't! I've barely left the house in the last few years so sea breezes in the Med are not my speciality. I stand (or sit) corrected Grin

Womaningreen · 12/09/2018 09:07

You should not have to pay

I live on a high floor, the windows don't even open fully and the gusts of wind would certainly knock a tv off a table.

That could happen whether you're there or not. It's their responsibility. I have a slimline tv on a stand because no way could it just be sat on a table!

mouthkisses · 12/09/2018 09:23

The TV should be secured. But even if not the air con should work, and a notice not to open windows due to strong wind.

But you were excellent explicitly told to open the window.

Not your fault.

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 12/09/2018 09:28

Doesn’t matter you were out. You followed hotel’s advice so they should pay

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 12/09/2018 09:32

Did she tell you to keep the windows open whilst you were not home?

It will come down to whether it was reasonable for you to interpret her advice like that. I'd lean towards no; but I'm not there. If you can't settle it outright; you may need to offer a partial settlement?

TatianaLarina · 12/09/2018 09:32

Who goes out leaving the windows open - irrespective of the height of the flat? Wind is obviously going to be an issue.

The TV fell because you did something stupid, so obviously you have to pay.

Presumably you paid a security deposit - it will just come out of that.

NicoAndTheNiners · 12/09/2018 09:33

I think they should position the tv somewhere where it can’t be reached by a flapping curtain. I wouldn’t be paying.

TechnologicalAbyss · 12/09/2018 09:34

Some countries, I have no idea about Spain, expect you to have your own insurance to cover this kind of thing. It's a clause of the household insurance policy e.g. if the DC were to break something at school or a friend's house.
I think you are to be responsible- you left the window open, you didn't check nothing would blow around because you left the window open. And, as I tell my kids, "she told me to do it" is no excuse! Ultimately what you did caused the damage.

TatianaLarina · 12/09/2018 09:36

If you’ve paid a security deposit this is all moot as they will just take the funds out of that.

Bunintheoven88 · 12/09/2018 09:49

My PIL own an apartment in Spain and from last year it was illegal to rent it out commercially if the apartment did not have air con in place, so maybe have a look online and see if you can find anything out about the area you are staying in? If they had had sufficient air con, you wouldn't have needed to open the window in the first place.

frenchfancy · 12/09/2018 09:58

Accidental damange insurance in other countries does not work in the same way as it does in the uk. I don't know about Spain but in France this would come out of the renters insurance not the owners.

Do you have holiday insurance? I recommend anyone takes it out not just to cover medical expenses and missed flights, but to cover accidents like this.

Nothisispatrick · 12/09/2018 09:59

If it's that hot I can't imagine it would be that windy...

That’s not how wind works. I assure you wind from the Sahara is very very hot.

The hotel should have insurance and it was an accident. How much are they asking you to pay?

Womaningreen · 12/09/2018 10:00

Tatiana "The TV fell because you did something stupid, so obviously you have to pay."

so if a gust of wind blew the TV down while OP was in the bathroom, you think that's her fault too?

I live on a high floor. Things are secured to walls, tables etc for exactly that reason.

CesiraAndEnrico · 12/09/2018 10:13

The standard Mediterranean approach to sun is windows /shutters/curtains shut during the day and then open at night.

Yes.

But I went to live in a hot, sunny country after most of my formative years spent seeking as much light in the dark house (thanks to grey English skies) as possible.

Took a while to swap the habit of "seek light" to one of "keep out the hot".

And I lived there. I'd imagine a lot of holiday makers have their own culturally ingrained auto-pilot and don't necessarily spend long enough in hot countries to allow a change of auto-pilot to happen.

I've now spent more of my life in hot, sunny places than grey, drizzly ones. Still want the shutters cracked open a bit or it gets suffocating and I feel like mole in its daytime hole. And promptly get all depressed.

If you are going to rent internationally it is worth bearing in mind that there is no uniform auto-pilot as it relates to weather/windows & window gadgets, cos... climates are different and diverse habits are formed. So a little under estimating of holiday makers' ability to know the best course of action in a wide variety of scenarios could help avoid accidental damage, unhappy clients and pissed off landlords.

Nikephorus · 12/09/2018 10:35

I assure you wind from the Sahara is very very hot.
But if the wind is hot you wouldn't open the windows....

TatianaLarina · 12/09/2018 10:46

Mistral and Sirocco? These are summer winds.

And if you’re near the sea there’s generally a breeze even when it’s super hot.

Swipe left for the next trending thread