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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Holiday let and bin

108 replies

kirstlatta · 09/04/2022 19:41

Hi guys

After an opinion. We paid a £250 deposit for a holiday let deposit. They are charging us £125 for over full kitchen bin, not emptying the bedroom bins and a bowl of dried leaves the kids left behind(as a present for the next people, which obviously we knew they wouldn't want but kinda thought they would just empty it!) The kitchen bin did have the stuff from the kitchen but their guest book said no need to worry about your bins (we emptied them daily until the last day) but they meant putting them out to be collected when I asked for clarity. No breakages, no stains, just a unemptied kitchen bin, some rubbish in the bedroom bins and some leaves in a bowl. They are charging us £125 for this. It's our first holiday for 3 years as our son has being shielding so can't describe how this has marred it.

OP posts:
sweeneytoddsrazor · 09/04/2022 19:45

Sounds a lot of money but I would have emptied the bins

Meadmaiden · 09/04/2022 19:48

Ask for their receipt for extra cleaning costs. I doubt there is much. Yes bins should always be emptied, but this does sound like far too much.

TooManyPJs · 09/04/2022 19:48

Leaving a bowl of leaves is a bit odd. I'd have probably just emptied that out after the kids were in the car rather than leave it for the owners/cleaners/next guests tbf but it's not a big deal in the whole scheme of things.

Tbh I would expect the property to be fully cleaned and bins emptied after we had left. At any holiday cottage. I don't expect to clean while on holiday and even if I did, it'd be a quick whip round, not a full in between guest clean which would be needed anyway.

However even if you had agreed to hire the cottage on the basis that you'd do a full clean yourself, it doesn't cost £125 to empty and couple of bins and a bowl ffs. I could do that in 10 minutes. They are taking the absolute piss there.

How did you hire it, was it direct or through an agency?

44PumpLane · 09/04/2022 19:49

Sounds excessive!

TheArtfulBlogger · 09/04/2022 19:50

Wow that is ridiculous!!

I would ask for pics and be armed for Small Claims Court

Original poster
kirstlatta · 09/04/2022 19:51

It's something I would normally do, but I genuinely misread the info and not playing the disabled card but packing up my son's vent, specialist bed, feeding pump, oxygen, meds all took time and I genuinely thought phew at least once thing less I need to do. More upset about the amount to be fair. A cleaner for the day wouldn't cost that much so think for emptying a few bins it seems excessive. But appreciate the feedback as helps me think if it's worth trying to fight

OP posts:
Hugasauras · 09/04/2022 19:51

That does seem excessive, especially as it doesn't look like their information was well worded ('don't worry about the bins') if you had to seek clarification afterwards. No way it costs £125 of someone's time to empty a bin.

Is it through an agency or did you go direct? I would ask for an itemised breakdown of costs.

SnackSizeRaisin · 09/04/2022 19:54

Sounds excessive. £125 would pay for a full day of a cleaner's time so I'd only expect to pay that much for serious dirt and mess. Were there definitely no breakages?
If it was through an agency I would complain

Original poster
kirstlatta · 09/04/2022 19:55

No full clean agreed, as they said they would do that but I genuinely misunderstood about the bins, so just emptying them and the one bowl of leaves.

OP posts:
LIZS · 09/04/2022 19:56

Bins should be emptied and leaves discreetly discarded but £125 is excessive. Was that really all, everything else tidy and clean.

Hugasauras · 09/04/2022 19:57

Trading Standards maybe?

JayAlfredPrufrock · 09/04/2022 19:59

That’s ridiculous

We’ve seated in a cottage a couple of weeks ago. They expected us to drag the wheely bins to the end of the lane for collection.

Aye right.

Considering the entry and exit times had been reduced thereby taking 3 hours off us they had Bob Hope and no hope.

BakedTattie · 09/04/2022 20:01

I would write them back saying you’ll pay £20 and no more.

I own a holiday let, and I think they are CF’ers

Original poster
kirstlatta · 09/04/2022 20:02

No breakages and we hoovered through and wiped through

OP posts:
Original poster
kirstlatta · 09/04/2022 20:02

They have even confirmed that's all.

OP posts:
LillethCrane · 09/04/2022 20:03

Completely excessive, and with a small guest with complex additional health needs- they need to get over themselves. This is such a non-issue in the grand scheme of things and makes them seem so grabby

winterchills · 09/04/2022 20:04

That's absolutely awful ridiculous. I would be arguing with them about that. It would have taken them two minutes to empty the bins. Yeh you should have but you mis read it fgs! People are so cheeky these days

MaChienEstUnDick · 09/04/2022 20:08

FFS what is it with holiday places right now? I get it, you had a tough time with Covid but if you want ppl to keep using places in the UK (as opposed to being compelled to during the pandemic) then just stop and think about building long-term customer relationships!

You say the place was going to be cleaned anyway? So there were already cleaners on site, so wtf with £125 charge for some bins? You absolutely should complain. No fucking way.

alwaysneedanap · 09/04/2022 20:13

wow, I have a holiday let, and the bin is not emptied at least half the time, takes 30 seconds to tie the top and put out the front door!

I would imagine they have a clause somewhere regarding ' excessive mess', but I would argue the amount and suggest a small £ amount as a gesture.

I don't charge that much when I have to use the carpet cleaner or replace bedding and towels - I just pass the actual cost on to people with a receipt. crazy!

purplesequins · 09/04/2022 20:21

what do the t&c say?

120£ seems exessive.
I would agree to a nominal amount, say 40£

but really, taking bins out is standard in holiday lets.

LumpyandBumps · 09/04/2022 20:33

I would ask for the invoice from the cleaning company used, ensuring that a full description and record of time spent was included.

There is no possible way that they can justify that charge unless a cleaner had to drive miles to them just to empty those bins, which would be ridiculous as someone must have been there to re make beds, etc.

I dislike deposits for many reasons. They would never have tried to charge you £125 if they had sue you for it.

Heronwatcher · 09/04/2022 20:33

As others have said, ask them to justify the costs in full and report them to the agency if you need to. I refuse to let properties through Airbnb for precisely this reason- some holiday let landlords really take the piss. One left a bad review of us about a very small amount of sand on the floor of the utility room in a family property next to a beach! If you do have to pay then be sure to leave an honest review which mentions the charges.

scoobydoo1971 · 09/04/2022 20:37

I run holiday lets. We don't have a deposit system. The state some of the chalets are left in...you could write a book, absolutely disgusting. I wouldn't have fined you for small matters like a bin or leaves. I have dealt with chalets containing drugs left everywhere, flooded bathrooms, big holes in floor boards and worktops from a fire, dog waste all over the carpets, a week of soiled nappies stored in the immersion tank cupboard, used tampons dumped everywhere, urinated beds and sofas...it is a tough gig being a holiday let landlord. I would demand pictures, and then ask your credit card to charge back the deposit. Leave bad reviews everywhere,.

sparklystar333 · 09/04/2022 20:43

we have a holiday let which is 100 miles away, on the few occasions guests haven't put the wheely bin at the end of the road, i have had to drive there to empty the bin involving taking black bags and decanting rubbish into bags and putting them in my car. A 4 hour round trip. It's very hard to find a cleaner where we are and she doesn't drive to transport bin bags. Saying that, I haven't ever charged but it's a real pain.

Kezzie200 · 09/04/2022 20:50

We left one last week and the area had super complicated bin system.

We put our main rubbish tied in the main bin but that won't go for 10 days as that's the collection schedule.

The food waste we got rid of mid week when it was being collected but had more to go when we left so tied it and left it in that external bin.

Recycling we missed the collection but filled the correct boxes or think we did.

Honestly, it felt like the Krypton Factor getting it all right.

We stripped the beds, put towels in the shower, emptied the bins and wiped around bathrooms and toilets etc, leaving everything tidy and all washing up done and put away. We didn't do the floors as we couldn't see a hoover.

I thought in the UK cleaners did all of this and we were being helpful!