Holiday Cottage Nightmare

[AuntySandrasDauphinois]

Please can someone tell me what you would do in this situation?

We arrived at our (much anticipated) holiday cottage yesterday to find that it absolutely stinks. I have febreezed every surface so many times and it still stinks. It's worse downstairs but still absolutely awful upstairs, so bad that I struggled to get to sleep last night. We have been out all day today and just got back and honestly I want to cry. More than £1000 we've paid for the week!

I spoke to the woman in the local shop (when I was buying the febreeze!) and she told us some of the local lads had been putting fish through the letterboxes of any known holiday lets. There was nothing to suggest that's what it was but the smell is very fishy/putrid. The village doesn't feel very welcoming to visitors- she also said last year someone had the wing mirrors broken off their car outside overnight!

The Cornish cottage company have been no help whatsoever- the woman laughed down the phone and told us the fish were an urban legend. There's no way to take a photo of the smell to try to claim a reduction. I don't even know if I can last the week. Currently sat in the garden having a glass of wine but I'm dreading having to go inside.

If anyone has any suggestions bar more febreeze please please let me know. I'm trying to be lighthearted about it but I'm devastated. We drove for 6 hours to get here, I'm so exhausted with it.

I know of a village in South East Cornwall where second homes were getting fish through the letter boxes a few years ago.

Can you review cottages on tripadvisor?

dont say its because youve heard rumour about fish through the door say its an electrical fault which triggers the smell and you want someone round to check

@AuntySandrasDauphinois
You are right about the Cornish being unwelcoming - A relative ( skilled in what they do) was asked to come and work on a house there, and had all his hand tools stolen from the house,
The police said it was likely an inside job, because they. Resent out of area workers.
tools that had been in the family over a century had been taken, relative was devastated, but it didn’t put him off working there again, on principle.
All the electric tools were left behind, so definitely a case of jealousy to steal old hand tools that have little monetary worth.

I understand the anger of second homes killing communities but London is also massively expensive, and we don’t try and force out foreign investors.
I hope you get it sorted.

This sounds absolutely miserable. I would complain and insist on someone coming to the cottage. It is not in liveable condition so a complete breach of contract.

If it’s a company go up the line until you get a response you like.

Good luck

Yes bicarbonate of soda is a good idea. It does absorb smell.

good luck op.

Like very reeking cheese!
I worked for a few weeks on a farm years ago where a dead rat had died in a drain under an adjacent old barn
it was unbearable!
One could almost taste it in the air. Like bad cabbage and bad cheese.
It increased in intensity, then , almost like magic, stopped smelling.
One of the lads offered me money if I could eat my cheese salad roll in there without gagging.

I couldn’t.

OP I absolutely second getting as many people as possible in to back you up when you say it stinks. Neighbours etc.

Pack up and go home and say you are not using the cottage as it's uninhabitable.
Make sure you use this word in correspondence.
Let them know you've left and they ought to come and smell it themselves.
You have a good case if you just left.

Used to happen in Wales too my aunt told me
They resented especially English people owing second homes their

Does that guarantee nice smelling accommodation then?

I agree with the above posters about requesting an electric check. Bad electrics smell like fish. We had it in our old house when the electric shower was overheated.

Definitely don’t accept all this inconvenience without recompense.

I’m sorry I haven’t read the full thread so there may be some repetition.

Write everything down. Describe as clearly as you can while it is still
fresh what has happened and what you can smell.
This is called loss of amenity or expectation value (I can’t quite remember). Basically when you pay for a holiday you expect that things will not get in the way of your enjoyment and if it does, you can sue to put yourself in the same place. That might mean your money back or the refund of alternative accommodation for the week.

Do thé letting agents have anywhere else you could stay? Point out to them that they will foot the cost of your alternative accommodation and you are ready to take legal action and they need to get there straight away and have the place cleaned to deal with the smell. I think it’s reasonable for you to be put up somewhere else
while
tbat happens.

I’m sorry this has happened to you. Must be so disappointing when you just wanted a lovely holiday. I personally wouldn’t do that much to try and get rid of the smell until the agent comes, and if they don’t come then leave but send them before you do emails/ letters/ texts something in writing to say that you have given them
the opportunity to rectify it and they have not so you are leaving as it is uninhabitable and you do not know if it is safe.
Then have your holiday and a high street solicitor will be able to help you deal with it when you are back home. It should not cost you much and might be no win no fee. It may only take a couple of letters, these things unlikely to get to court.

Try getting a cheap bottle of vodka and spray that around with some tea tree oil. It should help.

After all the comments about problems with the electric I'd be tempted to ask for help with that.

I'm not sure who though, maybe the local fire service could give you some advice.

So sorry to hear this. I fear the agent won't even come, once you've paid they've got you over a barrel haven't they?

Eh? This doesn’t make sense. What if the person in the village just rents it in summer for extra cash? And loads of people live in barn conversions.

Far from simple.

As pp said it could be the electrics. We had this in a previous house. It stank. I blamed wet cat food being left out too long 😳 then my friend came round and straightaway said it could be the electrics. She was right.

@AuntySandrasDauphinois I haven't read the whole thread...

But just buy some ground coffee and spread- especially around the letter box area - and leave for a good hour then hoover.

Coffee is a natural odour neutralizer, so should help with the smell.

I would also complain and look for a reduction.

I grew up in a tourist area..I no longer live there.

Apart from companies that directly benefit from tourism... Most locals aren't madly in favour...

In tourist areas.... Local prices increase...Rental Housing gets turned over to Airbnb and people decide to move from London... So any housing available becomes insanely expensive.

During the winter these places are often dead... And the hordes start arriving before spring....

Oh, that's a good idea!

Don't just phone. Follow each call up in writing. Don't stop complaining. Get witnesses. Forget what the lady in the shop said. Focus on the plain fact that the place stinks, not why. Charge back or small claims.

Poor OP, hope you get it sorted

So bizarre the blame that people are getting for going on holiday. Money better spent in cheap Greece is it

I hope you get this sorted OP, holidays are so expensive in the UK and you should really get your money back.

I used to rent out a holiday cottage in Devon ( until Covid broke me), and always did my own cleaning to make sure it was perfect for every visitor.

I used a local letting agent. Visiting to do the changeover after one visit I was appalled to find a horrendous smell left - rancid and sour. It was everywhere, but especially bad in the kitchen. Suspect they’d been cooking something, but the smell had been absorbed by all the soft fabrics. It was awful. I rang my letting agent for advice and they lent me an ozone generator, which clears bad smells. I’d never heard of these before. With a combination of steaming everything, and the ozone generator, it was fine by the time the next visitor arrived.
incidentally I wouldn’t touch Sykes to rent out my property through, and I wasn’t alone - there were far too many complaints about them on my professional holiday letting agency web site.
I hope your letting agency can help you out.