To think that a 'bedroom' without a window cannot be legally described as one?

[ABedroomByAnyOtherName]

We've had a holiday booked since last year with a UK Holiday Cottage company. Lovely cottage, three bedrooms, great reviews on the website.

I paid the final balance this week and thought I'd have a look at the more recent reviews. Two new reviews point out that the third bedroom does not in fact have a window, it is just a windowless storage room with a bed inside.

This is ridiculous, surely? We need three bedrooms as there will be me and DH plus two teens who will definitely not share. We have paid a significant amount of money for three bedrooms - none of us will sleep in a windowless room, especially not in the summer!

After a quick check on the internet, most seem to agree that a room without a window cannot be legally described as a bedroom under UK law and can definitely not be advertised as one for renting out. This is due to fire safety regulations, as there needs to be at least two exits in the case of a fire.

I emailed the company saying this and have had a reply today to say it IS a bedroom and as such wasn't misdescribed, so they don't see an issue.
I'm so annoyed! We have paid a lot for what's basically a two bedroom cottage unsuitable for our needs, how on earth can they justify this?!

Can anyone help point me to the particular piece of legislation/building regs that confirm this? Obviously, lots of planning/building trade websites mentioned this, but I'd rather have a link to a government site to support this when I email back. I'd be so grateful for any help!

Ugh. I am so peeved. I'd rather they gave me a full refund now, as it's so dishonest that I resent giving them any of my money...any advice/pointers gratefully received!

The response is illiterate, aggro, and seems to think windows are a luxury not an integral part of fire safety legislation.

Not a single room in your flat has a window??

And yep, another person who definitely won’t use Sykes in future if this is their attitude. Appreciate it doesn’t help you OP, but it’s helpful for me to know never to book with them.

We stay in UK cottages once or twice a year, usually either book direct, or via Bookings.com or Airbnb, both of which show non-misleading photos, have plenty of reviews, and good cancellation policies.

@Jwhb that gov document is for guest houses and holiday acc

OP- did you copy and paste their exact reply? If that's the most 'Senior Team', they can't string a sentence together!

OP I think you need to go public with this - Twitter, FB etc - post links and many mums netters will support you!

How shabby of Sykes. I can't stand staying in hotels where you can't open windows never mind no window at all. We stayed in a skiing apartment where one of the rooms had no window ; it was clearly marked on the apartment plan and sold at a cheaper rate than the adjoining apartment without the windowless room. It would suggest that other holiday companies are aware that this is a negative aspect.

Here’s a link to Sykes Twitter feed.

https://twitter.com/sykescottages?s=21&t=r2_R2aezWDfDdIttDPUAug

Click on “Replies” - the many complaints about their customer service do seem to get a response from the company.

Wow that is a damning thread of pissed off customers! So many complaints about crap customer service, and cottages not as advertised 😱

Thanks Mirabai, I think I'll contact Katie Morley today and see if she can do anything.

In my second email to them I quoted directly from regulations from 2008 that specifically applied to this situation and counted as 'unfaur practice' - omitting information that if the customer knew would have affected whether they booked it or not etc . Tbh, I don't think they care! Their reply was so unprofessional and I sincerely doubt that the person who sent it was from the 'most senior team' . It just seems worded to try and stop me contacting them again.

I was considering contacting the credit card company, but according to a previous poster there is a huge backlog of chargeback requests at the minute from disgruntled holiday customers - if we don't get the refund quickly, we can't rebook anything and my kids don't get a holiday at all...so it would be a last resort.

Definitely contacting Katie Morley at the Telegraph today!

It's really delightful, isn't it? The customer service representative really outdid himself there.

No, I'm glad I posted about it - if it helps other people to avoid this level of shady behaviour then at least something good has come out of it.

I have actually used them twice before with no problems - but after seeing their twitter feed and the Facebook group full of disgruntled customers, I'll make sure to do more research next time I book with anyone.

The reviews for the property at the time of booking were all brilliant, really good. I have no doubt it's a lovely cottage. It's only since I booked that the lack of window was mentioned by the two most recent reviews. The photos were great too...they just omitted to show there was no window! Very frustrating.

Yes - exact reply copied and pasted! I just removed the name of the cottage and the customer service representatives name.
I agree, It's very hard to believe that the reply has come from 'senior' management...🤔 I requested for my complaint to be escalated, I would bet good money that they didn't!

Who wrote that awful response?!

Note to self. Avoid sykes.

Awful...keep fighting op. Legally you right

NRFT so apologies if this is info you already have - when you raise a chargeback, the credit card companies ‘remove’ that money from your bill (or rather freeze it) until it’s resolved - so you won’t need to pay it unless the chargeback is unsuccessful. Obviously there is a risk that the chargeback will fail, and you will have to pay it at a later date.

I also think going for ‘misdescribed’ is the wrong angle - you should be going down the legal / safety angle. They cannot use a room without a window as a bedroom. Call their local council building regs team - or do they have a local licensing scheme? Some councils do for rented properties. Good luck!

That’s a fair point - and once you start the dispute process with the credit card company, the account will be locked and they won’t be able to refund you even if they change their mind at that point. Do everything you can first.

I'm sorry you're not getting far OP, that reply is bonkers.

Of course the average person would expect the bedrooms to have windows, totally ridiculous.

It does seem an invitation for any mumsnetters with time on their hands to trawl the Sykes website selecting a few cottages they like the look of then email the Sykes inbox with enquiries about windows. That should keep the most senior team busy for a while.

That response is shocking.

Saw your other thread. The response from this Co is disgraceful.

It does freeze the charge however it also locks the account (to prevent the company taking any more payments), but that also means they can’t refund you via that method, (if customer services change their mind) so you’d have to then wait for the outcome with the cc company.

The not as described line incorporates the safety angle, and it’s the angle most likely to succeed - it’s not illegal to rent out rooms with no windows - hotels do it.

Yep it’s a fire risk, I’d point that out. I find it really alarming the number of people ‘converting’ random annexes etc into Airbnb without any thought into safety and fire escape. Recently saw someone advertising their new Airbnb which had an open mezzanine sleeping area above the kitchen, presumably without any sprinklers etc.

Thanks for the heads up OP, won’t be booking with them. Hope you get this sorted and refunded, I’d be every bit annoyed as well.

I'd resort to complaining in public on Twitter.