Holiday From Hell - Live

[Bartlebum]

Please help!

It's my nan's 80th birthday and we have arranged for 29 of us to come to North Devon for a weekend to celebrate. Arrived at 3pm to boiler faults in our cottage, no heating and no hot water. Immediately reported and the owner did not reply.

We have seven cottages in total and as everyone arrived we realised all of them are out, so we checked the gas tanks for the whole property and they are empty.

I have been calling the booking agent we went through who said they won't deal with this guy anymore as he has had nothing but complaints, so have terminated the contract.

As we paid them I have asked them to sort it so they said they will do what they can to get in touch with him.

It's been 2.5 hours and no progress. 29 people, two elderly, 7 children and one with a disability. I have asked them to find alternative accomodation but they said its not on them, it's on the owner of the property who is not contactable.

I don't know what to do. There is no one on site as it was all done via key codes. The owner lives several hours away in London, we are freezing and can't begin celebrating my nan turning 80 on what should have been an amazing occasion. We literally stayed here two years ago and had the most amazing time but it's changed hands and not been maintained to any standard.

Anyone been in a similar situation? I've been nice to the agents and I don't want to kick off but I can't believe they won't help me.

Bet their money isn't a blight though... I wonder if Devonians ever say no to that?

Shops/ restaurants/ cafes/ arcades/ tourist attractions all happy to take the money, and then complain

some do, a lot don’t - rock up in their w*nker wagons stuffed with food bought back at home… contribute very little, but cause a lot of issues …

Im not proud of the fact that I’m still in this rabbit hole.

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/north-devon-families-forced-out-6763549

A few of the flats in this building were listed on holiday cottage sites, but are not currently taking bookings. It’s possible that those holiday rentals were from previous owners.

Anyway, it’s currently up for sale

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143696375

Oh my god. He just goes around ruining peoples holidays, lives, anything, while giving zero fucks and apparently doing no work at all. How isn’t he being investigated? Unbelievable.

A lot of overleveraged AirBnb will likely go bust as the era of cheap money draws to a close, good news all round really, anyone with the money for a weekend piss up can just stay at Travelodge, at least the staff there will tell them to shut up when they start disturbing other people?

That was two years ago, is that when he bought the ten cottages too? Did he suddenly buy all these properties? What was he doing before that? How come he has so many properties if he’s so rubbish at managing them?

I have so many questions.

So sorry that you're all in such a crappy situation, I have been listening to the JVS show on Three Counties radio long enough to know, that if you booked through an agent, your contract is with them, not the owner. Therefore it is THEIR responsibility to sort out replacement accommodation, ESPECIALLY since they let it out to you knowing full well that they have had nothing but complaints. If you are from the Three Counties, try giving JVS a ring and he will help you sort it out, even if it's just a full refund.

Contract law is not that straightforward. It depends on the status of the agent and the wording of the contract between all parties, which may specify responsibilities. There is no “standard” agent contract.

The OP is back now, so maybe we will hear how she gets on.

https://travelweekly.co.uk/in-depth/comment/analysis-the-legal-relationship-between-travel-agent-and-consumer

@MrsMikeHeck @WorkingFromHomeShite I checked him out on companies house and found 22 properties in his name all beginning around 2022. No idea why anyone would extend themselves so quickly, when one was clearly too many.

I hopped down the rabbit hole too this afternoon, and I think I found him being interviewed. His finances sound terrifying. Theres a point where he basically says the idea is “least effort, maximum reward”. Says it all really. He also seemed to say that he never gets stressed. How nice for him.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/maximising-property-values/id1520486256?i=1000554152199

@Bartlebum Yes, he bought both properties in Feb 22. He bought the tenanted sea front building for £1.1m and a couple of weeks later bought the Wheel Farm Cottages for £1.25m.

@HowDoWeDoThisPlease Thanks for joining me in the rabbit hole. I don’t think I can bring myself to listen to the podcast 😬

I can’t open this podcast, is it available anywhere else?

My understanding is that the booking agent is acting in agency and are part of the contract, so are legally obliged to help you out. Furthermore, they have been negligent in knowing there is a problem, knowing your situation and doing nothing to warn you or resolve any potential difficulties. Start posting on trustpilot, TripAdvisor, their social media pages. You can take legal action afterwards, but that isn't going to solve things now.

Also, please name and shame the booking agent so we all know to avoid them like the plague.

If you booked via an agent they are 100% as liable as the owner is. They took your money, your contract is with the, then they have a contract with the owner. I'd make it 100% clear that if they don't re-accommodate you as soon as possible, you will be pursuing them they are fully responsible for any sale they make.

@WorkingFromHomeShite try this link https://www.audible.co.uk/podcast/Clubhouse-GUEST-SERIES-Colin-Davison/B09VNWQ3Q1

@MrsMikeHeck I can access that, thank you. But I just have to remember my Amazon password first…!

The booking agent provided the OP with a mansion for the weekend ( if you read the thread).

Do you think he has paid cash?

If these are bought with a loan and his rentals dry up, he will lose everything. Stupid man.

The booking agent has done brilliantly here - why would you want to avoid them?

The accomodation sounds uncomfortable and unsafe, not somewhere to relax and enjoy yourselves, so I would pack up and go home or to alternative nearby accomodation if possible, and claim refund from booking agent - taking photos/video evidence of accomodation first.

It's a shame about the timing of this crap experience, but perservering with the experience will only weaken your claim against the agents, I believe, as by staying there you are implying it is not so bad and is indeed habitable, which it clearly isn't, whereas a firm rejection of it says more about how unacceptable it is.

@Problemzapper read the thread, or at least the ops updates.

According to the podcast he got a loan against his home (that was mortgage free) at 75% of its worth (and it doesn’t sound like a small home, as he said it was worth around 20 times more than his first home he bought). He goes on to talk about having 20 different income streams so that he’s not dependant on one stream of income, so I wonder if he took on other buy to let loans to buy further properties😱