Aunt won't refund money

[Casals07]

Aunt has a home abroad that myself, DH and kids go to every year. We go in August as it's too hot for Aunt to go. I pay to stay there and always take care of the place and top everything up before I leave. The house is now 20 years old and is definitely showing signs of wear and tear. Nothing has been replaced. This year I arrived to find black mould in the bedrooms, job had been started but won't be finished until November. My Aunt never informed me of this. My DD has now got pneumonia and we have had to move out at a considerable expense. My Aunt has refused to return any of my text messages. My DH rang her and asked for the money back we paid as the house is not habitable. She has point blank refused.

Can you claim on holiday insurance ?

For flights yes, not for the house as its a private rental.

What is wrong with people?! It doesn't matter what OP paid or how well off her aunt is, what sort of person lets someone travel to accommodation in that state? Even if OP had been staying for free the aunt would be massively out of order. Of course you should get the money back, but she probably doesn't legally have to. Lesson learned, stay elsewhere in future.

See a solicitor if it's a substantial amount. The opinions on here will be just that.

Either way, never rent off her again.

@piccolorhinoceros , I agree and thank you. Some posters seem to think that if I've paid slightly less than the going rate that I should put up and shut up.

Sometimes mumsnet makes no sense! That mould is awful how many of us would if we have rented that as holiday accommodation wouldn’t want to leave and find somewhere else and ask for money back

and mould does cause respiratory issues

Awful behaviour especially from a family member.
She should have been mortified and immediately sent you your money back.
Hope your daughter gets well soon

How long were you there?

You are responsible for your child's welfare and should have left immediately if you feared health problems due to it being uninhabitable.

On the contrary, I think it's a great idea and came on here to say so. Concentrate her mind a little bit.

Would YOU be happy to spend time on your holiday going and buying mould spray, spraying and washing walls and ceilings down, and looking after a child so sick they had to go to the hospital? Plus then at your own expense looking for another place to stay?

Dont bother answering - any normal person would say "NO!"

Oh, of course, to you that is all fine if you got a slight reduction on the rent 🙄

(Edit - just saw you had the priceless idea of covering it with clingfilm too 😂gets better and better 😂)

@Casals07 some posters just want to be awkward, of course she should give you your money back. And pay for any out of pocket expenses you may have if she definitely KNEW about the mould.

This.

@Casals07 god that's horrible then. If it was a normal rental then you'd be refunded. So she definitely should. If it was really bad and she knew about it.

It doesn't sound like she'll give you a refund unless you go to a small claims court. Make sure all the other relatives who go are aware - she'll miss the money from all of you if you all stop going.

she knew the house was in that state and didn’t mention it to you when you paid for the rental. She is a CF of the highest order.

@WhereDoWeGoFromHereBill no of course not, however my point was they had options. And yes, those are the actions I'd take if I found myself in a similar situation or I would fly home because I wouldn't be able to afford alternative accomodation

Staying with family with no formal arrangements is always going to be risky. If it was a hotel you would go to reception, request a move and give them a shoddy review on TripAdvisor you can't do that when renting from family.

Most people living in social housing have to regularly deal with black mould, most don't end up in hospital with fungal pneumonia after a week or so though although it does cause and exacerbate respiratory issues.

Jesus wept
Do people really bloody live like this?
the aunt is a total disgrace, yes she should refund your money and yes you can get pneumonia from black mould, Black mould has been the cause of children getting severely ill and dying.
And yes, the aunt is a CF.
People being OH SO WOKE here make me ill, never mind black mould.
She should give you your money back, its called not being a cunt.

What was it like last year?

"The one year it isn’t perfect!"

I can't believe the comments on this thread. The pictures to see that its not in rentable condition.
The hospital confirmed it has contributed to DD's illness
They've had to move out as because of this and the smell.

The Aunt knew perfectly well this was the case, but took the money and didn't say anything. No sympathy for the fact that she has to get builders in to fix it. All building owners have to pay to maintain their properties.

It she sounds well off enough to refund them for less than 2 weeks rent, so they can pay for alternative accomodation.

OP your Aunt is a miserable CF. She took the money under false pretences and doesn't seem at all peturbed that your DD was hospitalised.
I hope your DD is on the mend and that you can enjoy the rest of the holiday.

Go to your travel insurance

Is she your mum or dad’s sister?

What have they said about her vile behaviour and have they contacted her? I know I’d be pulling up my sibling if they were as cunty as this to my child and grandchild

She’s obviously not arsed about your DD’s health or you, as a family at all so I wouldn’t be arsed about any fallout taking her to small claims court or whatever.

Bet she’s one of those who’s wealthy but also tighter than a duck’s arse who doesn’t mind who she fucks over

Hopr your child is on the mend

I wonder what the local state landlord/rental regulations are like? Might be worth looking those up and seeing if its against the regs to knowingly let unihabitable properties out to tourists? which is effectively what she's done. There must be some authority that deals with such things. Black mould is a serious recognised issue in rentals.

Well, she's a grifter. Imagine treating family like that.

That’s shocking that she would expect family members to pay to live in rooms in that state. I would only have stayed one night and asked for my money back for the rest of the holiday. I hope your daughter is ok.

If she refuses I guess that’s a relationship ruined over her financial greed.

All of this.

YANBU, and your aunt should refund you the entire amount, I’d be mortified if my great niece had been made ill by my failure to maintain a property.