Hi everyone. An update...
Since last writing we've experienced a significant complication, in that, probably due to the stress of all this, I've completely put my back out. We've spent the last few days with me in agony, mostly just trying to sort out food and medicine. This also means that moving somewhere else has unfortunately been out of the question.
We have managed to talk to the owners since then, and have also had contact with VRBO.
We initially wrote to the owners to ask if they could park away from our bedroom window in the mornings and evenings. They wrote back to say that they needed to unload goods in the evening, that "everything is specified in the ad", and didn't respond regarding the mornings. We wrote back reiterating the morning request and informing them that there was nothing in the ad even saying that they lived there. We shared a link to the English (VRBO) advert with them. Still no response to this.
The next day, following a comment on this thread, we wrote to ask if the pool cover was strong enough to keep the children safe and whether we could lock the patio doors at night. At this point they quickly requested to talk to us, describing things as "delicate". During this conversation they confirmed that there were no safety features on the pool and no way of locking the house doors from the inside. They referred to the fact that our children were disabled, saying that they would have refused our booking if we'd told them. I replied that the issue is relevant to all young children.
We reiterated the point about the two different adverts (VRBO Vs ABRITEL), which they seemed to understand. They did offer to park away from the window in the mornings, which is an improvement on the previous situation, but they are still coming back after midnight most nights, sometimes at 1, and our kids/rural France/back injuries are waking us early, so we're still pretty shattered. I'm also sleeping with one eye open due to the possibility of one of the kids making it outside to the pool during the night
In addition to the above, they've also written to us saying that we have to fully clean the property or face a fine of €80, and that the house needs to be ready for an inventory an hour before checkout. They have repeated that this was "specified in the ad". The VRBO ad we saw doesn't mention any of this and again, we'd never have agreed to it. More to the point, if we can't go to sleep until 1am, I have no idea how we could reasonably clean the entire property and be ready for 9am the next day, before a long drive home. It won't be safe.
During this time I've also made contact with VRBO. First impressions are not encouraging. The first person I spoke to tried to dismiss my complaint because, they claimed, the owners had provided everything listed in the description. They also seemed to believe that because the photograph of the pool with a soft cover was provided, any safety concerns were irrelevant. I asked to speak to manager at this point, who suggested that he might be able to refund $120 for the noise disturbance, i.e. less than 3% refund. I laughed at this tbh. He also asked for a photo of the pool, I'm not sure why. I haven't got round to it yet but I will, and can update you all on the outcome.
If anyone has any advice regarding all of this, please do let me know. I'm feeling really stressed and now anticipating a conflict at checkout, on top of everything else. I hate dealing with this in the last few precious days on holiday with my kids, and am feeling really despondent.
Oh and I'll also be sharing this thread with VRBO, in case anyone wants to communicate their opinion with the company!