Any advice on where we stand with having stayed in a villa with multiple problems?

[ShitVilla]

Have NCed for this as could be identifiable.

Just back from a week in Spain in a self catering villa. The villa looked stunning, and would have been perfect if anything had sodding worked!

Anyway, after a week of multiple problems - toilets/showers/washer/dryer/dishwasher/cooker not working, problems with transfers, things not being as stated etc - it ended in two of our party receiving electric shocks from the water supply!

It turned out every socket had been live and any of us or our children could have been seriously harmed at any point.

So we will be pursuing the matter and feel a significant (if not full) refund is in order as our stay was so beset by problems. Can anybody offer any advice or point me in the direction of helpful sites?

I'm guessing that in the UK we could report the company to somewhere, but as the property is in Spain I have no idea on where to start.

Obviously, we can contribute damning reviews on Tripadvisor, Holiday Lettings, Owners Direct etc, but really we want our money back!

Did you organise the letting with anyone in the UK, or was it direct with Spain?

the initial contact was via either Tripadvisor or Holiday Letttings (I can't remember which one) by email. The contact number is a +44 phone number. I think the owners live in UK and have people working in Spain managing their villas.

A quick look on Companies House website tells me that there is no company under the name I know listed there.

Have you contacted the owner yet to discuss your problems? It sounded a horrific holiday!
I have friends who rent out holiday properties and they give a generous part refund for far less problems that you experienced.
I would put everything in writing and send it to the booking agent/owner asking for a full refund and take it from there.
If they don't react immediately, then send another letter giving them time to react or you will report them to the relevant bodies - sorry not sure who but somebody more knowledgeable will post.

Thank you Samuel. All problems were reported at the time and, to be fair, they were mostly dealt with. There was just so many problems that we had work men in the villa everyday of our stay and it was just one thing after another. The young lad who was the face of the company to us seemed to have difficulties communicating with the people in his employ, and he didn't follow up all tasks he said he would.

We only got home on Saturday, but there is a lengthy letter being written as I type, listing our problems.

OP - what a nightmare, really feel for you as it sounds like such a disruptive holiday so maybe express this strongly as it meant that somebody had to always be there to let the workmen in/stay with them, check that things were working, communicate endlessly etc. Tell them that it affected the quality of your holiday hugely as you couldn't plan things, enjoy the villa without workmen traipsing through all the time and lack of privacy. I know my friends who have been on the receiving end of complaints have always wanted to sort out unhappy guests as they don't want bad reviews!

If the owner is in the UK, you could take them to the small claims court I believe - they have effectively broken their contract with you.

Trading standards could advise.

I hope it doesn't come to that - save your stinging online reviews for after you see their response.

You need to get some proper legal advice quickly so that you know who to pursue for a refund and how to do it. There are issues over where the contract was made i.e. in the UK with UK owners, where the contract was delivered - Spain. The most important thing to do whilst it is still fresh in your mind is to write a timeline of what happened, who you called, how quickly they responded and what they did. you need to show that it wasn't a one off cooker not working but a catalogue of safety problems. try to keep it short to the point and minus the rant (that comes later!) get this off to the owner, the person you booked with the management company, the website etc and tell them that you are now seeking legal advice and ask for their comments. the CAB in your area might offer an hours free advice and it is worth doing this. Keep your on line rant in check until after you have exhausted everything else. Good luck.

OK, we'll hold the snarking for now!

And legal advice could be worth chipping in for considering the amount of money we have handed over to them. GRRRRRRRRR

shameless bump for evening crowd

Poor you. Even without electrocuting yourselves sounds like a horrible experience and ruined the holiday
I'd absolutely talk to Holiday Lettings (or Trip Advisor) as they won't want poor quality properties on their site
Did the owners ask for feedback and act on it? We have an apartment which we have on holiday Lettings and we always ask for feedback when guests leave, not just formal reviews but for personal reassurance that we are getting it right
Www.victoriainportugal.co.uk

Good luck in getting your money back