Paying for utilities at holiday cottage

[Dontsayaword]

This morning I booked a holiday cottage in France for next August.
On top of the rental there were some charges payable locally, tourist tax and cleaning which I was expecting but also a deposit for utilities which I was not expecting.
I queried the utilities charge as I would expect this to be included in the rental price, the person I was talking to said it is normal for this to be included as an extra charge and most of their cottages in France charge extra for utilities.
The deposit is 100 euro per day, meter readings are taken at the beginning and end and you get back the difference between the deposit and what you have actually used.
I accepted this and continued with the booking thinking that the actual charge we will end up paying won't be very much.
I am feeling worried about it now, 100 Euros a day for 2 weeks is 1,400 euro which is roughly 1,000 pounds which adds a lot of money on to the cost of the holiday.

Can someone reassure me that this is normal and that we can't possibly use £1,000 of utilities in 2 weeks.
For anyone who has done this how much did it actually cost and is it straightforward getting the extra money back from the owners?

Bump. That sounds very expensive.

I have never had to do this with any rentals in France, that amount of deposit is very high too. I normally pay 400-500 euros irrespective of the length of stay. Are you renting a massive château?

Surely the deposit isn't just to cover utilities, but also as security in case you completely trash the place? I would be amazed if the utilities are anywhere near that per day. We got charged for electricity and water / heating in a French place a couple of years ago, and it wasn't very much at all (eg 40euros) for the week. So annoying, but not hundreds of euros! And I really resented it - why can't they just include it in the rental charge.

The deposit does sound v steep though. Are you sure that isn't the actual cost of hire?!

We have run a gite rental in France since 2007 and I have never heard anything like it (& I know quite a few other owners too) It's outrageous! It is certainly NOT normal for "most" properties to add it as an extra charge. We include everything - cleaning, towels, bedlinen, heating, basic groceries. Why would you want another bill on top of what you think the price is. Sorry to be so negative if you think you have found somewhere you love, but I really think it's not on at all.

It is definitely not hire of the property, I have paid a separate deposit to the cottage rental company and the balance will be due about 6 weeks before we travel.
This charge is payable to the owner locally, the adviser was very clear that this was a deposit not the actual charge which will be based on meter readings at the start and end of our stay.
I just feel nervous about an extra charge when I have no idea how much it will be. The 2 weeks property rental costs £3,000 (reasonable for 2 weeks in August compared to others for the size and location) so the utilities deposit of a 1/3 again of the rental feels way too high.
Not sure what I can do about it now that I have booked and paid the deposit.
I might ring tomorrow to see if I can find out what the average actual cost is for a week.
This is through a reputable brand that is part of a massive holiday company. We have used them in the past and never had this before but only for UK properties.

So, sorry, just to be clear - you have booked directly with the owner, or through a listing site? If it through a company, they must have some t & c's where it is explained. If it through the owner directly I would call them and talk to them and tell them of your concerns, ask for an indication of previous consumption etc. You'll get a better feel when you talk to a real person too. Good luck.

This used to be common practice but less so now. We don't do it with ours but unless you are in a chateau you couldn't possibly spend that much per day. I reckon about 5€ per person per day is generous.

The booking is through a holiday rental company so my contract is with a cottage rental company, this is an extra charge that is payable locally to the owner on arrival.
I was given the customer care number so I will phone them tomorrow and see if they can give me an idea of the average cost that people end up paying. My initial thought was that it could not possibly actually cost 100 EUR a day, we don't tend to use air conditioning (can't actually remember whether this property has it or not as it is not important to me) we won't need heating and will probably eat out a lot so won't do a lot of cooking, but it does have a pool and I am not sure whether pools use a lot of electricity - it is not heated but I presume it will have some kind of pump/filtering system.

I would want to establish in advance what the price per unit is

e.g. if the electricity meter reads 10,000 when you arrive, and 11,000 when you leave, what do you pay for the 1,000 you've used? And is there a daily charge on top?

If there is a heated pool, or a sauna, it might use a lot of energy.

UK landlords used to be allowed to have private meters and charge their tenants extortionate rates, I believe especially in the days when coin-in-the-slot meters were common.

As well as pool heating, if there is air conditioning, that could use a lot, especially if you are careless with it and leave it on when you are out or with doors and windows open.

I know nothing about Gites, but know someone who rented a holiday property elsewhere and was charged about £250 in 2 weeks allegedly for electricity, which also seems extortionate, especially as this was in a country with quite a low cost of living and they were very careful with the air con, because they were worried so much about being charged - they had paid a £300 deposit for electricity and were astonished to only get £50 back.

Definitely check the unit cost beforehand. Can you query this with the company? Agree that it sounds dodgy - most people don't use £1400 electricity in a year, never mind 2 weeks.

Not normal as far as I am concerned. A security deposit is normal, as is an extra charge for local tourist tax, but utilities should be included in the rental cost. You say that £3000 is reasonable for the 2 weeks (I agree by the way) but £4400 starts to look a bit pricey unless you are sharing with friends.

Pool heating is very very expensive and it could easily cost £50 - £80 per day. not sure if you need to go back and see if you can cancel because this is starting to have the whiff of a scam about it. how do you know that the meter is reading correctly and hasn't been weighted? answer you don't. and they will have your money. really think you need to cancel this if you can and look for something more suitable. look at the ts and cs and see if this is possible and rebook somewhere where it is all in.

Is there anything in the online reviews about hefty deposits being taken and not returned?