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Original poster

B&B want me to pay £150 fine!

453 replies

froggy1811 · 30/11/2021 20:32

So, this might be a longish read, but please bear with me! Recently my husband and I went to stay at a pub B&B. It is not often that we would ever be in a financial position to do this; however, we love the area and decided to treat ourselves. Anyway, when we arrived we didn't exactly receive the warm welcome that we were hoping for! I thought that perhaps I was imagining things; however, I received a message this morning from Booking.Com demanding that I pay £150 to the B&B for not following their policies. They have stated that this is because my husband smoked a cigarette in the room (please don't all shout at me at once! 😱) BUT, in his defence, he did this hanging out of the window at 2am and disposed of the dimp discreetly - so the only way I can imagine that they knew, is if someone from across the road of where we were staying, saw him and told the landlord!

To be honest, the attitude of the owners was absolutely dreadful from the moment we arrived! And I got the distinct impression that they didn't like us straight away! I shall list some of my points below:

1: Upon arrival we were told that if we wanted a table for dinner, we should have pre-booked. Our fault entirely, but it was the irritable way it was said to us.

2: My husband ordered several half pint ales at the same time, so that he could try them and decide which one he wished to drink for the night. Unfortunately, the idiot forgot which one was which, but as his drinks was still relatively full he asked the landlord which he thought was which based on the liquids colour. The landlords response was extremely cold and scratchy! He made it plain my husband was a fool in his eyes, and then he just stomped off without trying to assist him.

3: Over the course of the night, I had ordered 2 bottles of Prosecco (although, the second bottle didn't actually get drunk, as I couldn't manage any more!) So, it was taken up to our room.

4: We had booked a King room, but this was actually a really cramped, small double , and my husband's legs hung over the end of the bed. Shower and sink only a few inches apart so if you opened the door it hit the sink, and there was zero room to dress in there! The toilet seat was also wonky.

5: Room wasn't the cleanest, and no option to pay extra for a later check out.

6: When my husband went down for the breakfast, the landlord made reference to the amount of Prosecco I had drank the night before! This is despite the fact that we sat quietly at a table all night and was not in any way 'loud' or rowdy! So why mention this?!

7: WiFi didn't work all night long.

I know my husband shouldn't have smoked out of the window, but I have a suspicion that they just didn't like us from the moment we arrived. I had expressed this concern to my husband, who just brushed it off. We were quiet guests who made sure the room was spotlessly immaculate before we left, so I just genuinely feel like they were looking for issues!

Would you pay this? Do you think AIBU?

OP posts:
MrsBobDylan · 30/11/2021 23:29

Sounds like you had a bloody awesome night - please invite me next time and we can get into trouble together!

PrincessNutella · 30/11/2021 23:30

I guess your husband's trick didn't work. He thought they wouldn't be able to tell he smoked in the room, but he did. 90 percent of his body was in the room, and you know it is the truth because you're admitting it. Just pay the fine.

Monday55 · 30/11/2021 23:33

He did.. it has been law since 2007.

Skinnytailedsquirrel · 30/11/2021 23:34

Classey OP.

viques · 30/11/2021 23:42

£85 for B and B for two people is dirt cheap! You really thought you would get a big room with a king size bed and a huge bathroom for that amount ? Wow, it really is a long time since you went away. About 16 years I reckon.

BiBabbles · 30/11/2021 23:50

Sounds like they were rude and it wasn't the nice stay you were expecting, but £150 is a pretty standard charge for just the smoking.

Last I checked, that's about what some budget chains charge for it. As pp said, there is a lot of additional cleaning that goes into dealing with effects of smoking in the room - hanging out the window is not as effective as some smokers seem to think - and that is taking up someone's time who has to be paid for that and all the other tasks that'll still need doing.

That along with keeping the room off until it's done is costly and really, it's meant to be a deterrent particularly at the lower end of the price scale - people budgeting in the fine to do what they want is a concern.

Original poster
froggy1811 · 30/11/2021 23:52

To the person saying that £150 is cheap, and that I have a drinking problem - just wow! Firstly, £150 is not cheap by anybody's standard's, and secondly, I do not have a drinking problem, BUT even if I did, that is completely irrelevant to this thread!

The fact is we did NOT misbehave in the pub, and the landlord had no way of knowing that DH was going to have a sneaky cigarette at this point - so really, he had absolutely no reason to behave so nastily towards us! We didn't turn up wearing shell suits, talking in chav lingo etc. Nor did we become loud, stagger, fall over tables or become loud at any stage during the evening. We kept ourselves to ourselves.

The reason he hung out of the window instead of going outside, was because it was thick deep in snow and ice, and you had to walk through several rooms and unlock several doors to get outside, which he felt might wake other guests. Should he have done it? No! But did he commit the crime of the century? No! Some of these nasty replies are really OTT!

Also, one bottle of Prosecco consumed over the course of a meal and a few hours is really not that excessive, as an ex pub manager on here very rightly pointed out! Nor are 3 half pints! For the record, my DH then went on to drink another 2 pints. If you honestly believe that this is unusual in a pub, then when was the last time you went out?

OP posts:
Lalliella · 30/11/2021 23:53

He broke the rules he needs to pay up. It was a disgusting and disrespectful thing to do. The rest of the stuff is irrelevant. For £85 you’re not going to get the Ritz.

Pixxie7 · 30/11/2021 23:54

I think if he genuinely only had 1 cigarette and left the window open that It would smell as far as the other things go I would write to them outlying issues and see their response.

MsPavlichenko · 30/11/2021 23:59

It may be that everything you claim is correct. It is of no consequence.

He smoked inside. He needs to pay up.

jesper1 · 01/12/2021 00:00

@froggy1811

To the person saying that £150 is cheap, and that I have a drinking problem - just wow! Firstly, £150 is not cheap by anybody's standard's, and secondly, I do not have a drinking problem, BUT even if I did, that is completely irrelevant to this thread!

The fact is we did NOT misbehave in the pub, and the landlord had no way of knowing that DH was going to have a sneaky cigarette at this point - so really, he had absolutely no reason to behave so nastily towards us! We didn't turn up wearing shell suits, talking in chav lingo etc. Nor did we become loud, stagger, fall over tables or become loud at any stage during the evening. We kept ourselves to ourselves.

The reason he hung out of the window instead of going outside, was because it was thick deep in snow and ice, and you had to walk through several rooms and unlock several doors to get outside, which he felt might wake other guests. Should he have done it? No! But did he commit the crime of the century? No! Some of these nasty replies are really OTT!

Also, one bottle of Prosecco consumed over the course of a meal and a few hours is really not that excessive, as an ex pub manager on here very rightly pointed out! Nor are 3 half pints! For the record, my DH then went on to drink another 2 pints. If you honestly believe that this is unusual in a pub, then when was the last time you went out?

The issue is that what he did was illegal If you want to go out for a fag in the early hours of the morning then you need to stay somewhere self contained so you don't disturb others. Smoking out the window is not a reasonable answer to the issue

The fee is high as they would likely have to leave the room empty and maybe clean curtains etc. It's high to discourage people doing it.

The owners don't sound great but all that aside he broke the rules he pays its as simple as that however you seem hellbent on the other points rather than admitting he was wrong and dealing with it

creaturcomforts · 01/12/2021 00:00

Shocked by some of the comments towards the op on here! How dare you stay in a b&b that sells alcohol and have a few drinks?! Nothing about the ops post suggest they were rude or difficult towards the staff. Why do people feel the need for judgey comments?

The b&b doesn't sound friendly or welcoming at all maybe they are in the wrong business. As for the smoking yes it was wrong, but I'd doubt they would enforce the fine.

Original poster
froggy1811 · 01/12/2021 00:04

@creaturcomforts

Shocked by some of the comments towards the op on here! How dare you stay in a b&b that sells alcohol and have a few drinks?! Nothing about the ops post suggest they were rude or difficult towards the staff. Why do people feel the need for judgey comments?

The b&b doesn't sound friendly or welcoming at all maybe they are in the wrong business. As for the smoking yes it was wrong, but I'd doubt they would enforce the fine.

Thank you! ❤️
OP posts:
WheelieBinPrincess · 01/12/2021 00:07

This is journo fodder, just FYI OP.

And I don’t think £85 fir a night in a b&b is particularly cheap. It’s not expensive but it’s not cheap. Im staying in a premier inn in s nice city on Sunday for £29. That’s cheap.

Elderflower14 · 01/12/2021 00:08

Is this a Reserve????

Elderflower14 · 01/12/2021 00:09

Reserve
REVERSE

PyongyangKipperbang · 01/12/2021 00:11

How many more times.......IT WAS NOT ILLEGAL!!! Antisocial, yes. Selfish, yes. Stupid, yes. Illegal? NO!

It was against the rules of the house, which could have led them to being kicked out at any time but he did not break the sodding law. Trust me on this ok?!

Original poster
froggy1811 · 01/12/2021 00:11

@Elderflower14

Reserve REVERSE
Can you explain what you mean please? I mean I know what reverse means in general, but I'm not 100% up on Mumsnet lingo.

Thank you!

OP posts:
Original poster
froggy1811 · 01/12/2021 00:14

@WheelieBinPrincess

This is journo fodder, just FYI OP.

And I don’t think £85 fir a night in a b&b is particularly cheap. It’s not expensive but it’s not cheap. Im staying in a premier inn in s nice city on Sunday for £29. That’s cheap.

When you say it's journo fodder, does that mean that journalist's might publish this thread?
OP posts:
Skinnytailedsquirrel · 01/12/2021 00:15

This is obviously a wind up. No one would behave/think like the OP did.

jesper1 · 01/12/2021 00:23

@Skinnytailedsquirrel

This is obviously a wind up. No one would behave/think like the OP did.
Starting to agree with you

Illegal or not it was against the rules and we all know that.

Being grown up means accepting responsibility when needed something the OP is failing to do rather well.

I think OP you had some cause for complaint on the other issues but you have lost that by smoking in the room. They are not going to be interested now

Itsnotallaboutyoubaby · 01/12/2021 00:26

OP I am a smoker and I wouldn’t have done that. Unfortunately I think you need to pay up and chalk it up to experience.

Cariah · 01/12/2021 00:30

Your other points are irrelevant. The only thing that matters is he broke the no smoking rule by smoking in the room. Therefore the fine is justified.

Original poster
froggy1811 · 01/12/2021 00:31

Also, just to clarify here, I have no issue with the B&B charging £85! Nor did I expect the Ritz for the price paid; however, if somewhere is advertised as a 'Deluxe King Room' when actually, it's a cramped little box with a tiny bed, surely that's false advertising?

The only reason I mentioned the price of the room was because others pointed out that the charge may have occurred because they were unable to let the room out the following night due to that one cigarette DH had out of the window. So, I wondered why not ask for £85 then? Bearing in mind that the cleaning fee is included in the price of a B&B stay.

Obviously, my husband shouldn't have had the cigarette, and I have acknowledged this more than once! But some of these replies have been downright horrible! Making assumptions about my class, my drinking habits etc.

OP posts:
lynntheyresexpeople · 01/12/2021 00:34

This will end up in the daily fail.

The room will need a deep clean as will be advertised as non smoking, and will stink. Second hand smoke lingers badly in fabric, and when you aren't a smoker, or aren't around one - it smells really strongly. You owe the fine, pay it.

You were probably drunk, you don't realise how irritating you are when drunk. Chances are you were a lot more merry than you thought.