French holiday house deposit problem

[StiffyByng]

We rented a gite in France this summer and gave 400 euros as a damages deposit. During our stay, two very knackered sun umbrellas gave up the ghost, we noticed a crack in the swing and our daughter broke a very cheap lamp. We told the house agent about all this immediately, and spent our last day leaving the house clean and tidy. We have now received an email accusing us of leaving the house in a mess, breaking 'at least two' umbrellas, the swing (which was also a cheap plastic one on its last legs, regardless of anything else) and two lamps. We also apparently went into a 'private' cupboard (we assume the linen one, which was open, unlabelled, and from which we took a fresh set of linen and washed the first, again with the agent's knowledge) which is she is furious about. Most ludicrously she is blaming us for the house being full of flies! It is. It's a rural house with a septic tank in a heat wave. The flies were there when we arrived. She only bought the house in January and is obviously new to the whole thing. She is threatening to keep our deposit. What can we do, if anything? She lives in Holland and we rented through a website which disclaims any responsibility.

How did you pay the deposit? Cash? Credit card? Cheque?

We rent out a holiday villa and our housekeeper does a quick check as people hand the keys back, then gives them their deposit back on the spot. We expect wear and tear and wouldn't charge for small breakages like glasses, umbrellas etc. The worst she can do is replace the items you "broke" like for like, send you copies of the receipts and deduct them from your deposit. What does your contract say about breakages? Did you rent though a web site like holiday lettings etc? There should be guidance on resolving these matters on there.....

OP I am really sorry to hear about this.

I rent out a villa (which I manage myself) and I have the following comments:

a) parasols are replaced every 2 weeks - they simply DO tear and fade in the sun/wind/hot weather. This is in no way your fault. They should have been new when you arrived frankly.

b) I ask for a security deposit in very rare situations such as pets coming or if I feel the family are actually inviting lots more people than they say who will be sleeping on the sofa etc (it happens and you can tell the people who are going to!)

c) If asking for a security deposit, as another poster says - you give it back there and then having checked out the property first.

d) Included in the rental surely, surely, cleaning on your day of departure is up to the person who has rented it to you. Even if people leave a place spotless, you still have to go through everything, defrost fridges etc to get it ready for next people. It is ridiculous for this agent to say you left it a tip - makes no odds - still has to be cleaned.

e) as another poster says, a lamp breaking, plates, glasses, it is all par for the course. The worst that happened to me was a glass patio door got smashed, then replaced, on insurance the next day. I did not charge the people staying anything.

Having said all that (I am cross as it gives people who rent out holiday properties a bad name) I will say the following... I think it is the agent trying to make money. I am sure of it. She is reporting back to the owner and is ripping her off too - I would bet money on it.

Before I took over the handling of our villa it happened all the time with cleaning being massively overcharged and badly done, laundry, garden, pool - you name it. Your absolute best bet is to try and contact the owner direct or INSIST that the agent does. You threaten her integrity and reputation as that is what we all rely on. This will worry the owner (quite rightly) and she will hopefully back down.

I would also complain about the flies, again - their responsibility.
You also ask for receipts for the replacement of the lamp - how much can that be? How can anyone justify 400 euros? The parasols, swing and a set of laundry are totally par for the course. (So is the lamp IMO)

Good luck. Remember the owner is doing this as an investment and you can really say you are going to make trouble. If you can't get hold of her directly you insist the agent passes on your email and ask for proof.

HTH in some way.

I own a holiday home which I rent out and I always take a security deposit for bookings I take and my management company takes a security deposit when they take bookings. This is refunded within a few days of departure once the management company have gone in and cleaned and inspected the property.

I have only once withheld a security deposit and that was when a guest caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage. You do expect the odd broken glass, plate, cup etc and that has happened numerous times over the last 15 years I've rented my house out.

From what you've said, I think really the only thing I'd expect to pay/charge for is the broken lamp.

Thanks, everyone.

Unfortunately this IS the owner. As I said, this is her first season and I just don't think she has a clue. She has sent two rude and overwrought emails now. The second attached a string of photos to 'prove' we had left it in a state. It includes photos of some toothpaste marks by the sink, some handprints on a window, a piece of tissue on the floor, some mess on the kitchen floor where the bin was etc. We are flabbergasted.

The website is French Holiday Homes and they have a big disclaimer saying they do not get involved in disputes, so they are no use.

I am actually really upset, not just by the money but by her appalling attitude to us. She is accusing us of being dirty, careless vandals. We have never had a single complaint or penny of a deposit taken before. Other owners have always had the attitude shown on here. You don't just take thousands of pounds from people and not expect to pay something for wear and year.

I need to dig out our contract, if there is one. The on site info definitely says there is a final clean included in the price.

Yes, a final clean should be included in the price. I pay $80 for my villa to be cleaned on each departure.

Tell her you will leave negative comments on tripadvisor!

I am planning to provide a link in the travel section on here and on the Trip Advisor forum. The house itself isn't on Trip Advisor and the booking site has no review function sadly. Any other ideas?

How much was your deposit and how did you pay? If it was PayPal or cheque, you can stop it or lodge a dispute..... Her attitude stinks and won't be getting much more business. Our villa rents very well thanks to glowing testimonials from very happy guests and we do our utmost to give them their best holiday ever. It's what we would expect from a holiday rental.

As a last resort, if this isn't resolved any other way, I would threaten her with the national press .....

Our deposit is 400 euros and annoyingly we paid by bank transfer. Any cheque would have been cancelled by now.

If she has reacted like this to us, I assume she will also react badly to other tenants. I think we have caught it partly because she arrived for the first time in a few months the day we left and has decided the fly infestation is our fault. So we must be dirty etc. But we think her big problem is that she sees the house as her home, and resents other people in it. Hence the tirade of abuse for minor issues other people wouldn't even notice. I do think the agent is encouraging it though, and if we get charged for additional cleaning, I will be convinced.

I am going to tell her it seems she is setting out to defraud and I may well say we are thinking of going to a paper.

I would calmly state your case in a letter to her, and say you are sending copies to the local tourism office and the Mairie (town hall)

If she is making additional money by ripping people off, she is unlikely to be paying the appropriate French taxes, or to have informed the authorities about her business. It should put the wind up her!

Oh, that is brilliant! What better reward for her than a big dose of French bureaucracy.

and definitely Trip Advisor and Mumsnet link....

We have a holiday house, and don't ask for a deposit as we only have friends or family....plenty of glasses and plates (ikea) have been damaged, but such is life.

She sounds dreadful.

Good luck.

I've just noticed that in one of her photos is some used loo roll on the floor of the loo. My stepdaughter is visually impaired and often misses-she must have been to the loo just before we left and we didn't notice. I'm cross with myself now because it gives her ammunition, but rationally she is still barking. The loo itself and the floor were spotless.

Fantastic suggestion to report her to the local Mairie. Please keep us updated. Some of these damage deposits are enormous (asked for 1500 euros for some houses this year )

Hello,

Do you have a property in France that you rent?

I ask because we are about to rent a chateau for a week and they want a security deposit of 6500euro and won't take it on a credit card. As such I have asked they draw up some paperwork that states when they will give it back. Assuming there is no damage caused she won't give me a date and I wondered legally how long a deposit can be kept?

I hope you can help!

I would advise if a deposit cannot be paid on a cc or dc to go somewhere else. It's a pain trying to recover money over european boundaries and expensive and time consuming.