holiday weekend cottage refusing to move date or refund.

[goldenharvest]

So DH (Bless him) booked a cottage for all the family, several distant (in miles) cousins, for us all to meet up, have beauty treatments, jacuzzi weekend, for my big birthday. Its in early March and he has paid in full. The owner now says he will not move the date, or refund or issue a voucher for another time, if we cancel because Covid is still rampant. There will be children present and older people and we have no idea what the vaccination program will be doing by then.

I am annoyed with him for booking and paying in full as we may lose all the money (it was my surprise) and even an idiot could work out we may still be in Tier 3 or lockdown, or even at risk of covid with no vaccinations being given.

Is there any legal way of pushing the owner to move the time back?

DH thought he would be understanding about the Covid risk, but DH doesn't think things through. He booked our wedding for April because that was when we met and it would be romantic to marry then. It snowed and was bloody freezing.

His heart is in the right place

When did he book? I think if he booked after Covid was a tbing and he was already aware he booked with that knowledge, it was probably in the terms and conditions that Covid would not be a reason to move/cancel

Booked around 2 months ago. I'll ask him to look at the contract.

Covid though is a very fluid thing isn't it? In the summer people thought it had gone with the lockdown and wouldn't reappear.

Surely we're not expected to see into the future?

You'll have to hope that it goes ahead OR if it's Tier 3 maybe the landlord will have to cancel as they won't be allowed to rent out the cottage ( I think that was the case last time I looked). If they cancel, you will be entitled to get your money back as it'll be them unable to perform the contract.
Just make sure you hold your nerve and don't cancel too early.

@DelphiniumBlue We should be able to get the vaccine and maybe the older ladies can, or i think we will all get tested before we travel and hope thats enough for our peace of mind.

We will see. xx

We had similar.

Booking was for last weekend and initially the host said we could only get half our money back, we had spent just over £1,000.00 for 3 nights.
I was doing the correspondence a good 5 weeks prior saying our numbers are on the rise and looks like we will be going into lockdown.
When the latest tiers were announced my husband sent a much stronger worded email about breaking the law if we stayed and that he shouldn’t be operating either.
Result he agreed to change the dates and we even got a refund as our new dates are less expensive.
Possibly get someone who is firmer to email the accommodation. Good luck.

@Letsrunabath That does sound a bit more hopeful 😊

Erm well no, not see the future, but 8 weeks ago really isn't that long, i agree with Pp it will depend on whether they can uphold their end or not, can't you having a legal entitlement to refund if you're in tier 3 and can't go

Did he pay by credit card? If he did he may be able to claim it via the card company.

I'll check the credit card thing with him

Can you check the law on this? I mean who is the regulating body for the owner of this cottage? I would politely point out that he might be breaking the law, in danger of losing his license and suggest contacting them if he doesn't offer to move the booking or refund.

There is no regulating body for holiday cottages. No licence is required so he is not in danger of losing one.

As far as the law is concerned, the owner does not have to offer a full refund or allow a change of date. However, if the OP and her husband do cancel they are likely to be due a partial refund. The owner is only likely to be able to keep enough to cover their actual losses due to the cancellation.

You really need to check the terms and conditions that your husband accepted when he booked.

But generally: Right now, the host is under no obligation to let you cancel or move because he/she does not know what the COVID situation will be in March.
If you get to March and there's a lockdown in the host's area, he/she will have to shut his rental and pay you back.
If you get to March and there's a lockdown in your area and you can't travel to wherever the rental is, but the rental itself is open/ allowed to operate, it's a lot less clear cut and you'd have to hope that the host is a nice person who lets you move the dates or gives you a full or partial refund.

Claiming on your credit card is not an option here as no fraud or similar has taken place, and the host is under no obligation to pay you back. You'll just waste your credit card company's time.

In case someone jumps into the thread and suggests you claim via travel insurance - that also won't work unless you are in March, everything is open, but a member of your family is actually ill with something that is not COVID.

I think you’re jumping the gun a bit here. I think you will be in a stronger position if the situation is still critical in March. I feel like it could be quite different.