Cottages4you: A Cautionary Tale

[cortisolcrush]

Myself, DH and our DDs are off on holiday on Friday. We have a long weekend with friends booked at a cottage near Pickering.

Everyone is organised. We're travelling from Durham after school. A friend and her DS are travelling from Humberside, her DH flying is in from business in the US (Heathrow, then Manchester, then train to Malton) and our other friends are driving up from the south-east.

The cottage is luxurious: 3 en-suite double rooms - check! A room each for our DDs and our friends' DS - check! A woodburner - check! Wifi - check! Animals on site to keep the kids amused - check! In Pickering! What could be more perfect?

So, when I rang Cottages4you/Cottages.com this morning to confirm the postcode and chase up the paperwork, I was more than a little shocked to find that the cottage owner had 'rejected' our booking (in favour of a week long booking over half-term, natch). Cottages4you had neglected to mention this to us.

So we received a 'Thank you for Reserving Your Holiday. Your reference number is XXXXX' email on 9th January. Some time between then and now, our reservation was cancelled. And they didn't think to mention it...

[BeccaMumsnet]

Hi all - we're going to move this over to our UK topic at the OP's request.

[cortisolcrush]

Well, this thread appears on the first Google search page for cottages4you, frosty. But TBH, I don't think they give a rats about lost custom.

I think I might get this moved out of Chat and into UK travel so it hangs around as long as possible

[frostyfingers]

What a pain - I hope you pointed out to them that you regularly book cottage holidays, and that you will be letting everyone you know what terrible service you had from them.

Enjoy the holiday and well done for holding them to account.

[mamaslatts]

We booked through them and later found out (through googling the cottage) that it had actually been sold (it was on rightmove). the new owners didn't want to honour the entire summer bookings. It was on the Isle of Wight and luckily we hadn't booked a ferry (would have been about £180 for car ferry) but I'm sure lots had. There was nothing else available of similar size so I'm sure lots of people lost out on ferry booking as well as holiday booking.

Rural retreats are brilliant, booked with them lots of times and the places are lovely.

[cortisolcrush]

Thanks guys

[ceeveebee]

I was scrolling down to recommend snaptrip which does last minute UK holidaycottages but I see you're sorted now - hope you have a nice time after all that hassle'

[FaFoutis]

Sorry others have suffered the shitty TOAD HALL COTTAGES. They both sound awful.
Not all cottage companies are crap, we use Helpful Holidays a lot and they have always been good.

[LadyIsabellaWrotham]

Fair point cankle. The OP had been messed about terribly, and had to get a bit bolshy, but she finally does have a cottage for her holiday and isn't out of pocket. If she'd been dealing direct with the gazumping owner then she'd have been screwed.

[cankleofglitter]

We also had a dreadful experience with Toad Hall cottages. No warning about the utterly unusable driveway to the cottage, then there were loads of signs everywhere telling us what we could and could not use (I have no issue with people keeping stuff for their own use but don't waft the nice crystal in my face and then stick a note on it saying "not to be used by lettings customers") and the smoke alarms on both floors had no batteries. Would never use them again.

We have used cottages4you and other agents because I just don't trust owners and you can't get any resolution from an owner who has misadvertised a property and now has your cash and no intention of handing any of it back.

I hate booking holidays.

[Greydog]

FaFoutis - we had a dreadful time with Toad Hall Cottages. Our "peaceful" cottage had an owner who kept stopping round, we were told we had use of the garden, which, when he wasn't driving round in a go cart was wandering around with a shotgun! And it wasn't secluded - we could hear the neighbours all the time. never again - and they didn't give a toss when we complained

[CocktailQueen]

I'm glad they have finally rectified their mistake, and hope you have a lovely holiday.

Thanks for the heads-up - will avoid them in future...

[iPaid]

Glad something's been sorted. Try and put their uselessness behind you and have a great holiday in the beautiful Lake District.

[cortisolcrush]

Well, cottages4you have finally corrected their mistake.

They have booked us the alternative property in the Lakes for the cost of the original booking (despite at first saying that the original price was £750, NOT £650 ).

So we made all the running. We spoke to around 8 different people. We were never given a complaints number, nor a direct email address, nor a direct phone number. It took them 48 hours to rectify their cock-up. Forty-eight hours of phone-calls, text messages, emails and stress which just so happened to coincide with DD's 5th birthday.

Oh, and they also made DD1 cry (when she heard DH on the phone and assumed our holiday was cancelled).

So, thanks a bunch Cottages4you, cottages.com and cumbriancottages.

I book several cottage holidays a year, and hell would have to freeze over before I used these charlatans again.

[iPaid]

Oh that's interesting about them owning Cumbrian Cottages and charging more for the same property

[cortisolcrush]

Still waiting for CottagesFuckYou to redeem themselves.

After many phone calls, they decided they could up the offer to £150 off any property on their books. The only problem with this is that there are only 4 5-bedroom properties in Yorkshire left. One is shit, and the other 3 cost more than £1000 (the original booking cost around £650).

They also decided they needed to see the booking confirmation email. So I had to forward that to them Presumably, because it would be too difficult to trace it on their own system. Or maybe I routinely lie to holiday companies about emails I receive. Or maybe I can't read emails properly.

We suggested an alternative property in the Lake District, costing just over £1000. They said 'too expensive'. We told them that the exact same property was available on Cumbriancottages for around £850. It then transpired that they actually own Cumbriancottages and would look into the 'price discrepancy' and get back to us.

It's blatantly obvious that they don't know their arse from their elbow. Nor which companies they own.

[cortisolcrush]

Anchor that is dreadful!

[CountingToThree]

If you can get to North Wales instead try //www.theholidaycastle.co.uk

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

You might end up being happy it was cancelled...Ours was diabolical. We rented a "secluded" house that was actually right in front of the owners house, so not peaceful at all. They were building four "farm style" apartments next door. The owners had 5 unsecured dogs who ran around and barked a lot, which upset our dog.

The garden, which was supposed to be safe and dog-friendly, had a big hole in it, so dog couldn't go out. The bedroom smelt so strongly of pee that we slept downstairs. The kitchen was littered with rat and bird poo. We left after just two nights, four nights early, because the power kept going out - dodgy generator, apparently.

They offered us £150 off when we complained, but said the garden just needed a fence, not a "whole" fence. They cut the £150 to £70 a few hours later because they felt that was a fairer offer.

[FaFoutis]

Thanks for the warning OP. We go on lots of cottage holidays so it is useful to know who to avoid. Hope you find somewhere.

For anyone going to the south west my shit list has TOAD HALL COTTAGES at the very top. The cottage was a horrible dump, they kept our deposit and laughed at us when we complained. "We have your money so there's nothing you can do about it now" apparently.

[Nuffwasafairy]

Buggier I thought I was sending a pm . I'll have to change my name after all.

[Nuffwasafairy]

Try www.warthhouse-barn.co.uk
Lovely place , not too expensive and they don't use an agency.
Messaging cos I don't want to risk DD and DDIL to suss my user name😉

[helenahandbag]

My mum and dad went through a phase of using Cottages4u and I referred to their holidays as "going cottaging", which was received with much laughter (from me).

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

Lol, I think that bit of outrageousness re the £80 has sold it to me. What a cheek!

[CocktailQueen]

So they took the booking, emailed to confirm, then didn't take the payment, or took the payment then refunded it without telling you?

Really shitty. Is there a holidays ombudsman to complain to?

Tweet them! Name and shame! That might work. Use some DM sad faces...

V sorry. Hope you can find something else.