I hope someone can help me please.
I booked a weekend away through Hoseasons, and the website AND brochure both state 'Newly refurbished for 2010. King Sized Bed.' etc and it's part of a range hand picked by Hoseasons to be the best of the very best.
Well, when we got there the lodge was a tip and not newly refurbished, however it seemed our lodge was the last one to be done and when we confronted the site owner he admitted he hadn't gotten around to refurbishing this particular lodge yet. The whole place was extremely dirty and I took plenty of photos, I won't go into detail. Someone I know had stayed at this lodge park in one of the refurbished lodges and it was gorgeous, and this was a big reason why I chose to stay at this site.
We rang Hoseasons whilst we were there, the owner said he couldn't move us into another lodge as the place was fully booked, and Hoseasons tried to resolve the issue with the owner but he was refusing to refund me. Hoseasons then said I needed to put this in writing to them. I came home the same day we got there as it was just awful.
I wrote a full letter to Hoseasons, pointing out they advertised this lodge as 'newly refurbished for 2010' and it didn't even have a king sized bed... That's not a huge issue but just proves the whole blurb was false. They responded within 28 days advising they were getting touch with the site owner and would respond to me in full when they had recieved a response.
I now have a response and they say the site owner is refusing to refund us, saying we didn't give him a chance to rectify the problem. How on earth could he have refurbished the lodge for us?! Hoseasons also thanked us for pointing out it's not newly refurbished and have now changed the information. If they mean the fact it was dirty, old and caked in cobwebs, then it would have interupted our romantic holiday, we couldn't sit in the hot tub whilst they were deep cleaning the thick cobwebs from the outside of the lodge, and removing the dumped rubbish (old boiler, spade, crisp packets...) and weeds from the 'garden.'
I want to know now what my best action would be. I am refusing to budge on this but I want to know what official paths I can take, whilst they may have changed the website the brochure still states the 'newly refurbished for 2010' line. As Hoseasons are with ABTA can I go through them, or is this advertising standards agency? Any help is greatly appreciated!
But you did inform the owner, he told you he couldn't help as the place was fully booked. Sounds to me as though Hoseasons are quoting travel law which states you've got to report the matter first in order to give them the opportunity to put things right.
Surely if you booked through Hoseasons they are the people your contract is with and not the owner?
Surely if you booked through Hoseasons they are the people your contract is with and not the owner?
I told the owner on the day we weren't happy, as he has told Hoseasons they are all fully refurbished when in fact he hadn't finished them all. He then said 'It's been hard, I'm doing the refurbishments personally.' He also added that he'd told Hoseasons 2010 rather than 2011 as most of them were done anyway!
He was rather loud and abusive. We then rang Hoseasons who obviously rang him straight away, he came back round and stated he would fix the broken towel rail and get some new bed sheets for us. We said they are only minor problems, our main problem is the fact this is NOT refurbished as advertised.
We rang Hoseasons several times and they're final phone call was 'he's offered to resolve the problem for you.' We argued the problem was it's completely not as advertised, so they said to put the complaint in writing.
I did this when we got home, and they replied saying they sent the complaint onto the site owner. They are now saying he still won't refund us, but thank you for letting them know it's not as advertised and they've now changed their website. They also said he offered to resolve it for us.
I feel like banging my head off a wall!
Is my dispute with Hoseasons, as I booked through them and they advertised it was refurbished for 2010? Could I go to ABTA as they are registered with them, or is that just for package holidays?
He was rather loud and abusive. We then rang Hoseasons who obviously rang him straight away, he came back round and stated he would fix the broken towel rail and get some new bed sheets for us. We said they are only minor problems, our main problem is the fact this is NOT refurbished as advertised.
We rang Hoseasons several times and they're final phone call was 'he's offered to resolve the problem for you.' We argued the problem was it's completely not as advertised, so they said to put the complaint in writing.
I did this when we got home, and they replied saying they sent the complaint onto the site owner. They are now saying he still won't refund us, but thank you for letting them know it's not as advertised and they've now changed their website. They also said he offered to resolve it for us.
I feel like banging my head off a wall!
Is my dispute with Hoseasons, as I booked through them and they advertised it was refurbished for 2010? Could I go to ABTA as they are registered with them, or is that just for package holidays?
Ok so a hotel owner says that the hotel has been refurbished and all the new rooms have King size beds etc etc. Does the Tour Operator then come back to you after you've complained repeating what the hotel owner states? I don't think so. Hoseasons should have checked on booking your lodge that it was as stated.
Hoseasons sold you the holiday NOT the owner. Hoseasons in my opinion should give you compensation and then reclaim it from the owner.
I'd go to you local trading standards office first. ABTA IMO are mainly for TO (although they should be impartial)
Hoseasons sold you the holiday NOT the owner. Hoseasons in my opinion should give you compensation and then reclaim it from the owner.
I'd go to you local trading standards office first. ABTA IMO are mainly for TO (although they should be impartial)
Sounds like a "simple" breach of contract by Hoseasons - unless their T&Cs mention anywhere that they act merely as your agent in booking with owners. Assuming that clause isn't there you could go to court but if you paid by credit card speak to the issuer first, if the cost was over their threshold you may be able to claim back via them.
Hoseasons state:
"We Hoseasons Holidays Limited (company number 00965389)
trading as Hoseasons, act as agent in booking your lodge or park
(‘accommodation') and other services."
So I'm guessing that limits me somewhat?
Unfortunately I did not pay by credit card, only visa debit.
"We Hoseasons Holidays Limited (company number 00965389)
trading as Hoseasons, act as agent in booking your lodge or park
(‘accommodation') and other services."
So I'm guessing that limits me somewhat?
Unfortunately I did not pay by credit card, only visa debit.
Abta won't touch a complaint until there have been 2 full replies.
I think Hoseasons are sitting on their laurels with this one. Your contract is with Hoseasons and they've
a) failed to provide you with the accommodation they indicate in their brochure
b) did not follow up or verify that all the accommodation was refurbished as per the owner. They took him at his word, which should be sufficient.
c) Hoseasons contract is with the supplier (ie, the lodge owner/management company) and they in turn will seek to claim any compensation back from him in lieu of future reservations and payments. It's how most tour operators work and this was the job I did for 10yrs before I left the UK to live in Cyprus.
Go straight to your local Trading Standards office to make an official complaint. Tour Operators can only afford to have a certain number of TS complaints made against them before action is taken to stop them trading. They do not want this kind of action and should then take steps to resolve the issue.
If you have photographs of the room showing the facilities that were not as specified in the brochure particularly, this is your complaint and claim for compensation.
Scan, or upload them and send them by email to Hoseasons too and make sure you have them to show to Trading Standards.
However, there is another issue here. You say the room wasn't clean or fit for habitation. Is this the reason you returned home early? In which case, if the supplier offered to fix the situation in this respect and you refused the offer, then it may have some adverse effect on your complaint. Not all of it, but certainly some of it.
At the end of the day, you didn't get what you had booked according to your part of the contract with the person who contracted the accommodation from the supplier. Hoseasons did not provide your contracted accommodation because of their contract with the supplier.
It's not up to the supplier to offer you a refund, it's up to Hoseasons to resolve the matter with you directly and for them to take it up with the supplier in whatever shape or form they choose to.
Good luck and please post back with the outcome!
CwB
I think Hoseasons are sitting on their laurels with this one. Your contract is with Hoseasons and they've
a) failed to provide you with the accommodation they indicate in their brochure
b) did not follow up or verify that all the accommodation was refurbished as per the owner. They took him at his word, which should be sufficient.
c) Hoseasons contract is with the supplier (ie, the lodge owner/management company) and they in turn will seek to claim any compensation back from him in lieu of future reservations and payments. It's how most tour operators work and this was the job I did for 10yrs before I left the UK to live in Cyprus.
Go straight to your local Trading Standards office to make an official complaint. Tour Operators can only afford to have a certain number of TS complaints made against them before action is taken to stop them trading. They do not want this kind of action and should then take steps to resolve the issue.
If you have photographs of the room showing the facilities that were not as specified in the brochure particularly, this is your complaint and claim for compensation.
Scan, or upload them and send them by email to Hoseasons too and make sure you have them to show to Trading Standards.
However, there is another issue here. You say the room wasn't clean or fit for habitation. Is this the reason you returned home early? In which case, if the supplier offered to fix the situation in this respect and you refused the offer, then it may have some adverse effect on your complaint. Not all of it, but certainly some of it.
At the end of the day, you didn't get what you had booked according to your part of the contract with the person who contracted the accommodation from the supplier. Hoseasons did not provide your contracted accommodation because of their contract with the supplier.
It's not up to the supplier to offer you a refund, it's up to Hoseasons to resolve the matter with you directly and for them to take it up with the supplier in whatever shape or form they choose to.
Good luck and please post back with the outcome!
CwB
The Visa bit isn't bad news but the Hoseasons clause may be, it wasn't put there just to fill a space.
Although all UK credit card users have rights under Act of Parliament, the Visa organisation requires issuers to give similar rights for debit cards as part of the franchise terms. But with that clause in the Hoseasons terms it may limit you.
You could take legal action against the owner but that raises the question about the undoubtedly significant mark-up that Hoseasons would have applied on top of what he actually charged. One course would be to start a joint County Court action against both the owner and Hoseasons, the court charge is the same, it's just a bit more writing. In a different scenario, my car got damaged during some badly managed roadworks. I named the county council, their contractors and their subcontractors in one action with a view to the court dividing up liablity (in the end the middleman paid the lot to settle!). You need to speak to trading standards first but these vary a lot because they are run by local authorities who have differing views on their importance so fund them accordingly. Try your local one, the one that covers the area of the site and the one that covers Hoseasons registered address and see which is the most useful. If you go via the ConsumerDirect helpline they will probably pass you to your local office.
Although all UK credit card users have rights under Act of Parliament, the Visa organisation requires issuers to give similar rights for debit cards as part of the franchise terms. But with that clause in the Hoseasons terms it may limit you.
You could take legal action against the owner but that raises the question about the undoubtedly significant mark-up that Hoseasons would have applied on top of what he actually charged. One course would be to start a joint County Court action against both the owner and Hoseasons, the court charge is the same, it's just a bit more writing. In a different scenario, my car got damaged during some badly managed roadworks. I named the county council, their contractors and their subcontractors in one action with a view to the court dividing up liablity (in the end the middleman paid the lot to settle!). You need to speak to trading standards first but these vary a lot because they are run by local authorities who have differing views on their importance so fund them accordingly. Try your local one, the one that covers the area of the site and the one that covers Hoseasons registered address and see which is the most useful. If you go via the ConsumerDirect helpline they will probably pass you to your local office.
Thank you everyone for your help. I find it worrying that Hoseasons recognise the lodge was not as advertised, in their reply they state:
"I would like to thank you for bringing the trye date of refurbishment to Hoseasons attention as the owners of any parks featured in our brochure, and on our website, are given several chance to view the description before it is published. Hoseasons were not made aware that this lodge was the first of eight Wakemans to be updated and each takes three months to complete. Therefore, I have escalated this information to our Product Executive to avoid future disappointment for other customers."
I will be getting in touch with my local trading standards, should I also raise a dispute through ABTA or do trading standards raise a dispute for me. I have never had need to complain or go to trading standards before so I'm not sure of the process and what trading standards can do!
"I would like to thank you for bringing the trye date of refurbishment to Hoseasons attention as the owners of any parks featured in our brochure, and on our website, are given several chance to view the description before it is published. Hoseasons were not made aware that this lodge was the first of eight Wakemans to be updated and each takes three months to complete. Therefore, I have escalated this information to our Product Executive to avoid future disappointment for other customers."
I will be getting in touch with my local trading standards, should I also raise a dispute through ABTA or do trading standards raise a dispute for me. I have never had need to complain or go to trading standards before so I'm not sure of the process and what trading standards can do!
Trading standards may not do much more than write stiff letters and give you advice on next steps if there's no suitable response. Most offices don't have the funding to get too involved with small cases. I wouldn't bother with ABTA, they aren't much use and I suspect Hoseasons are only members so that they can sell via ABTA agents' shops.
Actually, the escalating to Product Executive sounds interesting. What we need is a name for the Trading Standards letter.
Actually, the escalating to Product Executive sounds interesting. What we need is a name for the Trading Standards letter.
It sounds interesting but they didn't state they would get in touch with me about this escalation. They ended the letter with 'Naturally, Mr. Smith does not like to see any visitors disappointed, however, as he was not given the opportunity to rectify the situation at the time (what, refurbish my lodge for me?!), Mr. Smith will not be offering a refund of your holiday cost.'
They then do the usual blurb of saying how sorry they are the holiday did not meet my expectations and hope I will use Hoseasons again in the future.
They then do the usual blurb of saying how sorry they are the holiday did not meet my expectations and hope I will use Hoseasons again in the future.
I forgot to add I have now gotten in touch with my bank about the chargeback route, the department who deals with these are getting in touch with me tomorrow.
Hoseasons' CEO is Richard Carrick
http://www.travolution.co.uk/articles/2009/03/13/2322/hoseasons-ceo-interview-richard-carrick.html
luci
http://www.travolution.co.uk/articles/2009/03/13/2322/hoseasons-ceo-interview-richard-carrick.html
luci
Something occured to me.
Hoseasons say they are not liable for the condition of the lodge because they acted as your agent not as service provider. OK, did they do that for free? Of course not, the owner's charge will have had a large lump added as Hoseasons' "fee" for acting as your agent. So they have provided you with a service, at a cost, as part of a business - which means they have a liablity under the Supply of Goods and Services Act. They didn't advise you accurately so your claim against them is for the loss caused by their poor advice. Discuss this angle of attack with Trading Standards, if you get someone on the ball they might run with it!
Hoseasons say they are not liable for the condition of the lodge because they acted as your agent not as service provider. OK, did they do that for free? Of course not, the owner's charge will have had a large lump added as Hoseasons' "fee" for acting as your agent. So they have provided you with a service, at a cost, as part of a business - which means they have a liablity under the Supply of Goods and Services Act. They didn't advise you accurately so your claim against them is for the loss caused by their poor advice. Discuss this angle of attack with Trading Standards, if you get someone on the ball they might run with it!
That's very true.
If my bank does a dispute chargeback on my visa card for me, what do they do exactly? Do they argue my case for me against Hoseasons or is it less than that? Just wondering if I should point that out to bank or not when they call.
If my bank does a dispute chargeback on my visa card for me, what do they do exactly? Do they argue my case for me against Hoseasons or is it less than that? Just wondering if I should point that out to bank or not when they call.
They won't argue for you. If they agree with Hoseasons that owner is liable for the lodge go back and say you are claiming because Hoseasons failed to deliver the agency service that they are liable for, which is basically a breach of contract.
GemmaC25 wrote:Therefore, I have escalated this information to our Product Executive to avoid future disappointment for other customers."
I wouldn't get too excited about this. It's just management gobbledegook for saying "I have let the person who needs to know about this know about it so the brochure/web can be changed and future guests told about it".
That whole comment feels really cheeky to me though, they're admitting that the holiday description was wrong and needs changing! So frustrating.
Is the description on their website still the same? If so I'd take a screen shot sharpish 
Whilst the OP is complaining about a holiday there is another avenue that can be explored. It is illegal to advertise something that is misleading. A holiday let is just the same as a car, fridge or anything else. If it is claimed in the ad that the property is newly refurbished then it has to be.
Have a look at The Advertising Standards website. http://asa.org.uk/ and consider if making a complaint to them will advance your case.
Hoeseasons have carried an advert on their site. Perhaps in good faith, but what was supplied was not what was advertised.
In my opinion there are two guilty parties. The person who offered the accommodation as being refurbished, and was not, and Hoeseasons for failing to ensure that the property matched what they were advertising on THEIR website. Should you decide to complain to the ASA I would send a copy to Hoeseasons. Such action might persuade them that refunding you would be in their best interests
fwh
Have a look at The Advertising Standards website. http://asa.org.uk/ and consider if making a complaint to them will advance your case.
Hoeseasons have carried an advert on their site. Perhaps in good faith, but what was supplied was not what was advertised.
In my opinion there are two guilty parties. The person who offered the accommodation as being refurbished, and was not, and Hoeseasons for failing to ensure that the property matched what they were advertising on THEIR website. Should you decide to complain to the ASA I would send a copy to Hoeseasons. Such action might persuade them that refunding you would be in their best interests
fwh
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