Travel lodge cleaning claim

[J1M3N7]

So I stayed in a travel lodge before Christmas for a works do. As expected things got a bit messy and I ended up being sick in the room upon return. Months later I was hit with a Civil recovery claim (which they initially screwed the dates up on) as u can see from the below images of the letters.
http://imgur.com/qe11uqa
http://imgur.com/ij8qWsu
http://imgur.com/gOoVERO
I admit it might not have all made it in the toilet however the accusations about magic mushrooms and the use of bio hazard kit seems ridiculous.
The amount is also outrageous.

Any help what action to take?

[paulajayne]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

How much is claim for? Bio-Hazard kit is standard practice - never know what you could be dealing with.

[J1M3N7]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

The claim is for £247.56

[Ripped-Off]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

Were the terms they refer to actually made clear to you during the booking process as the letter states? I am thinking whether the case of Olley v Marlborough Court Ltd [1949] might be of use here. Any thoughts anyone?

If the terms were made aware to you, then whether the damage was wilful or accidental, you did fail to notify them, but the damage had occurred in any event.

Your vomiting and the resulting damage would have to satisfy the criteria of either malicious, wilful, negligent or interference with hotel property which I'm not too sure that it does. Perhaps getting so drunk that you vomit everywhere might be regarded as negligent but would it be negligence if you ate something that caused you to throw up, and unless you can throw up on demand I suspect that it couldn't be malicious or wilful.

Offering them a token payment would be seen as an admission of guilt, unless of course you make your offer without prejudice advising them that something you ate (perhaps from their vending machine??) made you violently ill.

[R0b]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

If it was you that booked it then as regards to the terms you would have accepted them when you booked - olley v Marlborough wouldn't apply here I think.

You were at the very least I think negligent, whether that can be shown in court is a different story, and you failed to notify them of this... From reading the letter it sounds like you vomited all over the place - were you sleeping in it too?!?

If these guys are acting on behalf of travel lodge unless they have a qualified solicitor in their company they wouldn't be able to issue a claim against you for starters as that falls within the realms of a solicitor or it would have to be someone of seniority in Travel Lodge.

You can of course write back to them and request the photographic evidence that they have on you as well as a full breakdown of the £247.56 their client is claiming.. I suspect their fees will be included in that as well. Put them on notice that you disagree with the allegations of the magic mushrooms and you require proof that the substance the employee picked up was in fact a magic mushroom. Unless she took it to a police station who tested it I'm afraid it is entirely her opinion which means jack all, and if such allegations cause any damage to you, then you reserve the right to bring a claim against Travel Lodge as a result.


Isn't this a similar type of company to that RLP that's been floating around on here from time to time? [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION], [MENTION=39710]des8[/MENTION],

[des8]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

As has already been asked.. did you actually book the room, or was it done for you?
If you booked it yourself was it on line or in person at the desk?
If the latter was your attention actually brought to the T&C's?

Yes, very similar modus operandi as RLP, in fact they appear to be trying to pinch clients from RLP!
They claim to have in house legal support expertise provided by qualified team (ie no solicitor otherwise they would have so stated!)

I would normally suggest ignoring until/unless court papers were received.
However, as you have already been in contact with them, and if you are feeling brave you could continue with the line of questioning suggested above.
Ensure you don't admit to anything, and when you are tired of the game, deny that you owe them anything and see what they do.
I doubt travel lodge would go to court over such a small account, as their costs could outweigh any recovery they might make.

[des8]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

............and if you don't pay "You will receive further letters, as we want to give you the opportunity to resolve this claim without the need for any legal proceedings. However, if we are unable to do this, then the claim will be passed back to the client for them to decide whether they wish to issue court proceedings to seek further action. If they proceed to court and are successful, you may incur further costs such as court costs, legals fees and interest."

A quick scan around the forums shows plenty of examples of Travel lodge/CRS getting wrong rooms, wrong dates, "enhanced" damage claims.
Like RLP they make a living out of browbeating people.

On reflection I would suggest your next letter (if you bother to write) should be on the lines of " Any liability to you or your client is denied, and no further correspondence will be entered into"

[J1M3N7]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

Is there any history of CRS taking people to court over these things?
I've scanned through this forum and similar and a lot of the advice is to simply ignore the letters, but none of the threads seem to have any sort of conclusion to them. Unless they just don't send any more letters once it's clear they're not getting an answer? Therefore you'd never know if they've truly dropped the case.

I am in two minds whether to ignore them now or respond asking for the pictures, a financial breakdown and invoices/receipts to see if their "proof" is credible.

[des8]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

CRS don't do court.
They advise their clients of the client;s options.
This is set out in the letter they sent you.

[J1M3N7]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

I'm currently drafting a letter back to them along these lines.

http://imgur.com/Si0EReI

Do I leave the bit out about magic mushrooms or do you think it makes me sound more serious?

My plan is if they send the photos back and there's no time stamp then there's no guarantee when they were taken and as they've already messed around with dates then deny all claims.

What do people think?

[des8]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

I personally would not even bother to reply.
All you will do is to start a game of letter tennis.
During this you might drop the ball and make an admission of liability, and in any case they will just keep the pressure on.

They will need to show you were malicious, wilful or negligent.
It seems to me you were sick i.e. ill. It may have been self inflicted but was it m.../w... or n...?

If you feel a need to respond IMO it should be as set out in post 7.
If you respond along the lines you set out and they reply with photographs with date & time stamp, how will you know they have not been "amended"
and will you then roll over and cough up?

[J1M3N7]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

http://imgur.com/csYNX1s

Does this scream as much of desperation to anyone else as much as it does to me?

When you consider that my last reply was:
Any liability to you or your client is denied, and no further correspondence will be entered into.

Should I even bother replying this time?

[des8]

Re: Travel lodge cleaning claim

I would ignore.

As R)b said earlier these recovery people can't issue a claim.
It will have to be Travel Lodge themselves or their solicitors.
Their irrecoverable costs to get the claim into court will outweigh any judgement they MIGHT be awarded.

Anyway, that's how I view the situation