Left disgusting hotel who won't refund, can I get my money back?

[atticus]

Rather prolix, but it does the job.

[islandgirl]

I would certainly head it LETTER BEFORE ACTION in big letters - they might read it then...

[R0b]

As Atticus says, it does the job in getting the message across but is somewhat convoluted in places. You may find it easier if you break this down into sub-headings.

See example below based on the information you've provided but more concise.

Dear Sir/Madam,

[Claimant Name] v [Defendant Name]

Re: Notice of intended legal proceedings for breach of contract relating to a recent hotel booking at The Crown and Cushion Hotel

I write to notify you of my intention to take legal action against you to recover the sum of £XXX.XX owed to me. This is the sum I paid for a reservation to stay at your hotel, the Crown & Cushion, Chipping Norton for 21-28 November 2023. The basis of my claim is outlined below.

Relevant facts
I made a reservation on 4 November 2023 via booking.com to stay at The Crown and Cushion during 21-28 November 2023 (inclusive). The total cost of the stay was £526.12 and was paid using my debit card.

Upon arrival, I was informed that the leisure facilities were unavailable due to building works and maintenance being carried out, whilst breakfast was also not going to be served for the same reasons. This was the first time I had been notified of this. During my stay, I noticed a number of other concerning issues throughout the hotel such as:

1. Power tools and debris were left lying around in public areas which posed a health and safety risk and I had to carefully navigate my way around these obstacles. There were also at times ladders that had blocked the hallway area and entrance to my room.

2. A fire door adjacent to my room was being propped open using watering cans or other similar items despite notices on the doors that they were to be kept shut at all times.

3. The communal areas and my room had a constant smell of cigarette smoke due to the workmen smoking at the fire door that was propped open.

4. The room was very dirty and had clearly not been cleaned. In particular, the bathroom was very mouldy in places, the shower curtain was badly stained with what appeared to be blood and other drippings of blood were trapesed across the linoleum The room was also very cold since the radiators would not work. There was also copious amounts of grime and mould throughout the remainder of the room.

In light of the above and given that the state of the room was completely unacceptable, I therefore decided to cancel my booking and seek accommodation elsewhere and communicated this to a member of staff. Following my stay elsewhere, I spoke to various staff members at the hotel to complain and how to go about obtaining a refund on my booking. I was told this would be sorted out and will be contacted once it has been resolved. Despite several attempts contacting the hotel, I am yet to receive my refund.

Breach of contract
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the hotel is under a duty to provide services with reasonable skill and care, and I believe the hotel is in breach of that duty based on my experience described above. The room itself was clearly not of satisfactory quality and did not match the photographs shown on booking.com. I was also told that I would a receive a refund for the full amount that I had paid to stay at the hotel, which I relied upon but I have not received, and now the hotel appears to have reneged on that promise by failing to process the refund.

In addition to the above, the failure to notify me in advance of my stay that certain facilities would not be operating due to building and maintenance works amounted to a misrepresentation. The hotel was advertised on booking.com as providing breakfast and leisure facilities which I relied upon when making my decision to stay at the hotel. No notification was communicated to me in advance of my stay and I was only told about the lack of facilities on the day that I arrived at the hotel. Had I known about this in advance, I would have cancelled my booking and stayed at a different hotel that could offer those missing facilities.

I have also incurred the following costs and expenses whilst trying to resolve this dispute:

1.[list additional expenses incurred]

2.[list additional expenses incurred]

Evidence to support the claim
In support of my claim, I have gathered various evidence consisting of photographs, video and audio recordings which are enclosed for your perusal.

Action required to resolve this dispute
I require you to pay me the sum of £XXX.XX within 14 days from the date of this [letter/email]. Payment can be made by bank transfer to the following account:

Name of bank:
Sort code:
Account no:
Reference: Crown & Cushion Refund

If you dispute any part of what I have stated in this letter, you should provide a reasonably detailed response explaining why you do not agree within 14 days. In the event that I do not hear back from you, it is my intention to start legal proceedings against the hotel. I understand that All Seasons Limited are the owners of the hotel so unless you tell me otherwise and provide satisfactory evidence to the contrary, they will be listed as the defendant in legal proceedings.

I look forward to hearing from you in due course.


Yours faithfully,


[insert name]

[FreeBit]

Rather prolix, but it does the job.

Thank you

[FreeBit]

As Atticus says, it does the job in getting the message across but is somewhat convoluted in places. You may find it easier if you break this down into sub-headings.

See example below based on the information you've provided but more concise.

Thank you so much, this is amazing, I can't believe you would take time out of your day to do this for me, how immensely kind. I have copied it and amended it accordingly.

I have removed the bit about enclosing my evidence for their perusal, as I feel anxious about showing them all of my cards at this stage, if they have all of my photos and recordings won't that better arm them to concoct some defence should they decide to go to court and attempt to fight it?

[wales01man]

When did you book this?

[FreeBit]

When did you book this?

4th November 2023

[wales01man]

• CROWN AND CUSHION HOTEL (CHIPPING NORTON) LIMITED
  
  01319149 - Dissolved on 23 September 2023
  
  KRE CORPORATE RECOVERY LIMITED, Unit 8 The Aquarium Building 1-7 King Street, Reading, RG1 2AN Was this the company you paid money to or do you have the name of who you did pay

[FreeBit]

• CROWN AND CUSHION HOTEL (CHIPPING NORTON) LIMITED
  
  01319149 - Dissolved on 23 September 2023
  
  KRE CORPORATE RECOVERY LIMITED, Unit 8 The Aquarium Building 1-7 King Street, Reading, RG1 2AN Was this the company you paid money to or do you have the name of who you did pay

Thank you, the discussion thread has covered this issue and the operating company has been identified

[R0b]

Thank you so much, this is amazing, I can't believe you would take time out of your day to do this for me, how immensely kind. I have copied it and amended it accordingly.

I have removed the bit about enclosing my evidence for their perusal, as I feel anxious about showing them all of my cards at this stage, if they have all of my photos and recordings won't that better arm them to concoct some defence should they decide to go to court and attempt to fight it?

Legal proceedings should always be viewed as a last resort and the courts expect a cards on the table approach by both sides in order to try to facilitate a settlement without the need for proceedings to be issued. Trying to pull a fast one by leaving it as late as possible to send them your evidence may be construed as unreasonable conduct if the disclosure of that evidence would have led to an earlier settlement and thus avoiding the need for additional costs to be incurred or court resources wasted.

It's your choice whether you decide to include evidence at this stage or not, but I don't see any harm in doing assuming you have nothing to hide. Just bear in mind, if a claim is issued and defended but then settled, you may find the hotel could argue some of your costs are not recoverable because you failed to disclose the evidence earlier. ~Worst case, they may argue for wasted costs they incurred during proceedings, particularly if they have legal representation.

[islandgirl]

You may be correct Rob but I would not send evidence at this stage (just my personal view). Evidence has been described so they know what the author has. They can ask for it. Then I would send.

[FreeBit]

You may be correct Rob but I would not send evidence at this stage (just my personal view). Evidence has been described so they know what the author has. They can ask for it. Then I would send.

Hello there

I'm back with an update.

Firstly a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed and assisted me so far.

Here is a summary of what has happened since I last posted:

* Sent letter before action via post and email: no response (14 days)
* Submitted online claim, they had until 19 Feb to respond online
* 20 Feb I requested a judgement
* With the request for judgement pending, 26 Feb received notice from court service that the defendant had submitted a defence by post, it was received by them 20 Feb
* Both parties now have to complete an N180
* I have noted on the N180 that I am happy to accept mediation
* On the N180 I have also ticked to say that I don't think the case is suitable for determination without a hearing and these are my reasons:

The defendent disputes the following facts:
That the hotel was in breach of the consumer rights act 2015
That the hotel told me I could have a full refund

I have ample evidence to prove both of these facts to be true and would like to demonstrate these to the court in person by providing the relevant photo, video and audio items with the original recording device if required.

I spoke with the online civil money claims team, and she advised that in her experience the court will accept evidence in the format of photo, video and audio and usually prefer the original device to be presented, so that partly informed my decision to state the above. The other reasons are that I would like the opportunity to answer any questions that the court may have and present the facts as clearly as possible, hopefully eliminating any doubt that I should be refunded.

Should it be the case that this ends up going to court then I'd like to share their defence here with you and seek your valuable thoughts on the matter before court.

Does anyone have any thoughts on any of the above at this point please? I shall hang fire on submitting the N180 just in case you do.

Many thanks as always.

[FreeBit]

I am trying to post an update and every time it doesn't post, so I am going to try and upload the post as a picture to see if that works...if anyone has any idea as to why I can't post the text I have written please can you advise. Thank you.

This post I've shared with the photo of my update is quite hard to read so is no good. I have tried multiple ways to share my update as a normal written post and it just posts a blank box with a greenish colouring (see attached) does anyone know why this is happening please?

[atticus]

EXC are any of the OP's posts being held in the forum's version of purgatory?

[EXC]

It's the errant spam filter. I've approved the OP's post (#46).