KayDoll

In the process of my trip planning I came across an apartment in London that fit my budget and was advertised to be in the "center of london, 5 minutes walk from Greenwich market." Since the price was within my budget I booked the apartment and sent a deposit. Well....I didn't double check the exact location on a map so a fellow fodorite did it for me and informed me that the apartment was not anywhere near Greenwich ! ! I accept the fault of not checking the exact location as my own. However, when I made the intial contact with the agent he did not send me details of the cancellation policy. I emailed him about 3 hours after I made the booking to see if I could cancel since I had just booked it 3 hours earlier and he still has 6 months to find another renter but he said all deposits were non-refundable =(

So....my questions are:

1. can he just deny my request for a refund since he did not send me a legitimate contract with cancellation policy to begin with?

2. he still has 6 months to find another renter, surely a cancellation policy cannot extend out 6 months without at least a partial refund????

3. am I screwed and should just consider the $223 dollars as the expensive price of a very important lesson? that being, don't make hasty decisions just because something is cheap without making sure all concerns are met first. *blah*

*sigh* I really hope it's not the latter.

P.S. I booked through someone at Holidaylettings.co.uk. Has anyone had experience with this agency???

adrienne

If the terms and conditions of the rental are that deposits are non-refundable then that's it. Is the apartment very inconveniently located or is it just not near Greenwich market. Any reason you need to stay by Greenwich market? Can you keep this apartment?

Is there anyone else at Holidaylettings you can communicate with other than this rental agent?

I know from your other thread that you're planning a big trip with a limited budget so hopefully you have learned from this experience. It's up to you to clearly understand the agency requirements regarding deposits and other things (cleaning, breakage, etc.) involved in renting. This is also true of hotel bookings.

Have you received a written copy of the terms and conditions so you can review other aspects of the rental and understand your obligations?

KayDoll

It is VERY inconveniently located. About 1 hour out of the city, in Woolwich. If it was in any area centrally or even 10-15 minutes out I wouldn't be bothered but being that it is an hour each way it would be a major issue to have to do that for the 7 days I will be there.

My initial contact with the agent was only about how to send the deposit. I never receieved a formal contract let alone a cancellation policy and I never asked for one. (again, my mistake) and there is no one else at the site since it is only a listing site and everyone is in charge of their own advertisement, different rules apply with each listing. So that means no one else i can talk too =(

I've contacted my bank about doing a stop payment or possibly even closing out the account since the agent won't work with me but I think it is a little unethical (major fear of karma).
What does everyone think?? I have until noon tomorrow to decide.

adrienne

After I posted here I read your other thread and it sounds like the agent misrepresented the location of the apartment. I would stop payment on the check based on that. I've only rented a few apartments but only once did I get a contract.

stormbird

It seems like false advertising to me if the advertisement stated "centre of London" and it's clearly not - very misleading. I'd stop the payment if it was me. However, I never book anything until I can get the address up on googlemaps and see exactly where it is. But that's cold comfort now I realise.

It does seem like you've been deliberately mislead and I wouldn't have any qualms about cancelling the payment. But that's just me.

KayDoll

thanks adrienne. I'm in the process of getting everything figured out. I want to just put a hold on the transaction because I do recognize it as my fault for possibly misunderstanding but I feel kind of cheated and would like for them to actually work with me a little bit. i was just looking for a partial refund since i did make the reservation but it's 6 months out!!! i suppose i'm just looking for a little fairness since i am giving them a good share!

KTtravel

Forget looking for fairness. The apartment was misrepresented and you have been told the deposit won't be refunded. I think you have plenty of information at hand to know that you shouldn't try to work with these people. Stop the payment!

janisj

Your other thread mentioned the flat was in Greenwich. Then later you posted the agent said it was 5 minutes from Big Ben and that is what I went w/.

But you later clarified that he had actually said it is 5 minutes from Greenwich market. It is a lot closer to Greenwich Market than to Big Ben - but still much more than 5 minutes.

If it is truly in Charlesmere Gardens like you said - it is about a 20 minutes walk from any sort of public transport and approx 45 minutes from the Market in Greenwich.

However, in your enthusiasm -- is there <i>any</i> chance you have the street wrong?? Hopefully so -- you did confuse a couple of his statements.

Even parts of Greenwich wouldn't be that convenient, but this street is in Thamesmead and not really near any form of public transport.

But -- is there any possibility you have the address wrong?

stormbird

Hi KayDoll,

I have just posted on your 'Apartment Rentals' post with some recommendations for you. Coincidentally, you get a mention janisj - hello to you - as I got onto www.homelidays.com thanks to your recommendation. I've also posted Chris' (from ex Scala House)details who may be able to help with an apartment.

CaliNurse

Def'lly doa 'stop payment"pn the check. it is dobltful the rental agency will spend lots of energy recovering what to them is not a large amount of money. Besides--they , or their client, misrepresented the property. Now we are talking about truth in advertising

Odin

<<can he just deny my request for a refund since he did not send me a legitimate contract with cancellation policy to begin with?>>
If the cancellation policy is not posted, I make it my business to find out what the policy is before booking.

alihutch

Holidayslettings is a website that puts you in touch with the owner, with whom you then deal direct; there's no point trying to get them to help you.

janisj

Can you post a link to the flat so we can take a look at it? Or the Holidaylettings property #? I've tried looking over the listings for E and SE London and none that I found seem to match the one in question.

So maybe (just maybe) it is actually somewhere else???

KayDoll

Here's the rundown, when I checked out the advertisement it said 5 minutes walk to Greenwich market (I'm thinking Greenwich village). Then when I emailed him he said 5 min walk to big Ben. The property listed it is in charlesmere garden but i didn't check the locations of these two landmarks and just took his word for it. And this next part is great, I went back to check the advertisement and i can't find it. The link of the property that he sent me in the first email is now dead.

Tried being nice, didnt work. I'm canceling payment today.

alihutch

If it is dead then you should definately contact holidaylettings as that is not normal.

alihutch

ps...can you post the dead link?

PatrickLondon

As long as you have written confirmation (the emails, etc) that the location was misrepresented to you as "5 minutes from Greenwich Market" and "5 minutes from Big Ben", then you are on strong ground to report him to the Greenwich Trading Standards Office:
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/s...ode-search.cfm

KayDoll

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/ren...on-zone-2/9021

On a different note.... the apartment i already booked and paid the deposit for in Rome has called to let me know that that apartment is no longer available. i can either book another (more expensive) apartment (they were willing to give me a discount due to inconvenience) or they can refund me. blah. not a great start to my morning so far.

alihutch

CAn see it comes up with this....

Home Not Available
I'm sorry, this home is no longer advertised on Holiday Lettings.

was hoping to come up with a cached page from Google, but no luck. However contact Holiday Lettings..seems odd that it has disappeared so fast...,maybe HL binned them, to say 5 mins from Greenwich market and then 5 mins from Big Ben is so obviously dodgy that I suspect that you aren't the firsst to be unhappy.

KayDoll

i thought it was quite expedient of them also, to disappear so quickly. i suppose one last hoorah before they had to leave.