Getting villa deposit back?

[lisajb0502]

Hi All,

Just a quick question.....when you have returned from your holiday in a villa, do you normally get your deposit back on time and without having to ask for it?

We had a few issues with our villa and have asked for a partial refund due to no pool cover, hence couldn't use the pool. The villa owner has ignored my last email and it is now close on 30 days and no sign of the security deposit as yet.

Let me know what you have experienced.

Thanks

Lisa

[TobyK]

I would e-mail the owner, thank him for the use of his villa, and remind him that there was no pool cover so it needs to be replaced for the next guest. That should jog his memory!

[lausan]

we waited 6 weeks for ours we also had a few minor issues but got full deposit back

[Malcolm]

Hi...we wait for the villa to be cleaned and checked by the MC usualy same day if guests due in or next day, they then e-mail us to advise all ok and no damage and all is left as found by guest. We will then post out the guests deposit. This should take no more than a week for UK or 2 weeks for a US booking.
If you booked through a travel agent then contact then now and ask them to contact the owner and resolve this, if you booked direct with owner through a villa web site like Owersdirect of disney4villas etc then contact the admin site and register an enquiry with them also point out your complaint to them.
Respectable owners would not let it get to this stage, it should be sorted out within the week you got back..

Malcolm

[janeprice]

Did they advertise a pool cover?

Was the pool heater an electric pool heater? If so, the chances are the pool would struggle to get up to temperature after a very cold night, even with a pool cover on, and most owners with electric pool heaters I know make sure their guests are made aware of this in their booking terms and conditions.

Was there any mention about pool heating and a disclaimer about failure of the heaterl to heat the pool (or about use of a pool cover in cold weather ) in their terms and conditions?

Had previous email correspondence resulted in an agreement to make a partical refund? Has this happened?

On departure, was everything in the condition you found it in on your arrival? In other words is there any other reason why they may be witholding your deposit?

With answers to these questions there may be more help and advice others can offer.

[georgemac]

I have never had a problem but have heard of people lately who have been having a problem, some (probably a minority) villa owners are struggling financially, but the people I know who have had difficulties got their deposit back in the end.

Last year we left a credit card imprint with the management co - I liked this arrangement.

In 2005 I also had issues with pool heating, the pool had a cover but I am still sure the pool heating was not on even although the management co said it was. It was nothing like our previous visit in the same villa and the owner did not seem interested when I queried it - they lost a returning customer.

We were at the same time last year, the weather if anything was a little cooler, no pool blanket but the pool heating was great. On our last morning the pool heating was off and the pool felt like the one the previous year.

[speedwayfan]

Did you book your villa through TCD as your signature suggests or was it through a private owner and your flight separately?

If they didn't advertise a pool cover then the pool would lose some heat and if it was early February you went the weather was particularly cold.

However, either way you should be contacted immediately and it's unforgiveable to have not returned your security deposit after this length of time without an explanation.

Hope you get it resolved soon.

[KarenS]

Hi,

Just wondering. i have booked a villa privateley. On the booking form it states a £250 deposit is required. Will the villa owner actually cash the cheque or do they hold onto it in until the checks are done and then return it?

Thanks

Karen

[speedwayfan]

Hi,

Just wondering. i have booked a villa privateley. On the booking form it states a £250 deposit is required. Will the villa owner actually cash the cheque or do they hold onto it in until the checks are done and then return it?

Thanks

Karen

Karen the details should be listed on their T&Cs, I ask for the security deposit along with the final payment. I don't cash the cheque and once the villa is checked (usually the same day or day after they leave) return it along with a letter of thanks and welcome home.

I know some owners do cash the cheques though, so I would call or email to ask.

[WindwardGal]

Karen the details should be listed on their T&Cs, I ask for the security deposit along with the final payment. I don't cash the cheque and once the villa is checked (usually the same day or day after they leave) return it along with a letter of thanks and welcome home.

I know some owners do cash the cheques though, so I would call or email to ask.

You are in a minority if you do not cash the cheque!
Cheques can be stopped!
Safeguarding the owners 1/4 to 1/2 a million dollar investment by cashing cheques is normal.
We state up to 30 days for refunding deposits we take £100.

Not sure where the all owners are struggling comes from. Owners that run their homes as a business and charge sensible rates to cover their outgoings are not struggling.
Bargain basement owners are the struggling ones.Buyer beware if its too cheap it might not be there!:omg:

[speedwayfan]

Lin there are people struggling out there, some have taken on large mortgages and been promised big rental returns that don't come to fruition. I must stress that this is not the case for ourselves but I do know that there are people in that position.

As I said, some people cash the cheque some don't - it is my choice not to as my MC would inform me well before the clients return if there were any problems - and even if I did cash it I cannot understand why it would take 30 days to refund it.

If you wish to discuss this matter further, and from the tone of your previous post I would imagine you would - I would prefer you to do it either by PM or in the private villas section.

Thank you

[wrpac00]

Speedwayfan, I think you are in the minority if you don't cash the security deposit everyone I know does. As was stated the cheque could be stopped before you could present it then you will be in trouble.

Lin, there are thousands of owners out there struggling that's why there are so many properties up for sale. As for your £100 SD that is far too low and wouldn't pay for hardly any damage, the ones I know about range from £150 - £250. As you stated, if you have a $500000 house you should take more than $190 SD that's less than 0.4% of the value of your property and wouldn't even pay to have the carpets cleaned.

[speedwayfan]

[QUOTE=wrpac00]Speedwayfan, I think you are in the minority if you don't cash the security deposit everyone I know does. As was stated the cheque could be stopped before you could present it then you will be in trouble.

It is my decision not to cash the cheque and there are specific reasons why I decide not to - I would rather not discuss them on an open forum.

However, I do appreciate your comments.

[magick]

I had to wait over two months to get a deposit back in 2005, not the best villa either I think they struggled for bookings, sufficient to say I have not returned to that villa but have been to plenty of others which have been a pleasure to deal with including the low cost rentals which turned out to be excellent villas mostly just people starting out renting their villa.

[foxyfee]

When we took a security deposit we always cashed the cheque and returned it within 3-4 weeks. The only time someone lost their deposit was when they effectively trashed our house and stayed and stayed an extra day - took cleaners 3 days to get it back up to scratch, walls had to be repainted, carpets cleaned, marker pen removed from every wooden surface .. and as for the bathrooms and kitchen and the amount of rubbish left ....

Our MC now operate a credit card authorisation method which I find seems to work better.

Lisa without knowing all the facts it is difficult to comment, but did you book through a site or just find a website? If you did book through a site if you are getting nowhere with the owner you could try the site admin.

A couple of years ago there was a big rash of irresponsible tv programmes about owning property abroad, and how it was (almost) a licence to print money. Many people bought without doing due diligence and are now paying the price. Many older owners have told prospective buyers for years that the guaranteed rental schemes are not worth the paper they are written on, but many choose not to believe us. Also some of the fixed low mortgages are coming to an end which is really hurting people, along with a belief that prices of housing in Florida would continue to rise the way it has done in the UK.

Sorry we all seem to be covering rather more than just the return of a security deposit here!

[Fiona]

Why couldn`t you use the pool because it had no pool cover? We always stay in a villa (never used a dibb one) and don`t always put the pool cover on at night. The pool has always been fine to use the next day, there`s never been a problem with it. We have always had our security deposit back with no problem. However, the last few villas we have stayed in, the management company has taken a swipe of our credit card (but not actually taken money out of the account.) I can never understand why villa owners take up to 30 days to refund people`s security deposits as surely it doesn`t take that long for the management company to check that the villa is ok and let the owners know? Is it because villa owners want to gain interest on the security deposit whilst it`s in their bank account?

[lisajb0502]

Hi All,

Thanks for your responses and PM's.

The villa was booked privately and a £150 security deposit cheque was cashed 8 weeks prior to arrival. The villa does advertise a pool blanket as it states what the temperature will be if the blanket is replaced. We do know that the pool heating was working.

The story is that the pool cover was ripped and not able to be used. As we had paid for pool heat it was heating fresh air. On the very first day we called the management company who agreed to send someone round. As it was then the weekend we left it for 3 days and got no response. I called back again to be told that some one had visited and that the pool cover was not able to be used and could cause problems with the filtration system as it was falling in bits. She said that she would contact the villa owner again but that they could do nothing else until she paid for a new cover. I rang again the next day to be told that the owner was aware (and had been since October 06) and they were still awaiting authorisation, in the meantime she offered to have the pool heating turned up. Again I had to call the next day as it was still too cold to use. Finally after 8 days a new cover arrived but was not fitted to the pool roller. It then took 2 days to warm up, meaning we were left with just 4 days to use it.

I have emailed the owner twice and she is saying that it was outside her control and that she would not be giving any form of partial refund. She has yet to reply back to my email that I sent on 16th Feb! The T&C's do state what you should do if you have a complaint, which we did 4 times! It also states that they are not liable for anything outside of their control, well this clearly was. Interestingly, there are comments in the guest book from last year about the state of the pool cover.

As regards the cleanliness, it was probably cleaner than when I arrived. On the morning we left, we washed and dried all the bedding and towels. We left a lovely note for the cleaning team stating what we had done and where it was. I swept, hoovered and mopped all the floors. I know it sounds like I did a lot but I treated as my own home.

The security deposit is due to be returned within 30 days which expires today.

Any help you can give would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Lisa

[Cal and Dave]

Well you sound like wonderful guests, and hopefully you should receive your deposit back asap.

Have you tried phoning the owner? Or contacting the owners of the site where you found the villa?

[Fiona]

Lisa, is the villa owner British or American? I think it is awful that he/she was aware of the faulty pool cover from the October, but did not replace it. I`m presuming that the pool was too cold to go in and that`s why you didn`t use it? I think the villa owner should have given you back your security deposit by now and refunded the pool heat for the days you were unable to use the pool. I am wondering if you should take some free legal advice on all of this just to see where you stand legally? We go twice a year and always stay in a villa. On the last day, we strip the beds and take all the bedding and dirty towels and tea-towels into the laundry room. I just put the first wash in the machine and leave it at that. We also always put any dirty dishes, glasses etc. in the dishwasher, but never hoover, wash floors etc. as that is what the cleaning team are for!! We always treat any villa we stay in like our own home and if truth be told, treat it more carefully, as at the end of the day it is someone elses home, not ours. We have two teenage boys (16 and 15) and you know what teenagers can be like!! ;-)

[lisajb0502]

Lisa, is the villa owner British or American? I think it is awful that he/she was aware of the faulty pool cover from the October, but did not replace it. I`m presuming that the pool was too cold to go in and that`s why you didn`t use it? I think the villa owner should have given you back your security deposit by now and refunded the pool heat for the days you were unable to use the pool. I am wondering if you should take some free legal advice on all of this just to see where you stand legally? We go twice a year and always stay in a villa. On the last day, we strip the beds and take all the bedding and dirty towels and tea-towels into the laundry room. I just put the first wash in the machine and leave it at that. We also always put any dirty dishes, glasses etc. in the dishwasher, but never hoover, wash floors etc. as that is what the cleaning team are for!! We always treat any villa we stay in like our own home and if truth be told, treat it more carefully, as at the end of the day it is someone elses home, not ours. We have two teenage boys (16 and 15) and you know what teenagers can be like!! ;-)

Fiona

The owner is British and I have already quoted all the legal stuff to her in the email that she has yet to reply to. I am going to email her today regarding the deposit and why I have received no response to my email. I will also explain that I wanted to resolve this amicably but will purse a small claim if necessary.

I find it really sad as the villa itself is lovely and everything we wanted, except the use of the pool. I asked for a partial refund for pool heating and not being able to use the pool for 10 days....

I'll let you know how I go on....

Thanks

Lisa

[Fiona]

Lisa, are you able to telephone the owner and speak to her direct? Also, which villa community was your villa in? I really hope you get things sorted out, what a nightmare situation for you to be in. Maybe if you tell her you are going to take it down the legal route, that`ll do the trick. Please let us know how you get on.

[WindwardGal]

Hi Lisa
I hope you get it sorted. Was the owner a Dibb owner?
Pool blankets are cheap and I really do not understand why the owner did not authorise a replacement.
With regards to the deposit It can take up to 30 days to come to light if there has been abuse of the pool heat or any other bills such as phone etc.
This type of cheapskate owner gives us all a bad reputation :(

[lisajb0502]

Hi Lisa
I hope you get it sorted. Was the owner a Dibb owner?
Pool blankets are cheap and I really do not understand why the owner did not authorise a replacement.
With regards to the deposit It can take up to 30 days to come to light if there has been abuse of the pool heat or any other bills such as phone etc.
This type of cheapskate owner gives us all a bad reputation :(

Can I just say that this villa is not in any way connected with The DIBB. I booked it privately via the owner and found it on a villa website. Strangely the villa is no longer advertised with them but is with others.

I have now given her 48 hours to respond to me....fingers crossed

Lisa

PS It would not put me off booking another villa ;)

[WindwardGal]

Contact the sites she is on Lisa and you will soon get a reply!
Site owners will not tolerate this type of owner!

[ChoppyGirl]

We went through Ocean Florida and the Welcom USA management company. They took an imprint of my card of $300 but nothing was taken off at all.

[KarenS]

Hi,

I do think it is a bit of a worry when you book a villa independently. We had a few problems with ours last year. The first villa we booked had extensive building work going on all around it and the owner didn't tell me - I only found out because Fiona from the dibb was good enough to go and have a look at the villa for me because she was staying on the same estate or we wouldn't have known about the work until we arrived. The management company let us choose another villa which was fabulous but the water got cut off on our second last day because the water bill hadn't been paid!! That said it wouldn't put me off hiring a villa privately again - I think we were just unlucky last year.

Karen

[WindwardGal]

Hi,

I do think it is a bit of a worry when you book a villa independently. We had a few problems with ours last year. The first villa we booked had extensive building work going on all around it and the owner didn't tell me - I only found out because Fiona from the dibb was good enough to go and have a look at the villa for me because she was staying on the same estate or we wouldn't have known about the work until we arrived. The management company let us choose another villa which was fabulous but the water got cut off on our second last day because the water bill hadn't been paid!! That said it wouldn't put me off hiring a villa privately again - I think we were just unlucky last year.

Karen
That would still happen if you booked through an agent. Bills not being paid , happen but it was bad of the owner not to tell you about construction.

[janeprice]

You sound like you have a good case for the small claims court, Lisa.

[lisajb0502]

All,

Thanks again for your responses.

We have now received an email, although rather curt, stating that the deposit is in the post and also that I stop 'slagging' her off on the forum! This is referring to the private villa owners forum and not the DIBB as I have in no way 'slagged' her off. She has now also mentioned that she too can take legal action.

I'll keep you all posted

Lisa

[Malcolm]

All,

Thanks again for your responses.

We have now received an email, although rather curt, stating that the deposit is in the post and also that I stop 'slagging' her off on the forum! This is referring to the private villa owners forum and not the DIBB as I have in no way 'slagged' her off. She has now also mentioned that she too can take legal action.

I'll keep you all posted

Lisa

Interesting as i have been involved in the private villa section assisting Lisa in this matter and the owners name has NOT been mentiond at all and should it have then it would have been deleated. Owners have been very unhappy at the way this guest has been treated and we have been in peronnel contact with Lisa and hope she will be in a position to let the dibbers know how serious we owners have taken this thread and even though she is not allowed access to the owners private forum area she has been respected for the way she has assisted us owners in helping to restore her faith in villa owners.

Malcolm

[Fiona]

Am I missing something here??!! Does the villa owner that Lisa is having trouble with advertise here on the Dibb??

[grumpys wife]

Can I just say that this villa is not in any way connected with The DIBB. I booked it privately via the owner and found it on a villa website. Strangely the villa is no longer advertised with them but is with others.

I have now given her 48 hours to respond to me....fingers crossed

Lisa

PS It would not put me off booking another villa ;)
This is what Lisa posted yeasterday:wavey:

[Fiona]

Thanks for the info. :-)

[WindwardGal]

Hopefully its sorted for you now Lisa.
Next time book with one of the lovely owners on here!