villa deposit warning

[robby-99]

hi

stayed in a great villa at westridge last september. great time. no problems. in december my credit card was debited $150 (£85) by the villa company. no advice to myself as to why. contacted thomas cook who i booked with and after a few months advised that a bathroom door was replaced as we had put a small hole in it. obviously no damage took place when we were there, but i have no come back as i cannot prove we did not do it. credit card company were no help. so remember to check villa when you arrive and report any damage as the owner/company can charge you for anything he likes without any contact with you.

[toddy17]

We received a coutesy call from the villa company we stayed in a couple of years ago the day after we arrived. We mentioned that one of the lamps in the children's room wasn't working. When we returned from the park the next day my husband could tell straight away that someone had been in the Villa as the Alarm flap was open. In the kitchen we found a note from the company to say that they had replaced the lightbulb in the lamp. Although this seems very efficient, we did not like the idea of someone entering the villa without prior notice. I am usually a very trusting person, however, having read threads regarding thefts on here, I am a bit more wary of leaving personal possessions in the Villa, even in a safe!!!

[adamgale]

Originally posted by robby-99
hi

stayed in a great villa at westridge last september. great time. no problems. in december my credit card was debited $150 (£85) by the villa company. no advice to myself as to why. contacted thomas cook who i booked with and after a few months advised that a bathroom door was replaced as we had put a small hole in it. obviously no damage took place when we were there, but i have no come back as i cannot prove we did not do it. credit card company were no help. so remember to check villa when you arrive and report any damage as the owner/company can charge you for anything he likes without any contact with you.

You are not as powerless as you imagine. Look at this link - http://www.electronic-payments.co.uk/charge_backs.jsp - it details chargebacks. This - http://www.barclaycardmerchantservices.co.uk/press_releases/pr_2101.htm is the Barclaycard information. This is something that every Ebay seller dreads, but is a very powerful tool in the hands of a wronged credit card payment!

[dismum]

In most terms there will probably be something that you signed allowing access to management personel as and when it is necessary.They probably have lots of homes to look after if they are working for one of the management companies that book the homes out to the travel companies so it may not be possible for someoe to visit the homes when the guests are there at all times .It is important that the homes are checked for anything that may be damaged before your arrival and if you have a digital camers you can easily take evidence .I think that a couple of months to replace a door and charge you for it is a bit off personally .

[robby-99]

i felt that they should have let us know they were going to charge my credit card and the reasons for doing it before hand. they could have said i had stolen the tv and it would have been my word against theirs.

[dismum]

Robby I quite agree -the trouble is that when dealing with a third party company such as a travel agent who are generally tied up with big management companies ,items that are broken or damaged may not be spotted straight away by the cleaners as it may not be the same cleaners that go into the home every time and so do not know the home .The damage you have been charged for may well have been caused by people after you -they report it as being done on their arrival -you get the blame -thats why its worth spending a few minutes checking things .