View Full Version : Advice needed
I'm hoping someone here can offer me some advice.
I recently stayed at a villa (for the 3rd time) and whilst there we lost power and water for 3 days. The management company was quite frankly less than useless, no offer to move us, no real help at all other than 'I'll email the owner'. It cost a fortune in phone calls tracking the owner down and services were eventually restored on the afternoon of day 3 with an offer from the owner of a refund for the time without power + replacement food etc. I thought this was fair enough and we carried on with our Christmas although I won't deny it put a dampner on things.
We've now returned and the refund offer has now been for the cost of replacement food etc only, no mention of the services lost as previously offered. We've already got another booking arranged for the same property later in the year and have now decided that due to the handling of the whole thing we'd rather find somewhere else to stay, a decision I consider to be wholly understandable. Since asking for my money back, my emails are now being ignored and I just wondered if any other owners/renters had been through anything similar/what you'd do in these circumstances?
Any help would be very much appreciated before I resort to other channels.
Thanks in advance.
Tessa Childs
10-01-2007, 18:11
How awful for you. Can I suggest that if you rented the villa via an internet site that you ask that site, (especially is it was one of the OrlandoVillas group of sites) to see if they have been given a new e-mail address recently. There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation for no reply, such as being on holiday, or computer problems, but I can understand the frustration having had to complain about a villa myself. As you have booked another holiday I am sure that the owners will be particularly keen to help and it may all be a huge mis-understanding, which can be sorted when you manage to talk to them
If you have no joy after talking to them (which I hope is not the case as you obviously like the villa), can I suggest looking on Onlinefloridavillas, orlandovillas and Floridavillas for the very many beautiful villas available to rent.
Good Luck
LiesaAnna
10-01-2007, 18:36
http://www.orlandovillas.com/
http://www.villasflorida.com/
http://www.onlinefloridavillas.com/
http://www.orlandovillarental.com/
http://www.floridadreamvilla.co.uk/
check these ones out, you would never be treated like that from any villa owner here am sure of that!!! all respect you and treat you well!!! good luck in looking for another villa, you'll have lots of fun here!
Thanks for reading :)
I was hoping it is some sort of misunderstanding but I fear it's not - the computer problem excuse has been used twice prior to this incident - and I won't yet be too specific as the owner does advertise on this site. He also posts here and I'm hoping he does read this and addresses my issues.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by NicT
Thanks for reading :)
I was hoping it is some sort of misunderstanding but I fear it's not - the computer problem excuse has been used twice prior to this incident - and I won't yet be too specific as the owner does advertise on this site. He also posts here and I'm hoping he does read this and addresses my issues.
[/quote]
I'm sure that when he sees your post, he will come back and explain the situation. Hopefully to your satisfaction!
gail and david roberts
10-01-2007, 20:26
sorry to hear your news, I'm sure the owner will not want to lose a booking
and will do the right thing in the end ,
have you also tried to telephone them
Can I ask you all what you would do had it been your place?
Nic I would refund as promised in the first place as no water or power is unacceptable and then honour you decision not to carry on with another booking if that is what you wanted to do. As others have suggested also contact John Rooke and see if he can help in this.
Hi Jan :)
I presume John Rooke runs the site? I can't see a way of contacting him [:I]
I am still hoping this is all a misunderstanding but am not feeling too optimistic.
Tessa Childs
10-01-2007, 21:01
Our Management Co run the whole development and are actually on site 24/7 (and don't run any other houses) so the circumstances would not have been the same - they would have moved you to a comparable house I suspect without consulting us and I would have been charged the rent for the new house by the management co. However, we have an unusual set up and other Management Companies (many of whom are very very good - but just in very different circumstances) have to deal with matters in a different way, it wouldn't be so easy to move anyone if they don't actually rent out other houses, but just look after them, and even if they could the other houses available will not necessarily be comparable as they may be on other developments.
I am sure that the owner will not want to loose you and will also want to speak with the Management Co. Is it possible that the owners are genuinely away?
John's email is info@orlandovillas.com
The only time we've had guests in a similar situation was during the bad weather in 2004 and they wouldn't hear of a refund and booked to go again the following year for four weeks. We did, however, send them a 'thank you' surprise when they returned home by way of gratitude for looking after our home so well during a very difficult time.
I haven't heard of any general water or power problems in Florida since I've been here (arrived on 12 December and still here) so I'm puzzled about exactly what the problem with these could have been, although I can probably make an educated guess.
As Tessa says, the management company may not have had the facility to move you anywhere else, particularly if you were there over Christmas when almost every home was probably already booked. I know our management company look after our guests very well but we don't know what the arrangements are between the owner and the management company in this case. But you need to speak to the owners again really to clarify what you were told and what you're being offered.
I would have done whatever I said I would do. Our MC would have moved you to another villa until the problem was solved. Hope you get it sorted out.
Thank you blott have just sent an email.
We arrived on Dec 15th. KUA cut power/water sometime on Monday 18th till Wednesday afternoon due to non payment of bill, it seems they don't mess around there and just cut you off. We'd decided on Wednesday that we couldn't face another night of it and would have to find somewhere else to stay - the Christmas crowd were arriving obviously and we weren't looking forward to having to find alternate accommodation, luckily it did then come back on.
We really like the villa, it has all we want and the location is great but with close to zero management support we don't want to go back there again. We're fortunate in that we go go to Fl a few times a year and know the score, so to speak, but I dread to think what a 'newbie' would have done. The management guy wasn't taking our calls all day on Tuesday and then we eventually tracked the owner down at work, not something I'd want to go through again TBH.
Ah, that was what I had suspected the reason might be for the loss of power and water. I can't say it's a problem we've had as our management company pay our bills on time although I know some owners pay utility bills themselves - maybe it was an unfortunate mix up or something similar.
If it was our management company that wasn't taking calls in an emergency situation like that, they'd probably be our ex management company by now! However, I do know ours responds 24/7 to genuine emergencies as we ourselves had a problem not so long ago and they were on the spot within five minutes very late at night.
It's a shame as you seem to like the home so much that you've had these problems. I hope you can come to some resolution with the owners and I'm sure they will be interested in what you have to say about the responses of their management company.
Please don't get me wrong, I'm not in any way suggesting this was in any way deliberate and do understand that sometimes mistakes are made but the complete lack of communication then and now isn't really acceptable.
John has seen this and very kindly offered to jump in and help but I'm going to hold fire a for a few days and hope it's resolved before I have to get any one else involved.
Thanks for the replies, I guess I just wanted to know if I was expecting too much!
I must admit to being guilty as an owner of having my water cut off on the day that guests arrived[msnembarrased], it was a genuine mistake as I had only recently taken over paying my own utility bills and thought that my water bill had been paid by direct debit. My MC immediately sorted it for me (guests were only without water for just over an hour) and our guests stayed for an extra night free of charge and were very happy.
Karen
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by blott
Ah, that was what I had suspected the reason might be for the loss of power and water. I can't say it's a problem we've had as our management company pay our bills on time although I know some owners pay utility bills themselves - maybe it was an unfortunate mix up or something similar.
If it was our management company that wasn't taking calls in an emergency situation like that, they'd probably be our ex management company by now! However, I do know ours responds 24/7 to genuine emergencies as we ourselves had a problem not so long ago and they were on the spot within five minutes very late at night.
It's a shame as you seem to like the home so much that you've had these problems. I hope you can come to some resolution with the owners and I'm sure they will be interested in what you have to say about the responses of their management company.
[/quote]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by NicT
Please don't get me wrong, I'm not in any way suggesting this was in any way deliberate and do understand that sometimes mistakes are made but the complete lack of communication then and now isn't really acceptable.
John has seen this and very kindly offered to jump in and help but I'm going to hold fire a for a few days and hope it's resolved before I have to get any one else involved.
Thanks for the replies, I guess I just wanted to know if I was expecting too much!
[/quote]
I don't think that you are expecting too much and find it difficult to understand why there appears to be a lack of communication with the owner.
I'm sure that there must be a reasonable explanation!
As a frequently returning guest I'm quite sure that the owner in question values your custom and will be in touch very soon.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chris c
As a frequently returning guest I'm quite sure that the owner in question values your custom and will be in touch very soon.
[/quote]
I hope so!
Hi
I was recently in a similar situation with a guest of mine. I had an urgent answer phone message left for me on my home telephone by our management company (they never tried my mobile), to tell me my guests had no gas at all. This meant no hot water and no cooking.
This happend over a weekend and my management company did everything to find out via the utility company why we had no gas (as you would in this country) they said they would send an engineeri our on the Monday but no earlier to see to the problem and yes it was rectified as soon as they came out.
Everyone initially pointed the finger at the me the owener as if I hadn't paid my bill, but with proof of this because I pay immediately by direct debit they had to do something. It was their fault entirely they had done something they should and I never recevied any compensation or and explanation from the gas company.
My management company gave the guests a gas bbq to use for cooking on and the guest siad they were fine about no hot water for a couple of nights for showers.
I never brouched the question of a refund/compensation with the guest as my management company said they were absolutely fine about it, but I did say to the mc I needed to know how to get compo from the gas company in the event my guest tried to get it from my.
Would it be fair for a guest to expect a refund of most of their holiday payment for something that is not the owners fault or even out of their hands. Things like this do happen and can never be avoided completely. If I had been at fault by failing to pay my bill then the guest would have every right to seek a partial refund.
Gail
TracyAndDean
11-01-2007, 20:57
What an awful predicament to be in, good luck with getting this matter sorted ASAP, if it was us we'd honour our agreement and definately keep you updated.
We had guests in our villa over Christmas who had problems with the air con; our management company sorted this out within 24 hours as an engineer was needed. Our guests were brilliant, luckily for us it hadn't been too hot that day but as a good will gesture we sent them a couple of bottles of wine and a food hamper via our management company, the guests were happy therefore we were happy.
Fingers crossed for a happy outcome NicT.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by hillsbayvilla
Hi
Would it be fair for a guest to expect a refund of most of their holiday payment for something that is not the owners fault or even out of their hands. Things like this do happen and can never be avoided completely. If I had been at fault by failing to pay my bill then the guest would have every right to seek a partial refund.
[/quote]
I've never said I wanted a refund of most of my holiday payment [msnscared] I do hope you're not implying I'm trying it on.
I'd like the refund I was offered, the owner has admitted it was a billing error, whether it was theirs or KUA's fault isn't really my concern.
We'd have coped with no cooking facilities but to have no running water really was the pits - just thankful we didn't have children with us.
Hi
I was not by any means trying to imply you were trying it on. I was just trying to join in the debate by adding my 2p worth as an owner and how we can look at things.
Apologies if I offended you, was not my intention.
I've been completely truthful.
orlandodaze
12-01-2007, 18:30
How awful for you ,I cannot imagine how it must have been for you . We look forward so much for our holiday and when something like this happens it takes the whole good out of it . I do hope that the the matter gets sotred out to your satisfaction and that your next Florida holiday goes with out any hitches .[grouphug][grouphug][grouphug]
Hi
I'm the villa owner, and feel awful about this thread, I've been on OV for a number of years and never had any problems.
I signed up to KUA's direct debit system but apparantly it didn't work, and they cut me off without notice, the first time I heard about it was when Nicky contacted me in the night time, my end.
I telephoned KUA, and paid via credit card, they promised to get everything back on later that day. But they didn't, and so I had to make a number of calls to get it resolved, which in the end took a couple of days.
I felt awful about the issue, and offered to refund for any loss, I didn't think about refunding the whole payment for those days, but in hindsite, that would have been a good idea.
I sent a cheque for the money and hadn't heard anything back, so assumed everything was ok. The first I heard of a problem was when Roger kindly dropped me a note.
I will be calling in a minute to resolve the situation, and am happy to refund the money, to cancel the next booking and refund any payments made so far.
Once again, sorry for this issue and thread!
Nigel thank you for replying.
I just want it to be known I'm not one to wash dirty laundry in public and resorted to this thread after my emails went unanswered - it's been over 3 weeks now since I've heard from you and a month since you offered to refund for the time lost (in email and verbally). I haven't received a cheque, have you not been getting my emails? I've not had any emails from you and am not sure if you've tried calling me but I am currently at work - not sure what number you have for me.
I don't wish to drag this on any further and do hope you understand where I'm coming from with this?
I just want to 'close' this now, it's all been resolved.
It looks like my emails weren't arriving for whatever reason and I hope there's no hard feelings.
Thank you to Nigel for sending me a cheque as promised and thanks to John for taking the time to help me out, all very much appreciated.