deducting security deposit

[Helmarion]

We have just returned from a lovely holiday in France and on arrival home we received this letter :

Please find enclosed security deposit cheque less charge of 15.00 euros for disposal of 3 bags of rubbish left in our courtyard (having already used the dustbins. i can think of no excuse.)

said amount donated to charity.

I would like to point out that WE DID NOT use the bins as we could not find them and there was 2 half empty black bin liners and 1 carrier bag also we kindly removed all of our recycling.

On depature i asked the owners to check our gite (english) which they refussed to do stating that i'm sure everything will be fine and we will post on your deposit.

I would also like to point out that on arrival the owner was asked where should we put our rubbish and he indicated oh over there where we had parked under a covered barn and i  will get rid of them i said i would remove all the recycling although this was not needed. All seemed great no complaints no breakages just me and my husband we were very quiet and kept ourselves to ourselves just chilling out no late night parties no noise.

So after receiving this letter i was shocked, i phoned the owner who was very angry that we had left the rubbish i checked no complaint about the gite no damage no breakages yes it was left clean and tidy he was adamant that we had left the rubbish in the non designated area and we were rude careless people to do this saying we were the sort of people to leave rubbish in the countryside! I was so upset, we live in France respect the environment and have had gites ourself and 12 holiday flats back in the uk so we both are very aware of leaving places as you found them in fact i would be more than pleased to have had myself to clean after having seen so many customers over the years.

My question is would other gite owners have reacted in this way ? We were so upset by this i would love some feed back to settle our nerves !

Needless to say we won't be going back or recomend the place which we would have done and we just can't get our heads arround their attitude.

   thank's Karen   

[Blanche Neige]

"Please find enclosed security deposit cheque less charge of 15.00 euros for disposal of 3 bags of rubbish left in our courtyard (having already used the dustbins. i can think of no excuse.)"

 

Karen I think the reaction of the owner was OTT and he obviously has a hang-up as far as rubbish is concerned. 

If I had been the owner I would not have made a deduction for this even if I had been annoyed at finding extra rubbish for whatever reason..

Don't let it get to you, I know it's annoying but after all  think of it this way, you have made a lovely gift to charity.[;-)]

BTW You are welcome to rent our house next year, just let me know![:)]

[Viv]

The donating to charity doesn't sit right with me [8-)]

There has been a lot of debate on here recently about  deposits etc and the surely the idea of with holding cash is to recompense the owner for the alleged extra work / inconvenience etc. It is a business after all.

So why give it to charity?  Is this being said in the hope that you will write it off as Gill recommends ? ( and I wouldn't get into a stew over € 15 either )

I just wonder how many 'donations' he has made to charity this season? [Www]

 

[Cassis]

My guess is that any contribution to charity is after a handling charge (100% of total 'donated').

Of course it's not right, it sounds more like theft than deducting a legitimate expense.  But what can you do over 15€?  I don't suppose they belong to Clévacances, Gites de France or anyone else, so you could at least report/let off steam to them?

[Boiling a frog]

If he was on site I dont know why he could not have returned your security deposit when you were leaving. Suspect that there is little you can do about it,except tell your friends .

Our neighbours always return deposit when guests are leaving after a quick inspection,and would not dream of withholding money because of bin bags  

[Dick Smith]

All sounds very bizarre, but as Phil says, what are you going to do over €15?

I certainly wouldn't get upset about it, forget it and plan a nice time somewhere else for next year.

[strijder]

Hi

  Well I think it's ridiculous and definately agree that it sounds quite bizarre! In 4 years of business we have only ever had to hold part of a security deposit back for breakages and the guests were fine about it. I wouldn't dream of deducting anything for taking bin bags to the bin.

  Just keep smiling and don't go back

[email protected]

[Gaskelldj]

Karen,

 

All sounds rather petty! Understand if you left the rubbish loose on the floor but assume it was bagged up but you couldn't find the bins. I would just ignore it and it is a pitty they have nothing else to complian about.. Come to my place in the Dordogne where the bins and re-cycling boxes are at the end of the drive and they are emptied every Wednesday without fail.

 

Dave G.

[Cassis]

Could this be a new selling point - no extra charge if you don't take your rubbish home with you?

[Helmarion]

Thank's to you all that have replied and cheered me in the knowledge that my husband and i are not mad ! We just couldn't understand someone being so petty when we had been so nice (or so we thought) It put a right damper on the holiday, i'm not bothered about the 15 euros it was the letter that made me feel sick, i will think twice about where we book next year and be more adamant that they must inspect the gite before we leave so there is no room for confusion as they say there's nowt as queer as folk !  

all the best Karen.

[Dick Smith]

You had a good time up until then - just forget it and remember the good bits.

[cooperlola]

And tell all your friends and everybody else you can think of NEVER to book this gite.  Give them a good punch in the wallet.

[Russethouse]

Write and ask him for the receipt from the charity for the €15!  If he is going to be so petty, you can be too ........

[Patmobile]

We have 4 holiday cottages and the average labour time taken to clean and thoroughly prepare each one of them for incoming guests is 4 hours. 

Taking bags to bin - approximately 60 seconds.  How could you charge for that?

I know of another proprietor who always finds fault and never returns the full deposit.  This is dishonest, in my opinion, amounting almost to theft.

We have only once in 4 years retained part of a deposit, and only then with the approval of the renter, when they managed to break a roller shutter mechanism.   We never charge for minor breakages like glasses or plates - sh*t happens!  We also always hand the money back on departure.

We expect to have to work hard to win our rewards.  Gite owners who don't expect to have to get their hands dirty with some real work every Saturday deserve to find they have a lot of free Saturdays.  No doubt the proprietor in question will lose business.  He'll then go round complaining that business is bad.

It's because of people like this that I never use the word "gite" in any of our marketing.  I believe that the word now carries connotations, for many British holidaymakers, of amateur management and slapdash standards.

Patrick

[Frogslegs]

We have had guests leaving cut marks on the table cloths, slats under bed broken, cups and saucers broken, gite left not as tidy as it could have been and yet in 5 years never deducted money from deposit cheque.

It sounds very petty that the gite owner decided to charge so just do not recommend them to anyone!

bonne chance[;-)]

www.le-tilleul.com

 

[LEO]

Hi Karen,

How did you find this particular Gite - was it on the internet - I am desperate to see what they purport to offer-

 

IF YOU FEEL AWKWARD IN POSTING IT ON  the LIVINGFRANCE WEBSITE ,THEN E-MAIL ME DIRECT AT ; [email protected]

kind regards,

Leo.

[Owens88]

[quote user="Patmobile"] We never charge for minor breakages like glasses or plates - sh*t happens! 
Patrick
[/quote]

I agree. We are letting our places out for holidays and life should be easy. So far only one retention (and that was due to an unretentive dig and an uncareful owner).

However.I always allow a few days of the next renter (or a very thorough check) before returning deposit. In a well-equipped holiday-let you cannot possibly tell that everything is in an unabused state without a very long check.

John

 

 

[Patmobile]

[quote user="Owens88"]

However.I always allow a few days of the next renter (or a very thorough check) before returning deposit. In a well-equipped holiday-let you cannot possibly tell that everything is in an unabused state without a very long check.

John

[/quote]

I agree, but we've found that, if there are any "hidden" damages, it can be difficult to pin them down to any particular tenant, by the time they become apparent.  We therefore make it clear at the outset that small accidents and normal wear-and-tear are not held against tenants, but that we want to be informed immediately of any damage, of any type, whether or not they consider it their fault.

This seems to encourage a greater degree of honesty (and, perhaps, care) than might otherwise prevail.

It also means that, usually, we can ensure a problem is fixed before some future tenant finds it.

I know that one day I might have reason to regret adopting this policy when I get a tenant who is both careless and dishonest, but, for the moment, it seems to work a lot more often than not.

Patrick