Security / Damage Deposits

[Owens88]

Hi

 

We are not on site and so handle all our bookings 'remotely'. We take a damage/security deposit at the 8 week mark (probably 6 !) and pay back as soon as poss when they leave.

 

Some renters think that we should not bank their cheque. What is the norm ? Our renters come from UK, France and other countries so it is a mix of banking systems.

 

I suspect that it is easier to cancel a UK cheque than a French one.

 

Thanks

 

John

[LisaJ]

We take a deposit of 100€ or £70 for the booking, then keep it as a security deposit and return it after their departure. This seems to work OK.

regards

Lisa

[Callie]

We take a booking deposit of £50 per week booked which is then deducted from the balance to be paid.  The balance should be paid 8 weeks before the holiday, which includes  £100 per week security deposit.  We always bank the cheque immediately but repay it as soon as we have checked that nothing has been damaged.  We do not charge for the odd broken glass or plate !  I suspect that the amount of the security deposit deters would-be breakers ! !

What use is the security deposit if you do not bank it?  If you have problems with damage, breakages etc, do you really think the customer will pay up if you ask him????  We have never in 20 years had anyone suggest we should not cash the cheque - but then, we live on site, and the risk of damage or breakage is considerably lower.  And we have never yet had to retain any money for damage.  In our terms and conditions we state that in the event of damage, we will provide a statement and photograph of the damage for insurance purposes. 

I firmly believe that anyone that quibbles the terms and conditions beforehand, asks for discounts, is not happy that the damage deposit is cashed, etc, is the sort of person who could cause trouble during their holiday ! !  This, by the way, is what I have picked up from other gite owners who have recounted their tales of woe. [:(]

We all do things differently, but we have modified our terms and conditions over the years and think (and hope) we have got it right ! [:D]

[Pierre ZFP]

I'm not a Gite owner but as a Gite user from time to time I would find it odd not to be asked for a security deposit and if paying by cheque, for it not to be cashed.  Quite the norm at everywhere I stayed (except one place) and I received a cheque, or even cash, back when all was OK.  As was said above what's the point of an unbanked cheque?  I suspect the issue may dissapear soon when everyone drops cheques completely and everything is paid for by virement.

The one place I was not asked for a deposit was the very place that I accidently broke something.  We were booked through to the Saturday but as this was in Italy and a long drive, we wanted to return home on the Friday.  No problem, says the owner, just leave the key in the door.  Ok, so we did our best to leave the appartment clean and tidy, stripped beds etc then just about to leave and I break a plate!  The owner is not around, we have to leave so I left the plate with a note saying sorry and 10 euros by way of reparation.  Never heard anything back.  Did I do the right thing?

[Frank]

Hi

We take cash on arrival either sterling or euro and return it on the day of departure.  We find this works well for us as we are onsite and are here to do the arrival and welcome and the guests are here to do the farewell checks with us, no grey areas or misunderstatndings after they have left[:D]

[Callie]

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]The one place I was not asked for a deposit was the very place that I accidently broke something.  We were booked through to the Saturday but as this was in Italy and a long drive, we wanted to return home on the Friday.  No problem, says the owner, just leave the key in the door.  Ok, so we did our best to leave the appartment clean and tidy, stripped beds etc then just about to leave and I break a plate!  The owner is not around, we have to leave so I left the plate with a note saying sorry and 10 euros by way of reparation.  Never heard anything back.  Did I do the right thing?[/quote]

You're the sort of guest we like ! !  We are more than happy if something is broken that they replace it (as long as it matches !)  And it was nice of you to leave something for the plate, even if they, like us, wouldn't charge for a small breakage.  The owner probably thought "What nice people, I hope they come back" ! [:D]

[Boiling a frog]

There are problems with deposits,cash or cheque,when to give back etc.

If you have British guests, and they give a cheque as a security deposit, and you only have a French Bank account,then by cashing it you loose perhaps 25 or 30€ in bank charges.

If you do not cash it but instead hold it till the end of the holiday,if you can carry out a full inspection before they leave then the cheque can be returned.

But some things are quite difficult to find,such as missing towels( excuse we have put the towels in the washing machine to wash) stained bed linen etc so even if on site it is probably best to give a few hours during the cleaning to find any damage.

Now comes the problem You have taken a UK cheque for say 200 pounds. The damage you recon is 40 pounds .You put the cheque in the bank and the bank charges you 30 euros   or approx  23 pounds. Do you send them back a cheque for 137 pounds but it is going to be in euros,so they are going to incure more charges.

If you take the security deposit beforehand via bank transfer then the same situation occurs if you do not pay back on day of departure, you will incure bank charges to transfer the money back to them

I do not know the answer perhaps someone in a similar situation with no UK account can come up with a solution .

[Owens88]

>left the plate with a note saying sorry and 10 euros by way of reparation.  Never heard anything back.  Did I do the right thing?

 

I think that you did more than the right thing.

FWIW we would not charge for minor breakages, though it is always nice to see that somebody has replaced a glass .

 

John

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]

There are problems with deposits,cash or cheque,when to give back etc.

If you have British guests, and they give a cheque as a security deposit, and you only have a French Bank account,then by cashing it you loose perhaps 25 or 30€ in bank charges.[/quote]

Why would you accept a UK cheque if you have no means of cashing it for it true value? How do you accept the deposit/balance if paid by UK cheque if also you have no way of cashing it? Surely if you accept UK cheques you have to have a means of cashing them!

When I ran my holiday cottage about 10% of the bookings came in direct and I always took a 25% deposit on booking, balance due 4 weeks prior to arrival plus £30 security deposit, all cashed ASAP when the guests departed they were told to expect their security deposit cheque within 2 weeks.

But I honestly can say that I never stopped 1p from any of them!

[Boiling a frog]

It was a hypothetical situation.

We are still left with a problem

If we do not take a cheque but ask for cash then how does one return the cash security deposit if it is going to be held onto until after inspection.Bearing in mind no access to a UK account.

[Callie]

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]If you do not cash it but instead hold it till the end of the holiday,if you can carry out a full inspection before they leave then the cheque can be returned.  But some things are quite difficult to find,such as missing towels( excuse we have put the towels in the washing machine to wash) stained bed linen etc so even if on site it is probably best to give a few hours during the cleaning to find any damage.......I do not know the answer perhaps someone in a similar situation with no UK account can come up with a solution .[/quote]

I agree it is more difficult if you do not have a sterling bank account.   However, you could insist that your clients pay you a damage deposit in cash on arrival - in sterling or euros.  This must of course be very clearly stated in your terms and conditions, signed etc etc ! 

But I repeat, there is no point in taking a deposit by cheque if you do not cash it - the client can stop it ! !  You only have to ask anyone who has had to retain money for damage caused - or those who have not and who have regretted it ! !

If your clients want to leave at, say, 6 o'clock in the morning to catch an early ferry, are you really going to make them stand around while you do a check round your gite??????  Hence the reason for not returning the deposit until you are quite sure that everything is in order.  The only guests who might to quibble with this are those who have indeed left something nasty !

And, sorry to repeat this, in 20 years, no-one has ever complained or even mentioned the fact that we cash and retain the deposit until we have inspected the gite ! ! !

[Clair]

I ask for the security deposit in cash on arrival in Euros.

I make it clear in the T&C, the website and I remind them of it when I acknowledge receipt of the deposit and the balance.

[Boiling a frog]

OK so I take cash on arrival for the security deposit.That is what is done at the moment but it is returned at the end of the stay and herein lies the problem

On a few occassions the deposit has been returned and then while cleaning have discovered

1) Damage caused by majic marker to suite    cost 50 euros to have cleaned.

2) Clients took 4 towels with them cost 40 euros to replace

3) Washing machine broken had to be replaced cost 300 euros.

Now considering not returning deposit until full inspection has been carried out but how do we return the deposit

Can hardly post 300 euros cash to the UK

Suggestions please,bearing in mind it will cost us for a bank transfer

[LisaJ]

Is it really a problem to have an English bank account BaF? We opened a separate one for our gite business which means that we can take and return deposits / damage deposits in sterling (opening the account cost nothing though we are existing account holders with the bank). We have stuck with a euro price for rental costs, but most of our guests have taken up the option to pay by internet banking in sterling at the  rate of exchange current at the time of the transaction.

regards

Lisa

[suein56]

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]

Suggestions please,bearing in mind it will cost us for a bank transfer

[/quote]

Could you not send a euro virement from your french bank account to the client's UK bank account? They, not you, will then pay to receive the euros in their account.

Sue

[Boiling a frog]

[quote user="LisaJ"]

Is it really a problem to have an English bank account BaF? We opened a separate one for our gite business which means that we can take and return deposits / damage deposits in sterling (opening the account cost nothing though we are existing account holders with the bank). We have stuck with a euro price for rental costs, but most of our guests have taken up the option to pay by internet banking in sterling at the  rate of exchange current at the time of the transaction.

regards

Lisa

[/quote]

 

If someone can tell me what British bank will open an account  for someone with no British address I would be gratefull I have searched to no avail not one of the major banks,building societies will open an account for a non resident.

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]

Suggestions please,bearing in mind it will cost us for a bank transfer

[/quote]

You could look at getting one of these: http://www.lloydstsb-offshore.com/international/internationalaccount/?WT.srch=1

Not sure if you need UK address to apply!

But I'm sure there must be French equalivalents for people resident in France

[LisaJ]

Well we certainly don't have an English address now and were able to open the new account with no problem. We have been customers of the bank for about 30 years though, including when we lived in England.

regards

Lisa

[Clair]

On a couple of occasions, I have accepted a security deposit in Euros on my Moneybookers account.

It costs nothing to open an account.

The money sits in my account until I decide to return it.

It  costs me nothing to return the money to the client's account.

Should I wish to move money from Moneybookers to my French bank account, I have to pay a fee of €1.80.

On the other hand, the British client who wishes to move the returned Euros to his own Sterling bank account has to pay exchange rate fees, but that's his problem, not mine.

[Benjamin]

We stayed in French owned accomodation a couple of weeks ago. Handed over cheque for 200€ on arrival and received back same cheque on departure.

Maybe it's because the French don't stop cheques as a rule?

[Callie]

[quote user="Benjamin"]Maybe it's because the French don't stop cheques as a rule?[/quote]

Don't bet on it.  I believe a French is presented twice and it is very easy to stop one, as we have heard from 2 people recently.[:'(]

BaF - have you tried a postal bank service like First Direct??  We have not had a UK address for years and have banked with them for even longer.  If you transfer money, you needf to make sure it's enough to make the charges worthwhile.  So, for example, you can put your deposits into this account, and transfer the lot at the end of the season.[:D]

[Boiling a frog]

[quote user="Callie"][quote user="Benjamin"]Maybe it's because the French don't stop cheques as a rule?[/quote]
Don't bet on it.  I believe a French is presented twice and it is very easy to stop one, as we have heard from 2 people recently.[:'(]

BaF - have you tried a postal bank service like First Direct??  We have not had a UK address for years and have banked with them for even longer.  If you transfer money, you needf to make sure it's enough to make the charges worthwhile.  So, for example, you can put your deposits into this account, and transfer the lot at the end of the season.[:D]

[/quote]

 

Sorry if I have to repeat myself. We do not have a UK address. We do not have a  UK bank account. First Direct state that the account is only for UK residents.

I suspect that if you were a UK resident when you opened the account they will allow you to keep it even if you move abroad.

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that there is no way of holding someones cash deposit in Euros and then returning the FULL amount to them in sterling without us incurring some charges.

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that there is no way of holding someones cash deposit in Euros and then returning the FULL amount to them in sterling without us incurring some charges.

[/quote]

Could you not have a UK silent partner (brother, sister, relative) that could open an account like a NW flexaccount just to receive and dish out deposits in sterling? Also if you needed to draw some money out because you had to withhold some from the the security deposit, its free to withdraw and you get excellent rates.

By the way how do most people who's clients are British receive the deposit and balance?

[Callie]

[quote user="Boiling a frog"]Sorry if I have to repeat myself. We do not have a UK address. We do not have a  UK bank account. First Direct state that the account is only for UK residents. 

I suspect that if you were a UK resident when you opened the account they will allow you to keep it even if you move abroad.

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that there is no way of holding someones cash deposit in Euros and then returning the FULL amount to them in sterling without us incurring some charges.[/quote]

I had already understood that you had no UK address but did not remember that FD probably allowed us to keep the account when we moved here. 

Banks certainly used to allow non-residents to open an external account (I worked for one donkeys years ago as a temp!).  If my parents can have a bank account with Cred Ag in France (they live in the UK) I find it hard to believe that no bank will allow you to open an account in the UK - we are supposed to be "Europe", after all.  As a last resort, have you no relations or friends who would let you use their address ?

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Callie"]
Banks certainly used to allow non-residents to open an external account (I worked for one donkeys years ago as a temp!).  If my parents can have a bank account with Cred Ag in France (they live in the UK) I find it hard to believe that no bank will allow you to open an account in the UK - we are supposed to be "Europe", after all.  As a last resort, have you no relations or friends who would let you use their address ?
[/quote]

Do your parents have an address in France?

I think that you still need to have an address in France to be able to open a bank account there! we certainly needed to produce our French address when we opened our account for non-residents.

BAF has no address whether home or holiday home to provide him with the necessary proof needed to open an account in the UK