“We arrived quite late on Saturday evening and discovered we had no hot water at the property.”
We contacted the local representatives looking after the property on Sunday, two reps visited and arranged for a plumber to call the next day. He did so and a new thermostat was put in the immersion heater. We were without hot water for almost 2 days.
Hot water to the shower was fed from the immersion heater, once the hot water was fixed we realised the shower wasn't working. The knob to control the water temperature was stuck and impossible for us to move (we're both over 70 with various joint problems). Once informed, the local representatives again sent a guy over to have a look. He did manage to turn the knob, turning it completely through 360 degrees. He declared the shower to be 'knackered'. We were without a shower for the rest of the holiday.
Once home we asked for compensation for the lack of hot water and working shower. This was not forthcoming, we were blamed for breaking the shower and the £150 Good Housekeeping Bond was withheld.
Thank you for your feedback. While I regret that your holiday was not as smooth as you would have liked, I feel it’s important to clarify the situation from our perspective.
The property was fully inspected prior to your arrival, and both the immersion heater and shower were found to be in working order. Unfortunately, when you arrived late on Saturday evening, the immersion heater thermostat failed. As soon as this was reported on Sunday, our local representatives attended promptly and arranged a plumber for the following morning. The repair was completed quickly, and hot water was restored. While I appreciate this was inconvenient, mechanical faults can occur unexpectedly and were dealt with at the earliest opportunity.
Regarding the shower, our representative discovered that the control knob had been forced through a full 360 degrees, which caused irreparable internal damage. The shower could not be used thereafter, and replacement was required. This type of damage is not the result of wear and tear but of misuse. For this reason, the cost had to be recovered from the Good Housekeeping Bond, which is held precisely for circumstances such as this. We also had an additional £500 of costs to replace & fit a new shower.
I understand this is not the outcome you were hoping for, but I must emphasise that the decision was not made lightly. The property is regularly maintained, and no faults with the shower had been reported prior to your stay. The damage found was consistent with improper handling, and therefore the withholding of the bond was both fair and necessary.
Property Owner
