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Disaster hotel stay paid by Groupon offer no water at hotel who should refund cost?**RESOLVED**


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I would be extremely grateful for any advice and guidance on what to do and how to do it please. I've been very comprehensive in explaining the situation so apologies for the incredibly long post and good luck getting to the end of it without falling asleep first!

 

In September my husband and I booked two nights at the Ramada Hotel in Sutton Coldfield via a groupon offer. We booked a room because we were attending a training day arranged by the charity I volunteer for and it was also my birthday weekend. We were looking forward to using the spa facilities and enjoying a relaxing weekend away together.

 

The groupon offer was £109 which was for 2 nights in a standard room, main course meal on the first night and a glass on wine on arrival. I paid groupon on the £109 and was emailed the voucher advising me to book with the hotel and quote the voucher number.

 

I contacted the hotel as advised and after explaining I am disabled with disabled with mobility issues and that I needed a room near amenities with as little stairs or distance from the hotel main amenities as possible.

 

I was advised that wouldn't be a problem and was given the option of upgrading our room to an executive room for an additional £20 per night, which I accepted and paid the hotel directly and received confirmation via email.

 

All ok until we arrived around 6pm on Friday 11 November. No initial problems checking in was ok and we were given our room keys. That's where the first problem started. Our room was a considerable distance from the main part of the hotel and involved several flights of stairs (both up and down) with no lift option. We got lost several times finding the room and when we finally got to our room it was clear that I couldn't manage the multiple flight of stairs for the duration of our stay. I contacted reception and explained the situation and they stated that my request for a more accessible room had not been recorded. They asked us to wait in the room whilst they tried to find another room to move us to.

 

After a while a member of staff knocked on the door and said they had another room available for us which he would take us to. The new room involved one set of stairs (about 10 steps) but was no closer in distance. We were told this was the only option available so although we weren't overly happy we had to accept it.

 

My husband both and I had a shower that night and noticed the water was not very hot and the shower pressure was very low. We were supposed to have a Japanese shower experience but there wasn't the water pressure to support the full function of the shower. We contacted reception and was told there was a slight maintenance issue that was being resolved.

 

Saturday morning

Here's when the "fun" really starts!! It was around 9am when the water was suddenly turned off. There was no warning - it just stopped! I contacted reception and was told it was a maintenance issue and they expected it to be resolved shortly. At no time were we warned this could be an ongoing issue or that the water wouldn't be back on within a couple of hours.

 

My husband and I left the hotel about 10am as we were attending a charity conference for the day

 

We returned to the hotel around 5pm and walked into a war zone at reception. There was chaos, confusion and a lot of angry guests. It was then we noticed the sign at reception stating the hotel had a plumbing problem and the hotel could not access any water to any part of the hotel and because of this there was not heating.

 

After waiting in an incredibly long queue at reception I finally managed to speak to a member of staff.

 

I was told that the water was off and they were waiting for a part to be delivered from London and they were hoping this would resolve the issue and water would be back on.

 

I explained that I have a bowel and bladder disability and not being able to use the toilet and washing facilities was a very big problem for me. I asked if we could be transferred to another hotel but was told that they had already transferred over 100 guests to other hotels in the area and they didn't know if there any rooms were left still in other hotels to transfer us to. I asked why we hadn't been contacted and offered a transfer and the member of staff said they had only thought to contact guest that were booking in and has not contacted those already booked into the hotel.

 

The member of staff thought there maybe one hotel left that had space but didn't know about access and whether they had a room I could access. The member of staff tried to call the hotel but couldn't get an answer. She tried repeatedly for a considerable amount of time. It had taken approximately 2 hours so far and so was nearly 7pm If we had of managed to get a transfer to another hotel by the time we had packed up, driven to the new hotel unpacked etc it would have been very late I was beyond stressed and this was causing my pain levels to rise rapidly and I was feeling really ill so travelling back home (as it's over 200 miles away) wasn't an option either. It was with extremely reluctance we had to agree to stay at our exisiting hotel. I told the member of staff my reasons for staying and she arranged for us to have a main course and a free drink in the bar. We couldn't eat in the Resturant because it had been closed because of the lack of water.

 

The member of staff also arranged for some 5 litre containers of water to be delivered to our room so we could flush the toilet and to wash etc. They could also put an electric heater in the room to help with the lack of heat. I explained that I would need to use the toilet frequently so she assured me there would be plenty of water containers left in our room.

 

I asked about a refund and was told that because it was a groupon offer I had to contact them for a refund.

 

The final straw that night was after we had our meal and then returned to our room we discovered we were locked out!! Luckily one of the guests came back to their room and kindly contacted reception who sent somebody to us to let us in our room - after a 20 minutes wait! When we finally got into the room we found they had only left 2 x 5 litre containers of water - enough to flush the toilet once and have a wash. Not really enough for a person with a bladder and bowel disease!!

 

Sunday Morning

Still no water and the hotel finally admits that the problem won't be fixed until Monday. Our check out time was supposed to be 2pm but with no water and therefore unable to use any of the spa facilities we called it quits and came home.

 

Now I get to the help I need part

 

Is the hotel correct in regards to contact Groupon to claim a refund from?

 

Is it reasonable to request a refund for the full almost paid? If not, what amount is reasonable to ask to be refunded?

 

It is reasonable to ask for additional compensation due to the disappointment and distress the hotel caused us? The events has caused me a great deal of stress and this has impacted upon my health as well as ruining my birthday weekend?

 

If claiming additional compensation what is a reasonable amont to request and who do I request it from?

 

Thank you for any advice you are able to offer me with this and I'm really sorry if I sent anybody to sleep reading this post!

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I thought Groupon were purely acting on behalf of companies to advertise special discount offers and there was no contract as such with Groupon about the actual hotel or other service that was provided.

 

When you signed into the hotel at reception on arrival it was confirming the paid booking you has made and you even paid extra for a better room. I suspect the hotel is the contracted party responsible for the problems and liable to compensate you.

 

What i would suggest you do.

 

Send complaint to UK head office of the Ramada hotel group. They will have a head office address somewhere. No point trying to getting the hotel you stayed in to deal with the complaint, as they might just offer you a discount for a future visit.

 

Send a complaint to Groupon advising of the experience you had.

 

When you write, please try to reduce the length and keep it to the point. Writing a shorter letter with more impact is more likely to work. You are complaining and not writing a story.

We could do with some help from you.

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Hi

I think I am right in saying this was a MyCitydeal offer although it is still groupon.

 

From what I can gather from the terms and conditions, your contract is with the hotel and Groupon was a third party as the hotel group supplied them with the codes.

 

As it stands, your complaint is with the hotel group. and as UB has said, complain to the head office and specifically name the hotel you stayed in. lay out in single sentences where things went wrong and finish with what you expect them to do. I suggest going for a full refund of the total cost, not just the Groupon cost. It is unlikely they will offer this but they may offer more than you hoped.

Ensure any letter is headed Formal Complaint. You would be surprised at how many companies won't deal with matters as a complaint because you haven't told them it was, even if the body of the letter is blatantly obvious that it is. Send this letter by Signed For Delivery so then they cannot deny not receiving it.

If you are asked to deal with any matter via private message, PLEASE report it.

Everything I say is opinion only. If you are unsure on any comment made, you should see a qualified solicitor

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Thank you all for your valued responses and advice, I am extremely grateful and I understand and totally accept your advice about keeping future posts to the point and factual .

 

The hotel said that because I paid the money to groupon it is groupon that will have to issue a refund. From what I understand from your advice is that this is incorrect and it is the hotel I need to request a refund from?

 

Please could I impose upon your kindness and assistance further and ask you to look over the letter (once I've actually written it!). and offer any advice on improvements? ( I promise to keep the letter short and to the point. 😇

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pers i'd do a chargeback and let them argue it out!!!

 

 

not your problem if the chargeback works!!

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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I have now drafted a letter and would be extremely grateful if anybody could kindly offer any advice/suggestions regarding its content etc. I have not mentioned the booking was through a groupon on offer - should I have included this within the letter? The booking receipt from the hotel does state it was a groupon offer booking.

 

Dear Sir/madam

 

Formal complaint regarding stay at Ramada Hotel, Sutton Coldfield

 

I am writing to make a formal complaint regarding our recent stay at the Ramada Hotel in Sutton Coldfield.

 

My husband and I booked a two night stay at the above mentioned hotel commencing on Friday 11 November 2016 to 13 November 2016. Our stay at the hotel was extremely unsatisfactory and we would like a full refund of the monies paid, which was £149.00 (receipt attached to this letter) in regard of this booking.

 

The reasons for requesting a refund are.

 

At around 9am on Saturday 12 November 2016 the hotel encountered a plumbing problem and water to the hotel was cut off. I contacted reception who informed me there was a maintenance problem and the water had been temporarily shut off. We were told this was not a serous problem and the water would be back on shortly.

 

My husband I left the hotel at 10am and returned at approximately 5pm. Upon our return we discovered that the water was still off and there was no water or heating in the hotel or it's rooms. I explained to the receptionist that I have a severe bladder and bowel disability and a working toilet with washing facilities was essential.

 

The receptionist offered to contact other hotels in the area and see if they had vacancies we could transfer to. However due to the large amount of guests that had already been transferred to other hotels none of the other hotels had any vacancies. I expressed my concern and distress regarding the situation but as there were no other alternatives available my husband and I had no option but to remain at the Ramada Hotel.

 

The next day the water was still off and we were advised that the fault was not expected to be fixed before Monday morning.

 

We had specifically booked the Ramada hotel as we intended to use the leisure facilities and spa as it was my birthday but because the water was off we were unable to use these facilities at any point during our stay.

 

We feel that the hotel failed to provide a satisfactory service and therefore request a refund of £149.00 to be made to us.

 

Please be advised that if we do not receive a full refund of £149.00 we will be forced to take legal action.

 

Thank you for your assistance in this matter and I look forward to receiving the refund within 14 days of the receipt of this letter.

 

Yours

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I paid by debit card - does that still entitle me to ask for chargeback......

 

Yes if it is a Visa debit card.

 

Re your letter, also make the hotel aware that you did advise of your health before your visit to the hotel and problem with room allocation.

We could do with some help from you.

PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP THIS SITE RUNNING EVERY POUND DONATED WILL HELP US TO KEEP HELPING OTHERS

 

 Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

 

If you want advice on your thread please PM me a link to your thread

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  • 4 months later...

Just realised I had failed to update on conclusion of this.

 

I contacted Groupon and do,aimed what had happened and forwarded evidence of the water failure (pictures of notices from the hotel etc). Groupon then issued a full refund within 48 hours.

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Excellent news. Well done.

 

I will mark this thread resolved

If you are asked to deal with any matter via private message, PLEASE report it.

Everything I say is opinion only. If you are unsure on any comment made, you should see a qualified solicitor

Please help CAG. Order this ebook. Now available on Amazon. Please click HERE

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