Thank you - I'm currently pursuing a small claim for a different case which is going to a prelim hearing in March. (my first time). I will send the LBA to the barn address. All correspondence I've had with the host has been through email/messaging on the AirBNB website. I sent the last email early last week. Thanks again.

I thought this would be the case and I used this in my email correspondence to her... I'm telling a porky when I say have sought legal advice - I have just googled. Dear xxxx, I have sought legal advice on this matter and I have been advised of the following. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 includes a list of the types of contract clauses that may be considered unfair. This includes terms that require, in the event of a cancellation or no-show by the consumer, a “disproportionately high” sum to be paid in compensation. This may include high deposits or situations in which the booking could have been resold. Clearly, the law states that, irrespective of any contractual terms to the contrary, where a consumer cancels a booking, the business may not be able to retain all the monies paid by the consumer in advance. A business is entitled to hold back an amount that is reasonably needed to cover its net costs or the net loss of profit resulting directly from the cancellation. The retention of a genuine reservation fee may also be permissible if it is a small percentage of the overall price. Anything more may be at risk of being regarded as a penalty in disguise. The advice I have been given has confirmed your policy allows for excessive cancellation fees and under the CPA 2015 would be deemed as unfair. Terms that allow the trader to take too much of your money if you back out of a contract can be unfair. I am aware that you can claim for administration and marketing costs and for any work you had started and loss of profit but no more. Given the holiday we had booked has now been resold and you are not at any financial loss please can you return £900 to me by Friday 18th January. This then leaves your business with £225 of our deposit to cover any charges you may have incurred which seems more than reasonable. Hopefully we can then put this matter to an end without the need to pursue it further. This might sound silly but where do I start for suing someone? Would it be through the small claims process? Also the host has gone completely silent and I'm unsure how to contact her other than through the Airbnb site. I have the address of the barn (I have asked for her business address) but not sure any written communication should go to the barn.

Hello, In November 2018 we booked a large barn through Airbnb for a friends hen do for May 2019 - paid the £1100 non refundable deposit which equated to 50% of the total accommodation costs Unfortunately the wedding has been cancelled and we cancelled the booking for the hen do last week -giving over 4 month notice Airbnb and the host are refusing to refund our substantial deposit even though within a day of cancelling the barn has been rebooked by another party. Clearly they are taking advantage - I have complained but haven't got anywhere and am just ben ignored by the host. Any advice on what to do next would b great.

Hi all, Jus to give you an update. We have received notification from the court to attend a preliminary hearing which will last around 20 mins. Can someone confirm what to expect as part of this? FOI request was denied unfortunately and Ofsted would not confirm any information relating to complaints against the nursery.

@BankFodder - with regards to the FOIA request - can I just ask for a log of all complaints made to the provider or should my request be more generic?

Thanks Andy. Other than the interest claim I assume I have nothing else to lose by opting for mediation? I'm just worried I'm going to go through all this aggravation and then potrntially lose and end up paying more in costs.

Probably not.. We just want our money back.

Thank you so much for your help. Complete forum newbie. I have attempted to attach the pdf files removing any personal details so hopefully it has worked. The whole process is just making me feel extremely anxious even though we have done nothing wrong. Thank you BankFodder for confirming their policies form part of their contract - I will raise a FOIA request with Ofsted. Andy - by stating no to mediation am I not putting myself in a bad light with the courts? Thanks again - all of the information here is really helping me. Just wish I was less worked up about it all. Defendant.pdf Reason for claim.pdf

Thanks Andy - here is an extract of the particulars: When choosing a day nursery for our daughter, xxxxxx promised several services as part of the care they provide to families. These were verbally communicated to us at the initial show round and are contained within their company's policies and procedures. Based on the information received from them, we were happy with the services they offered, and we emailed xxxxxxx requesting a place for our daughter. The relevant paperwork including the contract was signed and returned, along with paying the deposit of £306, securing our daughters' place. We also paid for the first months fee’s in advance costing £240. Two of the key services they provide were not met on the four occasions our daughter attended the nursery. These services were: 1. A key person would be assigned (this is also an EYFS requirement applicable by law) 2. Daily report cards would be filled out containing details of what our daughter has eaten, nap times, how much milk she has drunk, a brief description of her activities Both services are of high importance to us as our daughter would have been attending the nursery 4 days per week. Having a key person would allow our then 10-month-old daughter to bond with a certain individual and the report cards would keep us adequately informed with what she had eaten and drank throughout the day. An email received from xxxxx later confirmed ‘daily report cards can be suspended and or changed to a new system at any given time by the company without consultation with our clients’. This was not explained to us prior to signing the contract nor is this mentioned within their policies and procedures. If we were aware of this, we would have chosen a different childcare provider for our daughter. Within my complaint I expand on the above and provide the timeline of events. Their defence is that I was abusive which then terminated our contract immediately - which is not true. Their response states they have 2 witnesses to back up I was abusive but these were just the two members of staff we met to discuss our concerns. Due to this I'm worried.

Complaint issued on 18th September I received an email from the Money Claims website saying this: Defendants response: xxxxxxxxxx has rejected your claim. You’ll have to go to a hearing to resolve it. You need to complete a directions questionnaire form to tell us more about the claim. Your claim will be cancelled if you don’t complete and return the form before 4pm on 14 October 2018. I am able to see their response which contains false information. I'm sorry what do you mean by particular's of the claim?

Hi all, LBA sent and response from them confirmed this will be contested. I have made a claim to the courts and have received a response today this will need to go to a hearing, Does anyone have any advice? Feeling very daunted and anxious by the whole process.

Perfect. Silly question should I send the letter recorded to ensure its delivered?

That's what I think - however the management there confirmed that their policies do not form part of the contract. I'm unfamiliar with contract law and his statements have made me doubt myself. Thinking about it they could stop performing basic care requirements and expect not to be in breach of contract as this also is not covered in their T's and C's so his statement is ridiculous really. I am reporting them to Ofsted today too so will keep you posted. Thanks again for the advice.

Their T's and C's just contain details of when payment is due and what's due from us if we were to end the contract, the hours they are open etc. It doesn't contain details of how they will look after the children. They have a separate document detailing their policies and procedures but this does not form part of their T's and C's of the contract.... if that makes sense?

Hi Andy - yes I did sign a contract with them. Is my LBA sufficient?