I did!! I got so fed up of being told 'that's the terms in your contract' by their customer service team that during yet another heated discussion, I exploded 'the terms were unfair to the consumer' and spent the next 48 hours searching the web for anything to do with unfair terms in contracts and hit upon this piece. Trading standards did agree that it was unfair terms but this piece of legislation had never been tested as a stand alone act Didn't even get to court, just the threat of action was enough! I rang the company stating the detailed case I would put together and that whilst I really did't WANT to, I would have no hesitation but to go through the legal process. Obviously I was aware that the judge may not find in my favour but I believed that the company had no legal basis for making a profit on my cancellation over and above the administration costs incurred, based on a non-negotiated contract by themselves which resulted in them profiting from my cancellation. I put the phone call in, obviously it was referred to their legal team and with 12 hours I had a phone call back confirming that I was correct and they would refund me my deposit minus....the administration costs. I would have had no hesitation in reclaiming through the small claims had they chosen to go that route. I now work for trading standards as a direct result of this experience!!! Good luck!

I spoke to a very sympathetic woman in the company and explained that I really didn't want to waste time going to court although being a stay at home mum I had plenty of time to do so so ...! I told her all the relevant points of the legislation...48hrs on and they had relented and given me a full refund!!! I did advise the that I had informed TS and OFT! It just goes to show never ever let anyone tell you that becuase you had agreed to their terms and conditions you are bound to an unfair contract!

Result...full deposit paid back!!!!!! I guess the old adage of only a squeaking door gets oiled!!!!

Trust me, I did offer to pay a reduced amount but they refused to accept it, then offered to maybe transfer holiday to another date subject to more charges, but they would treat the original booking as cancelled and would need another deposit!!! I did consider saying to them take me to court but I was advised to keep to the agreed terms and conditions and then report to Trading Standards, which I have and they are now investigating! I have also reported them to The Office of Fair Trading for their Terms and Conditions to be investigated under the Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2083 The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999...i guess if they are found to be trading unfairly then it will open the door to a lot of past customers reclaiming lost deposits!! Would it be possible for you to advise of which cottage let companies talk about the distant selling regulations please? It just goes to show that this company is grossly unfair and not bothered about customers. It beggars belief that someone can book a holiday a year in advance and then lose their deposit if cancelled within 'reasonable' time! And what makes it particularly goading is the fact that their T&C's allow them to keep your deposit but should they have to cancel your holiday through forces beyond their control (no doubt they could argue anything is beyond their control as they are only agents!) they do not have to recompense you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now if that bit had been read out in the oral contract, the cottage would never have been booked in the first place. This company is one where the T&C's are loaded in favour of the company and therefore there is an unfair imbalance in the contract!

Thanks for taking the time to reply...unfortunately the Distant Selling Regulations don't cover holidays!!! You can see the argument put forward by them that a lot of people could buy then cancel very close to the departure date HOWEVER it would be nice if there was some clause that covered this with maybe enforcing a time period of maybe 3 months before departure this would not be applicable? I actually asked a very very nice chap from Trading Standards who the hell regulates the holiday companies as it seems at the moment they can make T&C's in their contracts which are loaded in favour of their comapny and unfairly treat the consumer...surprise surprise 'they are self-regulatory'!!!!!!!! Surely there should be some sort of legislation which creates a independent regulator for the travel industry? ABTA is paid for by the travel agency so obviously work in the interests of companies and not the little person such as myself. This has now become a case where the money has almost become a side issue...it's fighting for fairness in these contracts. The contracts which you are tied to the moment you have heard the main terms without clarification, paid the deposit and then when you get a chance to read the main contract and see the small print you cannot get out of because by the very action of paying a deposit, albeit a low deposit or full deposit you have concluded the contract!!!! A contract is a mutual agreement, one that all parties have understood fully, been given adequate time to consider and agree to all parts as fair...! And don't even get me started on the fact that they have resold part of the booked period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mother booked a cottage through Cottages4you for 6 of us in February but the next day my husband had his leave cancelled by his managing Director as there is an impending company court case which it is imperative that my husband is available for as he is a witness. We cancelled by 9am the next morning and were told that it would be subject to cancellation fees and the outstanding amount of deposit £378 At the time of booking my mother was not made aware that the contract was between herself and the owners of the property and didn't have sufficient time or understanding of the terms and conditions when the sales advisor read them out over the phone. And once you have paid for the low deposit then you are bound to these 'unintelligible' oral contracts which do not give you enough time to allow yourself to get fully acquainted with all the small print. We could claim on the insurance but need a court summons letter...we sent paper work into them from solicitors advising of my husbands witness status...which the company lost but blame my mother for not sending recorded delivery, although looking at the cover notes which the company sent, at no point do they mention recorded delivery. Because we do not have the official court summons as yet we have had to pay the full deposit under the terms and conditions of £490 We have done so under protest but have stuck to the company's terms and conditions. However am I right in thinking that this could be covered by Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2083 The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999? The company has made a profit from us not taking a holiday of nearly £500...this is not how much it would cost to cover their costs...incidentally they have gone onto resell part of the 2 weeks we had booked for!. Despite thinking that cancellation fees are too high, we understand that they do exist so have never had an issue with paying them...however we have a major issue with a company who operate when: (from OFT) ■ consumers unfairly losing prepayments if the contract is cancelled ■ consumers being subject to unfair penalties When a contract is cancelled consumers should not generally end up paying for something they have not received. This is especially true where the contract is ended by the supplier. Where the consumer causes the cancellation, prepayments should not be retained beyond what is needed to cover losses and costs which the business suffers as a direct result, and cannot reasonably reduce by, for instance, selling to someone else. The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 Unfair Terms 5. - (1) A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer. (2) A term shall always be regarded as not having been individually negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term. (3) Notwithstanding that a specific term or certain aspects of it in a contract has been individually negotiated, these Regulations shall apply to the rest of a contract if an overall assessment of it indicates that it is a pre-formulated standard contract. (4) It shall be for any seller or supplier who claims that a term was individually negotiated to show that it was. Schedule 2 © making an agreement binding on the consumer whereas provision of services by the seller or supplier is subject to a condition whose realisation depends on his own will alone; (e) requiring any consumer who fails to fulfil his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation; (i) irrevocably binding the consumer to terms with which he had no real opportunity of becoming acquainted before the conclusion of the contract; Can anyone advise please...have tried to talk to consumer direct but have been given duff information on both occasions I am currently waiting for Trading Standards to call me back but their first suggestion was for me to call consumer direct!!! Has anyone heard of any success under this regulation? Thanks Guys...this sort of thing makes me so mad and now I have seen so many other people going through this I'm even madder at the thought of all that 'free' money cottages4you and the hoseasons group must be 'winning'

Looking at the previous posts, it's nice to see that I'm not alone! My mother booked a cottage through Cottages4you for 6 of us in February but the next day my husband had his leave cancelled by his managing Director as there is an impending company court case which it is imperative that my husband is available for as he is a witness. We cancelled by 9am the next morning and was told that it would be subject to cancellation fees and the outstanding amount of deposit £378 At the time of booking my mother was not made aware that the contract was between herself and the owners of the property and didn't have sufficient time or understanding of the terms and conditions when the sales advisor read them out over the phone. And once you have paid for the low deposit then you are bound to these 'unintelligible' oral contracts which do not give you enough time to allow yourself to get fully acquainted with all the small print. We could claim on the insurance but need a court summons letter...we sent paper work into them from solicitors advising of my husbands witness status...which the company lost but blame my mother for not sending recorded delivery, although looking at the cover notes which the company sent, at no point do they mention recorded delivery. Because we do not have the official court summons as yet we have had to pay the full deposit under the terms and conditions of £490 We have done so under protest but have stuck to the company's terms and conditions. However am I right in thinking that this could be covered by Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2083 The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999? The company has made a profit from us not taking a holiday of nearly £500...this is not how much it would cost to cover their costs. Despite thinking that cancellation fees are too high, we understand that they do exist so have never had an issue with paying them...however we have a major issue with a company who operate when: (from OFT) ■ consumers unfairly losing prepayments if the contract is cancelled ■ consumers being subject to unfair penalties When a contract is cancelled consumers should not generally end up paying for something they have not received. This is especially true where the contract is ended by the supplier. Where the consumer causes the cancellation, prepayments should not be retained beyond what is needed to cover losses and costs which the business suffers as a direct result, and cannot reasonably reduce by, for instance, selling to someone else. Unfair Terms 5. - (1) A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer. (2) A term shall always be regarded as not having been individually negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term. (3) Notwithstanding that a specific term or certain aspects of it in a contract has been individually negotiated, these Regulations shall apply to the rest of a contract if an overall assessment of it indicates that it is a pre-formulated standard contract. (4) It shall be for any seller or supplier who claims that a term was individually negotiated to show that it was. Schedule 2 © making an agreement binding on the consumer whereas provision of services by the seller or supplier is subject to a condition whose realisation depends on his own will alone; (e) requiring any consumer who fails to fulfil his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation; (i) irrevocably binding the consumer to terms with which he had no real opportunity of becoming acquainted before the conclusion of the contract; Can anyone advise please...have tried to talk to consumer direct but have been given duff information on both occasions I am currently waiting for Trading Standards to call me back but their first suggestion was for me to call consumer direct!!! Thanks Guys...this sort of thing makes me so mad and now I have seen so many other people going through this I'm even madder at the thought of all that 'free' money cottages4you and the hoseasons group must be 'winning'

I'm not alone...see post below for details!!!!!!!!!!!