I asked for a breakdown in cost, invoices and admin fees. In summary this is what they said: £99 pounds for deep clean. No invoices can be provided as this relates to time spent. £52 pounds is the average charge rate for a room. They are not willing to confirm when the room was subsequently let, or provide any details on occupancy rates etc. Thry however say that the charge is for loss of opportunity, where the room may need airing between 24 to 48 hours. They then say the charge of £150 is a genuine estimate of the loss incurred by TL. ( this was in response to why they have lodged claims to other customers for exactly the same amount) TBH, I don't know where to start on this. Average rates for contracted cleaners is £15 ph. I assume this service is outsourced to a third party cleaning company where TL have negotiated rock bottom rates. However if they did pay the average rate it means they spent 6.6 man hours cleaning it! Ofcourse they could have had Grant Hearn contracted in to do this, and given his hourly rate, the cost may well be justified! In regard to loss of opportunity I suspect they need to prove they have actually been out of pocket. I'm no expert on the law but if they are not willing to tell whether the room was let out on the subsequent night they can't really claim it. The numbers don't add up. If the 150 was an estimate, why not amend it when they are supposedly sending me the breakdown! Anyway they should make sure they charging correctly before they start the case. This strongly suggests they are mailshoting 100s of potentially innocent customers knowing that on average, a certain percentage will pay up what is an overstated fee once they are threatened with court action. Much cheaper to set up an automated email process than to go through the effort of substantiating whether an offence actually occurred and then apportioning accurate costs. I suppose this is what they mean on the CRS website by the implementation of efficient technologies! Finally its strange that they have decided not to put in any admin fees!

Why should I deny or accept it? I know I didn't smoke and I'm pretty convinced that I would present a decent case if this went to court.

Thanks everyone, Above, the email I sent to travelodge and the response. The health and safety officer is clearly not interested in any of the health and safety issues raised in my email, and which can be substantiated with photographic evidence. I'll forward the email to Hearn. Separately, I responded to CRS requesting a detailed breakdown of costs.

Dear Mr Xxxxxxx, * I can confirm CRS are responsible for Smoking claims. As detailed in the letter you have received, any disputes should go back via CRS. * Kind regards* * Xxxxxxx xxxxxxx Health, Safety & Security Co-ordinator T +44 (0)1844 358648 F *+44 (0)1844 358564 * Sleep tight at travelodge.co.uk Travelodge is a part of Travelodge Hotels Ltd.* Registered Office: Travelodge Hotels Ltd, Sleepy Hollow, Aylesbury Road, Thame, Oxon, OX9 3AT.* Registered No: 769170 VAT No. 805367726. P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1> From: Michael Xxxxxxxx Sent: 23 August 2012 19:21 To: [email protected] Subject: Fwd: Travelodge Claim Number 125568 * Hi XXXXX, * Please confirm the authenticity of the attachment granting Civil Recovery Solutions Ltd the authority to pursue a claim of £150.* * I have been told that the claim is for an allegation of smoking, made by one of your employees . I strongly believe the employee acted through malice after I complained about H&S standards at the hotel. Please note that my stay was longer than one day where I had to change my room on multiple occasions due to safety and hygiene issues. * Log of complaints during my stay: - missing power button on electrical heater. I was provided a knife by a gentleman *on the night shift saying to use it to switch on the heating!!! Ofcourse I refused and he did it himself. - exposed wire on kettles in multiple rooms. Again raised to staff at the desk. Told that the cleaners were at fault for not spotting it. Another guest also complained about the same thing. - faulty window restriction - blocked drainage in hotel room. Wasn't fixed the next day as staff told me it would. Eventually managed to changed my room - smell of maryuana in the communal hallways. Raised with front desk but no action taken. * I have photographic evidence for the above, except the last point, which I can provide upon request. While I understand your company is going through financial difficulty, I cannot accept a hotel chain as big as yours to cut spending to such an extent to put the health and safety of your clients at risk.* * I expect a full apology and compensation for being approached in this unsolicited manner by a third party and for the awful experience I had during my stay. You have 10 working days before I proceed with Legal action against Travelodge for negligence and harassment * Regards, Michael

No I didn't smoke in the room

The email they sent me yesterday: Claim value: £150.00 Dear Mr XXXXXXX, Thank you for your emails received on 20th August 2012 and 21st August 2012. Unfortunately when responding to disputes we send correspondence to the same email or postal address we receive said dispute from. If you wish no further correspondence to be sent to your employment email address please refrain from contacting us on this address. As previously stated, Travelodge’s terms and conditions are clearly set out on line when you make a booking. These terms state at clause 5.5: “You must not smoke in any of our hotels or interfere with our fire detection system. If you do so we will terminate your booking. We may either (at our sole discretion) request the immediate re-payment of our costs during your stay or instruct a third party to contact you after your stay to recover our costs. The costs we incur if you smoke in our hotel include costs for specialist cleaning, repair or replacement of damage by you to our property, the cost of the room for any period it is unusable and our administration expenses.” These clearly state that you will be contacted by a third party following any incidents that breach this clause. Our client does not contact anyone directly. We are unable to provide you with any contact email addresses. If you wish to make a complaint we advise you contact Travelodge via their support centre online: http://support.travelodge.co.uk/ics/support/splash.asp?css=splash&style=classic&deptID=15090. Yours sincerely, EXXXX XXXXXX On behalf of Civil Recovery Solutions Limited

TL have tightened up the wording on their T&Cs, removed some of the threatening language, removed the right to precharge and the obligation to send a breakdown of costs within 10 working days, widened the scope for charges and included a sentence on instructing a third party to claim costs. CRS sent me the attachment below today. Pre 12 March 2012 T&C: Smoking / Damaged Rooms 40. All our hotels are designated as non smoking. This means that smoking is strictly prohibited in all our hotel rooms and all our public areas. By agreeing to stay in our hotels, you agree to refrain from smoking or compromising our fire precaution system in any way during your stay. 41. If you smoke in our hotels you will be breaching the law and you agree to stop any such behavior immediately upon request. 42. If you are observed of smoking or compromising our fire detection system in anyway, you understand that normally you will be asked to leave immediately and without a refund. 43. In these circumstances, you will be required to pay for specialist cleaning, and to pay for the cost of the room until it is fit for sale as a non smoking environment. We reserve the right to charge this amount from the payment card associated with your reservation. A full breakdown of these charges will be supplied to the address detailed on the reservation within 10 working days. 44. We may report such behavior to the police as criminal damage and will usually hold your reservation detail within our systems to prevent you from making any further reservations with Travelodge. 45. We also reserve the right to cancel any future bookings already made or made in the future. After 12 March 2012 T&C: You must not smoke in any of our hotels or interfere with our fire detection system. If you do so we will terminate your booking. We may either (at our sole discretion) request the immediate re-payment of our costs during your stay or instruct a third party to contact you after your stay to recover our costs. The costs we incur if you smoke in our hotel include costs for specialist cleaning, repair or replacement of damage by you to our property, the cost of the room for any period it is unusable and our administration expenses. Travelodge & UKCRS.PDF

All, I received an email from CRS stating that I should call them regarding a claim from travelodge. Not knowing who they were I called the number eager and worried to find out what this was about. The person I spoke to said that Travelodge had appointed them to resolve a claim that I had been smoking during my stay. They read through the witness statement and asked me for my version of events. My explaination of events was dismissed as they said the client's (TL) employee had no reason to lie. I disputed this, and went on to explain why I felt there had been malice in the accusation. Having stayed at the hotel for close to week I had made various complaints about H&S issues which were not been taken seriously. This led to a confrontation with a member of staff and then being accused of smoking in my room. Thus far I have not yet put my side of the story in writing and have requested they provide proof that they are authorised to represent TL in pursing me and to provide a breakdown of costs. They have side stepped answering these questions and continue to refer to TL T&C in their responses. I have now refused to discuss the matter further until they provide the information I asked for. Incidentally they are claiming £150 which is the same amount others have had levied against them according to other threads. This strongly suggests that they are fining me as it would be unlikely all smoking related claims would have the same costs for TL. Room rates and I expect cleaning costs will differ from one TL to another. Is this point worth arguing? Also, if this does go to court at what point will I be required to provide evidence and my statement of facts. I would rather just present in court.* On the H&S issues, while I wouldn't be interested in making a claim myself, *I would like the hotel independently assessed to evaluate whether they are entitled to keep their licence. I think it's only a matter of time before they have a serious injury / fatality. I am not at all surprised they are cutting corners to avoid costs given the financial situation they are in.*