a little advice please?

[lucisprocket]

Hi, this gets a little complicated so please bear with me.

 

We booked a caravan holiday through a private rental site in september to go away in october. I paid the deposit and the balance pretty much straight away. Then the day before we were due to go on the holiday the owner rings me to tell me that he has sold the caravan and it would be transferred to the new owner the next day, the first day of our holiday. We still went on the holiday and had no problems except the gas ran out, so after speaking to the new owner it was agreed we would replace the gas and pay for it and he would reimburse us the next day. He never turned up and didn't answer his phone. Since then i have not been able to get hold of him. The original owner has said he transferred the cost of our holiday and the deposit over to the new owner as it was no longer his caravan so we need to get the deposit back from the new owner.

But i can't get hold of him, he is not answering his phone or to text messages.

 

My husband says we booked the holiday with the original owner so he is responsible for paying the deposit back but i'm not sure.

 

Not sure where to seek advice about this or what to do next.

 

Any help or advice would be grateful received. Many thanks. Luci x

[Mossycat]

I think your husband is right, you had a contract with the original owner (Mr X), you paid MR X the deposit.

 

When Mr Y bought the caravan what Mr X should have done was refund you and tell you to deal with Mr Y directly, but he didn't, he sold the caravan with bookings to Mr Y as a complete package, therefore you seek recompense from Mr X who in turn seeks it from Mr Y.

 

The gas that ran out however is a different matter, since at the time the gas ran out it belonged to Mr Y therefore it was his responsibility to make sure all consumables were in good supply, additionally he authorised you to purchase a refill, so therefore Mr Y is responsible for that cost.

 

I would be tempted to put all correspondence in writing and make it clear that unless you received replies and refunds you will take this matter further (ie Court).

 

I started this thread with the words 'I think', my area of expertise is insurance, so I'm not 100% sure but it seems logical to me.

 

Mossy