Travelodge damage claim

[sjcb1]

Hi all

me and my gf booked a room at travelodge(in my name).

 

I receive a letter from civil recovery solutions stating that travelodge are claiming for a damaged window

and asking whether I wanted to pay or dispute the claim.

 

Neither my gf or I broke the window or noticed any damage to it

 

emailed them saying I didn't do it.

 

Over a month later they finally got back to me saying the claim had now increased to 700ish.

 

An Invice for the cost to repair the window was attached.

 

In this new letter they are saying again do I wish to pay or dispute it

however if I dispute it they will take me to court and also add charges for the amount of money

they lost from not being able to rent the room out

 

I am a full time uni student.

 

I cannot afford this let alone risk loosing in court and having the claim go up.

 

I have exams in a few weeks and the stress of this has completely disrupted my revision

 

What are my options ?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[labrat]

i would be supprised if it goes to talk

 

re-read the letter they ussually say "may" go to court

 

and they would need to provide evidence that you did it as well

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

I agree with labrat about their letter. I'll move this to the appropriate forum, where others will be along to comment for you. If you do receive a summons from a court, the thread can be moved back to legal at that stage.

 

I'll leave you a short term redirect here for you to follow to the new forum.

 

My best, HB

[andydd]

I waz expecting this to be the usual smoking in the room damages but no something different.

 

If you didnt damage the window, then clearly you shouldnt pay. The fact that the amount appears to be changing and there are extra costs for not renting the room sounds susoect.

 

They may or may not start a court claim but they would have to show some proof that you did indeed damage the window and even then show that that attempted to limit their losses. All you can do is reply and deny any liabilty.

[sjcb1]

They wrote " should this matter proceed to court they will be entitled to include the loss incurred whilst try weren't able to rent out the room during repairs."

 

They added "our clients staff will provide witness statements along with incident reports and cleaning logs confirming the" damage was not present prior to your booking I the matter progresses to court. They will also sign a statement of truth stating that the contents of their statement are accurate and true"

 

 

Travelodge are claiming that the cleaning staff discovered that the inside window was shattered when the went in to check it after we left.

 

I didn't do this and how do I know it wasn't the cleaning staff that did it

[sjcb1]

And surely I would have noticed a shattered window ?

[andydd]

Unfortuantely Travelodges previous attempts at claiming 'damages' for people smoking in the rooms shows that they are hardly trustworthy, see here > http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/travelodge-fines in one incident they claimed a guest had stuck a plastic bag over the ceiling smoke detector, but it turned out the guest was in a wheelchair with no legs.

 

I suspect that they wont go to court as it would be a small claim and any legal costs wouldnt not be recoverable so it wouldnt make economic sense, couple this with the fact that they would have to travel to YOUR nearest court.

 

If a court claim is started though then let us know, and we will have to help to gain evidence, etc. Going on past experience in 'smoking' claims the evidence of staff and cleaners was often found to be unreliable.

[sjcb1]

Ok. Thank you for your help. For them moment though what should I do as since this letter I received a phone call from the crs people on an unknown number asking me what I want to do and a day later I received a text saying to call them urgently. So what should I email them saying?

 

I'm only 20 which yes makes me an adult but I don't understand any of this stuff.

[sjcb1]

As I'm full time at university I am poor. I cannot afford to give anyone £700. Today I had to pay my accommodation rent which has left me with pennies to spare.

[andydd]

Well dont then !. Have a read of the Watchdog page that contains lots of good informnation.

 

CRS are a debt collection agency, but like all DCA's they have no lkegal powers and no teeth, no doubt they will claim there is a 'debt' they are pursuing but this is (not a legal term) 'bollocks', there would only be a genuine debt IF it went to a small claim court and IF judgement was made in Travelodges favour.

 

Unfortunatley CRS are one of the annoying DCA's, ringing lots of times in the day, they phone me too..but I have saved their number and just ignore them (or answer and press 1) and let them listen to silence for a few minuyes and waste their phone bil.

 

Dont worry, come back here if anything further develops.

 

Andy

[mjt2013]

As has been said, the burden of proof is one them and they would have to show on the balance of probabilities that you did it.

 

Are you certain it was nothing to do with you or your gf? If you are then just wait for a claim to be served and defend it. Presumably your gf and you will both make statements confirming you had nothing to do with it.

[ericsbrother]

Apart rom proving you did the damage they would have to prove it wasnt possible to mitigate any of their losses. If they do try it on again in writing I would be demanding to see the before and after pictures of the window with time stamps that prove the damage was done during your occupancy, all of the invoices from the glaziers etc and proof of consequential loss by having a fully booked building and only that room unoccupied but booked/custom turned down. point out that if they cannot furnish this evidence then they are going to get a complaint of harassment and attempted fraud made against them.

[andydd]

This isnt the first time that TL have made false allegations > http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?355065-Travel-Lodge-Speculative-Invoice-photograph-TL-had-proved-it-wasnt-me-**RESOLVED**&p=4435759#post4435759

[stu007]

Ok

 

Firstly what actual evidence have they provide to you photographic, pre inspection report before your occupancy, after inspection report, is it actually the correct room, who made the allegations, witness statements etc.

 

Also who is to say it wasn't the cleaners that caused this and blamed the previous occupant.

 

Seems like TL are changing tactics.

Edited January 3, 2014 by stu007

[dadtaxi]

"As I'm full time at university I am poor. I cannot afford to give anyone £700. Today I had to pay my accommodation rent which has left me with pennies to spare."

 

Sounds like a bit of a panic

 

One word ---Dont

The 'crs people' have no legal power whatsoever. Firstly, do not talk to them. Ever. They are not your friends. They do not care that you didn't do it. They may pretend to listen and be sympathetic but they have one job and one job only, to intimidate you into paying up. That is all. They will not pass any complaint or explanation or outrage back to the Hotel.

 

So your only response to them would be to state( in writing) that this is in dispute with the hotel and that their interest in this matter should be passed back to the hotel Also state that that you formally withdraw any contact with yourselves including phone and texts and any contact should be in writing only ( do not accept emails).

 

So that being said your beef is with Travel lodge only and it is to them you should focus.

So-- write/email to the hotel in question and Head Office making the following points

1) You dispute and deny any claim

2) You require any and all evidence that they will rely on including :-all photographic ( with time stamps) and all witness statements including cleaning staff, also their cleaning logs and inspection reports, managerial actions and involvement, any cleaning/repair bills/invoices for the damage claimed and a statment of room occupancy reports for your room in the period before and after your stay but also to include overall Hotel occupancy to include the dates for the period that in claimed losses in 'not being able to let the room'

 

If you also want to up the ante ask for their formal complaints procedure with a view to asking why this was a)passed to a third party without contacting yourselves primaraly to resolve and b)an explanation why this does not constitute a failing in their actions under Data Protection Act

 

So essentially, Make it their problem to prove it, not your job to dis-prove it

[dadtaxi]

Oh i fogot, also a copy of their full terms and conditions with your signature when you signed in ( or if on-line, those terms and conditions as well). Also a copy of the hotels procedures they follow under these conditions

[dx100uk]

pers i'd just ignore it

 

UNLESS you get a claimform.

 

[never happens]

 

dx

[Grotesque]

And surely I would have noticed a shattered window ?

 

In January?! -probably!!!