We went away for a break for three nights at the weekend and on the last night, one of our daughters was using the bath in our en suite as it had a jacuzzi setting that she wanted to use. Quite quickly we heard water running down inside walls and suddenly, it started to pour out of a light fitting and all over the sofa. Obviously, this ruined the last night of our break as we had nowhere to sit (the rest of us had just started playing games in the area under where the leak was), our en suite was out of action and instead of enjoying the last night of our break we were stood holding pans and things under the leaks.
Bearing in mind the break cost around £1,700 (just for the rental of the accommodation), what are thoughts on what would be a fair compensation (we have been offered something but we don't think it's really a fair reflection of the inconvenience).
£283.33
(Half price for the ruined affected night.)
£1700 for 3 nights, so £566 per night, I'm thinking 3 bedrooms and some living spaces?
I going to guess that you want close to 1 night free (£500 ish) and they are offering £200 ish. I would want the same as you, but actually I think £250 is fairly reasonable.
Refund of the 3rd night's accomodation, which is basically what you've lost.
What caused the leak?
Not saying this is what you should be entitled to (and I imagine what you are entitled to is documented in the accommodation / holiday small print anyway) but, you had three nights booked and one night was allegedly ruined, 1700/3 = £600. I think a £500 refund plus any damages (did it destroy your property?) would seem appropriate me. I assume you don't have any travel insurance?
Accidents happen, unfortunately. If the issue was one of negligence / incompetence then I'd expect a greater recompense than if it were simply a case of "a pipe burst and we're really sorry."
I suppose another option might be, rather than an absolute monetary reimbursement, maybe offering you a free / heavily reduced return stay? There's a reasonable chance that whoever you gave money to has other properties in their portfolio too.
You lost the use of the sofa and the jacuzzi bath for one night but you could still sleep and I'm assuming other bathrooms to use. Refund would probably depend on how big the house was but the generalist is being fairly generous.
That is all assuming there was no contributory actions on your daughter's behalf, nothing overfilled or operated incorrectly.
A bit late now, but I imagine my conversation with the accommodation provider would have been along the lines of "we're about to check into a hotel/head home, so enjoy cleaning up and drying out this very wet house, or you can pay us to stay here and catch the drips while you sort it out" 🙂
What caused the leak?
We are not entirely sure (neither was the emergency plumber that was called out and said he'd need to come back out to properly investigate). But the leaking sound started straight away once our daughter switched the jacuzzi on (ie, we *think* switching the jacuzzi on started the issue as we had already used the shower over the bath several times without issue). However, we shouted to her to switch off the water and unplug the bath to let the water back out and that is when the water really started pouring through the ceiling – it turned out that the bath overflow wasn't even connected (it was just laying on the floor in the void) so when we unplugged the bath, the volume of water was too much for just the waste pipe and it started to pour out of the unconnected overflow pipe too.
It was a four bedroom (all with en-suites) accommodation so we lost the use of 50% of the living area and the shower in the affected bathroom along with the time and inconvenience of having to deal wth the On Call officers in the park (who, rather helpfully, said 'the electrics are okay - the RCD hasn't tripped' along with 'here's some towels for you to dry things with).
BTW, all the suggestions for compensation above are all higher than what we have been offered.
I'd say 1 nights rate?
Unless it's centerparks/Butlins/etc in which case arguably it's a "days" rate for access to the park + accomodation, and you've already had two thirds of the day in the park, so half a day might be appropriate.
What caused the leak?
Holiday let sex pond? Best not to ask!
But the leaking sound started straight away once our daughter switched the jacuzzi on (ie, we *think* switching the jacuzzi on started the issue as we had already used the shower over the bath several times without issue)
it turned out that the bath overflow wasn’t even connected (it was just laying on the floor in the void) so when we unplugged the bath, the volume of water was too much for just the waste pipe and it started to pour out of the unconnected overflow pipe too.
Unless it was brand spanking new and unused, I'd imagine the fitting has worked lose due to the vibration of the jacuzzi pump and then your daughter has been the unlucky one to have it fall off.
I'd be asking for a minimum one night's cost to be reimbursed, probably the whole lot to be honest (though I'd expect kick back on that). You bought a product (not three) , it failed, they refund apologise, that's what *their* insurance is for (and they're making a very healthy margin from that £1700.)
I should probably point out my stance is at least in part driven by an utter distaste for holiday lets.
Unless it was brand spanking new and unused, I’d imagine the fitting has worked lose due to the vibration of the jacuzzi pump and then your daughter has been the unlucky one to have it fall off.
But that doesn't account for the sound of water leaking *before* taking the plug out (although that might have just been the internal sound of water in the system travelling through the framework of the house). It would seem odd to have two unconnected leaks manifest themselves at the same time too.
Ohh, and it also caused the fire alarm to go iff, despite it being some way from the leak. All very odd.
Claim on your own insurance? The poor provider already has some steep bills to pay / thier own insurance to deal with, I’m sure they could do without more costs.
LOL - that's hilarious.
I don't know why but for me it'd depend on whether its a private airbnb (which I'd ask for a bit of) vs a bit corporate (where I'd ask for a lot).
Sounds in the updates like its a centreparc or similar so I'd be asking for a day back
£100 maybe.
Sounds in the updates like its a centreparc or similar so I’d be asking for a day back
Yup, Center Parcs.
If it's centre parc's then your 4 room accomodation is for up to ~8 people so your day rate is not just accomodation but the access to the facilities for 8. So I can see why they're not offering you all of the day as frustrating as that may be.
Yup, Center Parcs.
Ah, right, that changes my answer, I assumed you were talking about an AirBnB or similar.
In that case I reckon if you get £100 you've done well. As above, you're paying for the use of the whole place not just the cabin, so you can expect a lower number.
Claim on your own insurance? The poor provider already has some steep bills to pay / thier own insurance to deal with, I’m sure they could do without more costs.
Won't someone please think of the persecuted and oppressed asset owners 😂
Claim on your own insurance? The poor provider already has some steep bills to pay / thier own insurance to deal with, I’m sure they could do without more costs.
Wtaf.
If it's Center Parcs then I would be surprised if they don't have reams of small print for exactly this sort of eventuality. Which you will have agreed to without reading when you booked. Whatever they've offered you, I suspect you're into the realms of "gesture of goodwill" rather than any sort of legal right to compensation above what they've offered.
Given who it is, as I said earlier I reckon I'd be pushing for a substantial discount on a future visit. That's of higher value to you whilst being of lower actual cost to them. Hell, it'd probably pay for itself in you using the restaurants, activities et al.
Im totally not sniping here, but is that really how much 3 nights self catering accom costs in the UK? Is there anything else provided with that accom?
I fear i may sound like my father, but i really had no idea. Is this normal pricing (other than BH tax)?
OP i hope you get a large portion of this fee back due to your experience being spoilt.
Ian
That's 3 nights PLUS access to CenterParcs facilities, for up to 8 folk?
What scotroutes said. What would four hotel rooms cost for three nights? That CP price comes out at ~£140/night.
Plus Center Parcs is "middle class expensive." I like it a lot, but they do not price in a manner designed to entice people away from Haven Holidays or Pontins.
Years back we had a Centre Parcs lodge with a jacuzzi. When we switched it on all sorts of detritus and biological unpleasantness fizzed to the surface.
Sounds like you dodged a bullet.
And in answer to the question, 30% off voucher valid for 3 months, excluding weekends, school holidays and bank holidays. Terms apply.
Ah ok...designed around 8 people staying. That has cleared it up for me. Thanks
So glad my kids have grown up and I don’t need to go back to centre parcs ever again.
I’ve had two vaguely similar experiences. Once pre-kids staying in a bed and breakfast guesthouse somewhere in North Yorkshire the landlady had warned us not to over fill the (big enough for two) corner bath as the overflow wasn’t connected. We ignored this advice and we were interrupted by the landlady banging on the bathroom door cos soapy water was dripping onto the china on the Welsh dresser. Felt a bit sheepish over breakfast.
Second was a few years ago in an airbnb in Barcelona with daughter who would’ve been mid teens at the time. She was used to spending a long time in the shower. Followed her into the bathroom and there was 3 inches of water in the floor… 3rd storey up I think.
Re the op if not satisfied hit them wear it hurts by not returning!
Won’t someone please think of the persecuted and oppressed asset owners 😂
I live next to a centre parcs. Yep they run a profitable business. But as a business, I like what they do. They took a bit of conifer plantation and spent 250 million to make it into a place people want to go to. They seem to be a good employer
Im totally not sniping here, but is that really how much 3 nights self catering accom costs in the UK? Is there anything else provided with that accom?
The cost of Centre Parcs is insane, speaking as a consumer of lots of uk self catering accommodation. You get access to some facilities included such as the pool. Some activities are extra. A clever bit of the model is selling the long weekend and mid week seperatley. The 3 day weekend is a slight premium as for most it’s one days leave. The 4 day break is 4 days leave
At Easter we paid £1000 for a week in 3 bed town house with partial sea views. It was really well equipped and had 3 bathrooms.
My conclusion is that much of the cost of Centre Parcs is the extra facilities. I’ve never actually been.
I think the OP should get £200 or a voucher for say twice that
Re the cost - yes it was expensive, but we had to get a four-bed lodge with all en-suites due to the nature of our group of seven people and of course, it was a bank holiday weekend. It was our first time and overall, I'd say it was okay value for money as we really did make use of the water park facilities (both the main site ones and our own private waterfall attraction 🤣), all the staff were very pleasant (apart from the grumpy maintenance staff but they aren't front of house I guess), the setting was good and the place was very clean.
FWIW, they offered an £85 refund which they raised to £135 when we challenged it. Still undecided as to whether we feel that is really fair given the issue kinda spoiled our last night.
Half of one nights in cash or a whole night as a money off voucher for me would be fair.
Sounds like you all still had a place to sleep, to wash, to cook and to eat so your loss is nowhere near a full night's accommodation. You could ask if they'll offer a higher value voucher that you can use against a future booking but otherwise it's a gesture for moderate inconvenience rather than calamity.
Im totally not sniping here, but is that really how much 3 nights self catering accom costs in the UK?
No, that’s a CP “cost”. It’s essentially a premium for the simplicity and luxury of knowing exactly what you get and wanting to share a forest with other audi drivers!
Is there anything else provided with that accom?
Theres a Mumsnet classic thread on the “other benefits” that might (or might not!) be expected on a centreparcs trip!
I fear i may sound like my father, but i really had no idea. Is this normal pricing (other than BH tax)?
all holiday accom has been stupidly priced since Brexshit and Covid and Centreparcs were already specialising in ripping off middle class city dwellers before that.
OP i hope you get a large portion of this fee back due to your experience being spoilt.
I’d take some convincing that his experience was “spoiled” - he’s basically in posh butlins - there were other places to go, and staff to sort the problem. If it had been a traditional holiday cottage and he’d spent the night trying to save the owners damage from a burst pipe then maybe but the whole point of centreparcs is if you have an issue you call reception and go enjoy your holiday. In this case not on the specific sofa you intended - I suspect if he had pointed out the disruption at the time he’d have got some vouchers to enjoy one of the overpriced mass food type places/bar or something for the evening. It may not have crossed the staffs mind at the time although I am sure that are used to (and well versed at) dealing with disgruntled customers.
they offered an £85 refund which they raised to £135 when we challenged it.
Yeah, I'd be escalating that on a £1,700 weekend break.
https://www.resolver.co.uk/companies/centerparcs-complaints/contact-details
I’d take some convincing that his experience was “spoiled”
His experience was unarguably "spoiled." "Ruined" is perhaps hyperbole.
– I suspect if he had pointed out the disruption at the time he’d have got some vouchers to enjoy one of the overpriced mass food type places/bar or something for the evening.
it was our last night and at 11pm, a bit late for vouchers to use there. And we did point things out but we’re told to speak to customer services on our return home - to be fair they beat us to it with a call straight away this morning.
It’s essentially a premium for the simplicity and luxury of knowing exactly what you get and wanting to share a forest with other audi drivers!
LOL
I love this. I go past so often and love looking at the car park. Another bit of genius. Hey guys it’s traffic free. Fringe benefit to then, driving to anyone else’s restraint is now a PITA
But they know their market and apparently have 90% occupancy
Oh and the evening was ruined at 11pm. I’m still sympathetic but for me that would be zero hours of sofa time lost. I’m seeing £135 as less unreasonable
Did this really "ruin" the last night? Sounds like the kind of thing we'd have had a good laugh about. I wouldn't even consider asking for comparison.
it was our last night and at 11pm
Alright, I've changed my mind. That's not a ruined night, it's a minor inconvenience.
we did point things out but we’re told to speak to customer services on our return home
That's counter to their own policy.
https://www.centerparcs.co.uk/company-information/about-us/brand/our-service-promise.html
Sounds like a bit of excitement on the last night.
I went to the one near Penrith, total disaster of a weekend and we had a right laugh. Had to clean the kitchen, was covered in dust, Chinese restaurant was shut as they power was out, pizza oven caught fire and caused the main dome to be evacuated. Some people didn't have mattresses, don't think our boiling was working when we got there either. Mind you I think we paid a fiver a head and it was 2 weeks before it openned to the public. Sister in law worked for Haven at the time and staff and families were used to road test the site, it crashed.
Wtaf.
To be fair I thought he was talking about a privately owned house rather than center Parcs and I see there’s been some updates after I posted. Assuming the former, I would have through “shit happens” and worked kindly with the owner, I’m not into stripping peoples private business / retirement to the bone.
But literally the 11th hour at CP with all facilities enjoyed until that point? An apology - of which that seemed to be proactively forthcoming- and a small discount or voucher for inconvenience seems apt.
why dont you tell centre parcs what you want?
'I find £135 a little insulting, i would be happy to accept a XXX amount'.
Taking a bath at 11pm on the last night? OK.
Take what ever they've offered as goodwill and move on
