Holiday Problem

[patbhoy]

My wife and I booked a holiday cottage on the Isle of Arran in Scotland through Booking. Com.
The cottage we had booked offered fantastic views out over the Irish Sea but when we got there we were put into a different cottage a half a mile further on which had no views was disgustingly dirty and unhygienic.
We had booked a weeks stay but left after only 3 days as we could no longer put up with it.
We are looking to claim a refund for the amount we paid but are unsure who we should claim from.
Should we claim booking.com as the booking agent or the owner of the cottage.

[New Judge]

Who did you pay your money to? I suggest they would be the starting point.

[Prudie]

I would start with booking.com if that was who you dealt with for the original booking process.

[EcclesCake]

Did you make any effort to resolve the situation upon arrival?

Agree that Booking.Com should be the first port of call but question why you seemingly made no effort to resolve the situation at the time?

[patbhoy]

We booked through Booking.com but the deposit and balance were paid direct to the owner of the cottage.

[EcclesCake]

Hmmm, that is a somewhat muddled situation. With whom did you have an agreement/contract?

I'd be inclined to think that as your initial contact was with Booking.Com it is their responsibility to resolve. I might be talking utter rubbishy though.

[Buenchico]

Quote:
"By making a reservation through Booking.com, you enter into a direct (legally binding) contractual relationship with the Supplier with which you make a reservation or purchase a product or service (as applicable). From the point at which you make your reservation, we act solely as an intermediary between you and the Supplier, transmitting the details of your reservation to the relevant Supplier(s) and sending you a confirmation email for and on behalf of the Supplier"

Source:
https://www.booking.com/content/terms.en-gb.html

So your contract is entirely with the owner of the accommodation. (However still make sure that you take up the opportunity to submit a review to the Booking.com website).

[Samuraisan]

I maybe wrong, but I would have placed my complaint while still there. Did you take plenty of photos as evidence?