The Crusader: Goodwill payment soothes holiday cottage fleas row | The Crusader | Finance

Shortly after Alice Perry arrived at the rural nook in Kent with her sister Jane, they began to itch and in the days that followed their skin became more inflamed with tens of red bumps. “We were scratching our stomachs and ankles like mad, the marks were obvious, an army of fleas had had a feast,” Alice told Crusader.

“We had noted animals were allowed at the property although not upstairs. As the itching got worse we took photos of the bites although getting one of the fleas was pretty impossible.”

If you’ve been affected by this issue or feel you’ve been a victim of injustice, please contact consumer champion Maisha Frost on maisha.frost@express.co.uk

Caught between a reluctance to leave or stick with the ick and remain, she called the property’s owner who arrived with flea spray, a hoover and a misleading suggestion about compensation. She directed them to Sykes, the agent the Perrys had booked through.

“As soon as we arrived back home we placed all our luggage outside in case it was infected and treated the house including our own pet cat,” said Alice who then contacted Sykes with the evidence and learned a fundamental lesson (set out in the contract) about renting a holiday property: that agents are the intermediaries and not directly liable. Responsibility to set right when things go wrong is down to owners. 

 “So I chased the owner again,” added Alice. “Her email was very different saying ‘I don’t know where you or your guests may have picked up the problem, but it wasn’t my cottage’. We were dismissed but she had no problem taking our £400.”

We let Sykes know about how the family had been treated and asked that while its response was legally right if it could review the matter. The family thought for the upset they merited 35% back and this has now happened with Sykes making a very welcome gesture of goodwill. [Names has been changed] 

 Holiday rental properties – check liability before booking

When booking a holiday rental read your contract’s terms beforehand so you know who is liable for what. It is down to property owners to ensure guests get what they paid for. That said the best agents do help get a fair solution. This icky cottage case was especially difficult as the problem came under health and safety, always a complicated, contentious area. Flea bites are intensely unpleasant but, as the family decided,  taking precious NHS time to get proof would not have been fair either. That left them with no options really as pursuing a small claims action would also have needed proof and the cost and time required not worth it. Sykes’ stepping in was helpful in more ways than one.