Being taken to small claims court

A question about : Being taken to small claims court

Hi,

I got married on the 25th August 2012, which cost easily over Ј10,000 just for the venue. I also paid for all 11 of the rooms for the family guests that we wanted to stay.

The day after the wedding we all checked out and all was fine... the day after that I was contacted by the hotel saying there was a coffee stain in one of the carpets that one of the guests had stayed in and they would try and get the stain out otherwise they would pass cost on to me.

I spoke to the guest in question (sister in law) who said her and another sister had been in the room before checking out and it was in absolute perfect condition - no stains at all.

She did mention that the kids where playing with the coffee granules in a cup with water, but had put them in the bin before leaving.

She spoke to the hotel about it, and they came to no agreement with the hotel manager saying his wife was one of the cleaners.

When they sent the photo to us, we studied it and it looked to us as if the cleaner had picked up the bag (with the coffee and water in it without checking), had walked across the room with the bag leaking which had then possibly hit a wall and split.

They have now contacted me telling me if I don't pay Ј180 to them they are going to take me to the small claims court as i'm liable as i'm the one that rented the room out for the guest.

I am not very happy about paying this for multiple reasons:

1. We paid over Ј10,000 at the venue (moot point granted)
2. I wasn't staying in the room at all
3. Both sisters in law have said there was nothing wrong with the room when they left so it is there word vs ours.
4. They have basically ruined our day as we will always look back at the hotel and think about them harassing us with letters about this stain.
5. We won't be able to ever stay there again for anniversary's etc because of the whole incident.

Where do I stand on this and what would other people suggest?

Thanks

Kevin

Best answers:

• Either pay or go to court and defend it. Up to you.
• Why on earth did your sister-in-law throw the water and coffee granules in the bin rather than down a sink or loo? Bit of a silly thing to do wasn't it?
• You'd have thought so wouldn't you? I think they're taking the !!!! a bit now from the sounds of it. Ј1800 for cleaning a coffee stain? Come off it.
  If they won't be reasonable you might have to let it go to court so you can have a chance to explain your side of things.
• Ј1800 for replacing the carpet? How bigs the room?
  We've just replaced the carpet in a 4m by 10m room, Really good quality carpet with the very best underlay, fully fitted, grippers, door bars, door resizing and rehanging for Ј800.
  They would only have the carpet to replace, not all the other costs, so that price is totally OTT. Also surely in somewhere like a hotel they would get stain resistant carpet.
• Your loss would be capped to be the amount claimed (Ј180?) and costs of Ј100 max - the cost of raising the action. Further, you can insist that (if you plan to defend) the case is held locally to you - which may inconvenience the hotelier further.
  There is nothing stopping you making a counter offer of restitution - in that the coffee may have been/was disposed of incorrectly in the haste of departure, but that the resulting stains were caused by inappropriate further handling, which is why you dispute their version of events.
  If the Summons has not been issued, it may be useful to offer a cheque for (say) Ј75 in full and final settlement of the claim. If they take this, that's an end to the matter. If they refuse, it can be useful in court that you attempted to resolve the matter without success.
• Let us know how you get on. In the end though try not to let it ruin the memories of your special day. Of course it's tainted the memories a little but your wedding day was just the start of what will be, we hope, a long and happy marriage. You've got so many more happy memories to come .
• Hi KevinM2k, thank you for your query regarding being taken to small claims court.
  Firstly the reason they are threatening you with court is that you had the contract to stay in the hotel, not your sister in law even if she or her children did the damage. If you want to dispute the debt I would suggest you get a written statement from your sister's in law stating no damage done to the room when they checked out and put it in writing to them. If the hotel decide to go to court then you will have the option of defending the claim and you will only be liable for costs of the other party if you loose the case but you need to be aware that if you do not pay a judgement debt within 30 days of the judgement it will be registered on your credit reference. You can find more information on defending a county court claim at www.adviceguide.org.uk.
  Hope this is of assistance.
• My normal response to the situation as you describe it, which does make it sound like there's a good case that you SIL's actions were the underlying cause of the stain, would be to accept that Ј180 is a reasonable cost and pay up to make it go away. However, given what you have already spent at the hotel, I would suggest that you write to them to say that if they really want to make you pay up you'll see them in court with a selection of journalists to write about what a bunch of miserable money-grabbers they are. Might make them think twice.