Liverpool Law Clinic
In Association with the Liverpool Law School Pro Bono Society
Our ref:
04 December 2007
Private & Confidential
Miss Smith,
1 Letsby Avenue,
Melchester.
Dear Prudence,
Re Substandard Accommodation
The Facts
As we understand it, a holiday cottage was booked through Smart Shacks for a price of £500 for one week. You arrived at
the cottage the following day to find the standard dissatisfactory due to an overwhelming smell which rendered the cottage
uninhabitable. The owners were informed immediately and on inspection admitted that there was a smell but it was only
that of new carpets. Feeling unhappy with this explanation, you booked a hotel room for the night and returned home the
following day. You were only refunded £100 as a gesture of good will and feel the price of £400 is unjustified for the 3 hours
that you occupied the cottage.
Your Concerns
•
•
Cancellation details outlined in contract
Credit Card Company refusing reimbursements
Our Advice
The first issue to consider is that the company notes that the cancellation details are outlined in the contract, however these
are only applicable where the client decides to cancel the holiday prior to arrival therefore are rendered inapplicable in this
situation. Given that you wish to avoid the contract on the basis of breach due to substandard accommodation, it is unlikely
that Smart Shacks will be able to rely on these terms in order to refuse a refund.
With regards to the Credit Card Company, their recognition of Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which offers
cardholders a measure of protection involving transactions over £100 where a claim has been established in respect of a
misrepresentation or breach of contract, shows their willingness to help if breach can be proved. In order to gain
compensation from this Statute you should first contact the Credit Card Company and if they refuse to help seek
enforcement through the Civil Court system. However the problem that you face is that the breach (the smell) can be
interpreted on different levels by different people. However given that they have paid a good will gesture of £100 shows
recognition of a fault with the property and this may offer stronger grounds for proof of breach. Therefore if breach can be
proved it is likely that you will be able to recover your money under S. 75 Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Other avenues available to you present themselves in the form of common law cases. As you may be aware, the English
legal system follows the judgement of previous cases as a means to bring an action. Against the holiday company through
which you booked the cottage.
The case law that bares the most relevance to your situation is Jackson v Horizon Holidays [1975] 3 ALL ER. In this case
the claimants had booked a holiday which fell short of the standard promised; the accommodation lacked many of the major
facilities and their room was covered in a ‘stinking black mildew so that they were unable to occupy it’. These faults entitled
them to bring a successful action for a breach of contract and were entitled to just under the cost of the holiday in damages.
Although it is likely to be argued that it was the lack of major facilities rather than the smell that constituted the breach in this
case, James LJ stated that compensation was granted due to the fact that the claimant had not received the benefit from the
holiday that they had contracted for. Given that in the same way, you have not received the benefit from the holiday at
Smart Shacks that you were entitled, you may still be able to bring a claim under this authority.
Summary
In summary, having provided detailed advice above, we have identified the following action available to you to gain
reimbursement for your holiday. Subject to the proof of breach, it is likely that you will able to claim under S.75 Consumer
Credit Act for the cost of your holiday from the credit card company. You may also be able to bring an action under common
law against the company through which you booked the cottage by relying on Jackson v Horizon Holidays which purports to
remedy situations where the benefit in a contract has been lost.
You will need to bring a claim on the small claims track as you are claiming less than £1000. The easiest way to do this is to
go to a Citizens Advice Bureau. There you will be asked to complete a claim form and a short Particulars of Claim arguing
breach of contract.
The company will then have to produce their defence and then a District Judge will give brief directions leading up to a short
hearing, including the order to disclose all relevant documents and produce witness statements. Solicitors tend not to deal
with these types of claims, as they only recover costs if the damages are £1000 or more.
We trust this information has been of assistance to you.
We enclose a questionnaire for clients. This is to enable us to monitor and improve our service. We would be grateful if you
would take a few moments to complete the form and return it to us.
Thank you for consulting the Law Clinic. Should you require any help in the future on any other matters, please do not
hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely
Dr. Jekyll
Andromeda Strain Bygone Times
Management Committee Representative
Student Advisor
Encs
Student Advisor