Author Topic: Trip Advisor couple 'fined' £100 by hotel for bad review  (Read 3546 times)

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Offline The Bald Eagle

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Trip Advisor couple 'fined' £100 by hotel for bad review
« on: 19 November, 2014, 02:46:14 PM »
First there was this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30100973

Trip Advisor couple 'fined' £100 by hotel for bad review

A couple say they have been "fined" £100 by a Blackpool hotel for leaving critical comments on travel review website Trip Advisor.

Tony and Jan Jenkinson posted the negative comment after being unimpressed with the one night they spent at the Broadway Hotel.

The couple, from Whitehaven, later found £100 charged to their credit card. The hotel said its policy was to charge for "bad" reviews.

Trading Standards are investigating.

Officials believe the hotel may have breached unfair trading practice regulations.

The manager of the hotel, on Burlington Road West, was unavailable when contacted by the BBC.

The hotel policy, contained in a booking document, reads: "Despite the fact that repeat customers and couples love our hotel, your friends and family may not.

"For every bad review left on any website, the group organiser will be charged a maximum £100 per review."

Mr and Mrs Jenkinson were on their way to visit family in Oxford when they decided to split up their journey.

They said they only chose the hotel because it had a car park and paid £36 for the double room.

Retired van driver Mr Jenkinson, 63, said the details of the charge were in the booking documents, but his wife did not have her glasses on and signed it without reading the small print.

Mr Jenkinson said he intended to fight the charge, adding: "Annoyed isn't strong enough for how I feel about this, what happened to freedom of speech?

"Everybody we have spoken to says they (the hotel) are not allowed to do this."

John Greenbank, north trading standards area manager, said it was a "novel" way to prevent bad reviews.

He said: "I have worked for trading standards for many years and have never seen anything like this.

"The hotel management clearly thinks they have come up with a novel way to prevent bad reviews, however we believe this could be deemed an unfair trading practice."

The couple have sought a refund via their credit card company.

Councillor John McCreesh, cabinet member for trading standards, said: "Customers need to be free to be honest about the service they're getting.

"Other customers depend upon it. Hotel owners should focus on getting their service right rather than shutting down aggrieved customers with threats and fines.

"People should have the right to vent their disappointment if a hotel stay did not meet their expectations and should not be prevented from having their say."

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Offline The Bald Eagle

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Re: Trip Advisor couple 'fined' £100 by hotel for bad review
« Reply #1 on: 19 November, 2014, 02:56:58 PM »
I immediately thought of the comparison with the Beavis case and was about to write something up, but Parking Cowboys has already done an excellent job and saved me the time and effort.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/2014-11-ghost-of-christmas-yet-to-come/

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

There is a story on BBC about a couple being ‘fined’ by a Blackpool hotel for leaving a critical review on TripAdvisor. The couple were charged £100 on their credit card having broken the ‘no bad review’ terms and conditions of their booking. Quite rightly, Trading Standards are investigating, saying:

I have worked for Trading Standards for many years and have never seen anything like this. The hotel management clearly thinks that they have come up with a novel way to prevent bad reviews, however we believe this could be deemed an unfair trading practice.

It’s not hard to imagine that the hotel owners were inspired by the private parking industry. Here, parking companies state terms and conditions on signage (read booking form) and charge motorists £100 ‘fines’ for breaking the terms and conditions, such as overstaying, not displaying a disabled badge, or parking on a line. Quite why Trading Standards don’t see the parallel, and investogate companies such as ParkingEye and Civil Enforcement, I don’t know.

Campaigners strongly believe private parking ‘fines’ to be an unfair trading practice, given the £100 represents a penalty rather than genuine damages for any loss caused. In addition to historic case law outlawing penalty terms in contracts, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 reinforces this for consumer contracts.

In all probability this hotel will be forced to back down; if not by Trading Standards, then from the bad publicity they’ve brought upon themselves. However, this kind of consumer penalty may be something we see a lot more of in the future. And be lawful.

A private parking case in mid-2014, ParkingEye Vs Beavis and Wardley, examined the issue of penalties in consumer contracts. Whilst the judge found the £85 charge to be “plainly a penalty clause”, he allowed it on the basis that it was commercially justified. The concept and background of commercial justification is discussed on this page.

This particular case is going to the Court of Appeal in early 2015. Should the decision be upheld, then that opens the door to all sorts of consumer penalties. In the case described above, one might be able to argue is commercially justifiable to deter customers from leaving bad reviewed that could impact their future business. Hotels could potentially charge a penalty fee for late cancellations, rather than just the loss you caused them (e.g. nothing if cancelled in advance, or one night’s charge if cancelled on the day). I’m sure the banks could go to town on penalties if the law allowed them… got a funny sense of déjà vu just then! There is a world of possibilities for companies to think of creative ways to extract our money.

The Ghost of Chrismas Yet to Come? Quite possibly.

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Offline The Bald Eagle

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Re: Trip Advisor couple 'fined' £100 by hotel for bad review
« Reply #2 on: 19 November, 2014, 03:52:47 PM »
By the way, if ever you are in the Blackpool area and need a cheap place to stay, you might want to check out the Broadway Hotel's reviews on TripAdviser first.

Excellent - 17
Very good - 35
Average - 33
Poor - 24
Terrible - 146

Nuff said... <served>

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186332-d554701-Reviews-Broadway_Hotel-Blackpool_Lancashire_England.html#REVIEWS
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Offline Ewan Hoosami

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Re: Trip Advisor couple 'fined' £100 by hotel for bad review
« Reply #3 on: 19 November, 2014, 05:47:52 PM »
I'm just glad the Bullshit Purveyors Association haven't got my credit card details. It'd cost me a fortune.

Appealing to the council is like playing chess with a pigeon. You might be a chess grand master but the pigeon will always knock all the pieces over, shit on the board and then strut around triumphantly.

Offline Pat Pending

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Re: Trip Advisor couple 'fined' £100 by hotel for bad review
« Reply #4 on: 20 November, 2014, 05:39:44 PM »
I think it looks like an absolute shit hole of a hotel.  Now try & charge me £100.00!
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Beer in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up,  totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what a  ride!!"

Offline DastardlyDick

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Re: Trip Advisor couple 'fined' £100 by hotel for bad review
« Reply #5 on: 20 November, 2014, 06:50:17 PM »
Common sense has prevailed - the hotel have refunded the £100 and scrapped the 'policy' too.

 


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