[roddersm]

Hi,

We are staying in a Gite (not registered with Gites de France) and have paid in full for 3 weeks, however the Gite owner has now come back and said she has undercharged and now wants to charge 50% more than the quoted price. This is the second time she has done this in terms of increasing the price, first saying she wanted an extra 100euro to cover an energy hike.

Does anyone know if she can legally do this? We don't have a contract but have email correspondence confirming the original price and payment.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.
 

[Snoops]

What a bitch.
I would of thought legally she can't, if you have an email confirming the price and that she has received the monies.
 
However realistically your not going to be going to court are u. i would refuse to pay and I would email the Fench National gite Association for advice - they are pretty friendly and generally reply quick. I would tell her your asking their advice as well - see what happens!

Hopefully Neil will turn up, if not PM him, he rents Gites out there so could probaly tell u exactly how it is.

[andyd]

Rubbish.
If you haven't paid yet, I'd leave and set up camp in a F1 until you can find a different place.
How many of you are there? I might know a place if you promise to keep it a secret.

[GCW]

We are staying in a Gite (not registered with Gites de France) and have paid in full for 3 weeks

I think this is the crux of the issues, andyd.

[roddersm]

Hi thanks guys,

Yeah the problem is we have paid the original price. I'd imagine if we leave we will lose this so probably this is not an option. The question is whether we can legally refuse to pay the extra 500euro. I strongly suspect she is taking the piss and may start looking for more.

If the Gite isn't registered with Gite de France I wonder is there any point emailing them. I'm guessing there is some sort of Landlord tenant agreement in France?

Not sure where the best place is to get legal advice out here? We have until Tuesday to pay the extra so I want to find out were we stand legally before then.

Thanks all.

[andyd]

We are staying in a Gite (not registered with Gites de France) and have paid in full for 3 weeks

I think this is the crux of the issues, andyd.

Hmmm...skim reading error. Thank you for pointing out all of the necessary words 

[psychomansam]

Without knowing anything, you should certainly take the approach of paying her nothing further and refusing to leave.

She's quite obviously ripping you off so you could try to get the law involved, but realistically the hassle won't be worth it. I'd be inclined to tell her to f*^& off and threaten to destroy the place if she doesn't bring you a 100 euro refund (for the previous hike), beer and an apology.

[andyd]

No
Definitely play nice.
At the moment you are definitely in a better place morally.

[Durbs]

Name and shame?

Seems very dodgy - perhaps she's double-booked the last week and the second booking is more lucrative so wants you out?

[Rocksteady]

At cursory glance and with the understanding that I'm just speculating on the internet and not offering you legal advice that you should rely on etc, to me it looks like in English contract law you'd have a contract - an offer by her to let out the Gite, an acceptance by you to stay there for the asking price, and consideration - you paying over the sums asked for. You don't need a written contract - you have email evidence that one's formed and acceptance by conduct and consideration paid over from your bank account.

Her asking for more money sounds like an attempt at a unilateral variation of the contract. Is she offering anything above and beyond what was originally offered on the Gite to justify the price hike? Otherwise I think you can refuse to pay the extra, or even leave and ask for your money back.
I googled and found this: http://articles.rollingsons.co.uk/2013/03/can-business-unilaterally-vary-contract.html

BUT - I don't know the French law. I'd consider going to the Citizens Advice Bureau if I was you as a starting point.
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Sounds like a nightmare, hope you get this sorted out.

[tomtom]

I would tell her you don't have the money.

You paid the price advertised and simply do not have any more until the end of the month. After all, times are hard, non?

[Nibile]

Do not pay, do not leave.
Read carefully all the correspondence you have, and try to search for small details that could justify her behaviour and requests.
Emailing Gites de France could be a good idea, I don't know if one has to be registered with them to offer that service; if she's not, and she's not working regularly, probably this will sort things out.
If things go awry (she locks you out, she steals the keys, etc.) be smart and just call the Gendarmerie. They'll be on your side. Unlike if you destroy things...
If she's not registered, she asks for extra money and the likes, I'd guess (I'm Italian after all) she's trying not to pay taxes on those extra money... Do your math.

[petekitso]

 :coffee:With all the usual disclaimers I agree with the posts above other than the one abou smashing the place up. French law in this respect offers the same protection as UK common law ie you have agreed a price and she cannot now legally require additional monies (not even the first 100) unless there is a clear term allowing the price to fluctuate. Alongside checking any small print I would refuse to pay as politely as I could manage and if anything develops inform the local police, I would certainly not leave unless I was worried about my safety. Hope everything works out for you.

Tragically this is the first thread I have ever felt qualified to comment on - this sums up the disappointing direction my life has taken. . .

[roddersm]

Thanks everyone. OK we have no contract but have email confirmation of the price plus the fact that we have paid in full.

We spoke to both the Tourist Office in Font and the Gites de france. Both seemed to think this was unusual, that if we've agreed a price and paid that she can't change it, although both said they weren't sure on the legal ins and outs.
The tourist board have offered to contact the gite owner on our behalf but Gites de france can't do much as the gite isn't registered with them.
 
There has been no change to the service, she is claiming that her father is the gite owner and he wants 2k (i.e. double), that she got the price wrong, but she's knocked him down to 1.5k, so we owe another 500. 

We have neither disputed or agreed to pay but I want to get as much advice on French law before we speak with her as I wasn't sure if we had the same consumer/tenant rights here. I'm not sure that the fact that she is advertised as the gite owner and now she is claiming not to be supports us legally or not in terms of the original agreement.

It seems as though the consensus though is that she is acting illegally by changing the price and that we should politely refuse to pay anything beyond what was originally agreed?

Thanks everyone.       

[Nibile]

Who's your fuckin' daddy?
Utter bullshit.
Do not pay. Be polite.

[shurt]

Sorry to hear about the hassle, sounds a complete nightmare.

Even if you dont do this until you leave please let us know which gite this is. I go to font often and don't think ive stayed in the same place twice. I would be good to know somewhere to avoid.

I know nothing of the law but as others have said I think staying put and refusing to pay any more is a good plan. Hope it works out for you.

[roddersm]

Yeah for reference the place is http://www.cheznous.com/248837/chez-diana-seine-et-marne.aspx

..and its nowhere near as nice as it looks, easily the worst gite I've stayed in in 6 or so visits and most expensive (not including the hike!).... was recommended the place after the owner of the gite we usually stay in let us down last minute due to family coming or something.... if I could get a refund I'd be happy to move for sure.
 

[T_B]

Did you 'book' through that website? I realise they are just a referral website and the contract is with you and the gite owner, but Chez Nous are registered in the UK. I would at least write to them. If the gite owner gets a lot of her inquiries through Chez Nouse presumably she doesn't want to be kicked into touch by them?

[nai]

 

Yeah for reference the place is

..and its nowhere near as nice as it looks, easily the worst gite I've stayed in in 6 or so visits and most expensive

but I'd been wondering if it was worth having a thread for reviews of font gites. Just what's good and what's not, what's different from the description, what's missing that you might want to take.

E.g. the place we stayed at Easter:

What's good: idyllic location in a wood, loads of wildlife (e.g. Red Squirrel, Bullfinch, Woodpecker, Wagtail) and space for kids to play, Located on main road just ½ mile from Cuvier & easy access everywhere. Local patisserie does the best Almond Croissant in the forest.

what's not good: a bit tired & dirty, damp on walls in bedroom, electric heating only, no kettle, Items of broken furniture. Located long way from road down a rutted, pot-holed track. Bathroom & toilet accessed through main bedroom; cushions for pillows; DVD has no remote.  On our visit the place was also crawling with ants, especially in the kids bedroom which was rather unpleasant for them to say the least. Got hammered for Chauffage costs (£50 for the week).

variations from description: shower is an attachment on bath taps only, not overhead & no curtain. 

Recommended? wouldn't like to stay when cold and couldn't recommend for families. Great location if you're not too fussy.

[andyd]

Yeah for reference the place is http://www.cheznous.com/248837/chez-diana-seine-et-marne.aspx

..and its nowhere near as nice as it looks, easily the worst gite I've stayed in in 6 or so visits and most expensive (not including the hike!).... was recommended the place after the owner of the gite we usually stay in let us down last minute due to family coming or something.... if I could get a refund I'd be happy to move for sure.

Looks like a complete rip-off before the price hike. £100 a night but only sleeps 2?

Interesting that they don't mention climbing in their long list of activities available within 20 min drive. Perhaps they've never come across such a discernible community before!

[Johnny Brown]

cushions for pillows;

Welcome to France. Jim got wise to this and takes his own.

[tc]

Did you pay by credit card or cash? If you used a credit card, contact your card company, give them all the details and tell them you want them to refund your payment under "Section 75". Your credit card company must take responsibility if things go wrong with any purchase made with the card.
"It's a legal protection put in place so that you're never in the position of paying for something you didn't receive or wasn't as it should've been. Whether it's a flight, kitchen, computer or anything else, pay on the card and the card company's responsible too."

[tc]

More info here:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases

[Ti_pin_man]

+1 for a gite review thread for font   

as for the situation.  I think your email is more or less a legal contract.  I hope you resolve it amicably.  If it was me, i would go to her initally humbly and say, sorry but the price agreed is the price agreed, no offense but that it.  No more.  Its legal and binding.  If she starts kicking up a fuss get less humble, more forceful but not aggressive and if that fails call the local gendarmarie.

Good luck.

[tommytwotone]

cushions for pillows;

Welcome to France. Jim got wise to this and takes his own.

See also - cheap steak knives only viable way of chopping veg.

After nearly taking the end off my finger a few times one year I now just bring my own kitchen knife from home!