Lock Out

From the moment they step through the door your bookings become guests, and their experiences determine whether they ever come back.
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apexblue
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Lock Out

Post by apexblue »

Guest posted keys thru door and locked themselves out.

We missed call at 1030pm and they had to phone locksmith.

Guest called asking us to pay....or contribute.

We have taken the yale off to prevent this and when asked why they didn't use key safe replied they were in the habit of posting thru door as teenagers left alone. Last night they all went out together.

Price £50

Thoughts appreciated.
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kg1
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Post by kg1 »

Mmmh. I don't think I would be contributing, the fact you missed their call doesn't exclude them from blame.

Do guests have just the one no. for you? We give 3 just in case.

You provide a keysafe & they chose not to use it, their problem.
Joanna
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Post by Joanna »

Am I missing something here? The guests all left the house, locked it up and then posted their only set of keys through the letterbox so they couldn't get back in. Now they're expecting you to pay for the locksmith? Surely this is totally of their own making.

Also, why are they locking the door and then posting the keys through the letterbox when their teenagers are there? Are they locking their teenagers in? if there was a fire that would be a disaster. Or, if the door can be locked/unlocked from inside why do the adults need to lock it from outside and post the keys back? This is making my head hurt :?
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FelicityA
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Post by FelicityA »

Ditto to what Joanna said. And it is entirely their own fault. No way are you at fault. They can't expect you to be on the end of a phone 24 hours a day. They probably only gave it an hour before giving up and it could well have been sleeping time for you anyway. And we are allowed to sleep, aren't we?
GillianF
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Post by GillianF »

What very odd behaviour to post the only set of keys back inside when you've just locked yourself out. The matter of the teenagers being inside is equally baffling.

And, I agree with all said above. They did it all by themselves and so should pay.

What can they do to make you pay? As owners with a damages deposit from them in our pockets we can withhold something in the event of guests damaging something but they, happily, do not have that advantage. The worst would, perhaps, be a bad review but that can be easily remedied by explaining the situation properly. Anyone with any sense would see they were at fault.
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Moliere
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Post by Moliere »

Sorry, I must be missing something here.

Were the teenagers inside when they went out? If so, why could not said teenagers let them in again?

If teenagers were not in the house, why did they post the keys through the letterbox?

Sudden thought - were they perhaps drunk when they went out?

In any eventuality, don't pay them and claim any damage you can find; it's no more than they deserve.

Mols
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AndrewH
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Post by AndrewH »

It seems what happened here is that the guests locked the door and absent-mindedly posted the keys through the letter box for the teenagers' benefit, forgetting that just on this occasion the teenagers where outside the house also, so would not be there to let the guests back in later on.

I confess to making mistakes like that too sometimes, but if there is a cost involved I would not expect anyone else to have to pay or contribute towards it, and the same thinking applies to these guests also.
Circé
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Post by Circé »

What daft behaviour! No way should you have to pay for a locksmith
Do you have proof that this actually happened or is it a scam to get money off you? Locksmith's bill?
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Mouse
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Post by Mouse »

I wouldn't be paying out. It was their fault they wre locked out and even if they could have got hold of you, they still would have been paying for the locksmith.

A similar story; we stayed in an apartment and was asked on departure to post the keys through the letterbox BUT to remember to park the car outside the gate to the parking area first (the automatic gate key was also on the set of house keys).
She explained that some guests had left at 2am and not done this....they merrily posted the keys through the door and went down in the outside lift (that also needed a key to operate it) to the car. Then reality dawned! They were stranded in the car park and trying to desperately get in touch with her (she was asleep with the phone turned off).

Mouse
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Orsonthecat
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Post by Orsonthecat »

Clear cut to me; absolutely the guests' fault and you shouldn't consider contributing. Also don't get the key posting but if teenagers are in the house on other occasions but irrelevant to this situation. Cheeky people for even thinking of asking you!
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louiseddie
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Post by louiseddie »

I'm with the others. They are responsible for the keys when they have them. You have a key-safe available to them. It was their error that can in no way be attributed to you. 10.30pm at night is not a reasonable time to expect you to be readily available, even if you do live nearby or on-site.

Is there anything in your t's and c's to cover something like this?

I wouldn't engage too much. Just a simple 'I'm sure you'll understand that we entrust the keys to the property to our guests and it's our guests responsibility to take care of them during their stay. I can appreciate that locking yourselves out must have been really frustrating for you (we have all done it at times!) but I'm sure you'll understand that your posting the keys back through the letterbox in error wasn't a situation that we could have caused, prevented, or been responsible for. Of course had it been a reasonable time of day we would have done all we could to help you out, it is just unfortunate that it happened when it did. I do hope it didn't spoil your evening too much or your enjoyment of your holiday.' Or something like that.
Sam V
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Post by Sam V »

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akwe-xavante
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Post by akwe-xavante »

In a way they were also lucky they had your telephone number too even though it did them no good.

This one has raised a potential problem for me even though it's unlikely to happen, my front and back door keys / locks are the same. One (The same key) fits both doors. If this was to happen to me I'd want both locks changing and a number of duplicate keys too.

A master key, a key for each couple staying when two sets are needed, a key for the cleaner, a key for two different neighbours too. Oh and a key for me too!

That's seven keys.

two neighbours have spare sets but having locked themselves out they wouldn't be able to contact them cos the telephone numbers are in the guest book inside!!!

Agree they should pay and also pay for any other duplicate keys too that you require and if the replaced lock is not like for like or better in regards to quality and security I would want the replacement lock changing at there expense too.
Sam V
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Post by Sam V »

akwe-xavante wrote: Agree they should pay and also pay for any other duplicate keys too that you require and if the replaced lock is not like for like or better in regards to quality and security I would want the replacement lock changing at there expense too.
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akwe-xavante
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Post by akwe-xavante »

Just to add......

Actually I think the locksmith was wrong to effectively break in!!!! and do what he did.

Your guests could of been anybody, in fact not your guests at all but potential squatters or burglars.

How did they satisfy the locksmith that they had a right to access the property. Did the locksmith also try to contact you before he did what he did?

Can I find an empty house or a vacant property because the owners are on holiday and sit on the doorstep and phone for a locksmith to let me in!!!!!!!!!!
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