Breakage deposits

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Linda Freese
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Joined: Sat Oct 02, 2004 9:00 am
Location: Costa del Sol

Breakage deposits

Post by Linda Freese »

Can anyone advise me on the best way to take these deposits. I usually take a personal cheque as the majority of my rentals come from the UK, however recently I have had a couple of instances of stopped cheques when I have tried to cash them due to there being breakages at the property.
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Sue Dyer
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Location: Belford, Northumberland

Post by Sue Dyer »

I don't charge a breakage deposit and would be interested to see who does. So far we've luckily just had a cup (the folk left £5 which I posted back to them!) a glass and a lamp. The poor guy who broke the lamp rang up and he sounded distraught. I told him these things happen but he left £10 to cover.
Maggiem
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Post by Maggiem »

We take £150 breakages deposit, payable with the rental before the holiday. We always make sure that guests know that we will bank the cheque, and I also ensure that the refund is fast, usually on the Monday after they leave. (We live in Glos., our apartment is in Provence, so I wait for the e-mail from our local helper before refunding.)
I wouldn't dream of charging for a broken cup/glass etc., and have only made a deduction once, when guests smoked like chimneys in our apartment that is only available to non-smokers, left rubbish bags piled in the kitchen, and used pudding bowls as ashtrays! I was very careful to itemise the cleaning costs, air fresheners etc. but still ended up with an abusive e-mail.
We know of others who have had chairs propped up on broken legs just until the refund was handed to the guests, who rapidly departed, items have been stolen and, most incredibly of all, the chimney breast was dismantled!
We've never had anyone complain about having to pay a breakages deposit, if they did, I don't think we'd take their booking.
Maggie
Linda Freese
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Location: Costa del Sol

Question for Maggie

Post by Linda Freese »

Hi Maggie

Thanks for your response. I assume that the majority of your guests are from the UK, as you quote the amount in sterling. What do you do to return the breakages deposit to non UK guests? Doesn't this work out expensive if you need to send money transfers after each rental? Although the majority of our guests are from the UK, we do get quite a few that are not.

Thanks

Linda
Maggiem
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Post by Maggiem »

Because we also have property in France, we also have a euro account, which covers guests from Europe. Those from other countries e.g Australia, USA, have to use Paypal, and we ask them to cover the costs in their payment. We had one person refuse, so didn't proceed with the booking but, if I'm honest, I was already thinking that I'd made a mistake, as the person's demands were becoming increasingly weird! (That could start a new thread, couldn't it?)
Maggie
tb
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Post by tb »

I completely agree with Maggiem about taking a breakages deposit. We take £100 or Euro equivalent and repay immediately. The only problem I have ever had was with somebody who didn't cash the refund check! So far we have never had to withold the deposit and I'm not sure how much damage would make me do so. I believe it makes people think a little.

UK deposits and Euro deposits are easy to collect and refund (if one has both accounts). However other currencies are expensive as the banks take an unjust slice. I resent banks taking over £20 (roughly £12 in each direction) just to move a deposit. However I also have followed the law suit against Paypal and will not use them as they are [edited by administrator to avoid possibility of libel!] in their treatment of customers - this is not just my opinion but that of the US courts who have found against them
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tansy
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Location: La Manche, Normandy, France

Post by tansy »

I do ask for a £250 deposit which is not banked - I then destroy the cheque once it is established that there is no damage...but I am (much to my husband's annoyance), not very good at demanding that the cheque is handed over - if everything is done via internet & email there is no snail mail for the cheque - then when they arrive I don't always see them in...but only once this year would I have had the occasion to bank the cheque...but yes you've got it...I hadn't taken one - what was it Lauren Bacall said - put your lips together and blow?!! Well that is the polite interpretation of what the 'tenants' said to me when I chased them up!

Do you get resistance with a deposit going into your account - I hadn't thought of that for tax implications and on an admin basis...but perhaps refunding is a good way of keeping in contact with folk - plus perhaps you could send a questionaire at the same time (re the poll).
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John Borg
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Post by John Borg »

This "breakage deposit" is a sensative subject and I suppose you only realise when the damage has been done.
I always ask for credit card details (though in all honesty, I rarely check to verify them!) and I make it clear that I will not charge for normal breakages, such as the odd glass or plate. If my guests are reluctant to leave credit card details, I ask for cash which is handed back on departure. Obviously, I can do this because I live on the same property. I have never had to deduct for breakages so far. Only once did a guest actually ask to pay for a broken toilet seat, which I did charge for as I considered this breakage "reckless". Another time a guest wanted to pay for a brocken flushing mechanism, though I refused and just considered this wear and tear.
One thing I cannot accept though is carelessness. Our master bedroom was left with deep scratches on it's surface after someone carelessly shoved their suitcase onto the commode! I sent them an email explaining that I was dissappointed and they were very apologetic (obviously they knew what they had done) and also offered to pay, which however I declined.
Guests in hotels find no objection to having an imprint taken of their credit card, so I don't see why holiday homes should be any different!
Malta – always in the sunshine!
Javier
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Location: Barcelona and Sitges (Spain)

Post by Javier »

I use to have a 150 euros damage deposit in cash that I return to the client when leaving. Up to now I had never charged to a client but I maintain the damage deposit because I think that it acts as a "vaccine" to avoid problems
helen
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breakage deposit

Post by helen »

I take a damage deposit from all visitors except 'tame' repeats. But I note that it seems I may be taking too little! (usually only £100 unless it is a 'group' of people not a family - and then I load it heavily!)
I do point out in our booking conditions that a deduction will be made if there is any damage, breakages or the necessity for excess cleaning. I also do say that the deposit will be refunded within 7 days (unless a deduction has to be made) as I find that living very close some people expect it to be given back on departure and in the past I have found broken items balanced or propped to disguise the damage.
But do beware, I rarely make a deduction, but on one occasion when a particularly rowdy group of visitors had resulted in a broken shower and badly stained carpet amongst other things, I had solicitors letters which actually resulted in me sending the full deposit back in the end rather than incur solicitors fees which would most probably have exceeded the amount deducted!
A-two
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damage deposit

Post by A-two »

Here in the US, it would be very unusual not to take a deposit. They expect it, although some expect the check not to be cashed. We do cash it in advance always, unless it's a repeat visitor we know well, and we gaurantee to return it within 14 days, usually within 3 of 4 days.

We ask for $500 and it has to be paid together with the balance of rent 45 days before arrival. Unfortunately we don't accept credit cards, which would be easier, so for a last minute booking, they have to bring a certified / bank check, money order or cash.

We don't "nickel and dime" our guests and never charge for the odd glass etc., an hour's extra cleaning or a genuine accident, so rarely have needed it, but it's in the lease that they will forfeit the deposit completely if they do certain things - smoke in the house - throw a large party - bring a pet. We've taken it twice for those reasons and didn't hesitate. On a third occasion, they threatened to take us to court, so I returned 50% and they accepted that, which as the other poster said, is cheaper than a lawyer's bill. So we've found it's usually an all or nothing situation, with most people being very good.

I don't like returning it on the day because we can't really know until it's cleaned, except if they are from abroad and there's a currency complication, then I give them cash as they leave.
Last edited by A-two on Sun Mar 01, 2009 7:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
Tom
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Post by Tom »

The problem I have with a security deposit is, if you return the money at the end of the stay you have to thorughly inspect every inch of your house before they leave. That is not practical and not very nice for them either! If you return the money later, they can just turn round and say the next people broke it. How do you get round that problem?
DivineMrsM
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Location: The Dordogne and London

Post by DivineMrsM »

We have struggled with this a bit too.

Having stayed at a property where they deducted £1.00 for a broken glass (pah - how churlish :roll: ), I felt very strongly that we wouldn't take that attitude. However, our very first guests didn't heed the warnings regarding what you can and can't put down the toilet in a rural French house. This resulted in one of our ensuite bathrooms being out of use for the whole summer season so we gave token cash refunds to all our guests. Not ideal. We didn't know until we could actually deal with the problem that it was the fault of the first guests rather than the newly installed plumbing. We had to knock a hole in the kitchen wall to clear the blockage too (don't ask... :shock: ).

We have now set our deposit at £500 which is due at the same time as the balance of the booking (8wks prior to rental). I'm unsure as to what to do with it though :lol: . Should we bank it at that point? If I were the guest I wouldn't take kindly to being £500 short for up to 10 weeks. Maybe we should we keep it and not bank it until they arrive? That way it would clear their accounts until half way through or at the end of their holiday. It might reduce the chance of stopped cheques. We could then undertake to refund it the day after they leave when we would know if there was any deductable damage.

Any thoughts?
musicmonkey
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Post by musicmonkey »

Wow - are you serious? £500 !!! Have you had any renters actually pay this sum? If so, I am impressed, lol!

I thought we were asking a lot at £150 and yes, we do bank it. Otherwise, I do not see the point in taking a security deposit as your renter could just stop payment if they had a mind to do so, as soon as they realised that you were unhappy about the condition (or whereabouts - if missing) of your property.
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

I think I read elsewhere that the Divine Mrs M has a 7-bedroom house, so £500 would seem about right when you consider the amount of damage that could be done if guests put their minds to it.

It's a vexed issue because if you don't cash the cheque they can just cancel it once they are in. One option which is not totally satisfactory is to say they should pay you £500 in cash when they arrive, and you will return the cheque - if they don't do so, you cash the cheque immediately (although realistically that would be Monday morning).
Paolo
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