A MUM-OF-THREE has claimed she and her children were forced to sleep in her car after booking a holiday home, only to arrive and find it in a state of disrepair.
Jenny Ramsay had recently booked a house in Pollokshaws, Glasgow for herself and her kids through booking.com to get away for a summer break.
However when Jenny from Lincoln, Lincolnshire turned up at the house on Sunday she was shocked at the state she found it in, with loose wires hanging down and debris littered throughout.
Left over 400 miles from home, Jenny was allegedly then told by the booking website that they would not accomodate her elsewhere in the area given the difference in price to her original booking.
Images shared online by Jenny show the property in Mansewood Road, Pollokshaws leaving a lot to be desired.
Pictures show the home appearing to be unfit for purpose as a holiday let, with various items left stranded in the hall including the leather seat of a couch alongside a chest of drawers.
Inside the kitchen a long wire hangs down from the kitchen window, stopping dangerously close to the kettle.
Broken brackets and upturned nails lay strewn across a room where it appears someone has not finished laying a carpet.
A cupboard has also been half-built but left without the shelves being correctly installed and without any doors.
The exterior images of the home also showcase a wide array of potential dangers including a large number of wooden pallets shoved in a corner.
On the back stairs outside the conservatory there are plastic bottles sat in a plant pot next to an ashtray and a black binbag.
There are also several binbags filled with garden waste left littered in the garden of the property seemingly awaiting removal.
The most dangerous area of the garden is set where concrete steps seem to have once been, as the two doors above have a dangerous three-foot drop into a muddy pit at the foot of a drainage pipe.
Another area of the paved garden shows broken shards of glass alongside what one would hope to be animal faeces.
Jenny shared the images of the horror home online yesterday, writing: “Absolutely furious, turned up at the property yesterday to find not as advertised on booking.com, the property was unsafe.
“The owner agreed to give me a refund but I have to go through booking.com which is fair.
“I did that and they agreed to refund but that will take seven to ten days to go through, I said no not good enough and please find me alternative accommodation for the nights I’ve booked away.
“They refused to do this as the properties they had left was about £700 in difference. I told them I have three children under 12, 400 miles from home and not enough money to book anywhere else.
“So I ended up last night sleeping in the car until I couldn’t hack it and had to borrow money from elsewhere for a Travelodge.
“They’ve ruined everything.”
Jenny’s post received dozens of comments from supportive social media users who were quick to slam booking.com’s practice.
Ronald Roberts said: “Stop using them, spread the word about how bad they are.”
Gordon Ollivere said: “Appalling, I had a similar experience last month. No refund.”
Eithne Heading said: “Glad you got sorted.”
Booking.com is the most popular travel and tourism website in the world with 511 million page visits per year.
A spokesperson for booking.com said: “We are sorry for the experience that this customer encountered as it’s definitely not what we want for anyone as they set out to enjoy a family holiday.
“Although we did process a refund for the reservation when the customer initially contacted us and offered relocation options, we appreciate that these were not viable to the customer in the circumstances.
“As such, we have since provided an additional amount as a gesture of goodwill to apologise for the overall experience and will be working with the property to ensure that these issues are addressed for future customers.”
