The Original Cottage Company Review

Provider operates under many names and I have had the misfortune to use one of these companies. My experience of them is they do not communicate well and defer you, whilst sending out semi automated communications. Very difficult to get them to return a call, even given the current circumstances. Certainly a struggle to obtain refunds even when they cannot offer the accommodation they have advertised. There are better companies to book through who offer superior service.

If I could give 0 stars I would but the site does not allow that. Tried our best to keep in touch with the Aberscoh Holiday Homes arm of this company throughout lockdown to ensure we could get the holiday we booked in Feb and paid for in full in March. Received text with details of how to get into holiday house on Wed 1st July for a holiday supposed to begin on Sat 4th in Wales. Was kept on hold for at least 4 hours in total over the next 2 days before getting through to a young woman who was not aware Wales was closed until at least July 13th. She promised to get someone who knew what they were talking about to phone back and still waiting for that to happen 1 week later. On Friday 3rd our holiday, which was for three weeks ,was cancelled via voicemail and offering a voucher. Spent hours on the phone that day and sent at least 4 emails to a site that obviously ignores them. Eventually spoke to someone who said they didn't know what was happening and would phone back but didn't. Eventually got email to say the owner had cancelled our booking with no explanation or apology. Company is a shambles, eager to take your money but they put nothing in place to protect the customer from cancelled bookings from owners even with less than 24 hours notice. Obviously no vetting procedures in place for uncaring owners, no systems in place to make sure customers are protected. DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY THERE ARE PLENTY MORE WHO DO CARE. DO NOT BE FOBBED OFF WITH A VOUCHER YOUR CONSUMER RIGHTS SAY YOU CAN HAVE A REFUND. BUY DONT HOLD YOUR BREATH THAT IT WILL ARRIVE AS QUICKLY AS IT WAS TAKEN IN TIME FOR YOU TO BOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Level of customer service -none
Automated reply -no one gets back to you (trying since April )
Except once when it is too late to do anything (Last week in July , holiday was planned for 1st week in Aug)
Global pandemic is only used on their emails or messages -no actions to reflect taken to help the customer out !
Travelling with elderly parents and kids from Ireland that have been indoors since 17th March , our government advising us not to travel etc
Would not reschedule as did another letting company for our 2nd week .
PLEASE BE ADVISED NOT TO USE THIS COMPANY

"YOU ARE SORRY" , THAT IS ALL ????? I HAVE LOST CLOSE TO A 1000 deposit NO I AM SORRY , ABSOLUTELY MAD YOU STILL MANAGED TO LET OUT THE HOUSE . HOW COME MY OTHER LETTING COMPANY FOR THE NEXT WEEK CAN PUSH OUT THE DATES AND CHAT TO ME ON THE PHONE ???? YOU ARE TAKING COVER UNDER THIS COVID SITUATION -START DOING THE RIGHT THING AWAITING A PHONE CALL FOR NEW DATES BUT SOMEHOW LOOKING AT THE REVIEWS YOU CANT EVEN CLEAN THE HOUSES WHICH IS A BIGGER PROBLEM WITH COVID

CRIMINAL COTTAGES: Zero stars. This company (and all their subsidiaries - there are many, all over the UK) will let you book & pay for your accomodation and then cancel your booking and steal your money! I booked 11 months ago & this week, without warning or explanation our booking was cancelled. Not only are our holiday plans in ruins but we cannot get a refund from these dispicable crooks. Now taking legal advice. AVOID!!

Do not book with these people.

Please take note of the reviews of this company.

They are quite happy to rent out cottages with bedding soiled with body fluids and grubby kitchens- so long as they have your money.

Impossible to contact by phone, they do not respond to complaints and generally have no interest in customer service.

Do not believe the enhanced CV19 cleaning procedures.

Their properties are a health risk.

The suggestion of a voucher for future bookings to cover the health risk I ve endured is joke.

Avoid!

My post is similar to everyone else. They don t answer calls or emails and their FAQ section is incomplete but they like to keep your money. Unethical, unprofessional and incompetent.

Lots of people criticising for problems in a very difficult time. I booked with them for an Easter break in Southwold. At first they would only transfer the holiday to the same week next year. Then, after the Competition and Marketing More

Awful, Awful, Awful!!

Do NOT book with this company. I can see one their comments claiming you can receive a refund..

I'll believe it when I see it.. We we're also advised this however, 3 weeks in & we are still yet to receive our money back or even a email acknowledgment.

Disgraceful customer service.

Please don't believe a word they say.
We had a booking for 20th of April via this company also trading as:
Original Cottages
Discovery Holiday Homes
Cornish Holidays

Their behaviour during Covid was nothing short of illegal.

-We contacted them early April to assess the booking situation (no reply)
-We emailed and left vm (no reply)
-They cut of the phones and blocked us on facebook and sent us an email saying they wefe busy and would get back to everyone!!!
-Our booking date comes and goes.... NO REPLY!!
-AFTER our booking date they replied to say they had cancelled the booking, but we couldnt get a refund only a TRANSFER (which by the way THE PRICE HAD GONE UP!)
- emiled us again to say NO refunds at all
-EMAILED us again and stated if we did not pay the balance we were liable for it!

Still not had a refund it is 20th of JUNE. It is now the law to give a full refund due to COVID -they know this but they are still trying to trick people onto vouchers or re booking for the future when they are not liable by law to refund.



They would have got the staff furlow pay, and the grants, as would the letting owners , plus they are likely to have a bumper year ahead with brute staying home, so there is no reason to keep our money for a service they did not provide and are obliged by law to refund in full.

Please please heed these genuine warnings and book with a reputable company or even air bnb who issued full and immediate refunds in March!!!

Excellent phone support from Lauren today. Very professional and helpful. Thankyou.

I can see all the negative reviews posted this year, and I'm sure they are all valid, but I can only judge on our own experiences as customers who have booked and travelled with various branches of the Original Cottages company, including Norfolk Cottages and Ingrid Flute's Yorkshire Cottages. We found the booking process easy, find it easy to manage the bookings online, e.g. making balance payments, and the two holidays we booked this year were well enjoyed in cottages that were as advertised. In particular, we stayed in a stunning cottage on the Yorkshire Moors that is possibly the best cottage holiday we've ever had. I don't think many holiday companies were prepared for the pandemic, and we found it tough to get through on the phone on one occasion where we did need to check something, bit when we phoned this week to ask a question about a cottage we have booked next year we got through straightaway and customer services were helpful. Hopefully things will settle out for them and the customer services issues that have been apparent this year will ease off. We have two more holidays booked with them next year and are looking forward to them, and have had six previous successful holidays. I would anticipate that we will continue to book with them and hope to enjoy our future holidays.

A good holiday cottage agency - extremely helpful staff!

Our cottage, Ysgubor Helyg, in Mid Wales was absolutely perfect with fantastic owners. However dealing with Wales Cottage Holidays aka Original Cottages was a nightmare. When it looked as though the holiday wouldnt go ahead I was unable to speak to anyone on the phone. Emails were responded to but with generic answers that did not actually address my concerns and I was really disappointed to see changes in your Terms and conditions from when I booked in February to when I was considering being cancelled May to July. Really concerning was an email which said that the conditions regarding cancellation had not changed when I had both a print out and a screen shot of the T and C from February when I booked and there were significant changes.
I also discovered that although I booked with WCH my contract was actually with the owner. I find this an abhorrent practice as it forced me into a contract with an unknown person - a situation I will avoid in the future.
As it happened it wasn't a problem this time as the cottage was perfect and the owners absolutely delightful - BUT the appalling communications prior to the holiday caused a great deal of distress.

Do not book with this company
I booked a holiday through homes from home last year for July . Unfortunately it was cancelled on 20/6/20 I requested a refund and after many phone calls and 35 days later my refund is being processed . This company has had my money since May
Will never book a holiday through this company ever again

I wish there was a zero to rate this company with. What an absolute shambles, we booked to away in April, with Covid they cancelled on us but refuse to give the money back, we are able to rebook next year though if the owner allows. This is unacceptable, and to make things worse they have turned the phones off, adapted their online T&C's to say no refunds in a case of w world health crisis and do not answer emails. To drag them through the courts would be a waste of money and time and we would still not get the money back. Do not book with this company or any of the sister/child companies they trade under including Northumbria Byways

Looks as though my experience is no different to the countless others (have a look on Trust Pilot). I booked via 'Best of Wales' Cottages one of their children companies. Was originally told we could move our booking to an alternative date this year, so I requested a weekend in November, only to be told it wasn't available (note- still showing as available across multiple websites a full 2 weeks later) Since my reply email 2 weeks ago asking what my options are seeing as they cannot accommodate our original booking and are now falsely claiming alternative dates aren't available I've been ignored. I sent a follow up email a few days ago which they are also ignoring.
I'll follow in the footsteps of those that have reported to the CMA.
Absolutely appalling company, not one to wish ill fortune on others but in this case I truly hope the business doesn't survive the crisis as I for one will never use them again. Charlatans and thieves.

Please do NOT book with this company.
They cancelled my holiday which fell in the lockdown period but will not issue me a refund. I requested this back on 1st June. No response or being fobbed off via email and no one answers the phone. I am now opening this as a dispute with my credit card company. AVOID AVOID AVOID!

We booked with Original Cottages prior to the 4th July confirmation that holidays could go ahead with the understanding that we would get our money back/holiday moved to next year. We were originally due to go to Florida but obviously that couldn't happen. Managed to get a beautiful apartment in Ilfracombe that looked just like it's pictures. Parking was a bit hit & miss but not too much of a problem considering how busy it was. Apartment was lovely, clean, and the package of small essentials was a nice touch. Wouldn't hesitate to use this company again.

UPDATE: Finally managed to speak to someone at Original Cottages who was polite and professional. Long story short, our holiday for the end of July has now been deferred to the same time next year. That's what I wanted in the first place. Pity it took so much effort and hassle. I have now changed the rating from a 1 to a 3.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: Very poor experience so far. I appreciate that current circumstances are making things difficult, but the way Original Cottages have handled our booking has been shambolic. They don't answer emails. The FAQs which they continually direct you to are incomplete and out of date. They didn't answer the phone or provide a way to leave a message - until today. After waiting on hold for 40 minutes, listening to a message telling me that bookings due to commence in the next 6 weeks could be deferred to next year, someone took my call. When I asked for our holiday to be deferred I was told that was only for holidays prior to 4 July. I asked why that stance was completely different to their recorded message and was abruptly told the message was wrong. WHAT??? You're playing a recorded message to all of your customers which is wrong? 0/10 for communication skills. I have no confidence that these people will do the right thing by their customers, or that they are competent. What appears to be very clear is that they are determined to keep hold of your money no matter what, and they will repeatedly send you demands for payment of the balance despite the fact that they don't know if your holiday can proceed. Based on my experience so far I cannot recommend using Original Cottages (or any of the companies associated with them) for your holiday.

Do Not Book With These Crooks ! We was meant to be going on holiday for the first week of July to Dorset . As an extremely Vulnerable health wise I didn t rebook for next year. As don t know even if their be a vaccine by then etc . I am shielding . Just the other day I asked for my deposit money back and all they could say Today 27 April 2020 is if I choose to Cancel my holiday for the first week of July 2020 ! ( No one can go anyway ) Threats that I will now HAVE to pay the holiday in FULL !!!! With no holiday to go to anyway . Keeping the emails as evidence. Under normal circumstances They would have every right to , but not with this virus about as I m not asking to cancel , it s law that No one goes on holiday this summer . She called herself an Elli but the email address said Rebecca. WAY OUT LINE .

Fantastic cottage in Wales. Spectacular location with spectacular panoramic views of Snowdonia Peaks.

This company own a large number of subsidiaries including St Ives Holidays. We booked one of their properties over a year ago but have been prevented from taking the holiday due to Covid 19. We though twe were being reasonable in asking to transfer our booking to next year, but we were told that it was already booked. We were told we couldn't have the deposit refunded and how about the summer holidays when the cost of the property was much more. We asked to transfer the booking to another property at the time we wished to go. We were told that we could only transfer the date on the property already booked.
We have relatives who let their property through this outfit and we were privy to all the advice they had given them. The advice was from a barrister specialising in consumer law and stated that they have to allow guests to transfer the date, or transfer the booking to another property, failing that issue a credit voucher or a full refund.
I asked for a refund but then they refused to reply to any emails.
I took legal advice and submitted a request to the Land Registry for the owners and sent an email to the Chief Exec of Original Cottages, David Willmot (j.willmot@the name of the company.co.uk) informing him that I would be issuing proceeding against Orginal Cottages, St Ives Holidays and the owner of the property if I did not receive a satisfactory conclusion within 5 working days.
Guess what?
Within a couple of days they refunded me.
I should not be having to take time to write this but how many people are they doing this to?

I'm having the same problems as others. We are trying to defer a fully paid holiday in a luxury property in Fowey and have been emailing and phoning unsuccessfully since 22nd June. After 1hr 40 mins on the phone last week they finally answered and agreed to consult the owner to implement the transfer. 8 days later the property is still showing as booked to us and no attempt has been made to advertise it as vacant. Large luxury property in Fowey from 8th August anyone?

I booked a holiday as I was reassured by their terms, being a family company and potential refund if holiday was cancelled due to covid. They cancelled my holiday one week after booking it as the cottage was withdrawn by the owner. Nothing to do with Covid. I was sent an email with an evoucher and not refunded my deposit. You can t get anyone on the phone- at one point I had three phones calling them for an hour. I did an online enquiry asking for a refund and over a month later was told they have given me a voucher. Another written enquiry with no response, I raised a dispute through my credit card to try and get my money back and continued to call. I learnt today I have finally received my deposit back 2 months later and after literally hours of my time and considerable angst in trying to sort it out.
It has not only put me off from ever using them but from using other UK cottage companies if you get treated like this.

Not great when it comes to refunds... like a lot of people we couldn't go on holiday due to lockdown. I spent hours on the phone and emails and eventually was promised a refund which never materialised. Ended up using charge back via my bank to get my money back.

WARNING - NEW CUSTOMERS - go to the Trust Pilot reviews o, The Original Cottage Company, St Ives Holidays and all its subsidiaries before you book!! The ones I have just read are similar to my experience - they will make you think twice before you book!!
No response to emails phone calls or letter. Customer Service is non existent. Tom Ellis Director cannot be bothered to intervene - speaks volumes.

Stayed at one of there cottage In Wales and it really lived up to our expectations, even the weather was good!!

Refused refund and moved booking to next year. Now property has been withdrawn and voucher issued. Now having trouble contacting them (phone line unanswered, and currently no reply to email). A refund should be automatically issued as they cancelled the booking but no, I still have to chase for a refund. Now regret having to involve the bank in recovering my money. Holding onto customers money is not good business sense, especially in the current climate therefore can not recommend the company.

UPDATE as requested below the holiday was at Merlin Cottage ref 4364635 from 21 to 28th March 2020. The emails and records of our numerous phone calls should be on your records. I look forward to a response.

So angry, I have never been treated like this by a company (many different subsidiaries) . What do you do when ALL contact is ignored. I wish they would just be honest and tell us they are not going to give us even token compensation for our lost holiday. We travelled all the way to Cornwall spent one night in the Cottage before being advised to go home just prior to the lockdown. Three key workers including a nurse who had to return to work the following week. No holiday, no compensation. Please no standard response from the owner saying contact us again! If you are going to bother reading and responding to this review please be honest for all to see. Thank you.

Fantastic prices and the staff are top of the bunch. Extremely helpful and determined to assist you in gettong everything you want for your holiday