Curve Customer Protection or underlying credit card section 75?

[svk]

I hope experienced travellers will be able to help.

My extended family took a staycation in a large country barn in UK for 4 nights, but on one day (11am-11pm) there was a power outage which meant we had no electricity and diminished water (which relied on an electric pump). The property had no generator. The power company was at fault. We remained in the property patiently and did not seek/rent any substitute accommodation. So we lost enjoyment of the property for the day, and we lost lots of frozen food which had to be discarded.

I had paid with my Curve card (now the standard card, though I had been metal for 3 years until recently), with my underlying LLoyds credit card.

The booking conditions of the company say that they offer no refund for utility failures. (Is this an unfair term, and how do you even challenge it?)

My travel insurance does cover the UK, but I cannot see any section under which I could claim for loss of enjoyment/utility, and we didn’t curtail our trip (which could have been covered), and there is no section for freezer failure. (There is under my home insurance, but of course I cannot claim under this).

I have asked the property owners for a day’s refund but they clearly have no compulsion to do so unless they wish to be fair and reasonable.

I could then perhaps claim on Curve Protection, or straight to LLoyds?
The terms for Curve Protection state that if a claim is made to the underlying card, they won’t get involved (fair enough)

So is it better to claim under Curve or Lloyds?
Any other suggestions?

Thanks

[NorthernLass]

You don’t get S75 protection if you use Curve, you will have to go via their dispute system if you choose that route. Lloyds would probably say they have no liability because Curve was involved – I only ever use Curve for holiday costs when the accommodation bill can be paid at the end of the stay because of this.

It’s just bizarre that an owner could get away with not covering utility failures – they should have landlord insurance for this sort of eventuality if they’re operating a holiday let. Who was the stay booked with? If via a platform like Air B & B, I would contact them and put this exclusion to them to see where it fits with their rules.

I would be challenging the owner to show they do have the required insurance in place – if they haven’t it could be quite serious if anyone suffered an accident in the property. If they aren’t covered they may well pay up – and whichever site they are advertising through should be made aware of the situation.

Also, do utility companies have any kind of liability for something like this?
Let us know how you get on!

[JDB]

@svk – you have no claim against Lloyds but possibly a claim against Curve that provides a poor relation of s75. As the power outage was no fault of the property owner but that of the electricity supplier, you really don’t have a claim and the term couldn’t be construed as unfair. Frozen food in a modern freezer would normally also be OK for 12 hours.

A day of rent seems a huge amount and disproportionate sum to claim. What enjoyment did you actually lose and/or what if any actual additional costs did you incur? What were you expecting the owner to do? He’s not obliged to have a generator. Do you have one at home?

[Rui N.]

Also, do utility companies have any kind of liability for something like this?

There’s some statutory compensation for power outages lasting over a few (4?) hours.
But might not be the same for business accounts.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

Rui N. wrote:

Also, do utility companies have any kind of liability for something like this?

There’s some statutory compensation for power outages lasting over a few (4?) hours.
But might not be the same for business accounts.

Even if there is the liability is to the account holder not the OP.

[Rui N.]

I didn’t mention the OP at all.

[svk]

Well- not looking very positive then

There was considerable loss of enjoyment – no TV/music/gaming for kids/microwave/kettle/having to go to bed at dusk/low water pressure with all its problems
I’m amazed I have to explain this

We had to get an expensive meal delivered , and there was discarded frozen food (you want liquid ice cream, or to risk eating anything meaty after this?)

Of course I don’t have a generator- but I’m not running a business, which ought to have the relevant insurances, etc
The owner told us that outages sometimes occur “but not as long as this one”

Airbnb does refund for loss of power – sadly, our booking was with staycotswolds, which expressly excludes power outages (they well know this is a frequent occurrence in rural Cotswolds!)

Any reasonable person would agree that the owners/company should share at least a portion of the misery.

I’m pretty sure that the assertive and knowledgeable members of HfP would have made very strident cases at the time and thereafter in pursuit of their cause if they’d been affected in this way for a whole day of their 3 day stay!

[NorthernLass]

Have you tried any of the suggested approaches? Also, did you take pictures of the spoiled food to support your case? I would agree that food usually stays frozen for several hours but you don’t say what kind of fridge/freezer there was in the house, so that might have some bearing on it.

I would be pursuing the owners’ insurance option as my first port of call, because if it turns out that they don’t have holiday let cover this would need to be flagged up to the rental company. I don’t think it’s a legal requirement but I’d be very surprised if a reputable agent would take on any property without it.

[JDB]

@svk – I’m sorry you didn’t like my answer, but I tried to help by telling it to you as it is!

The key issue is that you paid with a debit card, so the only option there is to make a chargeback claim, but that doesn’t cover this sort of contractual claim – it relates more to goods not as described/defective/counterfeit, double billing, charges not authorised. You don’t have a like contractual claim vs Curve as if they were the landlord.

Even if you had s75 cover, it’s a difficult claim because the landlord can’t be held responsible for the power outage cause by another supplier and it really doesn’t matter that he’s a business, should have insurance (and probably does; it’s very cheap) but that also wouldn’t cover this. Power outages are more common in the countryside, but not frequent in the Cotswolds as you suggest and they are just a fact of life.

I think your definition and threshold of ‘loss of enjoyment’ is rather high. You need to consider how an independent third party judging the matter would assess the matter. Frankly, I don’t think not having music/TV/gaming would exactly cut the mustard and some of this would only require battery power anyway. They would wonder what you did to mitigate the losses? Why did you need to go to bed at dusk? We just light candles if there’s a power cut after dark. Did the property have a gas barbecue or calor gas you could have used? Was it not possible to eat cold food as one often does in the summer? Was it necessary to have an expensive food delivery? I’m sure you think I’m being unsympathetic, but these are the sorts of questions that would be asked.

Once one had ascertained the probable duration of the power cut on one of the PowerTracker sites, would it not have been an option to go out for the day?

You can eat meat after it has thawed of course, you just can’t re-freeze it, so I can’t see how that presented an issue for a four day stay.

If you can’t reach an agreement with the landlord, there isn’t really much more you can do. Does Airbnb really pay something in these circumstances?

[svk]

I honestly wish I hadn’t created this thread.

Yes, I am pursuing all options including liaising with the owners and staycotswolds, and will make a claim under Curve Protection in due course.

How does one know that outages are not common in the Cotswolds?

There was no battery power for electrical equipment.

In what way could anyone mitigate their losses in this case?

The owners said that candles were disallowed for health and safety reasons.

The powertracker site insidiously said that the outrage would be over by 3.30pm, then 11pm, then 3am the next day

And airbnb does cover power outages, as a quick google search will show

I will make the best case I can with Curve Protection, and I think we should all leave it there