In March I stayed at a Best Western hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon for one night and left my iPhone behind. After phoning the hotel, I was told that my phone had been found. I said I would collect it the same evening and parked on the premises. However, the receptionist was unable to find the phone and I had to wait more than 30 minutes before she located it. Imagine my shock when I was subsequently informed, via my car leasing company – five weeks later – that I had been issued with a parking ticket.
This could have been avoided if the hotel had contacted me directly about my lost property and posted the phone to me. But as this did not happen, I would have expected the phone to have been put into an envelope and left for me to collect at reception, knowing that I was coming. It has not replied to my request to have the charge cancelled and I believe the company has failed in its duty of care to me.
AO, London
You would certainly expect a major hotel chain to have a “belt and braces” policy on lost property and – exceeding the 20-minute free parking period through no fault of your own – you should not have to pay. Best Western says its customer services team has been in touch and that the fine has been cancelled. However, to add insult to injury, you received a separate charge of £15 from Volvo (your leasing company) for the admin costs of sending the letter about the parking charge. There’s clearly a lot of money to be made from parking.
And finally …
Readers MR and DO report a positive experience with Ryanair. “Following the death of a close relative we had to cancel flights. We completed its online refund form, uploaded a death certificate, and within 10 minutes received a reply to state our claim had been approved. The refund was paid into our account within 72 hours.”
Excellent news and a rare plaudit for Ryanair.
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