Name: Sykes Cottages
Address: Sykes Holiday Cottages Lime Tree House Hoole Lane, Chester
Rating: 1.20

“We booked a holiday home in Weymouth this July, on arrival found branches and weeds outside the front door, then we actually got in the property at 3.00pm to find the freezer completely frozen with blocks of ice, they had switched the Fridge /Freezer off and packed it with towels to absorb water from the defrosting etc. No help what so ever except from Angela in the Dreams cottage office. I had to scrape all the ice out myself , very conscious of not damaging evaporator coil etc We had brought cool boxes with food, eventually was able to switch Fridge/freezer back on. They knew about this before we arrived, we went to Dream Cottages to complain about the branches and weeds at 12.00 amm, why didn't they tell us to delay arrival so that they could sort things out, shocking customer care. I have sent email after email, with photos, they say they will reply within 72 hrs, the customer care relations team team are all very apologetic but they do nothing, complete LIP service only, they do not know the meaning of courtesy, care or respect, I have phoned them to request to speak to a manager. Absolutely shameful attitude, they think you will give up. They are the most blatant abusers of customer care, I have again sent them a email today. I expect the normal email we will get back to you in 72 hrs. 1st email was the 28th July stillwaiting for a reply, obviously they have no clocks in the office.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“We had a problem with The Granary at Ruthwaite in the Lake District. The cottage had a disgusting smell of damp, the kitchen equipment was very old and some rusty. We were booked in for a week but left after two days as the damp smell was over whelming. Overall the cottage was old, very tatty and not a pleasant place to be. When we contacted Sykes they completely took sides with the cottage owner, offered no form of compensation. We will not use Sykes again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“DO NOT USE THIS DISGUSTING COMPANY!! We were electrocuted in a property called ‘The Stables’ in Norley/Sandiway and Sykes did not give a toss!! They offered no support and told us we would have to sort it out with the owner. Electricians had to go to the property whilst we were there and they denied us any compensation what so ever. The owner John Muir didn’t give a toss either and did not even apologise to any of us even our daughter who was electrocuted. Sykes didn’t even let us write a review on there website as they are only looking out for there own interests and profit before people’s lives , disgraceful behaviour. Definitely do not use Sykes cottages and surely do not stay at ‘The stables’ In Norley /Sandiway !!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Terrible customer service. Not helpful at all. Never keep you updated. Avoid at all costs”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Warning to all Sykes Cottage owners Having signed up to Sykes in 2016 the bookings came rolling in but it wasn’t long before we started to have concerns about the way in which our bookings were being handled. Under-selling Having agreed a fixed price structure with Sykes (and having kept a copy) we started to get bookings through for twelve months in advance that had been sold at a price much lower than our agreed price. When we challenged Sykes we were told that they could alter prices 12 months in advance at their discretion to increase bookings despite us having agreed to fixed prices and been fully booked the previous year. We were told that their system was unable to differentiate between fixed pricing and their flexible pricing structure more that 12 months in advance. Essentially, they increase their short-term cash flow at the expense of their customers. Security Breaches More concerning was a voice message and email we got from Sykes requesting that we send our key code to a customer who was waiting outside the property. We had no record of the booking and called Sykes immediately. They also had no record of the booking. Sykes continue to deny that they have had a security breach despite us going to a specialist IT company who have traced the email back to the Sykes IT system. Had we not been on the ball we could have easily disclosed our key code and found the cottage either stripped of all its contents or full of squatters! We believe this is a huge security concern for all Sykes cottage owners but Sykes themselves refuse to take the matter seriously and investigate. Appalling Customer Service As we were getting lots of bookings through Sykes with great reviews, we were reluctant to leave them but the nail in the coffin was the appalling customer service. We received lots of ‘sorrys’ and ‘it won’t happen again’ over the phone but it consistently ‘happened again’. Whilst we have dealt with some lovely Sykes staff the structure within which they operate prevents them from following through on their promises. We have also dealt with some arrogant staff who are only there for the money. Advertising And finally, since taking the decision to leave Sykes our troubles have magnified. We decided to leave on 1st Sept 2018 and our six month compulsory notice ended on 1st March 2019 but we still had bookings with them until September 2019 which we honoured. Despite having given our notice and honouring their terms of not advertising anywhere else during the six month period, more than a year later we are still listed on all the sites they use to promote their cottages when searches are done by property name: bookings.com, mailcottages.co.uk, britishbeaches.uk, ukholidays.com, expedia.co.uk, ebookers.com, utklettings.co.uk, directrooms.com, orbitz.com, atta.ai, traveloka.com, horizoncottages.com, trivago.com. All of these sites show us as either fully booked or no longer available which has had a huge impact on our bookings. We have contacted Sykes numerous times but they refuse to remove us until our last booking with them has completed. We are told to check their terms and conditions. We have contacted all of the companies directly and a couple have removed us but most just link back to Sykes so there is no way of getting us removed. So if you are thinking of leaving Sykes make sure that all of your future bookings fall within your six month compulsory notice period otherwise you’ll end up like us where you are unable to get bookings as Sykes will have your property listed as unavailable with all the big booking sites and seemingly there is nothing that can be done about it. We have moved to a Direct Booking Site with No Booking Fees and Free Payment Protection. In summary, their business practices are total unethical and they have turned a successful holiday cottage into a cottage that prospective holidaymakers can now no longer book as well as causing a great deal of stress to myself and my wife. We don’t believe we are alone in our troubles with Sykes and would love to hear from other owners to hear your experiences. If you are reading this as a new cottage owner thinking of signing up to Sykes I would strongly advise you to think again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Warning to all Sykes Cottage owners Having signed up to Sykes in 2016 the bookings came rolling in but it wasn’t long before we started to have concerns about the way in which our bookings were being handled. Under-selling Having agreed a fixed price structure with Sykes (and having kept a copy) we started to get bookings through for twelve months in advance that had been sold at a price much lower than our agreed price. When we challenged Sykes we were told that they could alter prices 12 months in advance at their discretion to increase bookings despite us having agreed to fixed prices and been fully booked the previous year. We were told that their system was unable to differentiate between fixed pricing and their flexible pricing structure more that 12 months in advance. Essentially, they increase their short-term cash flow at the expense of their customers. Security Breaches More concerning was a voice message and email we got from Sykes requesting that we send our key code to a customer who was waiting outside the property. We had no record of the booking and called Sykes immediately. They also had no record of the booking. Sykes continue to deny that they have had a security breach despite us going to a specialist IT company who have traced the email back to the Sykes IT system. Had we not been on the ball we could have easily disclosed our key code and found the cottage either stripped of all its contents or full of squatters! We believe this is a huge security concern for all Sykes cottage owners but Sykes themselves refuse to take the matter seriously and investigate. Appalling Customer Service As we were getting lots of bookings through Sykes with great reviews, we were reluctant to leave them but the nail in the coffin was the appalling customer service. We received lots of ‘sorrys’ and ‘it won’t happen again’ over the phone but it consistently ‘happened again’. Whilst we have dealt with some lovely Sykes staff the structure within which they operate prevents them from following through on their promises. We have also dealt with some arrogant staff who are only there for the money. Advertising And finally, since taking the decision to leave Sykes our troubles have magnified. We decided to leave on 1st Sept 2018 and our six month compulsory notice ended on 1st March 2019 but we still had bookings with them until September 2019 which we honoured. Despite having given our notice and honouring their terms of not advertising anywhere else during the six month period, more than a year later we are still listed on all the sites they use to promote their cottages when searches are done by property name: bookings.com, mailcottages.co.uk, britishbeaches.uk, ukholidays.com, expedia.co.uk, ebookers.com, utklettings.co.uk, directrooms.com, orbitz.com, atta.ai, traveloka.com, horizoncottages.com, trivago.com. All of these sites show us as either fully booked or no longer available which has had a huge impact on our bookings. We have contacted Sykes numerous times but they refuse to remove us until our last booking with them has completed. We are told to check their terms and conditions. We have contacted all of the companies directly and a couple have removed us but most just link back to Sykes so there is no way of getting us removed. So if you are thinking of leaving Sykes make sure that all of your future bookings fall within your six month compulsory notice period otherwise you’ll end up like us where you are unable to get bookings as Sykes will have your property listed as unavailable with all the big booking sites and seemingly there is nothing that can be done about it. We have moved to a Direct Booking Site with No Booking Fees and Free Payment Protection. In summary, their business practices are total unethical and they have turned a successful holiday cottage into a cottage that prospective holidaymakers can now no longer book as well as causing a great deal of stress to myself and my wife. We don’t believe we are alone in our troubles with Sykes and would love to hear from other owners to hear your experiences. If you are reading this as a new cottage owner thinking of signing up to Sykes I would strongly advise you to think again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Returned from holiday and called urgently whilst driving home. False accusations from owner of cottage. Since then very difficult to get any help, information and definitely no support from Sykes. They just took good housekeeping bond from us without telling us. Will never book again with them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Untrustworthy company. Please do not book anything with them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Please be very careful about booking with Sykes. Especially giving bank details. Do yourself a favour and keep stress free. Please read the reviews regarding this company”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“As a cottage owner, I would strongly advise anyone not to sign up with this company. We have made a loss every year since we started with them. We were given figures at the start and told how profitable it would be. However, in reality Sykes appear to want to let the property for an unrealistic price and take their 24% commission (20% plus vat). They don't seem to care whether their owners make a profit or not. They only said that they would sit down and look at pricing with us again when we gave them notice. And this was after we had had a number of arguments with them about this issue. Suddenly we were getting emails and phone calls asking us not to leave and offering us reduced commission, a review of pricing and a dedicated person to deal with any concerns. We were told at the start that we did not need planning permission to do a holiday let, but when we later queried this, we were told that they did not know. That would have been a mess if we had had to apply for retrospective planning permission. They also gave no Health and Safety advice at the time that we joined, leaving us to find this out ourselves. We have had a constant argument with them over Christmas Dates as they have tried to alter start dates for the convenience of their office, rather than when we can get cleaning done. We have had this argument with them every year. Once we had signed up we heard nothing from our local representative, even when we were raising concerns. We have had problems with the customer service team failing to respond to emails. As the previous reviewer said you get an acknowledgment and then nothing. We can only think of one occasion when we have received responses and that was when we made a formal complaint. It takes ages to get through by phone and they don't contact owners to see how things are going. Once you are signed up it all goes silent, apart from generic emails telling you how well Sykes are doing etc. Occasionally you may get asked to do a feedback form, but don't expect any response to the concerns that you raise even when you identify yourself in your response. And if you ever have a dispute with a customer don't expect Sykes to have your back. They will tell you that it is up to you to take action against a guest who damages your property and offer very little support and will make a forced deduction from rental even when you don't agree and want to make a different offer having taken legal advice about the compensation that would be reasonable. There are much better property companies out there who offer realistic pricing and much better support and advice for their owners.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I am a cottage owner and I really feel for the guests who have put their feedback on here From an owners point of view we are having the same problems with Sykes We never get a proper reply from emails We get an automated one which says will come back to you within 72 hours They never do..Thats' why as guests you may feel you are getting ignored by the cottage owners Sykes simply aren't passing things back to you from us. We try ringing them through the owner line and have been left for over 30 minutes I have given up many times. We also get deducted automatically without any notification until we receive our statement for refunds they claim to have made back to customers, which from reading your feedback you don't get.I have to give them over 6 months notice if I want my home to be removed from them or they will charge me stupid fees They just rollover my cottage on their website without asking me They used to get in touch coming up to the annual review if we wanted to offer for another 12 months and if up to date photos were required.. Now they just tell me its in their terms and conditions they can do that. Not even a courtesy email. I do email them with updates but they don't bother updating the information on the cottage on their website I had to keep emailing them to get them to come out and take up to date photos They charge me an annual fee for them to undertake the basics such as this We then get charged a commission 20% then 20% vat When finally the local area 'manager'representative came out from Sykes and I explained I wasn't happy with the severe drop in customer service I got told 'you can leave if you want to after serving the correct notice'?! That comment was made to me from the Local area manager...? So this is the attitude they have towards us as cottage owners.. After she took photos she gave me her card and said these are my contact details If you need help Does she ring or email me back when I get in touch ? You've guessed it NO! The last 12 months has really gone downhill It used to be a family business but its been bought out and it is all about them earning as much money from cottage owners and guests. Looking back at these reviews on here it does represent that timeline from quite good comments 2 years ago to bad reviews in the last 12 months I've been researching other companies and if you look at booking through a more local company to where you want to go you will find they have someone who will come out if guests have a problem and rectify as soon as, acting as good mediators for all parties and they have a lot more local knowledge too..As soon as I can I will be leaving Sykes as a cottage owner and going to a Company which is a smaller friendlier and perhaps family business..Sykes has just got too big for its own boots and it will be its demise..I think we will see a lot of cottage owners leaving them over the next 12 months after they have given the long notice....”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Shocking experience. Rep's to not appear to communicate to each other. We never received a confirmation for our money our holiday. 7 days later confirmation was sent after we had to email live chat and telephone to cancel holiday due to stress and lack of communication. I would never use your company we were assured by Kate we would get our deposit back. Only to discover you tried to take money for the whole amount. Very untrustworthy. Extreme stress and am sorry we didn't read reviews before we booked. I wonder will I get a response to this message! Valerie”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I was deducted £140 from the Good House Keeping Bond with no evidence other than a picture of 3 pillow cases and 1 dressing down that had orange marks on them. We never noticed such marks, do not own or use any products that could have cause that type of stain. Despite this Sykes are powerless to act, they deduct money as long as proof of damage and an invoice for the replacement cost is provided, there is no need for the owners to prove that it was caused by the customer. Do not believe that Sykes are on your side and do not trust the owners. Sadly from now on I will be forced to take photos of rental properties when I arrive and before I leave, what has the world come to.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“We booked Curlew Cottage in Haydon Bridge as we were having a new kitchen fitted and wanted to get away from the noise and dust. We packed lots of prepared frozen food and shopped for essentials on the way there. When we arrived (on time at 3pm) we were told by Michael that the cottages had been flooded and were unusable but noone had made any attempt to let us know. He told us that Sykes had found alternative accommodation for others who had booked to stay. We tried to telephone the owners, who apparently were driving up from London; 5 days later we still await an apology from them. When we telephoned Sykes and were put in a queue. After over 40 minutes Sykes answered and told us that we only had a certain amount to spend on an alternative. It was high season in a popular area so obviously nothing was available within our price range, although other more expensive properties were available but neither Sykes nor Curlew owners were prepared to put their hands in their pockets to help us out. Eventually Sykes came up with an alternative property... in Kent, which is hundreds of miles away! So we asked for a full refund and after some discussion found out that we were also entitled to 10% of the holiday cost on top (we had taken out their insurance policy, which really isn't worth a jot). Having paid over £1000 we were surprised that the maximum "10%" was only £89, not even close to 10%. Modern banking allows for almost instant transfers but Sykes take over a week to process a refund and use a cheque to cover their made up 10%. We will never ever use this appalling company again and can only assume that any owners who use them for bookings are not to be trusted. BEWARE!!! Do yourself a favour and book elsewhere”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Not properly cleaned. Very disappointing. Sykes Cottages are toothless when it comes to dealing with their letting owners. You are on your own when things go wrong. This was our second visit to Watermill Granary Barn, booked through Sykes Cottages who give it a 5-star rating, and cost over £1200.00 for the week. The place was really scuzzy and dirty on arrival. The dishwasher was not working properly because the rotors were blocked/unclean meaning that crockery and especially glasses had to be washed by us. There were old baked beans in the cutlery tray and the filter was full of old food waste. How unhygienic! The oven had not been cleaned at all, not even looked at - there were bits of encrusted food dangling through the wire racks and the oven trays had not been cleaned properly. Dead flies adorned the window sills and we got the feeling that the whole place had not been properly cleaned... an impression further reinforced by the loo bowl in the en-suite being shit-pocked and with a disgusting accumulation of muck and pubes behind the seat lid -- yuk! We complained immediately to the 'manager' about the dishwasher and oven who did his best to immediately clean them. The dishwasher, however, was never reliable at cleaning. We felt uncomfortable and unable to fully relax in other peoples' muck and were hugely disappointed - even being careful as to where we put things down - just not able to trust that anything was clean. And then to cap it all, on retiring, tired to bed, we pulled back the duvet to discover the bottom sheet to have bits of soil/leaves/muck on it. Had it been changed at all? We were too tired to do anything but brush it down and reluctantly went to bed. When I later told Steve, the manager/gardener, about the loo and sheet and showed him photos he was very embarrassed and apologetic – and worried about how the owners might react to his ‘oversight’ when they got back after the weekend. I spoke to the owners when I saw them on the Monday. So, we lived with the general distaste of uncleanliness until the Tuesday (4 days) when, on returning from a day out, we discovered the whole place had been cleaned to the high standard we had expected and had experienced last year. The owners had returned and having been appraised of our complaints had taken remedial action. It was very welcome, and they even left a couple of bunches of sweet peas from the garden - which was a nice touch. Needless to say, the BBQ was grubby (no wire brush to clean it) but the most worrying aspect about it was that the 4 control positions did not correspond to the gas output. When in the 'off' position the burners were still on. I suspect the knobs had been off and incorrectly replaced. Please note: I had reported my safety concerns about this BBQ last year. I again reported my concerns as to the safety of the BBQ to Steve the manager. However, I worked out how to carefully use it on the Sunday night and survived with eye-brows intact! It was replaced by the owner on Tuesday I am glad to say, though we didn't bbq again. Both the owners and Steve seem to be very nice. They were apologetic about the cleanliness/dishwasher issues, admitted it was sub-standard but characterised it as an aberration on Steve's behalf who was responsible for overseeing/cleaning. Aberration or not, the impact on us and our guests for the first few days was to spoil and mar the enjoyment of what is otherwise a lovely cottage/barn in an idyllic setting. Having paid a substantial fee, we did not expect to have to deal with these issues, nor to have the awkwardness of complaining. And having had half our holiday spoilt in the sub-standard accommodation I was hoping that the owners might offer some conciliatory financial compensation. A holiday is a much looked forward to event in our lives and one places certain expectations on it -- indeed having been to the same place last year, these expectations were not unrealistic! So, we felt very upset and let down (not to say dirty) through Friday afternoon to Tuesday the enjoyment of which was tarnished - literally. The owners might have offered some compensation. They did not – another disappointment. I didn't want to further upset the situation by bringing up the possibility of a proportional refund or potentially arguing with them at the time - indeed I resented having been put in the situation in the first place! Thereafter, the Sykes cottages customer services team, though ineffectually sympathetic, has been toothless in support of my complaint. When he nervously asked, I did say to Steve that I probably wouldn't publish a review on Tripadviser, but as I write of this final and unfair oversight, I am not so sure. I feel quite angry now! The state of the BBQ (dangerous in my opinion) and dish-washer (not reliable) point to a lack of attention and focus on providing service, value and comfort for their customers. We shall not be trusting to the fact that, as the owners aver, this was a one-off aberration in a normally good cleaning regime. Things have sadly slipped at Watermill Granary Barn and I wouldn’t want to risk feeling short changed and being disappointed again. We shall not be returning. PS: Having been approached by Sykes Cottages with our complaint (we provided photographic evidence), the owners have offered no compensation. Sykes Cottages has proved to be powerless/toothless in dealing with this. Their advice is to seek compensation through the courts! So, a general word of caution to all potential renters: You are on your own when things go wrong. Sykes fall back on their roll as ‘agent’ and claim to have no power or influence over their owners – indeed it seems they are reluctant to bite the hand that feed them. Even when presented with the evidence they say they are powerless to do anything. Sykes has asked for the feedback and I hope that it helps them and the owners re-attain the standards espoused. For me, the recording of this feedback leaves nothing but a bitter taste in my mouth. Thanks for the paltry £50 voucher (to be spent when booking another Sykes Cottage). It made me smile – but not in a good way. I will never book through Sykes Cottages again so it’s worthless to me. Oh, and when I called them to ask why my review (above) of Watermill Granary Barn had not been posted on Sykes website for the benefit of potential renters (as I had requested) they pointed to the use of my language (inflammatory) and said that they had chosen not to post it. I offered to rewrite, but was told I only had one chance. This editorial censorship stinks of bias…. So you can’t trust their review system either! Beware of Sykes. You have been warned.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“We booked a property that slept 8 between the main property with an annex in Babbacombe Devon. Property was filthy covered in old cobwebs, layers of dust, broken furniture, poorly presented on arrival with rubbish and glass on drive. Complained and dispite having photos we have been called liers . We vacated the property after just 3 nights and drove home. Sykes reviews should not be trusted and nor should their complaints staff. I will never use Sykes again and as for the property I dont go on holiday to spent first 3 hours cleaning the basics ie bathrooms Plates ect or take photos of the state of the place and then be called a lier. Photos dont lie, beware! a very expensive and traumatic lesson learned. Sykes have refused to print my review and the owner has answered two complaints that i didnt even complain about so I assume others have complained and not had the review printed either.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“absolutely awful company.. quick enough to take your money, but then dont want to know when theres a problem. went to a cottage in the lake ghyll bank.. no tv, heating on permanent and an absolute dive of a place. only stayed 3 days wont be using them again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“The house was not clean, we were unable to open kitchen windows as they were so greasy you couldn't touch them. The garden was almost unusable. The grass was not cut and I doubt it had been cut for at least 6 weeks. You will see in one of the photos showing where the grass cuttings had been thrown. The brambles were dangerous to the children. The washing line was strewn with bird feeders we had to move. My husband managed to ensure the washing line was a little higher as the length it had been would probably have killed someone if the had walked into it. We were not able to let the dog roam as the brambles were so dense we had no idea where the boundary of the garden, It is also not enclosed as advertised. The debris left littered in the garden is most certainly a hazard for children and animals. The cooked chicken bones littering the garden were an horrific sight to be greeted with. The whole property needs a complete overhaul. The windows were filthy and were covered in paint. One of the toilet seats was broken. I could go on and on. Certainly for the amount of money paid verges on theft. It most certainly didn't give value for money. Sykes refuse to do anything about the complaint other than ask me to pay £25.00 for the toilet seat!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“A sci fi fantasy!! Have you ever watched a sci fi film where spacecraft operate on the edge of known space? If not then do so before booking with Sykes ...they seem to operate on the very edge of known law. Recently booked a holiday with Sykes which was ok ...on the basis of that booked another using the Sykes feedback ...after booking I discovered that Sykes feedback seems to be extremely selective ! And stumbled upon some true feedback on this an other non associated sites . We booked a beach holiday with the specific remit if taking our ageing golden retriever on a lovely holiday near the beach ...the Sykes blurb said very close to miles of golden sands ...in reality reading true reviews this was sort of true but after you negotiated a no man's land of swamp and rocks ..totally unsuitable for our dog ...we rang Sykes to try and get alternative accomodation but nothing else available...so we had to cancel ...then the fun starts ! ...Sykes wanted a total cancellation fee if approx £225 for a £550 holiday ...when I asked what this money was for I was told the owner had already been paid for the holiday. Asked if the insurance we also paid covered this and told no ...fortunately the owner of the cottage rang us to assure us the beach etc was fine and he would send photos ...he never did ...however I did ask him what Sykes had paid him and the answer was ...nothing ...rang Sykes again and pointed out that demanding money in these circumstances was a little "smelly" and they still refused to budge ...but I wasn't happy with this and eventually all that was paid to Sykes was a £58 booking fee...paid to the owner ....throughout this I was met with complete lack of professionalism and utter cheek at times from Sykes staff ...they seem either completely incompetent ...untrained or have no authority to make decisions ...when you ring you can never speak to the same person and when you are quoted conversations recorded on their computer system it in no way reflects the actual conversation ....my advice would be ...by all means use them but be aware their own reviews are NOT comprehensive and if you have an issue prepare to dig your heels in as they just seem to perpetually fob you off”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“This is the first and last time I book anything with Sykes! We booked an apartment in April for July next year to visit my partners grandma in Dorset. However, our daughter has a medical condition which now requires additional care and my partner has to quit her job to facilitate this. This loss of income and the additional care my daughter needs meant that this holiday became too expensive for our budget and also unsuitable for our daughter meaning we needed to cancel. When booking, there was an option to pay a £20 deposit which we took advantage of. Today I have come to cancel this holiday due to our change in circumstances and was horrified to find that there is a cancellation fee of 30% of the entire holiday which equates to just shy of £400! I explained that we are in no position to pay this fee and are any options available to waiver (or at least reduce this fee) due to our situation and there still being over a year left until the holiday but was told no and that this fee would still need to be paid before cancellation. This is devastatingly high given the struggles we have already endured but Sykes don't care about that, they just want your money! To make this worse, if we don't pay this amount in time then the full amount needs to be paid whether we go or not. I am now left with a partner in tears wondering how we are going to pay this amount of money on our reduced household income. It is also worth knowing that it didn't state that the cancellation fee would be so high if taking the 20% deposit option (or at least it wasn't clearly visible when I booked)”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Own Driver
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.1 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult
Returns Process	Could Be Better

Sykes Cottages Reviews