I've just returned from a holiday in Florida where my family and my sisters family hired a villa through Holidaylettings for two weeks. I have just received an succint email from the the owner of the villa, saying that the Management Company have reported that a futon is damaged which cost in excess of £300 sterling, and therefore they would not be returning our deposit of £250! To say I am outraged is an understatement. I am certain that all furniture was left in exactly the same state as we found it - no stains or even crumbs left... The futon was old and could only be sat on in certain areas, and was only used for my son and nephew to play on a Playstation. I have explained this to the owner and they say that I should have reported the damage to the Management Company - but I didn't class an 'old' futon as damaged.

I don't know what to do next... is it my word against the owners on this one?

Unless the Management Company or owner are in the UK, you cannot sue them in the UK. It would be prohibitively expensive to sue in the United States small claims court, as you would have to attend. By mentioning Holidaylettings in your post you may already have discouraged others from using them. (Anyone Googling them will probably see your post.) Email Holidaylettings a link to your post, and ask them if they would like to remedy the problem, or you will leave the post unresolved.

Many thanks for both responses to my post. This issue has been resolved amicably this week with the owners - they have apologised and are going to return our deposit.

I wasn't aware my post could be linked to another website, and it wasn't my intention to link the company with my concern, so I learnt something else on here!

Thanks again. :)