Character Cottages Reviews 

Reading the other reviews I totally understand why people would be annoyed, however, it is a crazy time and this company represents cottages from private clients, so some of their responses are in accordance to the terms those individuals have attached to their property (which are clearly stated when you book).

We were coming from America to stay in the Cotswolds and had to cancel/change our August stay. Character Cottages were great at communicating with us during a time when you have to assume 100% of their business has ground to a halt and the amount of people emailing and calling is huge.
I would highly recommend the company and look forward to working with them again. This is a difficult time for everyone and small businesses like this one should be supported.
Many Thanks,

Like so many people we had to cancel a long-planned trip to the UK due to the Covid-19 crisis. It was going to be a family get-together to celebrate an 80th and many of us are getting on in years and are vulnerable to the pandemic. Some of us had to travel from Australia and our government advised against it. So, many valid reasons to cancel and request a refund. However, we are also sympathetic to the situation of the owners of these cottages. It is quite possible that they have mortgages and loans predicated on expected incomes and giving full refunds with no chance to cover their costs could put them in a very difficult position too. So the compromise we reached with Character Cottages was for an extended credit to the full value of our reservation. Not ideal but better than it could have been so we thank them for that. Their service and communication was excellent in what must have been very difficult circumstances. We now look forward to our family gathering when the situation in both parts of the world becomes clearer. It may take 12 months or more but it could have been so much worse.

Sadly, I wish I had seen these reviews prior to booking. I had the same experience and it is extremely frustrating. They are taking advantage of COVID and will be making double the money as they will re-rent their properties all the while stealing our hefty deposit money. I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and I encourage everyone else to do the same

Will never use this company again, very uncooperative. When we tried to re schedule our August holiday that we had booked in October last year, for a cottage for 10 people, 6 of us coming from different areas and 3 of us in the vulnerable group. We decided it was too risky, so asked if we could re schedule and realising we might be charged an amendment fee.But no luck, they said they would speak to the owner, then came back to say the owner would not allow us to do this, so we had to lose our deposit of £ 634

The rating should be "0" but this is not an available choice - unfortunately. We are yet another family who have had the appalling treatment from this company like so many others losing our deposit with no offer of refund or deferred dates. We were merely quoted "terms & conditions" and "Force Majeure". As if that should count in these unprecedented times!
We booked a cottage last November for a weekend at the end of May. This was to celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary with our family group. When the balance was due in late March we were right on the cusp of going into full lockdown and both myself and my husband, being over 70, were in one of the vulnerable groups so I spoke to the company about our concerns. They merely stated that if we cancelled we would lose our deposit, which in the end we had no choice but to do. We certainly weren't going to pay the balance and risk losing a much more substantial amount of money with nothing to show for it. The company showed no compassion at all.
When I saw on their website recently that they were offering to shift booking dates I emailed them about our circumstances and asked them to reconsider our situation. They were totally unconcerned or sympathetic and merely quoted the "terms and conditions" again adding only that they would speak to the owner and get back to us. Of course they never have.
Not only have we lost our deposit, we have also lost any chance of postponing our family get together to a later date.
This company don't deserve to have custom in the future after the way they have treated people - they should be ashamed.
They have no conscience and are simply greedy.

Please take notice of all the negative reviews about this company
I wish I had been aware of this site before I booked a cottage with these people.
Due to the unprecedented situation we all find ourselves in at this present time I requested a refund of my deposit due to a wedding we were due to attend in England had been cancelled ( we did not just cancel because we may have changed our minds)
Living in Wales we are not allowed to cross the border into England
I agree we should pay any booking fees applicable but to retain all of the deposit I feel is unacceptable.
All other bookings we have made with other companies have been sympathetic due to this crisis and paid back our bookings in full...Well done Abnb and Booking.com.
Character Cottages are just greedy with their shameful behaviour and I urge anyone to think twice about giving your money to this company!!
Never again !!!!

Deplorable Company...took advantage of so many people during unsettling times. Kept guests money for holidays they weren't allowed to go on. Bad attitude. The entire experience was shocking, stressful and unpleasant. At the end of the day, they have our funds and we feel cheated. Do not trust them. Rent from anyone else.
2

If a selection of 0 was available, I would rate them with that. Worst experience possible, very stressful, keeping our funds due to not paying the final balance after the cottages were closed due to the pandemic. They cannot be trusted, only want to keep your money.

Be really careful about giving your company your money any time soon. They are not accomodating changes as a result of the pandemic and refusing to provide refunds or the ability to reschedule - even when there are multiple families and vulnerable people involved. Stay away.

So angry and disappointed that Character Cottages will not refund the deposit for a trip that will be impossible for us to take. We live in Scotland and the lockdown exit plan will simply not permit 2 different households to share accommodation by 6 July (our planned arrival date). The suggestion for us to pay a further £600 to obtain a credit against a further booking is quite frankly ludicrous. What businesses seem to forget is that when the world returns to normal people will remember who treated them fairly. Based on this experience Character Cottages will never get a penny more from us!

Couldn't agree more with all the complaints about this company during Covid19 crisis, they just won't return any of my deposit, which is so unusual as even AirBNB are offering full refunds or a refund minus the booking fee which is fair enough. I don't mind them keeping their booking fee, as that is what I paid them for, but why can't I get the rest of my deposit back? Given we live overseas and no flights are operating to the UK, even if I did want to chance my health by visiting the UK I can't get there, so whats their problem?
They aren't even offering a Voucher to use in the future.
Very disappointed and I will never use them again.
No wonder AirBNB are so successful.

Abhorrent company, profiting from peoples current misfortune. Never use.

This company has been a pleasure to deal with! At each turn of the changing situation with COVID-19, I received a prompt response to my questions with updated information on their reservation policies. The staff was always polite and courteous in their correspondence. My family's entire trip to the UK had to be rebooked due to the government's travel policy. This was no fault of Character Cottages. I greatly appreciate their willingness to work with me and the flexibility they have shown in helping with our revised travel plans. Our family is eagerly looking forward to our stay with Character Cottages in May of 2021. Thank you Character Cottages for being so helpful!

Awful company, don't book anything with this company as they treat their customers unlawfully and with disdain. We booked a Cottage in the Cotswolds with them in October for a holiday this month. Our request for a refund in the current situation has been ignored with the offer of a credit or re-booking the only recourse. We don't want either. I've sent numerous emails, but most either ignored or just a standard response. The more people know how this company treats its customers the better.

DO NOT BOOK with this company, they kept my deposit illegally. Due to government lockdown we are unable to travel but character cottages have taken this as an opportunity to make money by keeping my hard earned money £500 in total.
AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID CHARACTER COTTAGES !!!

Avoid dealing with this company at all costs.

A quick browse of the internet will show that Character Cottages has one of the worst reputations in the UK holiday industry.

Want to lose your hard earned savings?
Want to have your family upset and disappointed?
Book with Character cottages.

One of our party suffers from cancer. We booked a cottage for summer 2020 and couldn't travel because of the pandemic. We asked for a refund and explained the situation. Their answer? Get stuffed.

Heartless exploiters of a national emergency.

AVOID AVOID AVOID!

Treating your customers this way is disgusting. You kept our deposit for a holiday when we cannot travel due to covid19. Shame on you character cottages.

We were forced to cancel as we were prevented from travelling to the house by Covid 19 restrictions. The Aust. Gov banned overseas travel in March. We requested a refund of our deposit but have been turned down by Character Cottages. We received a refund or credit from every other rental in the UK and Italy for a 2 month trip. If you have a choice, use any other property manager. They don't deserve business with their terrible policy of hiding behind a technicality.

What a shameless company.
After weeks of them trying to get me to cancel our booking due to Covid-19, I have been notified that I am due to get a partial refund. They are refunding the money sent back by the owner but retaining their commission!!!
I’ve always maintained the stance that they have failed to deliver their terms of the contract so I would not cancel. As they have failed they must refund the full costs.
I hope my credit card company can recover the full costs.
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

As an owner have cancelled my contract with Character Cottages - had a guest write to me personally regarding losing their deposit and being advised a change of dates was not possible as outside their Covid Policy. They then chased for the full amount to be paid and when it wasn’t cancelled the booking. They also advised me 2.5 hours before other guests were due that they had cancelled and moved dates. Have spoken to them MD regarding these things - lots of excuses and statements that lots of people are happy with their policies???? Advised their behaviour was not something I wished to be associated with - they were a good company before being bought out by Sykes.