A young mum is locked in a refund battle after leaving a negative review criticising the cleanliness at a holiday park.
Tanisha Howard, 30, from Nottingham, took her daughter, Sylvie, for a two-night stay at Darwin Lake Holiday Village, Matlock, in September for their first holiday together, but the young mum complained their accommodation was “disgusting”.
She told DerbyshireLive she picked the venue because of its four-star rating – thinking it would be clean – and went with her sister and niece.
Ms Howard said: “I have a seriously ill baby with a low immune system, so I have to be careful [about cleanliness].”
But the mum spoke of her disappointment at being “greeted by dirty walls, dirty cushions, thick dust-covered remotes and coffee granules over the side and floor”.
Once reported to the venue, these were cleaned up, but Ms Howard claimed the family then found mouldy, stale water inside the washing machine, which they needed to use after one of the girls was sick.
Ms Howard left a review on Google after the family’s stay, hailing the “amazing” location, but labelling the cottage she stayed in as “disgusting”.
After complaining to the venue, Ms Howard was offered and accepted a £30 refund, being 10 percent of the £300 she paid for the stay.
That deal was agreed in October, but Ms Howard has told Derbyshire Live she has yet to receive the money.
Ms Howard emailed Darwin Lake on November 14, saying she couldn’t understand why she had been waiting so long for the refund.
She received a reply which read: “We asked you to revoke your negative comments regarding our cottages. This has still yet to be revoked and agree not to post negative comments in future.”
Ms Howard then replied asking if she were correct in thinking she would have to remove her review to get the £30, to which Darwin Lake responded: “We would appreciate it if you did take down your reviews.”
After asking the venue to say exactly when the partial refund would be paid, she received the answer: “We should like you to remove all defamatory and derogatory content from the public domain and agree to not post similar in the future.”
When she questioned if that meant she would only get the refund after removing her review, Darwin Lake wrote back: “We seem to be going around in circles here. Are you saying you won’t delete your derogatory and defamatory content online unless we pay you?”
Ms Howard shot back, telling the venue not to try and turn it on her. She wrote: “I’ve simply been asking for the last two days for you to clarify if you are holding my refund until I agree and take down my reviews.
“Looking back at my reviews I don’t see why you’re claiming them to be defamatory. I was simply truthful about the lack of cleanliness.”
To which the venue replied: “Let us know when you have cancelled your derogatory and defamatory content and we can talk further.”
Darwin Lake declined to comment when approached by Express.co.uk.
