# Consumer laws in Spain



## julianyoung (May 18, 2015)

Hi All,

I hope someone will be able to answer some questions that I am finding it difficult to find answers to.

Whilst I have my sights set on Oz I had a recent horrific experience in Malorca and am wondering if any of those who have lived there for some time can assist.

My partner and I booked a villa for a 7 day stay, arrived only to find it was a run down hovel and nothing like the idyllic, well angled photos on display (you know how it is).

We had paid in cash so after only 15 minutes at the property we got on the blower and asked for a refund. They refused but agreed to meet us that evening. They then called that evening cancelling the meeting. They then continued to cancel, miss and forget meetings over the next 4 days, waiting for us to get on that plane home.

We threatened to call the police if we did not receive even a small refund (we were intially happy with 50%), they advised that they were well liked and knew everyone and that if we did *we would not leave the island*. So naturally we didn't call the police. We struggled to enjoy our last few days and tried our best not to be seen, paranoid by every passing car and stranger.

Now we are wondering what we can do about this now. We have plenty of evidence, blackmail text messages and worse and have uploaded them to a publicly accessible website - we are discussing going public with the press however as my partner is a criminal barrister she is loath to go public in a tabloid (although I'm not).

Naturally we'd rather see if there are any processes in place that we can go through without having to take a trip back to the dreaded island (it will forever be a dark place for us).

We requested a Hojas de reclamaciones over 7 days ago but have received no response. Can I file one online against them?

We would prefer not to go to court over it but they seem to be trying their utmost to leave that as the only recourse. Is there any other procedures we can follow?

Your experience, thoughts, advice and assistance would be so very much appreciated. Thanks once again!


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Well seeing as you have asked for the Hojas and had no response you are within your rights to call the police and tell them they are refusing to give it to you which is quite serious in itself.
I would imagine from there you can take it further and the police will likely advise you on the next step.


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## julianyoung (May 18, 2015)

Thanks Pazcat, can I call the Mallorca police from the U.K.? Do you know how long do they get to provide a Hojas given the request was sent by email (and acknowledged by their lawyer).


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## bandit1250 (Aug 5, 2014)

publish and be damned ,,, you are not, I repeat not getting any of your 'hard earned', back forget about the 'peeps' on here telling you to do this or do that ,,,, your money has GONE!!!,,, And you are never seeing hide nor hair of it again, it happens dude, just put it down to a Spanish experience (how sad is that to say when we all know top quality Spanish renters, who just want to rent fairly and make a honest living), just slag them off as much as possible on internet forums etc,,,,not that they will take a blind bit of notice but you never know???


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## julianyoung (May 18, 2015)

Hahaha I love your attitude bandit and you are more than likely right  Certainly learnt my lesson! The car rental company we used there was corrupt enough.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Agree with bandit...Your chances of getting your money back are very slim indeed.

It's going to cost you a lot of money pursuing this case by phone from the UK..
Get even...contact the Daily Mail. They love those kinds of stories.
Btw, what nationality were these scammers?


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## julianyoung (May 18, 2015)

Already done.


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## James3214 (Jun 25, 2009)

Sorry to read your post, but as a property owner in Mallorca (who has rented it in the past) these sort of stories are not uncommon,but at least you were allowed to stay in the property however bad it must of been for you. Most turn up and find they have been scammed. Did you book through a reputable website? I doubt if the media will be interested in your particular case as it is just one of many. Never pay cash either as at least through your credit card company you have some sort of claim of a refund. Of course, you can legal action but I doubt it will be worth it. Did you have a 'rental agreement'? If it is a villa, he would need some sort of permit to rent, so you could always contact the authorities that hand them out, but if it is not legally let, then you have another problem. My only advice is to stick a review on the site where you booked it (did you book it online?) or failing that try trip advisor or other 'social media' sites.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

While I probably agree that you stand little chance of ever seeing your money back I don't agree with just chalking this up to bad luck and a lesson learned when there are processes you can follow.
This type of apathy doesn't do anything to fix the problem.

I'd still write a report in their Hojas, it has to be investigated. If they still haven't supplied you with an online version of it then email them and say if I don't have it in 24 hours then I will call the police, and then do it.
At the least it will be followed up on and as mentioned above if they don't have the right licenses to rent a villa out then they will be punished for that.
If it stops it from happening to someone else then that is maybe the best you can expect.


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## julianyoung (May 18, 2015)

I wrote to the bodies that require the Hojas and explained that I gave them 7 days and they did not provide. Thanks folks, I'll persevere for the Hojas and leave it at that.


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## larryzx (Jul 2, 2014)

You can download the hojas de reclamación from the internet. Just google for them in the place where you were. They are slightly different I believe from Region to Region..

The Policia local enforce the requirement for all establishments to have the form. If they are called they can fine on the spot and if a business shut it down there and then.

The enforcement of the form is done by the Consumer’s Office of the town hall not the police local..


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