A reader identified only as E.M., from Dumfries and Galloway, was locked out of a Belfast flat until 4.45am after Booking.com sent her the wrong address for the property's key lock box, according to a complaint resolved by the Daily Mail's Sally Sorts It column.
E.M. had booked the property for three nights at a cost of £972 through Booking.com, arriving on July 10. The night before check-in, she received lock box collection details for an address different from the one she believed she was staying at.
She messaged and repeatedly rang the property owner but got no response. She then contacted Booking.com, which took several hours to reply, rather than the 45-minute response time it had promised, before confirming a new address.
When the group arrived at the property at 11.30pm, they could not find the lock box. They searched surrounding properties and checked other lock boxes on the street before finally getting into the flat at 4.45am. Booking.com initially offered just £100 as an apology.
Stranded with an elderly relative
Columnist Sally Hamilton said she was shocked the group had been left to wander the streets late at night searching for alternative accommodation, particularly as an 85-year-old mother-in-law was among the party.
On the way to find a police station, the group came across a closed Premier Inn. The night manager let them in and gave them tea and biscuits, and searched for the lock box with them without success. Back at the hotel, E.M. checked the Booking.com app again and finally found different check-in details showing an apartment on the other side of the building, along with a photo of another lock box.
The hotel manager helped search for the new lock box, and it took a companion prising it open with an item from his pocket before the group finally got inside at 4.45am.
Booking.com is one of the world's largest online travel booking platforms, connecting travellers directly with property hosts. After Hamilton intervened, the company acknowledged E.M. had been "inconvenienced" and refunded the £324 cost of the first night in addition to the £100 goodwill payment already offered.
A Booking.com spokesman said the property was legitimate with a record of successful stays, and that the address discrepancy stemmed from an inaccurate map pin on the listing. The host had given the correct address, about 120 metres away on the other side of the building, and the company said it was working to correct the listing.
Overcharged £54 for a £7 Land Registry document
A separate reader, whose name and address were supplied to the column, was charged £54.80 for an HM Land Registry document that should have cost £7 online.
The reader had searched online for the Land Registry to obtain official details for a property owned by their late father, and landed on a site advertising £9.90 for "express processing." After entering card details, the next page revealed a charge of £54.80. The reader tried three times to cancel by message but each attempt showed an error saying there was "a problem submitting my message."
Hamilton said the site, branded UK Land Registry, is run by a company called Check Property, trading as Land Registry UK at Check-Property.co.uk. She said the business operates legitimately and is not a scam, but charges for a document available directly from the official government service for a few pounds. A disclaimer at the bottom of the page stated: "We are not HM Land Registry. We are an intermediary service."
Check Property had processed the request within minutes of payment, meaning the document was delivered despite the reader's cancellation attempts. It initially said no refund would normally apply since the document had been successfully delivered, but offered a partial refund as a "gesture of goodwill" after deducting administration costs.
Hamilton asked the reader's bank, Santander, to pursue a chargeback, and the reader received the full £54.80 back, which the company did not dispute. A Santander spokesman said customers should remain vigilant when searching for government services online and check they are using official gov.uk websites.
Another reader, T.G., paid £926 for three services from a similar site, onlinelandregistry. The company refused a refund despite her cancelling quickly, telling Hamilton the documents had already been delivered and the order no longer qualified for cancellation under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Her bank, Halifax, also declined a chargeback, saying the company had provided the service in line with its terms and conditions.
Battery, monitor and Disneyland refunds
In shorter complaints resolved by the column, M.H. of Canterbury paid Halfords £194.45 for a 12-volt battery for a Toyota Corolla, only for a mechanic to say it could not be fitted to a hybrid vehicle. Halfords apologised, saying it does not work on hybrid cars, and issued a full refund plus a goodwill gesture.
J.E. of Worcestershire bought a Hewlett-Packard computer monitor from Harvey Norman for £190, which broke 13 months later. Customer support initially refused to help and asked for a paid assessment. Harvey Norman said the fault was reported more than six months after purchase, which usually requires proof the fault was inherent, but it agreed to arrange and pay for the assessment.
S.C. of Edinburgh booked a Disneyland Paris holiday for herself and her niece through a firm called Navig8 Tour, paying a £20 deposit followed by five monthly instalments of £209 by bank transfer to a Lloyds account. Days before departure, check-in details failed to work, and airlines and the hotel confirmed no bookings existed. Her bank, the Bank of Scotland, paid her £1,063, the full cost of the trip, and Navig8 separately refunded the same amount. Navig8 said the booking failure was due to a "clerical" error.
