Holiday cottage company insisted on a death certificate to amend our break

A death in the family meant our planned holiday in Cumbria had to change. Photograph: John Morrison/AlamyView image in fullscreenA death in the family meant our planned holiday in Cumbria had to change. Photograph: John Morrison/AlamyHoliday cottage company insisted on a death certificate to amend our breakSykes Holiday Cottages showed no empathy and insisted on paperwork we didn’t have so soon after my husband’s death

We booked a break with Sykes Holiday Cottages for 11 of us to celebrate my mum’s 80th birthday last February. The cost was £2,400, paid for by my 87-year-old dad, but it was my husband who made the booking.

In January, my husband was diagnosed with aggressive lymphoma, and he died 10 days before the trip. My parents and some other members of the party still planned to take the holiday, and my dad informed Sykes of the death, since my husband was their point of contact.

Sykes declared that the booking could not be honoured in my late husband’s name and that they would need a copy of his death certificate to move it into my name. We did not have one since an inquest into the death had been ordered.

Sykes said a copy of my marriage certificate would suffice. I submitted this, only to be told that “an official document recognised by the state that confirms the passing of the deceased” was required.

We provided a screenshot of the inquest listing from the coroner’s court website but were advised that this was not sufficient evidence.

My GP wrote a letter confirming the death, but Sykes did not reply, and by then we were all too distressed to continue.

Later, Sykes sent numerous emails to my late husband’s email address asking whether he had enjoyed the stay. We never received a refund, and I have not felt emotionally strong enough to do anything further before now.

Read moreI could hardly believe what I was reading as I trawled through Sykes’s correspondence. Its response, on being informed of your husband’s untimely death, was to send him an email asking for information.

When Sykes received the requested marriage certificate, the company simultaneously stated in an email that this provided sufficient proof for the booking to be transferred to your name, and that the booking could not be transferred without an official confirmation of death.

The GP letter confirming the death merely elicited an email saying Sykes would be in touch. By then, the trip was two days away. Sykes still did not amend the booking name, nor did it acknowledge the link to the coroner’s inquest listing.

The next you heard from them was the first of several emails addressed to your late husband hoping that he had enjoyed the holiday. When you asked them to stop using his email address, Sykes apologised for the “inconvenience”.

Four days later, when you had to complain about another such email to him, you were told unapologetically that feedback forms are sent automatically. By then, Sykes had been informed multiple times over a fortnight that your husband had died.

Sykes, I discover, does not have an official bereavement policy which, given the size of the business, is poor enough. But empathy does not require an official mandate and you received none.

Its onerous name change requirements are more suitable for a visa application than checking into a Cumbrian cottage. It refunded the £2,400 pronto when I got in touch and added £150 in “goodwill”. I think that’s a paltry sum for the distress it caused, but you have accepted it so you can put the ordeal behind you.

A spokesperson said: “We have contacted the family directly to apologise and resolve the matter, and are reviewing our processes to ensure situations like this are always handled with the care and sensitivity they deserve.”

Our spirits need some good news, so here are some tales of how customer service ought to be.

“We bought a secondhand Scandibørn bed from a third-party seller and found four screws were missing,” writes CC. “They were so specialist that no shop even knew what they were called. We contacted Scandibørn with low expectations of help, but they immediately offered to send us the missing screws for free. Exemplary customer service, which has earned a customer for life.”

MS, meanwhile, raises his revamped hat to Tilley. “Thirty years ago I bought a Tilley hat, which became a constant companion on walks and holidays. It was beginning to show its age and, since the label promised a lifetime guarantee, I contacted Tilley. I was asked to submit photographs and was promptly invited to choose from three designs. The replacement was dispatched within days, with a handling charge of £20. Sadly, this one will outlast me.”

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