Please read this thread detailing my awful and disgraceful experience with @sykescottages customer experience. Hopefully this will help some of you get your money back!

Me and my friends had a cottage booked for the easter bank holiday (some of us were travelling from abroad, this is particularly important and will become apparent soon).

We had discussed with the homeowner about getting a refund before the UK lockdown as one of our party members couldn't fly over due to COVID-19, he was very happy for us to receive the refund , but made it clear that Sykes deal with the deposit and they will most likely keep it.

The deposit was £744, so definitely did not want to lose this! The reason we cannot amend the holiday is due to the difficulty in organising a date with people needing to fly from abroad on a uncertain date. Further, the home is already booked up next Easter!

For nearly 3 weeks we were trying to call and email Sykes, every time they said they would return a call within 72hrs, yet no contact at all after 3 weeks! Sykes issued their disgraceful 'credit' and amendment policy once the UK went into lock down.

Sykes made it clear that no customer would receive a cash refund for their booking but would get 'credit' on their account, this is a disgraceful attempt for Sykes to still gain commission on the booking.

I've seen many customers complaining about problems trying to amend their booking. Sykes decided to cut their customer helpline which forces customers to accept the credit option or face increased prices or inability to amend their holiday dates due to sykes' system faults.

I decided to message their Twitter account to ask for help. This is where things got interesting! Firstly, I was fobbed off with the 'sorry we are the social team and therefore cannot help with any booking enquiries, my colleague will call you within 72hrs....

Ofcourse another fabricated lie to force customers into accepting the 'credit' option. After a day or so of Sykes telling me that their social team cannot help in any way with bookings they finally admitted that:

When you book through Sykes the contract exists solely between the homeowner and the holidaymaker i.e. not Sykes! Sykes CANNOT keep your money if the homeowner issues a refund, therefore their 'credit' scheme is immoral!

It is also potentially illegal but I do not have the legal knowledge to confirm this. We spoke to the homeowner again who confirmed to us and forwarded his wishes onto Sykes, that he wants us to receive a full refund.

After about 4 weeks in total they emailed to say they have issued the refund, however intentionally did not state the value, I have no idea if they have kept 'their portion' or the deposit. I shall let you know when it comes through (assuming they have actually issued it).

Sykes 'social team' intentionally refused to answer if they will refund the full amount (inc deposit etc) even if the homeowner issues a refund to the customer. Please see the screenshots to my final post (They are yet to confirm this).

Compare this to a modern company who values their asset, Airbnb who are doing all they can to get customers their money back. My anniversary trip to Italy was fully refunded by Airbnb due to COVID-19 even though the homeowner's cancellation policy didn't allow this.

To make things worse, please read their T&Cs (section 11) which states that the homeowner or Sykes can cancel the booking and if they do so they are NOT obliged to sort any alternative accommodation and you may have to pay increased prices if you do so.

More importantly it states that they are not obliged to give you a refund... absolutely disgraceful customer care.

Moral of this thread: bypass Sykes and talk to the homeowner directly and get them to tell sykes they want to give you a full refund (I can't see why a homeowner wouldnt) but i urge you to keep bombarding sykes until they finally contact you!

Please note that our refund has not come through yet and MAY not be the full amount, I will update this when it comes through to let you know.
I really hope this gives some insight to you all. I wish you all the best in getting your money back and staying safe.

I will be avoiding Sykes at all costs in the future, and will be urging everyone else to do so. These times are difficult for everyone, not just Sykes. Customers are also facing increased financial struggles and Sykes trying to keep their money is utterly disgraceful!