Diddle-liddle-ding Diddle-liddle-ding. Joy heard the door bell, she checked her face in the mirror and went to answer the front door, there was no-one there, she stared at the deserted street. Diddle-liddle-ding Joy woke with a start, she was dreaming. Diddle-liddle-ding – her alarm clock chided her again for not attending to it, Joy felt the momentary trepidation she had felt on waking, at the deserted street she had been looking out onto. She realised that she was probably worrying subconsciously about whether she could make a go of this venture and whether she could attract enough guests to make her venture worthwhile.
As she sat up in bed Joy thought about her day ahead. The first hurdle was cooking and serving her first breakfast for Mr and Mrs Jordan. She had practiced her routine several times on her mother and Eve, who had been willing guinea-pigs, eating everything that Joy tested on them. Joy had carefully worked out all her timings, Eve had deliberately tried to keep Joy talking to see if she could make her burn the toast that she knew was under the grill. Joy had, according to her critical mother and her confidence building friend passed with flying colours.
Joy smiled to herself, this was a big moment for her and she knew she could deliver. If the Browns had stayed yesterday, her first breakfast would have been for six people, she was glad in a way that she only had to cook for two on her first attempt. Joy showered and dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen and proceeded to get everything ready. There was time to spare before Mr and Mrs Jordan came down, Joy walked round the dining room, checking and rearranging the cutlery and straightening the table mats and the menu, she felt positive. Joy need not have worried, breakfast went without a hitch and she was complimented on her cooking.
After Mr and Mrs Jordan left the table, Joy busied herself cleaning the kitchen and the dining room and just as she had finished in the kitchen the phone rang. She hoped it would be Eve.
“Joy, Hi.” Joy was pleased to hear Eve’s familiar voice. Eve said “I think I have the answers you need, do you have time to talk now, or shall I call you a bit later on?”
“How about we meet for coffee in our usual place?” Joy answered.
“Yes, that would be great, if we can make it lunch time, say 12 noon” Eve replied. “Anytime that suits you, noon it is. I am longing to see a friendly face, you can tell me the the worst at lunch time”. Eve and Joy chatted for a few more minutes and Joy watched from the window as the Jordans walked down the path.
Joy put the phone down and thought that’s good, now that they have gone out I can go and clean their room, then I can dust and vacuum through Reception, and then it will be time for me to get ready to go and meet Eve.
Joy was pleased to see that the Jordan’s room was quite clean and tidy, but she noticed that the used towels had been placed in the shower tray and were quite wet. She felt slightly irritated. Were the Jordans suggesting that she would not remember to change the towels so they had to make them damp, or is this what they always do? Joy changed the wet towels for clean ones, cleaned the rest of the room and took the wet towels to the laundry room for washing. She decided not to dwell on it, but she really did feel again that she was more unprepared and ignorant of what to expect from her guests than she could ever have imagined.
Joy reached the cafe ahead of Eve and found a table in the window. She spotted Eve rushing up the road her arms full of flowers, a big envelope and her coat and scarf. Joy smiled, it was cold out there, it was typical of Eve to grab her coat but never quite take the time necessary to put it on. Eve spotted Joy through the window and gave her a wide friendly smile. Joy immediately felt better. Eve was always just what the doctor ordered.
Eve placed the huge bunch of flowers in Joy’s lap and the envelope on the table, dropping her coat and scarf on a nearby empty chair in a casual way. Eve was naturally attractive but wore no makeup and had scant regard for fashion, Joy on the other hand was quite particular about her appearance.
“Well” said Joy after they had ordered hot tuna baguettes and a glass of white house wine, “what did you find out, can I force Fred at the Garage to repair my car?”
“Possibly” replied Eve reaching for the envelope and pulling out a wad of paper with her untidy large handwriting all over it. “Section 12 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act provides that a person is dealing as a consumer if the contract is not made in the course of a business and the person does not hold himself out as doing so, and the other party does make the contract in the course of a business, and the goods are of a type ordinarily supplied for private use. Buying in the course of a business means that the buyer is buying something that is an integral part of the business.”
“A car is not an integral part of my business” Joy interrupted.
“Exactly” said Eve, “I found the case of Symmans & Co -v- Cook where a firm of surveyors bought a defective Rolls Royce and the Court of Appeal said that buying a car is not an integral part of the business of surveying”.
“I wonder if I need proof of this, or whether I can just go in and see Fred and tell him. I don’t want to fall out with him, he has done work for me before” said Joy thoughtfully.
“If I were you” said Eve “I would go and have a chat with him, tell him you have been into the CAB, and this is what you were told and you hope he can reconsider, then if he sticks to his guns, tell him you are going to consult a Solicitor “
Joy nodded, “That is what I was thinking. What about Mr Brown, even if he is in the wrong I think I am going to give him his money back, I don’t want an ongoing dispute with my very first guests.”
“That’s probably a wise move” agreed Eve, “but if you did want to argue the point with him, the law on sale by description is quite clear, the description must be accurate or the buyer is entitled to reject the item. You would have to satisfy a Court that your description was accurate, unless you are certain that you could do that, the cheaper option would probably be to give him his money back before he take steps to recover it.”
“Thanks for that, on reflection, the room is small. Someone on the forum said ‘everyone knows that cosy means small’ but how small is small?” replied Joy.
“What forum?”
“Oh, I found this fantastic forum www.bedposts.org.uk. It is for accommodation providers, and everyone on there is really friendly and helpful. I was reading the topic on there about Access Statements, I have done one, but I am wondering now if mine doesn’t go far enough, and some people have given room measurements in theirs. If I had done that in my Access Statement, I could have told Mr Brown and everyone else to look at my Access Statement, disabled or not, to decide whether my rooms will suit their requirements.
The lady on the forum who said cosy means small works for CAB somewhere”.
“Whereabouts” asked Eve, but Joy couldn’t remember. Eve went on “I am glad you have found a forum where it sounds as though there are a lot of people who will be able to give you some real help, I think you might need it from time to time until you find your feet.”
Joy was happy with her decision to give Mr Brown his money back, but she knew she was doing so for a quiet life, she was still unsure how small cosy is, and what was too small to be acceptable. She would be interested to know if her family room was exceptionally small in comparison with others being charged at a similar rate. She felt she needed to know as she would have to decide whether to take the childrens’ beds out or not. This was an important decision for Joy, as this was the only room she had that she could offer as a family room.
Do you think Joy should keep her family room even though she knows it is very compact?
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