TONY HETHERINGTON: Gas scare cut short our break in the Cotswolds

Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail on Sunday’s top researcher, taking on readers’ corners, uncovering the truth that lies behind closed doors and delivering victories for those left out of their own pockets. Below you can read how you can contact him.

Mrs LH writes: I booked a holiday in the Cotswolds through Sykes Cottages to celebrate my sister’s birthday.

On the second evening the carbon monoxide alarm sounded. We contacted the owner of the cottage, who replied that it was probably a faulty monitor.

We called the emergency gas number and a technician arrived. He said it was unsafe to stay, so we had to pack up and drive home at midnight.

I asked Sykes Cottages for a refund and they replied that the owner had refused.

Tony Hetherington replies: This is a shocking story. Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. Just over a week ago we heard at an inquest how a Burnley couple died after fumes turned their Egyptian hotel room into a deadly gas chamber.

So who would gamble with their life when an alarm goes off? You did the right thing in leaving the cottage and breaking your holiday in Chipping Campden.

You also did the right thing when you called the emergency number. An engineer from Wales & West Utilities arrived very quickly and carried out his own checks. He gave you a full report and left a ‘Danger’ sign at the property.

But when you contacted Chester-based Sykes Cottages, which acts as an intermediary in letting cottages on behalf of owners, the response was surprising.

It turned out that a later inspection by another engineer showed that the alarm was probably triggered by fumes from the fireplace in the cottage. The chimney was swept and the alarm was replaced. The response added: ‘As this matter revolves around a health and safety issue, the owner will not provide any compensation. Because we can no longer help you with this, we are closing the file.’

Sykes Cottages had washed its hands of you for a reason bordering on the absurd, namely by implying that customers renting cottages forfeited their rights if a property was found to be dangerous.

I wanted to invite a response from Sykes Cottages boss Graham Donoghue, but I also wanted to see what the company’s ultimate controller had to say.

This meant wading through seven layers of companies and the people behind them before I got to the man at the top of the tree. He is venture capitalist Michael Risman, a former director of Just Eat.

I didn’t have to worry. Despite asking Sykes Cottages for comment from both men, neither responded. However, I have also traced the actual owner of the Cotswold cottage, a woman called Sue, who lives about 70 miles from Chipping Campden.

I asked if it was fair to say that her advice about the alarm being faulty was just guesswork.

She didn’t answer the question, but she did tell me, ‘We had British Gas out the next day and they couldn’t find a problem. They did replace the alarm that went off. All security measures as required by law are in place.”

So back to Sykes Cottages. A spokesperson eventually told me: ‘We were very sorry to hear what Mrs H had experienced during her stay at Lanes Cottage.’ He added: ‘The owner has offered Ms H a full refund as a gesture of goodwill.’

Financially speaking, there is a happy ending, which could and should have been offered as soon as you had to flee the house.

But there is no clear-cut answer to the health and safety question of what exactly a customer should do if an alarm goes off, and why Sykes Cottages felt it could shrug it off so easily.

£50 Amazon gift card fraud that left me confused

Mrs. JD writes: I received an email from Amazon stating that my order for a £50 gift voucher had been processed.

At the time, my Amazon account had a credit of £83, but I had not yet ordered such a gift voucher.

I frantically tried to call Amazon but ended up in a continuous loop and was given a three digit code to enter, but every time I did this a recorded message said nothing was entered and I was shut down.

Tony Hetherington replies: When crooks find a weak spot involving a major company like Amazon, they exploit it to the fullest. They think – rightly – that they can get away with a lot before a major company puts the time and resources into responding and stopping it.

After not speaking to Amazon you remembered it had your Mastercard details on it so you called the card company but was told another £20 had been spent. You stopped the card and tried Amazon again. This time you got through and were told that more gift cards had already been purchased on your account. Amazon told you never to share your password, but you hadn’t shared it with anyone. However, you reminded Amazon that you had signed up for Amazon Prime two weeks earlier and ordered a pair of sandals. But what arrived at your home was a DVD and four replacement brush heads.

Amazon asked you to use a new password, which you did, but then discovered that your account was linked to an American Express card that wasn’t yours. You deleted it, but spent another 90 minutes explaining all this to Amazon. To its credit, Amazon had recorded all your conversations and someone sat there and went through them and confirmed everything you said.

Amazon has improved the security of your account. A spokesperson told me: ‘We are sorry that this customer’s experience did not meet the high standards we expect, and we have apologized to the customer and provided a full refund.’

If you believe you have been a victim of financial misconduct, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large number of questions, personal answers cannot be given. Only send copies of original documents. Unfortunately, these cannot be returned.