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Couple 'fined' £100 for bad review of Blackpool hotel

A couple claim they've been fined £100 by a Blackpool hotel after giving them a bad review online. Tony and Jan Jenkinson from Whitehaven posted negative comments on Tripadvisor after a night at the Broadway Hotel

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Council 'shocked' at reports of hotel 'fines'

Blackpool Council say a couple fined £100 for leaving a bad review of a hotel in the town will be refunded, and hotel's policy of fining those who leave bad reviews has been cancelled.

Tim Coglan, Head of Public Protection at Blackpool Council spoke to Granada Reports.

Couple refunded after 'fine' for bad hotel review

A couple "fined" by a hotel in Blackpool after they wrote a damning review about it are to be given a refund.

Tony and Jan Jenkinson said they were charged an extra £100 after describing the Broadway Hotel as a "filthy, stinking hovel" on TripAdvisor.

When they queried the charge, they were said to have been told it was incurred under a "no bad review policy" included in the terms and conditions.

Blackpool Council said they understood that the hotel will reimburse them, as well as scrapping the policy.

Gillian Campbell, cabinet member responsible for public protection at the local authority, said:

"Our trading standards team became aware of this issue last week.

"As a result, we have spoken to the hotel owner and asked for the policy to be removed, which has now happened.

"This is a unique case and not one that we have come across before."

– Gillian Campbell

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'Hotel fine' couple 'furious' at charge

Tony and Jan Jenkinson had a £100 extra charged to their credit card after they called the Broadway Hotel a 'filthy, stinking hovel" after staying there.

When they queried it they were told there was a 'no bad review' policy in the terms and conditons.

Jan told Granada Reports she was "furious" at the charge.

TripAdvisor: hotels shouldn't 'bully' reviewers

A spokesperson for the travel reviews site TripAdvisor says it is against the "spirit" of online reviews for a hotel owner to attempt to bully any online reviewers.

TripAdvisor spokesman James Kay said:

"While, thankfully, such instances are very rare, it is completely against the spirit and policies of our site for any business owner to attempt to bully or intimidate reviewers who have had a negative experience.

"Where we find evidence of a business doing so, we will take action to protect the integrity of our site."

– TripAdvisor spokesman James Kay

Couple 'fined' £100 for bad review of Blackpool hotel

Broadway Hotel Credit: Google

A couple claim they've been 'fined' £100 by a Blackpool hotel after giving them a bad review online. Tony and Jan Jenkinson from Whitehaven posted negative comments on Tripadvisor after a night at the Broadway Hotel. They later found the money had bee charged to their credit card. The hotel said its policy was to charge for "bad" reviews.

The policy, contained in a booking document, reads: "Despite the fact that repeat customers and couples love our hotel, your friends and family may not. For every bad review left on any website, the group organiser will be charged a maximum £100 per review." Trading Standards are investigating.

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