A MAN has spoken of his ordeal with booking.com after his bed collapsed and his friend developed a rash “which looked like fleas”.

Steve Bick, 59, from Bournemouth, was visiting Brighton last month before travelling to Gatwick.

Mr Bick, along with friend Neal Buckoke, 56, paid the travel website £130 to stay in “the worst accommodation I have ever had”, near Brighton Station.

He said: “When we arrived I sat on my bed which immediately collapsed.

The Argus:

“The bed base had previously been broken and an inadequate repair had been done. I had to sleep with the mattress on the floor.

“My mate was in the other room. He said the bed was so wobbly it was like sleeping on a ship.

“He also developed an itchy rash during the night which looks like fleas.”

The pair travelled to Italy for work the next day.

Mr Bick said he likes staying in Brighton due to its connection to Gatwick.

However he is now “concerned” about its standard of accommodation.

“I have used booking.com before and it has been good, but this was the worst accommodation I’ve ever had,” he said.

“I’m pretty disappointed, it needs a new bed base and I expect booking.com to make sure the flats are up to good standard.

“If there are faults, they should put hands up and the refund money.”

Mr Bick thanked The Argus after the company agreed to a refund after we got in touch.

The Argus:

He said: “I have now been told that they’re processing a refund.

“Initially, I got a negative reaction, but thanks to The Argus’s help, I’ve now had an apology.

“All I wanted was a good night’s sleep.”

A spokesman for booking.com said: “We are committed to smooth travel experiences for our customers on Booking.com.

“That’s why, on the rare occasion a customer might arrive at a property and it does not meet their expectations, our customer service team is on hand 24/7 to investigate and support further.

“In this instance, we have apologised for the experience this customer had at the property, and are processing a full refund as a gesture of goodwill.”