A couple have been "fined" £100 by a Blackpool hotel they described as a "rotten stinking hovel" on travel review website TripAdvisor.

Tony and Jan Jenkinson posted the negative comments after being unimpressed with the one night they spent at the Broadway Hotel.

The couple, from Whitehaven, later found £100 charged to their credit card. The hotel said its policy was to charge for "bad" reviews.

When the couple queried the surcharge, the hotel’s manager said they had a ‘no bad review policy’ in their terms and conditions.

The policy stated: “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”.

The couple then contacted the council’s Trading Standards team to complain about their treatment.

John Greenbank, Trading Standards Area Manager North, said: “I have worked for Trading Standards for many years and have never seen anything like this. The hotel management clearly thinks that they have come up with a novel way to prevent bad reviews, however we believe this could be deemed an unfair trading practice.”

When Tony and Jan Jenkinson queried the surcharge, the hotel’s manager said they had a ‘no bad review policy’ (BBC)

Cumbria County Council’s Trading Standards department said the policy could be deemed an unfair term under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and therefore have passed it on to colleagues at Blackpool Trading Standards to investigate. The couple have sought a refund via their credit card company.

Cllr John McCreesh, Cabinet Member for Trading Standards, said: “This is outrageous behaviour by the hotel concerned and an attack on free speech. The couple say they posted an honest review about the hotel which they feel was below par and they were stung for £100 as a result.

“Customers need to be free to be honest about the service they’re getting. Other customers depend upon it. Hotel owners should focus on getting their service right rather than shutting down aggrieved customers with threats and fines. People should have the right to vent their disappointment if a hotel stay did not meet their expectations and should not be prevented from having their say.”

A spokesman for the Broadway Hotel in Burlington Road West said the manager was not available for comment but said he was unaware of any policy where guests would be fined for posting negative reviews.