Wedding venue

[TaylorL3]

Hi there. I hope I'm doing this right, it's not something I'm familiar with.
So. In June this year I found a wedding venue I wanted to book for Dec 5th 2017. Provided a £500 deposit to hold the required date. This was by bank transfer. Wedding coordinator then sent me all the paper work and contract. I didn't get around to signing it and still haven't. However a few weeks ago I paid £1000 towards the wedding but now I want to cancel it. I don't expect the deposit to be returned but do I stand a chance in getting the £1k back? My reasons are personal of course and don't for a minute think they'd help my case anyway. Hope someone can help me please?

[warwick65]

Re: Wedding venue

Hi
I know you didn't sign the contract but I suspect the key will be in the cancellation policy of the contract. [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION] [MENTION=71570]R0b[/MENTION]

[TaylorL3]

Re: Wedding venue

Thanks for your reply. This is their policy

[R0b]

Re: Wedding venue

Morning,

Ordinarily, I would say you wouldn't be able to recover the monies you've paid however, it may be possible to argue that you should be entitled to your £1,000 that you've paid and perhaps some of the deposit you put down but only a court is going to tell you whether or not you'd be successful.

In relation to the £500 deposit you could argue that they shouldn't be able to retain all of the down payment if they have nothing except to reserve your wedding in the diary. On the other hand, the business might argue that they have done much more than that, but would need to prove with evidence what they've done. So they would be entitled to deduct any expenses or losses from the deposit. Of course they could also say that the £500 is the cost of reserving your wedding day and that by you cancelling would have brought them a loss of business who could have had their wedding on that day. But if the day is so far in advance I am not sure that would wash since they would most likely be able to re-book someone else's wedding as opposed to being last minute.

I'm not sure what this pre-spend balance is though on the face of it, I presume it is a deposit for drinks and food on the day of the wedding? If that is the case again I am not entirely sure they would be entitled to that whole amount since the wedding hasn't occurred. Again if the business has made bookings i.e. catering and things like that then they could recover losses relating to that but not perhaps all of it.

All of the above is likely to be based on an unfair contract term in that these charges are in effect a cancellation charge and it is therefore such a charge is excessive when they haven't done much preparation. The business is likely to argue that you entered into the contract (despite not signing as a legally binding contract does not need to be in writing but can be through conduct and/or orally) and that they have entered into agreements with third parties for your wedding, which has caused them some loss and that the charges represents those losses.

As you can see its not as straightforward as it seems and if it went to court, it's probably going to be won by the person who presents the best argument and evidence on the day.

If you were looking to issue a claim then you need to take pre-action steps i.e. engage with the business and set out your reasons for the refund or partial refund. If they refuse then your next step is a letter before action which is a more formal letter and states when they should comply and if they don't then you will issue proceedings. If you do go as far as issuing proceedings, then to claim between £1,000 and £1,500 your costs will be (if done online) around £70 to issue the claim and then a further £115 if you want it to go to trial. Costs-wise, it will probably end up on the small claim track as its under £10,000 so you won't be liable for any legal fees if you lose, assuming the business is represented (in which case may cost them more than the value of the claim itself).

[Diana M]

Re: Wedding venue

In June this year I found a wedding venue I wanted to book for Dec 5th 2017. Provided a £500 deposit to hold the required date. This was by bank transfer. Wedding coordinator then sent me all the paper work and contract. I didn't get around to signing it and still haven't. However a few weeks ago I paid £1000 towards the wedding but now I want to cancel it. I don't expect the deposit to be returned but do I stand a chance in getting the £1k back? My reasons are personal of course and don't for a minute think they'd help my case anyway.

I would think if the venue were able to take another booking for that date then they'd struggle to argue in court that they had suffered an actual loss apart from the cost any personalised items (invitations designed/printed etc) which they can't use. Although since 5th December is a Tuesday that may be harder to fill than a Saturday.

Why not get a friend or colleague to call the venue to see if the date is available for an event (i.e. do a mystery shop). December is the Christmas Party season so you never know they may get busy.

I'm sorry the wedding isn't going ahead and of course your reasons are personal, but don't dismiss them totally in case the other person may be equally responsible for the change of plan so they may have to share the burden of the cost of the unforeseen cancellation charges even if only you signed the contract. That may be a moral rather than legal argument though.

I wish you good luck with your future.

Di