canceled a hired costume - no refund. where do i stand

[Amethyst]

Nothing in the confirmation email at all then?

We can write to them suggesting how they could amend their website to comply with the Consumer Contracts regulations for the remarkably generous fee of £25, but I doubt they'd appreciate it. Was it paid through Paypal - could you raise a dispute through there?

So probably a bit 'quoting law stuff' rubbish here but just a starting point if you want ( and obvs it's entirely open for discussion / amendment / slating lol.... ) ( also just to add, I do agree with James on the hotel booking type scenario - however they are very clear up front and provide details at the time of booking, this mascot hire website does not give terms, cancellation details or provide any information/contract in any durable medium - and they should - not have terms hidden away that they don't even link to anywhere on their site - people making a booking need that information before booking to take into consideration - and, as this site actually offers a £10 payment to book, I'd say that is the absolute maximum they could justify retaining - IF they get their terms sorted out )

I recently entered into a contract to hire a Teletubbies mascot costume for an event on xx/xx/2019. I placed the order on xx/xx/2019 at xxxpm through your website at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. I made payment via xxxxxpaypal/card etcxxxxx of £xxx.

Subsequently I required to cancel the hire of the mascot costume and sent you notification by email on xxxxxx at xxpm.

In accordance with my rights under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, I request a full refund of any monies paid. I appreciate that you have offered to repay the sum of £xxx consisting of £xx delivery charge, £xx transaction charge and £xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, however, I additionally require a refund of the £25 hire fee. There is no justification for your company retaining any part of my payment as no part of the service / goods ordered and cancelled was provided.

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 you are obliged to provide certain information to a customer. By not providing me with the contract in a durable medium at the point that the alleged contract was struck you have breached Regulation 16(1) and 16 (4) of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

You will be aware that consumer may cancel a distance or off-premises contract at any time in the cancellation period without giving any reason, and without incurring any liability. Additionally, you failed to give notice of the right to cancel contrary to Regulation 19 and I draw your attention to Regulation 36(6a) in this regard.

Please refund the remaining £25 within 14 days from the date of this letter in order that I am not obliged to issue court proceedings to recover the money.

Yours faithfully,

[Amethyst]

Also.... what's the transaction fee for >

TRANSACTION FEE £3

From 13 January 2018, businesses are no longer permitted to impose surcharges for paying by debit card, credit card or electronic payment services. The ban on surcharges does not apply to commercial debit or credit cards.

however if they charge it to everyone regardless of payment method it could be a 'service charge' rather than a surcharge.

[teletubby]

Nothing in the confirmation email at all then?

We can write to them suggesting how they could amend their website to comply with the Consumer Contracts regulations for the remarkably generous fee of £25, but I doubt they'd appreciate it. Was it paid through Paypal - could you raise a dispute through there?

So probably a bit 'quoting law stuff' rubbish here but just a starting point if you want ( and obvs it's entirely open for discussion / amendment / slating lol.... ) ( also just to add, I do agree with James on the hotel booking type scenario - however they are very clear up front and provide details at the time of booking, this mascot hire website does not give terms, cancellation details or provide any information/contract in any durable medium - and they should - not have terms hidden away that they don't even link to anywhere on their site - people making a booking need that information before booking to take into consideration - and, as this site actually offers a £10 payment to book, I'd say that is the absolute maximum they could justify retaining - IF they get their terms sorted out )

jesus, this is brilliant! thanks very much amethyst! i will let you know how we get on with this.

to be honest, i wouldn't have minded the £10, its the fact that they kept the full hire fee thats riled us.

it was paid by paypal, we will look into raising a dispute through them. the clauses you quote will hopefully help the claim. we did look at paypal dispute last night but couldnt find a relevant channel for this kind of dispute. will look again and use most relevant.

during the whole back and forth i informed them of our intention to leave them a negative review as their customer services was appalling. they took this as a blackmail threat (which is laughable) and told us that they would set their lawyers on us with a view to prosecuting for any losses as a result of lost business due to any negative review. i responded by suggesting that they are getting a negative review regardless of whether i get the money back or not.

i will let you know how we get on with the letter / dispute.

thanks again!

[Amethyst]

Yeah, best not to go down the blackmail route.... tends to get people's shackles up and they cease acting rationally. Deal with the issue until there's no further place to go than court, then leave a straightforward, non-emotional, factual review.

[des8]

Ah I see my bad. Unfortunately my opinion on the matter still says the same. You purchase a 3 night hotel stay and it states its non refundable, regardless whether you cancel it minutes after booking, you lose your money. That is legal.

.

Not quite.
The hotel has to attempt to minimise its losses by attempting to relet the room.
If they fail they are entitled to claim damages which reflect their losses incurred by the cancellation (eg loss of rent less the amount they would have paid for services not supplied e.g. cleaning, electricity, heating)

[teletubby]

UPDATE:

used Amethyst's letter (thanks again) and raised a dispute through PayPal. PayPal found in favor of the seller as the transaction didn't fall within the bounds of what is covered under their buyer protection scheme. i am awaiting a reply as to why not.

i spoke with Citizens Advice. they said that since the service was arranged for a specific date then the seller is entitled to keep the money.

the person at CA didn't sound too convincing and didn't go into much detail as to her interpretation of the circumstances.

still, the fact remains that regulations 16 (1) & (4) and 36(6a) have been breached.

question is, what are my next possible steps where can i go from here? am i on a hiding to nothing?