Wedding Supplier - COVID-19

[Celestine]

Cheers pt2537
The other fact to bear in mind is that before Covid19, small claims track cases were taking 37 weeks to reach final hearing. After Covid19, we have literally no idea how long it will take. Basically, unless they cave in straight away, it could be a long fight. Just wanted to make sure you understand all the positives and negatives.
I really do feel that their choice to add a huge uplift onto the price of an event next year is an aggravating factor in their conduct. Perhaps a hard negotiation back at them to insist on a fair price for a new date may be an angle to take.

[pt2537]

Cheers pt2537
The other fact to bear in mind is that before Covid19, small claims track cases were taking 37 weeks to reach final hearing. After Covid19, we have literally no idea how long it will take. Basically, unless they cave in straight away, it could be a long fight. Just wanted to make sure you understand all the positives and negatives.
I really do feel that their choice to add a huge uplift onto the price of an event next year is an aggravating factor in their conduct. Perhaps a hard negotiation back at them to insist on a fair price for a new date may be an angle to take.

i dont think their uplift is remotely justifiable, the LRFCA is clear on what they can charge on frustration, they cannot claim this forcemajeure clause gives them more right to charge when the statute says otherwise. And if they rely on that term then its unfair plain and simple and its thus unenforceable.

Personally, i wouldnt let them mug me off like that, id hammer them for the sake of hammering them, but thats me, i have no fear in suing if im in the right haha

[Rorrryyy]

pt2537 Celestine Thank you both for the continued support and guidance...


1. When rejecting their cheque - should this be done by letter or by email, and also to the solicitor or to the business directly, given the solicitor has said to send all correspondence to them, but the cheque was posted by the business. Finally, would this be a standalone letter, prior to me sending the letter before action, around my intent to pursue the funds through the small claims track.



2. So, I take it from what you have said, you believe my case to have strong merits given the documents I have uploaded. Is there anything I could have said which would be deemed unreasonable? As I am little concerned that their solicitor has mentioned counterclaim against me, and the fact they have said any action will be defended on the strongest of terms? This must mean they are confident of winning.

"It is quite clear that your email of 13 May 2020 contains defamatory material and seeks to contain material capable of blackmail. This will not be tolerated. Our clients fully reserve their position to take action against you and/or counterclaim against you should it prove necessary. You suggest you are going to file a claim against our client on Money Claims Online. We strongly suggest you seek independent legal advice and, in any event, direct you to your obligations under the Civil Procedure Rules. Should a claim be made against our client without you first doing so, the relevant application will be made to have the claim struck out and our costs of doing so will be claimed from you directly."

"Please confirm what relevance quoting a piece of legislation is hoped to achieve. Please fully particularise what section of the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts Act 1943) you seek to rely upon."

"We trust this brings an and to the matter, however, should you wish to take further action against our client, please direct such to this firm directly where it will be defended on the strongest of terms."

3. The main point made by the solicitor, appears to be that we have originally agreed to their 30% uplift. I would argue that I was very naive around frustrated contracts. In any case they did not even so much as respond to the email, so surely, they cannot class this as an agreement? At the time the options they were giving, we felt we had no choice. Then obviously we seen publications from the CMA around wedding providers, which I emailed them the very next day. The options they were giving at the time.
i. Accept a date in 2020, even though non tied in with our venue, in any case who in their right mind would schedule a wedding with 100 guests for anytime in 2020 right now.
ii. Accept their 30% surcharge. The only way we would be able to finance this cost, would be to move our wedding to summer 2022.
iii. Forfeit out deposit, as they told us would be the case, as per their contract.

"You now seek to rescind such an agreement which of course is not acceptable and demonstrates further your unreasonable behaviour."



"It is with great regret that you seek to make a claim against our client without taking into consideration the steps they have taken to resolve the matter. The parties had come to an agreement, your acceptance of such was documented in your email of 29 March 2020, which you now seek to rescind. Should you proceed to issue proceedings, your conduct will be brought to the judge’s attention accordingly."

4. On the writing of explanation, for particulars of claim - would this start right from when we signed the contract, then jump to the conversations around postponing the wedding due to Covid-19? I will try to write this up as objectively as I possibly can, in short paragraphs.



5. Given that I would have rejected their partial refund cheque - I would then be claiming for the whole 50% deposit (£3,382.32), this then takes it into the £185 bracket on money claim online, can that be added to my claim, or is that simply just something I have to suck up. Additionally, is it an idea to let them keep any of that £3,382.32, given that I do not believe they have provided anything of value to date?



6. Lastly, I have refrained from sharing our experience over social media and review sites to date, is it wise to continue in this manner, until such time when matters are resolved. I ask as I believe there may be others who are having the same issue with this supplier right now, given their solicitor stating the below.

"The information provided to their accountant is confidential and is not information to which you’re entitled to. We reiterate that the costs provided is in no way whatsoever a profiteering exercise but rather, a gesture of goodwill. The deposit you provided to our clients is non-refundable however, acting reasonably and fairly, they have chosen to provide a partial refund to you and others."

Apologies for the mammoth of a post I just want to make sure I cover as much as I can.

[Rorrryyy]

Hi Guys,

Do you have any guidance on the above queries?

I plan to sit down tonight with the better half tonight, we will attempt to lay out the particulars of claim, as clinically as we possibly can.

[Rorrryyy]

Morning pt2537 Celestine please could you provide some guidance. I have drafted what I believe will form the start of my particulars of claim.I really need help explaining what legislation is involved and why etc.

1. The Claimants Mr (REDACTED) and Miss (REDACTED), were due to get married 20 June 2020. Due to current Government restrictions around Covid-19, their wedding can no longer go ahead.

1. On 23 August 2019 the Claimants entered into an agreement with the Defendants (REDACTED) to supply catering services for their 20 June 2020 wedding day. Paying them by BACS £3,382.32, which was 50% deposit of their £6,764.64 total bill.

1. On 17 March 2020 the Claimants began email discussions with the Defendants, as they started to be concerned about how the Covid-19 Pandemic would affect their 20 June 2020 wedding day. It has now transpired that their wedding cannot go ahead due to Government restrictions around Covid-19.

1. On 05 May 2020 the Defendants sent an email to the Claimants with the below quoted options:
   1. “(i) agree to vary the date of your booking to an available date later in 2020, with no loss of any element of deposit; or
      (ii) if you prefer, to vary the date of your booking to summer 2021, with a consequent retaining 30% to the total cost of the event (to partially cover unrecoverable costs to us) and to be met from the 50% deposit received. (equates to a credit note of £872.64 + VAT)
      (iii) or should you prefer, to vary the date of your booking as previously suggested to 2022, with a consequent 15% credit note will be applied to a new agreement from the 50% deposit received (to partially cover unrecoverable costs to us equates to a credit note of £422.79 + VAT)
      (iv) failing such an election, I regret that your deposit is, per the terms of the contract, forfeit – at least until it should become clear nearer the time of your planned event that such event cannot be held (if indeed, that should prove to be the case). Even in that scenario (termination by (REDACTED) under Clause 6.5 on the grounds of force majeure), the element of your deposit which would be refunded would not be as significant as it is suspected you currently imagine.”

1. The Claimants had previously made the Defendants aware that the venue had no suitable dates remaining in 2020, which would tie in with Defendants availability. Furthermore, even if there was an available date in 2020, the Claimants believe it would be frivolous now, to schedule a wedding for 100 guests anytime in 2020, due to the ongoing uncertainly, which is likely to remain for some time. The Claimants wish would be for the Defendants to move them to a date in summer 2021 or summer 2022, if that is what it would take to find a date that would work for all suppliers. However, they do not agree to pay such a large penalty charge for doing so.

1. On 18 May 2020 the Defendants sent an email to the Claimants, stating that the 20 June 2020 wedding, would be impossible for them to supply and therefore the contract should be considered to be frustrated. Rather than trying to make arrangements with the Claimants to find an alternative date, they proposed to send a partial refund cheque of £947.05. The Claimants returned the cheque to the Defendants, as they did not accept the settlement.

1. As the Defendants were proposing to keep £2,435.27 as their claimed costs from the Claimants. The Claimants had asked them for a breakdown of those costs in email to the Defendants 18 May 2020, and a further email to the Defendants Solicitor 27 May 2020. Both requests were denied.

1. On 01 June 2020 the Defendants Solicitor sent an email to the Claimants stating. “The information provided to their accountant is confidential and is not information to which you’re entitled to.”

1. The Claimants are seeking to recover from the Defendants £3,382.32, as the Defendants have refused to provide a breakdown of any costs incurred to date, therefore it is impossible for the Claimants to ascertain what those costs may be. All the Claimants can say for sure is that, to date they have exchanged emails with the Defendant and selected some items from a set menu, no sample tasting has ever taken place.

[Rorrryyy]

Seems my numbering and formatting has all been distorted when I have copied it over. So, I have attached a redacted draft copy.

[Rorrryyy]

Could anyone please give me some help? - as it is now 2 weeks since I received the last email from the supplier's solicitor, I think I really need to be responding, rejecting the cheque they sent as settlement etc.

[Celestine]

Hi Rory - Thanks for posting this.*
A couple of questions. I would have just yourself as the claimant to keep things simpler. Did the bank transfer come from your account, a joint account or somewhere else. On the other hand, what does the wedding supplier contract state?* Just pondering how to make the claim particulars a little clearer.
I think the claim needs to state that their interpretation of how the contract should be enforced should be considered an unfair term contrary to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 as per pt2537 post 11.*
On the other matters, it does not sound like you had actually agreed a settlement, but it may be worth addressing this in your claim particulars somewhere. (Explain this down to confusion/stress)*
Definitely do not discuss anywhere on social media, that could aggravate things somewhat and create a costs risk.*
The other thing to consider is sending one last formal settlement offer. (75-80%?)
If that is not accepted, send a pre-action letter, then issue the claim. This will be a long process unfortunately unless they cave in straight away upon receiving the claim - which is a distinct possibility because employing solicitors to defend a small claims track case would be absurd. Nothing you have stated so far gives me significant concern they could argue this belongs in the fast track (which does attract costs) - it is always a theoretical risk but in a consumer supply dispute, triggered by Covid19, it would seem very unlikely.

[Rorrryyy]

I have just had a look, the invoice and contract are addressed to myself only, although the event title on the contract is in both of our names. The bank transfer was paid from our joint bank account.

Yes that is the area I am struggling with, where do I insert which legislation is involved and why etc, relating to Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943 and Consumer Rights Act 2015.

I was thinking of sending them a settlement offer, they refund me £3,000, allowing them to keep £382.32 (a little over 11%). More than fair on my part, as I genuinely do not believe they have provided anything of value to date, furthermore, their complete refusal to provide a breakdown of their supposed costs to date. Do you have any advice around wording for this, also could this be incorporated into the same letter, informing them that I am rejecting their settlement cheque of £947.05, which I received in the post 2 June, even though I had told them not to send it.

[Rorrryyy]

I have responded to the solicitor today, hopefully this is ok... I will post up when I get a response.

Dear,

I am writing to confirm we do not accept the cheque for £947.05, which was sent by your client. I am not sure why this was sent, when I specifically said not to, due to us disputing the amount. As your client is claiming, they have incurred costs of £2,435.27 to date. I ask again, please could you provide a breakdown of these costs; it is entirely unreasonable to deny us what we are supposedly being charged for. Please advise would your client wish for the cheque to be returned to you, or their business address directly?

In an email 18 May 2020, your clients stated: “The contract should therefore, by mutual agreement, be considered to be frustrated by the COVID-19 epidemic”

As we are now in a position of frustrated contract, it is my belief that under the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943, any money paid pursuant to the contract before the frustrating event occurred is repayable. Further, parties are released from future performance.

Your client is indeed entitled to withhold ‘reasonable’ costs from the amount they must refund to us. Therefore, in refusing to provide a breakdown of costs, as I have asked for numerous times is entirely unreasonable behaviour.

In an effort to avoid going through the courts, which I am sure, is in no parties’ interest, I propose the following; your client will agree to refund £3,000.00 of the £3,382.32 which we have paid them. I am sure you will agree allowing them to keep £382.32 as a gesture of our goodwill, is more than reasonable for us exchanging emails and selecting items from a set menu.

If your clients do not wish to accept our offer of goodwill, then as a further attempt to avoid going through the courts. I can confirm that we would be agreeable to mediation and would consider any of the system of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). In this regard, I would invite you to put forward any proposals.

Kind regards,

[Celestine]

I really like your letter - well done.
Only change - I would simply say that you are receptive to mediation but would remove this bit. "

and would consider any of the system of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)" as it sounds 'too willing' to settle when you want to sound fierce.

[Rorrryyy]

Now 17 days without a response to my email, from the solicitor acting for the company. How long should I leave this before sending them a further email, chasing a reply. What would you advise is a reasonable time frame?

[Celestine]

You have given them two weeks to respond. It wouldn't surprise me if the law firm was only engaged to deal with the initial negotiations but may not be engaged to deal further than that. No matter as they will forward any correspondence to their client in any event.

[Rorrryyy]

I have just now received the reply from their solicitor...

Dear Mr ...

Thank you for your email.

You are aware that no correspondence should be sent to my clients directly including cheques.

You refer to the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943 but fail to particularise which sections you seek to rely upon and how they are relevant to this matter, please now do so.

You also seek to threaten court proceedings without having served upon us a Letter Before Action in accordance with the Pre Action Protocol for Pre Action Conduct and Protocols. Please now do so and we will consider the basis of your claim once you have fully particularised it as required by the Civil Procedure Rules.

For the avoidance of any doubt, your suggestion that our client pay you £3,000 is not agreed.

Kind regards

[Rorrryyy]

Celestine pt2537

Guys is there a member on the forum who can assist with the Letter Before Action, I can find templates online, but not quite sure how much detail etc that I need to be going into...

In a nutshell, I would summarize as...

The contract shall be deemed frustrated and I am entitled to my money being returned, less any reasonable expenses the supplier can prove they incurred in meeting their contractual obligations up until the point of frustration. It seems difficult to understand how the supplier could have incurred anything but minimal costs and their proposal to keep £2,435.27 seems unreasonable and has not been evidenced, despite me asking for a breakdown of those costs several times, which were refused, as apparently this is confidential information provided by their accountant.

Additionally, I do not believe the business to be a Ltd company - in this scenario would I address the letter to the business owner (I have his name) T/A the business name, then send to the solicitor? Or as the solicitor is stating all correspondence goes to her, would I also address the letter to her?