Wedding Hairdresser refusing refund

[Jackman88]

Hi All

First time post so apologies if it's in the wrong place.

Looking for some advice.

I entered into a contractual agreement for my hairdresser to do my hair on my wedding day, for me and wedding party. This was on Saturday 30th March 2019 and I paid £50 to secure the booking and agreed to pay more once my wedding date was confirmed. On 27th February 2020 I formally confirmed the date of my wedding as the 28th August 2020 and proceeded to pay £362.50 which in addition to the £50 paid earlier amounted to 50% of the total price.

Due to covid hitting we were not able to get married on 28th August 2020 as planned and I didn't hear from my hairdresser. We've subsequently decided to cancel our wedding as it was due to be in Italy and with all the uncertainty we'd rather reschedule when things are certain. I recently got in contact with the hairdresser and the receptionist verbally confirmed that I will be entitled to a refund when I spoke to her on two separate occasions. I called a third time as it had been over a week and I hadn't received my refund, this time I spoke to the owner who said she'd look into things and get back to me. She then emailed me over a week later effectively refusing to refund me due to the below reasons.

According to CMA laws and regulations, your deposit can be retained if:

• category A: money to cover services or products which it has already provided, like bespoke goods made for the consumer, which have an ongoing value that the consumer will continue to benefit from even after the contract has ended
• category B: a limited contribution to other costs incurred by the business which have a sufficiently direct connection with the contract in question, such as the costs of staff time spent specifically on planning the wedding

I'm looking for advice to see whether I am entitled to my money back as our wedding didn't go ahead and has been cancelled due to covid related reasons.

Thanks in advance

[R0b]

Hello

Other than the hairdresser referring to the CMA guidance, hss she explained the reasons why she is refusing a refund? She can't simply rely on these two points as she needs to provide evidence that she has incurred a cost.

Maybe it's because I'm a bloke but would a wedding hairdresser buy bespoke goods or make up for every customer, unless you've specifically requested something? I would have thought that they would use their existing make up selection.

As for Category B, what would a hairdresser spend time wise prior to the wedding that would have incurred her a direct cost, other than being available on the day? Does a hairdresser have to pre-plan?

Final point is that even if she incurred some costs, the CMA guidance does say a limited contribution to costs so she would still need to justify why she is retaining 50% of the total amount. Could understand if she wanted to keep the deposit, but I think you need to press her for an actual answer, and whether that answer flies or not, your other option would be to consider legal proceedings to recover the money, and use her response as evidence that she has unfairly retained the money.

[Jackman88]

Thanks for coming back to me - just to clarify as it may not have been clear in my first message, the deposit was £412.50 but it was paid in two instalments due to not knowing my wedding date up front.

Effectively other than the two reasons listed initially above she has stated the below:

- If you recall, we had two 30-40 minute consultations where two different documents were produced. This included the time of two members of staff; our receptionist and also my time as the CEO.

- Your deposit has contributed to covering the overheads which you benefited from during the time of your consultations and beyond.

The two documents are the contract we agreed on for the wedding. The first document was created on 30th March 2019 which I didn't sign because I didn't know the date of my wedding, and the second document was signed when I paid the full 50% deposit minus the £50 already paid once the date of the wedding was confirmed.

For Category A she has ordered something for me, and the plan was in the lead up to the wedding date she would tailor this for me, but until then it's not bespoke and could be returned or reused for another client.

For Category B the only time we've met is to pay for the deposit or at an appointment where she has done my hair and I've paid for those services there and then. So she hasn't incurred any costs which haven't been paid for or were not relating to the wedding contract. Also it doesn't stipulate that I should (or would) pay for her consultation time in the contract either.