Refunds following a cancelled wedding

[tiaph]

Hi, I'm hoping that someone will be able to give me some advice regarding a supplier for my wedding that has now been cancelled.
I found the person to supply all of my wedding flowers online and last month I paid her £840 which is payment in full for my wedding which would have been in July.
I have never received a formal contract from the florist and all of our communication has been via email or Facebook messages.
After I let her know that the wedding has been cancelled she has said that she had taken full payment on the assumption that this would be non-refundable and therefore won't be able to refund any of the £840.
As the wedding wasn't until July, I know that she hasn't purchased any of the flowers yet and we didn't have any form of contractual agreement in place so I had assumed that she would refund the money as she hasn't provided the service that she was paid to do.

Please can you advise whether I am entitled to any form of refund (even if this isn't the full amount) as it really doesn't feel right or fair that she has taken £840 and not provided any form of service.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[bluebottle]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

IMHO, this supplier is pushing their luck. If you have given them plenty of notice and they have incurred no expense, other than out of pocket costs, they must refund the money. I would give your local Trading Standards a ring about this just to be on the safe side.

[Amethyst]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

Is the florist a real florist, ie do they have a shop etc outside of Facebook? (just checking)

[tiaph]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

Is the florist a real florist, ie do they have a shop etc outside of Facebook? (just checking)

Hi-yes, they have a real shop too-they just do a lot of additional business through their Facebook pages.

[enaid]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

I am at a loss as to why you were asked to pay the full amount, it is usually a deposit you pay and even if it's none returnable at any stage you would not have lost £840.
If they have an online business I would try and find their T&Cs and check your emails see if there is an attachment with them on also.

[tiaph]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

I am at a loss as to why you were asked to pay the full amount, it is usually a deposit you pay and even if it's none returnable at any stage you would not have lost £840.
If they have an online business I would try and find their T&Cs and check your emails see if there is an attachment with them on also.

They were doing a special offer where they gave a 20% discount for making full payment so I thought we were getting a good deal!
I've checked through all of our emails and there's no mention of payment being non-refundable anywhere.
I've looked for T&Cs but these aren't on her Facebook page and I never received a contract from her so don't have anything in writing. The only formal emails I have is the confirmation from her of the full list of flowers she was providing. I know it sounds naive now but at the time I didn't think there was any chance of the wedding not going ahead so it didn't cross my mind to ask about refund policies.

[Amethyst]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

They were doing a special offer where they gave a 20% discount for making full payment so I thought we were getting a good deal!
I've checked through all of our emails and there's no mention of payment being non-refundable anywhere.
I've looked for T&Cs but these aren't on her Facebook page and I never received a contract from her so don't have anything in writing. The only formal emails I have is the confirmation from her of the full list of flowers she was providing. I know it sounds naive now but at the time I didn't think there was any chance of the wedding not going ahead so it didn't cross my mind to ask about refund policies.

Is the store near you? Often face to face can have more effect. Pop into the shop, be nice and reasonable and ask for a refund less a reasonable deposit amount (like £100 for doing the list of flowers and planning etc that may have taken place) and ask to be refunded the remainder.

Was the offer was for 20% for full payment by way of non-refundable deposit? or just 20% discount if you make full payment now?

Is the advert still available and if so can you take a screenshot ?

Purchasing through Facebook you do have certain rights under the Distance Selling Regulations.

Here's a random florist's terms and conditions on wedding flowers orders which sounds quite reasonable.

1.5. If you decide to postpone your wedding, we will hold your deposit and any other monies paid by you, until your new wedding date. The £50 deposit is subtracted from your final balance. If you have paid the balance in full and decide to cancel outside of the 21 day period before your wedding, we will issue a refund minus the deposit. If you cancel within the 21 day period, we reserve the right not to issue a full refund. Your flowers will be ordered 14 days prior to your wedding date and as such, cancellations that fall within the 14 period prior to your wedding date will not receive a refund. If you cancel in the period 21-14 days prior to your wedding we will refund 50% of the balance, less the deposit.

[tiaph]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

I had already paid a £200 deposit when she sent me the message (see attached screenshot) about the offer and I paid the additional £640. It was all very informal-no mention of contracts or refund policies.
After I let her know about the cancellation I assumed that she would keep the deposit and refund the rest. All of our other suppliers have kept deposits but this was what I expected. I will go and see her in person but just wanted to know whether she is within her rights legally to keep all of the money or if she is obliged to give me something back.








EDIT by Amethyst: edited company name off image

[Amethyst]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

I've edited the company name off but think I've got the facebook page. Are you in huddersfield ?

I can't see any terms and conditions of orders at all and they don't appear to have a full website. They do look like a bonafide business though with good reviews and no bad comments. I think the £200 deposit is reasonable, as I'm guessing they have to limit the number of weddings they can do each day and if someone drops out they have to fill the space. But it is unreasonable to keep the entire payment when cancelled 2 months in advance.

[EXC]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

After I let her know that the wedding has been cancelled she has said that she had taken full payment on the assumption that this would be non-refundable and therefore won't be able to refund any of the £840.
As the wedding wasn't until July, I know that she hasn't purchased any of the flowers yet

This seems to have similarities with this case http://www.lexology.com/library/deta...7-1f6e9062a92d

[enaid]

Re: Refunds following a cancelled wedding

Just a thought if all else fails as she trades on Ebay why not ask her (and get it writing) if you can auction your deal off to be used by a certain date and that she will honour the cost of the deal to the person you auctioned it off to. Least that way you may get something back.