Advice Needed: Late Cancellation Fee for Chimney Sweep - Do I Have to Pay?

[abrook11]

Hello everyone,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma and could really use some advice regarding a recent interaction with a chimney sweep company.

Situation Summary:

1. Initial Contact: On January 11th at 11 AM, I reached out to a chimney sweep company for their services.
2. Appointment Scheduled: They scheduled an appointment for Monday, January 15th.
3. Cancellation: Today, I cancelled the appointment via text message at around 2 PM to the contact person.

Issue: Post-cancellation, I received a message stating that I owe them £35 due to late cancellation, as per their Terms and Conditions (T&C).

Key Points:

• Email Communication: In their initial booking confirmation email, they did mention attaching T&Cs. However, I did not read them, assuming it was just a standard confirmation.
• Verbal Agreement: No mention of these terms was made over the phone during booking.

My Concern: I didn't sign any document or verbally agree to any terms. The T&C details were only in the email, which I didn't read.

Questions:

1. Am I legally obligated to pay this £35 late cancellation fee?
2. Has anyone else been in a similar situation, and how did you handle it?
3. What are the laws (if any) on my side ?

Any advice, legal insights, or personal experiences related to such situations would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to understand my rights and the best course of action in this scenario.


Thank you in advance for your help!

[echat11]

What do the T's & C's say about 'cancellation'?

[theberenger]

You don't mention who the company are, or what size they are, but if we can assume for the moment they're a small business, or even a one-man band, your cancellation has left them with a hole in their schedule, loss of potential earnings, and no time to fill the slot with other business. So quite apart from the legalities (which may be on your side), there are reasons to be sympathetic to their position.

[abrook11]

You don't mention who the company are, or what size they are, but if we can assume for the moment they're a small business, or even a one-man band, your cancellation has left them with a hole in their schedule, loss of potential earnings, and no time to fill the slot with other business. So quite apart from the legalities (which may be on your side), there are reasons to be sympathetic to their position.

Yes you are right, I understand completely , I didn't cancel in the end, he came round today.

When I sent him a message saying do you mind rescheduling until the end of the season, he called me back and was a bit miffed saying it clearly states in your T&C, which i didn't think I had at the time..

but anyway it's all resolved turned out to be a very nice guy, and I didn't want to mess him about either, I was just not aware there was £35 cancellation charge whilst he was screaming down the phone.