We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
wedding deposit
choppies
Posts: 17 Forumite
Hi all.
We were originally booked in to have our wedding at a Hotel on 29/11/08. In Jan 08, I found out I was pregnant and we decided to postpone the wedding until August 09. We notified the hotel of this and they offered to roll our £100 deposit that we had already paid over to the new date. We had not signed any terms and conditions at this point.
In October 08, we had a meeting with the hotel to discuss some details of our wedding for the following august. They sent us a pro forma, and asked us to sign a copy of their terms and conditions and to bring in the remainder of the £350 deposit which worked out to be a further £250. We did so on 14th October 2008. Then at the beginning of November 08 (2 weeks later), we had a letter from them advising us that the hotel was on the market. We immediately phoned them and was told that the hotel was being sold by the brewery who own the building, as a going concern and therefore all weddings would be honoured. But we could have our deposit back if we so wished.
We decided to think about it over Christmas. Then on Jan 16th, we heard a rumour that the hotel had been sold. I rang the hotel and the woman I spoke to said that it had not been sold. I asked her what was going to happen with all the weddings already booked and she said she didn't know. She said it was a possibility that the hotel may not remain as a hotel and if a developer wanted to knock it down and build flats etc that that was a possibility however, they were hoping it would remain as a hotel. She said she would get someone to call me back. No one rang. The following week, we decided that enough was enough and we would look elsewhere and get our deposit back. We rang again and was told that we could not have our deposit back as it was us who were cancelling it and we had signed the terms and conditions which stated that the hotel had the right to keep the deposit should we cancel. I argued with her saying that they could not guarantee our wedding would take place, and she said "nothing in life is 100%".
I told her that at the time of signing the terms and conditions we were not aware that the hotel was up for sale, could change hands, could be bulldozed etc etc. Also, we booked with them based on their reputation and if someone else came in and took over, the standard and/or price may not be as it was when we originally booked. She said she would get the manager, to ring us back. He never did. We rang numerous times at all times of day and evening and kept being told that he would call us back. Still nothing. Eventually, he left a message with the receptionist saying that if we phoned to tell us we could not have deposit back and there was a letter in the post.
The letter just states that we cannot have deposit back as we are the ones who are cancelling. They will not put in writing that our wedding is (on their part) guaranteed to take place, and that everything will remain as we had ordered despite numerous requests for them to do so.
I have written them 2 letters now, the first putting in writing that we are cancelling and asking for deposit back, and 2nd one saying that unless they give us the money back in 7 days that we'll start a claim.
Anyone know if I've got a leg to stand on?
We were originally booked in to have our wedding at a Hotel on 29/11/08. In Jan 08, I found out I was pregnant and we decided to postpone the wedding until August 09. We notified the hotel of this and they offered to roll our £100 deposit that we had already paid over to the new date. We had not signed any terms and conditions at this point.
In October 08, we had a meeting with the hotel to discuss some details of our wedding for the following august. They sent us a pro forma, and asked us to sign a copy of their terms and conditions and to bring in the remainder of the £350 deposit which worked out to be a further £250. We did so on 14th October 2008. Then at the beginning of November 08 (2 weeks later), we had a letter from them advising us that the hotel was on the market. We immediately phoned them and was told that the hotel was being sold by the brewery who own the building, as a going concern and therefore all weddings would be honoured. But we could have our deposit back if we so wished.
We decided to think about it over Christmas. Then on Jan 16th, we heard a rumour that the hotel had been sold. I rang the hotel and the woman I spoke to said that it had not been sold. I asked her what was going to happen with all the weddings already booked and she said she didn't know. She said it was a possibility that the hotel may not remain as a hotel and if a developer wanted to knock it down and build flats etc that that was a possibility however, they were hoping it would remain as a hotel. She said she would get someone to call me back. No one rang. The following week, we decided that enough was enough and we would look elsewhere and get our deposit back. We rang again and was told that we could not have our deposit back as it was us who were cancelling it and we had signed the terms and conditions which stated that the hotel had the right to keep the deposit should we cancel. I argued with her saying that they could not guarantee our wedding would take place, and she said "nothing in life is 100%".
I told her that at the time of signing the terms and conditions we were not aware that the hotel was up for sale, could change hands, could be bulldozed etc etc. Also, we booked with them based on their reputation and if someone else came in and took over, the standard and/or price may not be as it was when we originally booked. She said she would get the manager, to ring us back. He never did. We rang numerous times at all times of day and evening and kept being told that he would call us back. Still nothing. Eventually, he left a message with the receptionist saying that if we phoned to tell us we could not have deposit back and there was a letter in the post.
The letter just states that we cannot have deposit back as we are the ones who are cancelling. They will not put in writing that our wedding is (on their part) guaranteed to take place, and that everything will remain as we had ordered despite numerous requests for them to do so.
I have written them 2 letters now, the first putting in writing that we are cancelling and asking for deposit back, and 2nd one saying that unless they give us the money back in 7 days that we'll start a claim.
Anyone know if I've got a leg to stand on?
0
Comments
-
Sorry no advice but I didn't want to read and run. I hope everything gets sorted for you.:j30/7/10:j
:j24/1/14 :j
0 -
Do you have the name of the person that you spoke to in this conversation? Do you know if the hotel telephone conversations are recorded?choppies wrote:We immediately phoned them and was told that the hotel was being sold by the brewery who own the building, as a going concern and therefore all weddings would be honoured. But we could have our deposit back if we so wished."MIND IF I USE YOUR PHONE? IF WORD GETS OUT THATI'M MISSING FIVE HUNDRED GIRLS WILL KILL THEMSELVES."0 -
If it was me the phones call would stop and I would be down there like a shot.
It is amazing how they change when you are on their turf causing a scene.0 -
No, I don't think the phone calls are recorded. But yes, I do have the name of the lady I spoke to.
I did go into the hotel, but they just fob me off by saying that the landlords aren't there and no one else can deal with the matter.0 -
can anyone help?0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 349.7K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.9K Spending & Discounts
- 242.6K Work, Benefits & Business
- 619.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.3K Life & Family
- 255.5K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards