Problem with Cancellation Fees

mummyjane

We had to cancel our booking with the cattery as we are now unable to go on holiday. The cat was due to go in tomorrow and has been to this place quite a few times now. We have had to cancel at short notice in the past and there was no cancellation fee. I phoned this morning to be told it would be 50% of the whole booking fee!! Apparently years ago I signed a form which would have agreed to pay any cancellation fees but that was for that seperate booking and never mentioned 50% (round here normally places charge £10 or sometimes 10%.

I appreciate that they are fully booked and have perhaps turned others away but surely this is crazy! We are not going on holiday as we just can't afford it now so as you can imagine it will be a struggle to find the money for this too.

I didn't put a deposit down as the booking was just made over the phone. Does anyone know where I stand with this? I feel bad not paying but equally feel a bit cheated and am not sure where I'll find the money to pay it!

Thanks

ItchyFeet

Hi, i don't know where you stand legally but i think if you've cancelled before at short notice that it's unfair to do it again and not pay. They may well have turned away other business when they took your booking in good faith.
I think if you like this cattery and would like to use it again in future that you should pay the cancellation charge.

Fridaycat

It is very late notice for you to decide that you can't afford to go on holiday, which would be fine if it did not impact others.

I personally am very choosy about which cattery I use and have built up a great relationship with the cattery owner. If you are the same and want to use the same cattery in future, I don't think you have much option other than to pay the fee - after all, they are out of pocket through no fault of their own. I am certain that they would have had to turn away bookings due to being full at this time of the year.

If, on the other hand, you know of, and are willing to use, other catteries in your area, you may get away with not paying, but it would be very unlikely that you'd be welcomed at the same cattery.

Are there no other cancellation fees you need to pay? For your holiday accommodation for example? Why should the cat holiday accommodation be any different?

snowman2_2

At this time of year catteries are usually completely full. To lose a booking at such short notice when they could have filled the gap before must be very annoying for them. At a quieter time of year they might have just accepted it but it is likely they have turned away other business. Personally I would pay them if you have any intention of going back. From a vets point of view, missed appointments during busy periods are incredibly annoying, I just haven't built up the confidence to charge like my dentist (and your cattery)

mummyjane

I have never quibbled over cancellation fees as long as they are made clear at the time of booking. I have never been told about cancellation fees (in fact the only form I have ever signed mentioned nothing about them, neither does their terms and conditions on the website). I feel it is unfair to have nothing in your published terms and conditions and on your forms about cancellation fees and then try and charge especially at such a high rate. We provisionally booked this almost a year ago and have never filled in any forms, in fact we only booked it as provisional booking and she was told we were booking in advance as we were hoping to go away. We kennel our dog locally when on holidays and we are always asked to complete a booking form and are given a copy of the terms and conditions to sign with each booking.

I appreciate that they may have turned others away and therefore lost money however, I am not happy to be charged whatever they decide when I never even confirmed the booking! Surely they should make clear any possible charges when you book. As I say I would accept responsibilities for charges if they were in their terms and conditions but there is nothing!

I was very polite on the phone and when I politely said I didn't realise there would be charges but said ok and asked how much she was very rude to me. I should add that when we cancelled before it was a week or so before she was due to go in and was only for a few days. This isn't the first issue we've had with them before, our cat tends to be quite vocal in the cattery and last time the lady complained that her crying upset the other cats!! Not quite sure what I can do about that :huh:

rising_from_the_ashes

I have to agree with the others about the cancellation fee - as they will almost certainly have turned away business. If I cancelled at short notice at this time of the year, I'd be expecting to pay a fairly hefty charge. I also know that the one I use would charge you for the full period even if you collected early (again due to having to turn away business).

However, it seems odd that they've never been in touch to confirm the booking (esp if it was made that long ago and for this time of year / if someone else had wanted the space) or that you've not signed any paperwork .....

mummyjane

Other catteries and kennels we have used (in 3 different countries may I add) have always sent forms and confirmed bookings a few weeks beforehand, some asked for a deposit and forms on taking bookings. As I said I do understand the principle of charging and would have just paid if they had published the charges. There isn't any mention of any charges on their website and have checked their booking form (had a copy from our first booking four years ago!). I haven't signed anything since then which in itself seems odd. I actually made a provisional booking on 27th December 2010! We have had no contact until today. Surely when banks and other companies by law have to publish terms and conditions and charges then it is not unreasonable to ask that terms and conditions are comprehensive and clear.

squashynose

No contract, no cancellation fee.

And if the staff can't even be polite to you, and even complain about your pets when you DO pay for them to be cared for... Find another cattery.

adviceforall

Although you say nothing was confirmed in writing about your booking but i'm sure you would have been horrified to arrive with your cat and they told you that as you had not confirmed there was no space..
You would have been in an awkward position then. Like others I think you owe them something for cancelling at so short notice, when did you decide not to go away?

tankgirl1

snowman2 wrote: »

I just haven't built up the confidence to charge like my dentist (and your cattery)

You should do - you MRCVS's are worth a lot more than you charge :T

I'm going to start a huge argument with that statement I'm sure, but vets study for as long as doctors etc, and pay the same if not higher tuiton fees, yet earn peanuts in comparison.

snowman2_2

tankgirl1 wrote: »

You should do - you MRCVS's are worth a lot more than you charge :T

I'm going to start a huge argument with that statement I'm sure, but vets study for as long as doctors etc, and pay the same if not higher tuiton fees, yet earn peanuts in comparison.

My business head says that we should charge, at least for certain prime time slots like Friday nights & Saturday mornings. My normal person head says that people can forget and sometimes it is just a simple mistake. Maybe for vets appointments, everyone should get one free but a 2nd one in a 12 month period gets a £10 charge, a second one is charged at a normal consult price. We had 3 in a row cancel at very late notice this morning, one 3 minutes after the appointment time. We were fully booked at that point and were putting people off until later today or tomorrow. Very annoying for us but also for the people who couldn't come down when they wanted. At least those people rang us rather than just not turning up.