How much to claim from Caterer-not providing everything on contract

flightinfo

Hi, not sure if this is the right forum but any help would be greatly appreciated.

We had a function a few weeks ago and unfortunately the caterer did not supply everything that was in the contract or give the service that we thought they should have - I had to go to the kitchen to chase a few things up which as the 'hostess' I did not want to do. The guests would not have been aware of most of the things we are claiming for as these were not listed on the menu but were included in the price we paid. I have been in correspondence with them but they are denying that anything impacted on the function and that the errors were 'minor'. Just as an example, they did not serve coffee/tea or chocolates - both of which were on the menu and had been paid for. (The chocolates were given to me after the function - they said they had been moved by a third party - which ws obviously no use to me or my guests.)

I have spoken to Consumer Direct and they have said I would need to go the the small claims court and claim under 'consequential loss'. The problem we have is knowing how much to claim as we paid an inclusive price per head.

For the claim, we need to list what we are claiming for each item/lack of service. I have searched the internet but can't find any sites which show a breakdown of how an inclusive price is reached. I realise every function is different but wondered if anyone knew any websites which list a breakdown, e.g. how much soup, main course, dessert, wine, water, etc. is which we could adapt? We need to work out how much to allocate for those items/service we didn't receive.

Thank you for your help.

flightinfo

Thanks for that. We are hoping that by doing exactly what you have said they will offer a refund rather than having to go to court. Unfortunately, I think we still have to list what we would be claiming as if we did have to go to court, we would have to show all the correspondence to the court. Unfortunately, having now been in correspondence with the caterer, I think they might still ignore our request for a refund.

In previous correspondence, they informed us about a problem they had at the venue which we did not know anything about. I spoke to the venue and they were not aware of any problems which would have impacted on our function (only of a few minor issues). When I stated this to the caterer, the reply was that 'you were aware of the serious ....' so I'm not holdng out much hope of them co-operating.

The caterer has also informed us that we did not pay for several of the items we have claimed for - we were quoted a price per head which was inclusive of .... so we have paid.

sugarwalsh

Can you not ask them for a break down?

Personally -as your guests didn't realise anything was a miss - I would let it go. If it was just a case of forgotten tea and coffee and you having to chase the caterers a couple of time I would leave it and never use the caterers again. I would concentrate on the fact that your guests had a wonderful time and whilst you should have done, is it worth taking it to court or fighting it? To me this would seem disproportionate to the mistakes the of the caterers.

Megan

flightinfo

I could ask for a breakdown but I know there is absolutely no way I would be given one. The caterer has already quoted 1 item which we didn't receive - stating that we hadn't paid for it but if we had it would have cost £8. It might have cost them £8 but that certainly wasn't what we paid.

Although our guests didn't know about some of the items - they did all know about the coffee/chocolates as this was on the menu and the coffee cup was on the table throughout the meal. I have had comments from guests stating they noticed they hadn't had the coffee or chocolates.

I certainly wouldn't use the caterer again - they know we will be making another function so I can't understand their attitude. If they had admitted there had been some mistakes at the beginning we might have considered using them again. Some of the responses I have had to correspondence have been quite unnecessary/unpleasant so I really don't want to just leave it.

sugarwalsh

So. work out what you would pay for these items in a cafe/restuarant and multiply it by the number of guests and ask for that back. You can't really put a price on the 'inconveniece' or upset they have caused you, so all you can really ask for is the money for the items you didn't receive.

Don't get me wrong, I really do feel for you, but I also am of the nature that sometimes it is best to leave things as they can't be changed and chasing them may just make the whole episode seem worse than it initially was.

Megan

jfdi

If it helps my DS, when he caters Functions, charges about £1.50 for after dinner coffee / tea (numerous cups) and after eights or similar

flightinfo

Thank you for your replies.

We have been doing just that - looking at restaurant menus and trying to work out what to claim from that.

It is a shame as it obviously is at the forefront of everything at the moment. The caterer's even in our dvd at one point (I could ask for it to be edited out but I'm not going to do that as I know I can always fast forward over that part if I want to.) Funnily enough, having had a letter from the caterer the day we got our dvd back, we had evidence of something that they were denying being aware of.

I think what has really annoyed me is that initially they were blaming a third party for one of the mistakes, blaming us for something else and in the latest correspondence stated they were going to take advice from one of our guests (who has a high standing in the community). I, therefore, had to approach the guest to explain the situation - and to state that as far as we were concerned it was between ourselves and the caterer.

floss2

Have you been in touch with your local Trading Standards office? They may be able to help with getting a breakdown or corresponding on your behalf - sometimes a letter from TS can push a settlement as it can be regarded as a more honest claim if they are involved, purely because not everyone will bother getting them involved but may try to get a reduction in costs.

flightinfo

floss2 wrote: »

Have you been in touch with your local Trading Standards office? They may be able to help with getting a breakdown or corresponding on your behalf - sometimes a letter from TS can push a settlement as it can be regarded as a more honest claim if they are involved, purely because not everyone will bother getting them involved but may try to get a reduction in costs.

Thanks for this - I had thought of going down this route but my local TS office only seems to deal with businesses - the contact number for consumers is Consumer Direct who I have spoken to and who were quite helpful.

I have now composed a letter getting prices from local restaurants/off the web and am going to try and go to the local Citizens Advice next week before I send it. Unfortunately, every time I try and ring the local Citizens Advice I reach a recorded message saying that they can only deal with residents from the area and I'm out the area. Not sure why this is happening as I definitely live in the Borough and am ringing from my landline which has a local code.

74jax

Could you maybe send the letter to the company initially (rather than wait longer to speak to CAB). They may respond to the letter better than a phone call?

lizzywig

What paperwork did they provide prior to the event? I've organised a lot of events for work and usually you get a cost per head and an itemised breakdown showing how they totalled this figure inclusive of any discounts that might be offered or additional items that you have requested. It's clear from what you have said that you were not given this, but what were you given?