Amendment to wedding invoice - where do I stand?

musical_rower

Hi, any legal or consumer rights experts care to offer some advice please?

We're getting married later this year (September 2012), and in August 2011 we made a definite decision on a venue.
We got an invoice (with a note saying that things could be changed on it if we want, implying guest numbers, food options etc) and signed an agreement (also signed by the venue). We paid a £2000 deposit at this time.

We've now got another invoice asking for an installment to be paid.
The total value is £1000 greater than the original invoice.

Looking back now, I can see that the original one contains an error. It was for 80 guests, at £80 per head. The itemised bill calculated this as £5400 instead of £6400, and then carried the £5400 to the total. We didn't check the itemised bill at the time, my attention was just turned to it now that there's a difference in the total.

So in summary they accidentally undercharged us £1000, and both parties signed at that time.
If the bill had have been £1000 more, it might well have affected our decision on which venue to take.

Obviously we don't want to !!!! them off, as we're having a wedding with them, but equally having a £1000 addition to the bill makes a huge difference to us.
Any advice please?
Is there anything specific in the wording of the contract/agreement that I should look for?

The "discretionary tip" comes to around £550. Would it be reasonable of us to withhold this if they insist on the new price? Obviously we don't want unhelpful staff on the day though.

It's too late for us to ask to walk out of the contract with them altogether - we've booked too many other things around it!

We've had nothing but excellent service and comms from the venue so far. So we don't mind paying a fair price for their services on principle, but this is really stretching our budget and could make things pretty tricky for the man with a fiancee who wants it all



Thanks in advance!

fluffnutter

You have no legal right to expect the lower price. Nor is withholding the tip reasonable. If you don't want to tip, then don't (although that's pretty bad form IMO) but don't use as your reason the fact that they made an honest mistake with your first invoice.

Yes, a grand's a lot of money, but you love the venue, you've had great service so far and no doubt you'll also have a lovely day. Just pay up and stick with them. You win some, you lose some. I doubt you'd be on here asking for advice had the mistake been that you'd been overcharged a grand on the original and now faced a lower final bill

bris

A simple mistake that you should also have picked up on at the time, when you were quoted 80@ £80 you knew it was £6400.
The manager has corrected the mistake so you were never undercharged, just that a 5 was hit on the keyboard instead of a 6.
The only other course of action for you is the small claims court but as it was a simple mistake I can't see you getting anywhere with that.
Kepping the tip is just mean, it's not the staffs fault, they will do their job whether you pay the higher or lower price.

browneyedbazzi

I agree with the posters above...you weren't 'undercharged' on the original invoice, that invoice simply had a typo on it. You were quoted £80 each for 80 guests, agreed that price, and that is the price you are paying.

In your situation I would probably call the venue and very nicely explain that there had been an error on the original invoice and that you had budgeted based on that total and ask *very nicely* if they'd be able to meet halfway on it. If they said no, I'd accept that and pay the bill. I certainly wouldn't withhold the gratuity because the error wasn't the fault of the staff who will no doubt work very hard to make your day perfect, it was the fault of an administrator (and partially you for not spotting the error on the first invoice, surely you can multiply 8x8???)

ThumbRemote

bris wrote: »

A simple mistake that you should also have picked up on at the time, when you were quoted 80@ £80 you knew it was £6400.

As part of a larger bill, its quite easy to overlook a mistake that's hidden in the detail. After all, if you get a quote you tend to look at the bottom line, not check the individual calculations.

The people who really should have picked up on that are the venue.

That said the OP has no real grounds to avoid paying. All you can really do is ask for a goodwill gesture to reflect the inconvenience.

Equaliser123

ThumbRemote wrote: »

That said the OP has no real grounds to avoid paying. All you can really do is ask for a goodwill gesture to reflect the inconvenience.

What inconvenience? The price hasn't gone up. An incorrect invoice has been corrected.

When we got married, we had a budget. We knew the price per head and the number we were inviting.

Surely the OP would have made these (really rather simple) calculations and budgeted accordingly?

arcon5

Why would you tip BEFORE the event?

A tip should be offered as a bonus for their hard work and good service.

xxJudexx

arcon5 wrote: »

Why would you tip BEFORE the event?

A tip should be offered as a bonus for their hard work and good service.

I agree! I have never organised a large event but I wouldn't ever pay a tip for a service not yet received. If they work hard and do a good job they get a good tip. The venue could state the 'usual' tip value and you then decide if you feel the service was appropriate for the tip requested.

Sorry it's nothing to do with your initial post!

hcb42

The £1k is a simple admin error and obviously right price was there at eighty quid per head.

Been a hotelier for yrs though and never ever put a tip on up front! So if you don't think that's justifiable don't pay it. I don't think I would ever pay that and can confirm that is very high and not the norm! (Curious as to venue that does that though - wouldn't mind a pm on the venue op just purely to satisfy my own professional curiosity!)

paddyrg

I would point it out to them, and ask if they will meet you partway. As much as you want their venue, they want your booking!

ThumbRemote

Equaliser123 wrote: »

What inconvenience? The price hasn't gone up. An incorrect invoice has been corrected.

The inconvenience of spending 6 months under the impression the bill was £1000 less than it actually is, and now having to find more money than they had expected.