2 sets of terms and conditions?

GamerInfo

Hi guys,
Just looking for a bit of advice.

I made a booking via a website for an evening out for myself and 5 other family members. Before booking i read the terms and conditions clearly displayed just underneath the payment options. I was happy with these and proceeded to book and pay a £15 per person deposit (although the terms and conditions stated a £25 deposit would be required).

A few days later i received and email confirming the booking and receipt of the deposit paid (£90).

Fast forward 4wks and i received an email detailing a special offer the company was offering whereby the tickets we booked at full price are now being offered half price. This sale however was a secret sale and only sent to those on their mailing list - the tickets were still full price on their website and only if you knew about the offer could you take advantage of it - those who didn't know would still pay full price.

I telephoned then asking if we could be included in the special offer discount (after all our event was still 6wks away) - to which i was spoken to in a very adbrut and rude manor - the manager didn't wish to speak to me about this and proceeded to pass messages through to the person i was talking with. I told them how upset i was with the conversation and told them i would be happy to cancel purely based on the manor in which i was spoken to. I was told that if we completely cancel our booking we would lose all of our deposit.

A few minutes later i received an email:

Dear xxxx

Following on from our telephone conversation, I feel that I have to point out to you one particular part of our terms and conditions (which we ask you to read and agree to before booking).

Part 1. reads the following; We reserve the right to alter ticket prices at any time without giving notice. In the event of a price reduction, tickets purchased at the previous higher price will not be eligible for a refund in price difference.

By booking with us, you have agreed to these terms and conditions and therefore we are well within our rights to not offer any reduction in costs.

As I said, you have a right to cancel your booking completley (and lose your deposit) or cancel and re-book while the sale is still on.

I have sent them an email confirming that i agreed to their terms and conditions, however im not entirely sure their email is correct when they state we will lose our deposit. The terms and conditions i signed up to clearly state the following:

Any cancellations made after 7 days of booking will be issued with a full refund minus a £10 per person admin charge. No refunds will be given within 21 days of the event, unless subject to the 7 days cooling off period, however we will be happy to transfer your booking to an alternative date or venue of the same value.

I have emailed them my cancellation request and also pointed out that their terms and conditions state that if we cancel we should be eligible for a £30 refund on the money already paid (our event was 41 days away at this point).

Just searching through their emails, it seems that my booking confirmation email contained an attachment of their terms and conditions - ive read this and it seems they are completely different to those on their website and also contradict what their site T&C state. Can a company offer 2 sets of T&C that are completely different or have different wording on?

Ive a feeling this company will come back and quote the second set of T&C that state:

Any cancellations made after 7 days of booking will be issued with a full refund minus a £10 per person admin charge (and minus any non-refundable deposit paid). This applies to payments made in full only. No refunds will be given within 21 days of the event, unless subject to the 7 days cooling off period, however we will be happy to transfer your booking to an alternative date or venue of the same value.

Which T&C should i be bound by? The first set that were available at the time of purchase or a second set that were sent some days after we had paid?

Ive booked the event elsewhere - but id rather not give this company any extra money.

So far my emails have gone unanswered...

wealdroam

Those T&Cs that they send with the booking confirmation email are irrelevant.
This is because you only saw them after the contract was agreed.

The T&Cs on their website at the time you made the booking are the ones you agreed to, and the only ones that apply to your booking.
Even if they have a term like "we reserve the right to change these T&Cs at any time", any change made would only affect subsequent bookings.

I would make sure you have a good copy of the the T&Cs you agreed to before they change... but it sounds like you have done that already.

GamerInfo

Thanks for the reply wealdroam

I did figure 2 sets of T&C's was not right, but wanted to confirm this before the company concerned emailed/replied to me. They've used just about every single excuse with regards to our booking, so i dont see them refunding a portion of the money already paid.

In terms of consumer law - what if they refuse to refund a portion of the money already paid? I agreed to them taking £10 per person away from the money paid, and i know £30 isn't a huge amount of money, but in this case i feel it's more about the principle - they were sarky/nasty and damn right rude with me throughout, so i'm loathed to just sit back and leave things as they are. They appear to be making things up as they go.....

If they walked away with and additional £30 from each booking due them ignoring their own T&C's they'd be making a good profit from cancelled bookings.....

Thanks in advance for any advice