Wedding contract nightmare! Really stressed out, HELP!!

hsirk

Valli wrote: »

If you want your deposit back then I suggest you send a LETTER BEFORE ACTION requesting a refund or you will escalate to Small Claims Court.

This assumes that the amount is within the remit of a small claim though. The onus is on you to check this as you haven't provided that information in your posts thus far.

Google Money Claim Online to check first.

Your letter should state exactly what you want and the timeframe within which you want it (say 21 days) and if not you will escalate your claim to court.

Don't get into a battle/start negotiating with them; if they don't refund then you MUST escalate to small claims.

You are claiming that, as they are not able to provide the option you booked then you want an immediate refund.

Save copies of all communications as you will need a paper trail should it go to court.

I was in the process of writing the letter but havnt provided them a time frame and have only said "immediately"; is this not sufficient or do I give a precise time of 14 days or so?

The amount of the deposit is just under £3000. Do I specify in the letter I will be going to the small claims court if I am not repaid?

Valli

Don't do anything until you have read the guidance on the website but...

putting the title as Letter Before Action

ie

Dear *wedding business*

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

is a warning, to the venue, that if they do not refund at this point you will claim your deposit back from them through small claims.

Like this

Your address
Date

Dear (business)

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

On (date) I entered into a contract with you to provide *marquee* for our wedding reception on (date and time). A deposit of £x was paid, being 25% of the final cost.

It has now become apparent that you will be unable to provide/service this venue and the alternatives you have offered are unsuitable.

I therefore request a refund of my deposit, being £X within 21 days of the date of this letter or I shall bring a claim through small claims court, at which point I will also add to my claim the cost of bringing the action and any related fees and expenses.

Yours

sad bride

Save copies of the news article relating to the Council's actions, too. This is proof they cannot provide the venue you booked.

You give a precise timescale; now is not the time to negotiate! Type the letter; keep a copy, send it by recorded delivery and save the receipt as that proves the start date for the 21 day waiting period.

molerat

Yes a precise time, "immediately" does not set a limit, 14 days is usually considered sufficient in a simple refund situation. You specify the amount you want refunded and state that if not refunded you will apply to the court for the refund plus your expenses, consequential losses and court costs.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/action/letter-before-small-claims-court-claim

peachyprice

hsirk wrote: »

There is a huge difference. What I saw and paid for no longer exists. The one I signed for had solid walls and was sort of permanent. It had a full fledged kitchen and toilets and could fit upto 1000 guests. It was sound proof and had an amazing roof with big huge chandeliers.

Ah, I can see why they had to take it down then, it was stretching it calling it a marquee in the first place.

I'm glad you've found somewhere else, hope you get your deposit back.

Valli

BTW the 21 days isn't set in stone; that would probably be MY timeframe;)

I use it as an example.

Having said that I believe (but I don't know) that a MINIMUM of 14 days is advisable.

hsirk

hsirk wrote: »

Hello everyone,

Just after Christmas (December 2013), we saw an article in the local newspaper about the venue. The owner was convicted in the case and was to be sentenced in a month. Even at this point there was no contact from the venue. After I gave a few days to contact me I decided to contact them myself and arrange a meeting (January 2014). At the meeting, I was given assurance (by word) that our wedding would go ahead and that the marquee in question would not be coming down. The owner confidently said how the marquee would still be there if we decided to pop in at any given time and there he did not see it coming down till 2015. He also advised us that he was taking the matter to the EU courts and was very confident of our wedding not being affected.

The date of the sentencing approached and we waited to get some more information. On checking the council's website we learnt that he was sentenced to a £15,000 fine and costs. This sentence related to his conviction for failing to comply with an enforcement notice served in July 2010, requiring him to remove an unauthorised marquee. The owner appealed the serving of the enforcement notice which failed as did two further challenges, the first in the High Court in 2011 and final challenge in the Court of Appeal in May 2012. After this in February 2013, the council started the prosecution for failure to comply with the enforcement notice. ALL THIS INFORMATION WAS HIDDEN FROM US WHILST SIGNING THE CONTRACT!!! If we were given this information in July 2013, we wouldn’t have signed the contract and none of this would have happened.

After this (February 2014), we received a call to come to a meeting. We were not given any information on phone. During the meeting, we were told that the marquee has come down and that he had some "wonderful" options for us. The options were;
1. A different venue 28 miles away
2. One of the smaller rooms with the possibility of an extension to suit our numbers
3. A temporary marquee at the exact spot where the original marquee was situated. He advised he would use a hire company to set this up before the event.

During this meeting, when we hinted of a cancellation he told us that he wasn’t cancelling so we would be liable to pay 75% as we were within 3 months of the event. The contract does state this in the clause of "Client Cancellation" however in the clause of "Company Cancellation" it states the exact following words - If the company is requested to cancel the event by any government or appropriate authority, the Company shall take all the steps necessary to find a suitable alternative venue for the event to the satisfaction of the Client. If the Company is unable to find a suitable alternative venue to the satisfaction of the Client, the Company shall forthwith repay all the monies paid by the Client in accordance with this Agreement.

The owner or his staff have not written to us to notify us that they cannot hold our event in the marquee as per the original contract. They just called us in and discussed the "alternatives" of which none are suitable to us. We hinted the 3rd option may suit us just because of not having to pay 75% if we cancel. Now since the marquee has come down, would it automatically be a Company Cancellation? This is what I am highly confused about. All I want is to move out of this venue and get a refund of the deposit paid. I do not trust this company anymore and cannot go ahead with them not knowing what may happen in the weeks to come. I am running out of time and my wedding will be compromised if I chose to stay with them for the fear of having to pay 75% if I pull out. I have asked them to send me in writing as to what has happened and of our options however have not heard from them since.

Can the experts/lawyers shed some light on this? Since they cannot provide what I booked for, would it still be a Client Cancellation? If this is the case why have they given me alternatives as there is no mention of alternatives in the Client Cancellation clause but only in the Company Cancellation clause? Also, since the alternatives do not suit me am I eligible for a refund of the deposit as per the Company Cancellation clause? I am desperate for some help and with all the money that’s gone into the wedding I don’t want to spend more on courts and lawyers at this point. If I cannot pursue this, I shall go ahead with the risk of having my big day ruined.

Please help!
Regards,
K

Further to this issue, if I claim via wedding insurance what are the chance of it being successful? I read the article in the paper and took out insurance after that as a precaution. However post that the venue owner advised us our wedding would not be affected. Then he got sentenced and everything fell apart. Any recommendations?

hcb42

I would check the policy wording very carefully to see what is covered and what is excluded.