Where do I stand when the boot is on the other foot?

andy1832

An upmarket hotel has cancelled my confirmed reservation for an expensive (£750) New Years Eve 2 night package for 2 which was booked on-line and confirmed by return on-line as well as by an email. I had entered my credit card details to pay 50% deposit of £375 with the balance to be paid on arrival at the hotel. I received a phone call at noon the next day to say that they had sold the last room the previous day and that the on-line system had not been updated. Tough for them I thought, they should not have such a crappy on-line booking system. Their cancellation policy states that 50% penalty must be paid if cancelled after 1st September but doesn't state that this only applies to customers who cancel rather than themselves, which is what they are now claiming. Can't seem to find an answer to this one anywhere as all the info seems to relate to customers cancelling. I understand that a confirmed booking is a binding contract in law and I feel that they should make me the same payment.
I can't now find any similar alternative deals in the area so looks like it will be a miserable New Year watching TV rather than a Black tie Ball. It appears that they have not taken my deposit payment, but I still feel shortchanged as I am not getting what I had ordered.
Any thoughts most welcome.

bris

How do you plan to enforce it? Just forget it and put it down to one of those things.


Fact is however that you actually have no rights here anyway, even if it was a British company acceptance didn't take place. You made an offer and the refused it. A computer can only process the order, a human is the one who accepts it.

andy1832

bris wrote: »

How do you plan to enforce it? Just forget it and put it down to one of those things.


Fact is however that you actually have no rights here anyway, even if it was a British company acceptance didn't take place. You made an offer and the refused it. A computer can only process the order, a human is the one who accepts it.

It was a British company but why do you say acceptance did not take place when I have a confirmation of the reservation thanking me for making the booking with a reference number on it and specifying the check-in, check-out times dates and entire arrangements for the package?

marliepanda

You have no rights. They let you know as soon as they knew.

unholyangel

andy1832 wrote: »

It was a British company but why do you say acceptance did not take place when I have a confirmation of the reservation thanking me for making the booking with a reference number on it and specifying the check-in, check-out times dates and entire arrangements for the package?

Do their T&C's state when a contract is formed?

What remedy are you looking for? If they've fully booked all rooms, they can't give you something they don't have so even if a contract is in place, the most you would be entitled to is damages to put you in the same position had the contract not been breached but you have a duty to mitigate your losses (such as by finding another hotel that is similar location, same standard, similar price etc). There is no entitlement to a betterment.


If you can book another hotel that would be similar as stated above, for the same price....then your damages are nil.

And that is assuming the contract has been formed. If there has been no contract formed then they're not in breach of anything.

daytona0

andy1832 wrote: »

so looks like it will be a miserable New Year watching TV rather than a Black tie Ball.

Said the guy who was going to spend £750 on a 2 night break. #cringe

George_Michael

daytona0 wrote: »

Said the guy who was going to spend £750 on a 2 night break. #cringe

Why are you feeling so judgemental about what other people want to spend their money on?
Does spending it on something that you disagree with have any bearing on their rights?

aggypanthus

Call your trading standards for proper advice.

daytona0

George_Michael wrote: »

Why are you feeling so judgemental about what other people want to spend their money on?
Does spending it on something that you disagree with have any bearing on their rights?

I don't disagree with spending £750 on a break!!!

I disagree with the fact that the only alternative to that is spending a "miserable" night in watching TV. Not that there is anything wrong with staying in and watching TV, but I'm also sure that £750 can go a long way on having a good time at New Year.

If you have £750 to play with then a "miserable" night in watching TV isn't an option. OP is just saying a silly thing when posting that. I would have thought that you'd appreciate that point...

The consumer rights are another point altogether, and covered pretty well by other posters. I am a bit saddened that someone can post something and not be called up on what they say.

George_Michael

daytona0 wrote: »

If you have £750 to play with then a "miserable" night in watching TV isn't an option. OP is just saying a silly thing when posting that. I would have thought that you'd appreciate that point....

Maybe the New year's eve black tie do was something that had been talked about and planned for a long time and maybe the OP simply doesn't to spend the two days doing something a bit more ordinary.
IMO, it's a bit like someone booking a two day cruise that then gets cancelled and someone tells them "never mind, there are plenty of beach or skiing holidays available instead.

ThePubLandlord

George_Michael wrote: »

Maybe the New year's eve black tie do was something that had been talked about and planned for a long time and maybe the OP simply doesn't to spend the two days doing something a bit more ordinary.
IMO, it's a bit like someone booking a two day cruise that then gets cancelled and someone tells them "never mind, there are plenty of beach or skiing holidays available instead.

Maybe he needs a little work on his planning then. He obviously left it too late.