Please help!

blink182_2

advice no longer required, contacted ciztizens advice

JJ_Egan

So much in that post its difficult to understand .
is the essence you made a booking and never turned up .
Owner has asked you to pay and you are for some reason refusing . Owner now considering passing this debt to a recovery agency ??

soolin

With apologies if you want any advice you are going to have to use some punctuation as that post is unreadable.

keithdc

blink182 wrote: »

I have just returned from a weekend in Benidorm for a friends hen party. Before we went away I contacted a contacted a company called BenidormVIP to arrange a trip, it was a BBQ day with drinks included, and then on the night time cocktail making at a cost of 60 euros per person originally for 12 people, there was supposed to be a 100 euro deposit to pay to secure the booking but their booking system was down so they told me to pay on the day. They said they would email me an itinerary with the details so all they gave me was a booking reference, I didn’t sign anything, I didn’t receive a booking confirmation to my email address with any T&C’s and there was no mention of that, no information of cancellations or anything. They weren’t exactly professional, I had tried to message a few times saying, is your booking system back up so I can pay our deposit but it wasn’t so told me just to pay on the day, by Wednesday I hadn’t heard anything from them so I emailed to say I’m flying out tomorrow, you don’t know where I’m staying and haven’t arranged a pick up time or anything for my booking. So they said they would pick us up on the Friday. We ended up changing the number of people it was for as well and they tried to change the price but I told them if they put the price up I would have to cancel as we were on a budget (no mention of any charges then either) they said we could have it for the same price and they would again send an itinerary to my email address – didn’t receive any again. Friday morning a lot in our party were ill and wouldn’t make it out to the booking, people were constantly on the loo (sorry overshare of information with sickness and diorha) and couldn’t make it out, think it may have been some dodgy food so we had to make a last minute decision to cancel. I contact them to let them know and I began to get abusive messages from them saying I could not cancel late notice and we had to come, they were saying they were going to come and find us and make us pay, putting our photos up in the bars so they could spot us, also saying they are sending the invoice to me and my partner in sunderland (details they had gotten from my facebook page they don’t have my actual home address. They were messaging me from various numbers and I began to ignore the messages on whatsapp and not open them as some of the girls were starting to panic that being in another country something bad may happen. My boyfriend at home started contacting me as a stranger had messaged him on facebook saying ‘’I have photos of your girlfriend send me your home address and I will send you them – making it sound really strange to him trying to con him into giving him our home address. Later on I got a message from the ‘owner’ of BenidormVIP saying he was very upset at my actions saying I had changed the booking to a smaller number and they still honoured the price, my booking reference number is confirmation of my booking and then binds me to our T&C as stated on their website and page on facebook page ( I checked their website and facebook page and there is no terms and conditions at all. Saying the advisor that was helping us shouldn’t have changed our booking and still honoured it but they did, as we cancelled late notice our bbq was already cooking (apparently 3 hours before it was due to start is when they cook??) and there is costs associated with this, the t&c state that if something is cancelled 24 hours before there is a cancellation fee that applies this is dependent on number of events booked. Our cancellation fee is 500 eruos plus IVA which is VAT. So please advise actions or they will pass to their English company to collect. I await your response. I ignored the message the full booking cost of the trip would have been 540 euros so don’t see how the ‘costs for cancelling come to the full price of the activity booked. They messaged again saying they have advised if we returned to uk early due to illness I can claim my cancellation fee from their travel insurance. Again I ignored this. Today I’ve got messages from another number saying the account has been passed to cbs collections as we could not resolve this matter and no insurance information was forwarded. Total fee payable within 7 days 537.29 euros, please confirm how payment is made, please pay via paypal to their BenidormVIP email address or I can contact them and gave me a mobile number so I can pay them in another way.

So I am looking for some advice, are they able to transfer it to a debt collector agency when I never signed a document, never paid a deposit, never received a booking confirmation, never received any Terms and Conditions? I am yet to reply to the last few messages as I wanted to receive some advice first.

Summary.....

OP booked event in Benidorm- unable to pay deposit due to company computer issues. Company agreed that OP should pay on day. No contract T&Cs sent or available.
OP amended booking- company obliged.
OP then cancelled three hours before event.
Company somewhat abusive with harassment via facebook and now threatening OP with debt collectors.


This is somewhat complicated as it is unclear which law governs the contract.

Cancelling three hours before the event will have created costs for the company (staff, food etc)- think there should be a sum payable, which would reasonably be the costs experienced by the company (e.g. total amount less than value of drinks that would have been drunk). However, approach of company seems rather unacceptable, but not sure how that impacts the sum that should be paid.

discat11

I think you've had a lucky escape really in that you didn't manage to pay a deposit which would almost certainly have been lost.

Whilst I can understand why you cancelled the costs of setting up etc were still incurred by the organiser of the trip, although without having a written contract of you agreeing to pay this cancellation fee I doubt anything more than 'reasonable costs' could be justified.

However if your reports of their actions are accurate I have little sympathy with them it must be said since that level of pursuit is bordering on harassment IMHO.

You did indeed have a contract with the company - a verbal one, which can be enforced or passed to debt collection agency although it would need some evidence to prove of course -I am assuming your texts/written communication can prove this perhaps?

paddyrg

You had an agreement, signature or not. The vendor can demonstrate this. You cancelled the agreement on the day, leaving them with costs, which they're pursuing.

Maybe offer them a part-payment as they still have the cocktails, but it doesn't seem like you've much of a leg...

ThumbRemote

Given their behaviour so far, I'd be very reluctant to have any further contact with them. You're almost certainly safest blocking all contact.

pinkshoes

Noble_Viking wrote: »

Ignore it, walk away. It was done via Facebook unless you have a contract in writing they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Block all contact from them and do not make further contact with them, they are just 'trying' it on with the threats and messages.

I disagree. The OP made a reservation and cancelled at the last minute. They quite rightfully owe some money.

Blink182, you need to ask for a break down of costs and pay their actual losses. E.g. Food and staff fees. Riks can no doubt be reused.

Yes, it is a shoddy way to run a business, but you are no better by refusing to pay anything.

Could none of you go?

Could you not claim on your insurance?

I would tell them you will happily cover their losses, but you want a full break down of costs first.

bris

OP you owe the money, but they will not chase you for it so you can ignore it unless court papers hit you door mat.


3 hours cancellation gives them no time to mitigate the loss so you owe more or less the full amount.

cono1717

Whilst I agree a contract has been formed here I think the OP has no intention of paying (not in a bad way I just think you feel as though you shouldn't) whilst there are varying opinions in this thread I think the crux of the post is what will actually happen to the OP when they don't pay.

Ultimately, nothing. No physical contract was created a verbal one but not signed, you can't assume that a facebook profile constitutes a persons consent otherwise I could set up a facebook profile under the name of Bill Gates and hold him to ransom. Furthermore the company has no address to contact you on, so where do they send the debt collectors? You don't post your information to facebook (I hope) and you don't need to provide your address to them to register so even if the company went down the expensive route of getting a court order from facebook they'd be all out of luck.

You should offer a part payment as it's the correct thing to do, however if you don't its unlikely this will go further than that.

pinkshoes

cono1717 wrote: »

Whilst I agree a contract has been formed here I think the OP has no intention of paying (not in a bad way I just think you feel as though you shouldn't) whilst there are varying opinions in this thread I think the crux of the post is what will actually happen to the OP when they don't pay.

Correct, there IS a contract, and the OP does owe money, but you are advising them to decide what will happen if they don't pay.

Fair enough, but it is not hard to get hold of someone's address once you have their name, and if the company have receipts to show food bought, along with evidence of staff wages paid, then we have the basis of a court case.

As per my previous advice, I would advise asking for a breakdown of all costs, and receipts to show their losses. Do not get into any other line of conversation - just continue to ask for proof of their losses. At least if it then goes to court, it looks like you were happy to pay what you owe.

Or perhaps the OP prefers just to thank people who tell him/her that they should not have to pay...?