Are 48-hour or 24-hour cancellation charges enforceable?

thebosch

Hi,

My partner had an 1 to 1 appointment with a Pilates teacher which she had to cancel due to illness. The teacher now wants the full cost of £40 paid for non-attendance as she had a 48-hour cancellation policy.

The cancellation policy is on the website, but it was not made explicit in her first session and it is not explicit an the booking page, it is only in a link at the bottom of the page called "Terms and conditions". There it says "up to the full fee" for the cancellation may be charged, which is vague.

I appreciate that self employed people, such as massage, Pilates or yoga providers have a business to run and their time is important. But to charge a not insignificant full fee is perhaps not fair, especially in an area where people go to these professionals due to ill health.

Are these terms legally enforceable, do we have to pay?

Cheers
M.

bris

Yes they are legal and enforceable. It's no different to hotels, airlines, dentists etc.


The service was there for you whether you took it or not.


Like everything else the teacher has to mitigate the loss, they do this by re selling your spot. This would be unlikely unless they were full for the whole day.


But bottom line is you broke the contract they didnt

ThumbRemote

If the teacher was ill, you'd expect them to give the money back. Them cancelling the contract - for whatever reason - shouldn't leave your partner out of pocket.

It's entirely fair and balanced that the same happens the other way round too.

Hintza

I am currently running a policy of no refund within 30 days. Having said that if the space is filled you will get a full refund and I will bend over backwards to fill the space and because of that people find it acceptable.

Obviously the closer you get to the date the higher the risk.

fleshandbone

thebosch wrote: »

Hi,

My partner had an 1 to 1 appointment with a Pilates teacher which she had to cancel due to illness. The teacher now wants the full cost of £40 paid for non-attendance as she had a 48-hour cancellation policy.

The cancellation policy is on the website, but it was not made explicit in her first session and it is not explicit an the booking page, it is only in a link at the bottom of the page called "Terms and conditions". There it says "up to the full fee" for the cancellation may be charged, which is vague.

I appreciate that self employed people, such as massage, Pilates or yoga providers have a business to run and their time is important. But to charge a not insignificant full fee is perhaps not fair, especially in an area where people go to these professionals due to ill health.

Are these terms legally enforceable, do we have to pay?

Cheers
M.

Yes you need to pay up.

Le_Kirk

Hintza wrote: »

..... I will bend over backwards......

You must be a Yoga teacher then!

beatrice37

Hi can anyone tell me what can i do if a dentist refuses to give me back the money i payed for an appointment that i cancelled.i did give them the 48hours notice...

Valli

beatrice37 wrote: »

Hi can anyone tell me what can i do if a dentist refuses to give me back the money i payed for an appointment that i cancelled.i did give them the 48hours notice...

I suggest you start your own thread using the 'new thread' button, and add a little more detail.