Event not as described

manatees

Last night I went to a Winter Lights event at Himley Hall. The website claimed that a walk through the forest of lights should take 45-60 minutes. It actually took 5 minutes (and we were walking quite slowly, with small children in tow).

We’re obviously disappointed, and we’re not alone - the event’s Facebook page and TripAdvisor are full of similar complaints. It cost £8 per person (a rip off for what was on offer, but not going to break the bank if we don’t get it back). I’m less worried about the money and more the principle of the thing.

My question is, what are my rights here, if any? If we were talking about physical goods not as described, I’d feel confident quoting the Consumer Rights Act at them. But does this apply to events in the same way (or at all)?

JJ_Egan

Where is it so described ??
I see no mention of time .


(Designed to show off the natural beauty of Himley Hall, creating a forest of light that’s a feast for the imagination. Discover woods aglow with light shining through the trees and upwards into the night sky, go on a family after-dark adventure in undergrowth full of shine and shadow.)




Note due to poor ground conditions the event has been cancelled for tonight .

manatees

On the Countrywide Events website (where we booked tickets) under ‘Tell me more’:

how long will i be there? for as long as you like (until closing), a steady stroll spending time to admire the environment and take pictures should take 45-60mins + refreshments

couriervanman

manatees wrote: »

Last night I went to a Winter Lights event at Himley Hall. The website claimed that a walk through the forest of lights should take 45-60 minutes. It actually took 5 minutes (and we were walking quite slowly, with small children in tow).

We’re obviously disappointed, and we’re not alone - the event’s Facebook page and TripAdvisor are full of similar complaints. It cost £8 per person (a rip off for what was on offer, but not going to break the bank if we don’t get it back). I’m less worried about the money and more the principle of the thing.

My question is, what are my rights here, if any? If we were talking about physical goods not as described, I’d feel confident quoting the Consumer Rights Act at them. But does this apply to events in the same way (or at all)?

Did you check Tripadvisor before booking.......i don think you'll be the first on here complaining about Christmas events in the coming week or so.Its the same every year......a winter wonderland is advertised as a magical family surprise.....the only surprise is its held in an empty building on industrial estate with a few inflatables,:eek:fake snow and a load minimum wage Elfs

KatrinaWaves

“ Discover woods aglow with light shining through the trees and upwards into the night sky, go on a family after-dark adventure in undergrowth full of shine and shadow. See lake and waterfall reflecting twinkling colours and, in the background, stately Himley Hall illuminated as never before...On your journey don`t miss the specially decorated and illuminated windows of the hall, featuring artwork by local school children to celebrate Advent.“

All the above was able to be viewed in 5 minutes?

manatees

couriervanman wrote: »

Did you check Tripadvisor before booking.......i don think you'll be the first on here complaining about Christmas events in the coming week or so.Its the same every year......a winter wonderland is advertised as a magical family surprise.....the only surprise is its held in an empty building on industrial estate with a few inflatables,:eek:fake snow and a load minimum wage Elfs

No - it’s only being held this weekend so unfortunately there were no reviews before we booked. Members of our party have been to other events at Himley which had been great though, so we had hoped it would be ok.

manatees

KatrinaWaves wrote: »

“ Discover woods aglow with light shining through the trees and upwards into the night sky, go on a family after-dark adventure in undergrowth full of shine and shadow. See lake and waterfall reflecting twinkling colours and, in the background, stately Himley Hall illuminated as never before...On your journey don`t miss the specially decorated and illuminated windows of the hall, featuring artwork by local school children to celebrate Advent.“

All the above was able to be viewed in 5 minutes?

If you add on the windows (kids’ drawings stuck to the inside of windows and ‘illuminated’ by switching on lights that were already there...) it was probably 7 minutes, given the time required to walk from the forest to the hall. I confess I didn’t spend very long admiring the windows though - I don’t find children’s drawings that interesting when the child is related to me, never mind a stranger's drawing of five gold rings.

On Facebook the organisers have boasted that they used a whole 72 lights!

lincroft1710

In theory you have consumer rights protection, in practice, because of the relatively inexpensive outlay, there is little you can do via a court claim for a refund.

The only thing you can do is to write to the organisers, express your disappointment and suggest they give you a partial refund, which of course they are not obliged to do.

manatees

lincroft1710 wrote: »

In theory you have consumer rights protection, in practice, because of the relatively inexpensive outlay, there is little you can do via a court claim for a refund.

The only thing you can do is to write to the organisers, express your disappointment and suggest they give you a partial refund, which of course they are not obliged to do.

Thanks, that’s useful to know. I’ll send them an email.

theonlywayisup

manatees wrote: »

On the Countrywide Events website (where we booked tickets) under ‘Tell me more’:

how long will i be there? for as long as you like (until closing), a steady stroll spending time to admire the environment and take pictures should take 45-60mins + refreshments

manatees wrote: »

The website claimed that a walk through the forest of lights should take 45-60 minutes.

Not quite the same thing. Did you think it was 60 minutes of walking through lights? I don't read it as that.....

An email to the organisers may gift you something but I don't see you are due any refund.

manatees

theonlywayisup wrote: »

Not quite the same thing. Did you think it was 60 minutes of walking through lights? I don't read it as that.....

An email to the organisers may gift you something but I don't see you are due any refund.

The lights were the main event, so we expected the bulk of the time to be spent looking at the lights, yes. But honestly, I’m not sure what else they could have meant by that - aside from the refreshments (which they said would be on top of the 45-60 minutes) there really wasn’t much else to do to fill the time. We weren’t able to look around the hall or the unlit grounds.