Trade Show Cancelled but No Refunds

becky3343

I had a trade show booked for July but it's been cancelled due to coronavirus & the venue being turned into an NHS nightingale hospital. The organisers have been disgusting about it. They said the show has been 'postponed' to July 2021 which is ridiculous because this is a yearly show - they haven't postponed the July 2020 show to say November (like other trade shows we have booked have), they have cancelled it and are having the 2021 show like they would have anyway. The reasoning is obviously because our contract says that in the event of a 'cancellation' we could get a refund but they instead use the term 'postponement' so that we are still locked into our contract.

We are a tiny business (running as sole trader) and are now locked into a show that's over a year away when we don't know what is going to happen in the mean time and whether there will be the same footfall of visitors that were advertised to us for the 2020 show. We aren't eligible for any government grants and have had to sign up for universal credit so being locked into a £5k contract is pretty frightening. The person I spoke to on the phone said that he didn't personally agree with what they were doing - he had a few weeks freelance contract with them because they have apparently laid off most of their staff and were leaving him to do the work of 4 people. When I said I would look into getting legal advice, he said that I could but they operate in 14 countries and have a massive legal team who have picked apart the contract so I wouldn't get very far. When I said that they should surely have insurance for something like this, especially as the venue was now a hospital, he said that they did but they weren't going to file a claim because their premium would go up! So us exhibitors are having to pay out instead. 

Is anyone in the same position or can offer any advice? 

I also have another trade show booked in November which I signed a contract for just before coronavirus. They sent the invoice for this after coronavirus hit and are now asking for a deposit but I'm worried about giving any of these companies money right now because I am personally struggling and also who knows when mass gatherings are going to be allowed again and if anyone will even be going to them. As a business, we had a great start to 2020 which is why we booked 4 trade shows but it was precisely the wrong timing and now we're stuck Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Jeremy535897

I think that you are right. If they have annual shows in July, and won't have one for 2020, that is a cancellation, not a postponement. There is a lot of interest in this topic at present, around wedding venues and nurseries, but this relates to consumers, rather than business to business. You could take a case to the small claims court. See:
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-use-the-small-claims-court

If you lose, you could have to pay their costs. If you win, they might not pay anyway, and if you pursue the debt, they might have no money to pay.

I suggest you talk to the other trade show organiser you received the invoice from. You might already be obliged to pay something under the contract, even if you cancel. If you are not in a financial position to go ahead with it, and there is little or no penalty for backing out, you may have to accept it is too risky to commit to it. None of us can know how comfortable people will be about mass gatherings in November, or even if they will happen.

Grumpy_chap

With the show for this year, time might prove that the event has been cancelled and not postponed.  So, it is an annual even, say you booked for a stand at "Industry Expo 2020" then when they have the event in July next year and market that as "Industry Expo 2021" that becomes when you can prove the event you booked was cancelled and not postponed.  If the event next year is still marketed as "Industry Expo 2020" (however daft that would seem), then the event you booked was postponed and not cancelled.  That won't help you in the mean-time, though and maybe the best case is that the issues around event cancellations for consumers give rise to guidance that is made clear it also relates to business cancellations.  The odd naming thing might apply, as the Olympics are still saying they will call it "Tokyo 2020" even though delayed for a year - different of course as it is not until delayed for 4 years that this Olympics would 'crash' into the next Olympics.

Fire_Fox

"The person I spoke to on the phone said that he didn't personally agree with what they were doing .... When I said I would look into getting legal advice, he said that I could but they operate in 14 countries and they have a massive legal team who have picked apart the contract ....."

BREATHE. You are "being taken for a baked bean" as my friend would say.

You have a written/ printed contract, received a written/ printed cancellation or postponement? This is a formal situation, communicate formally (in writing or work e-mail). Please do not telephone them and chat about your inexperience.

diggingdude

Considering McDonalds and Burger King don't feel they should pay rent, event companies are not going to feel like refunding businesses easily sadly

becky3343

Grumpy_chap said:

With the show for this year, time might prove that the event has been cancelled and not postponed.  So, it is an annual even, say you booked for a stand at "Industry Expo 2020" then when they have the event in July next year and market that as "Industry Expo 2021" that becomes when you can prove the event you booked was cancelled and not postponed.  If the event next year is still marketed as "Industry Expo 2020" (however daft that would seem), then the event you booked was postponed and not cancelled.  That won't help you in the mean-time, though and maybe the best case is that the issues around event cancellations for consumers give rise to guidance that is made clear it also relates to business cancellations.  The odd naming thing might apply, as the Olympics are still saying they will call it "Tokyo 2020" even though delayed for a year - different of course as it is not until delayed for 4 years that this Olympics would 'crash' into the next Olympics.

Thanks for the reply. They have already started marketing the 'postponed' 2020 show as the 2021 show, though in every correspondence they have not used the term 'cancellation' - they've been very careful to say 'postponement'.