Cancellation of wedding venue due to Covid-19

MoneyBagsWallwork

Hey guys,

First post in here so apologies if i've broken any rules! 

Me & my partner are due to get married on may28th 2020 and our contract states this as the date. we are wondering if we are entitled to a full refund as currently they are closed and the possibility of the restaurant, hotel & bar side of the venue being open in 3 weeks are slim to none. we initially agreed to rebook for 24th august 2020 but havent signed any contracts so as it stands, we are still contracted to may 28th 2020. They have been less than helpful and we just want our money back now!

our contract states in section 12 part 1:
"The company may cancel the booking under the follwing circumstances:
The company or any part of it is closed due to circumstances outside its control"
In the event of of cancellation by the company under section 12(i) only, all moneys paid by the client will be returned within 7 days of notification or given the option to postpone within a given timeframe.

Grumpy_chap

Based on that extract, yes you are entitled to the refund.
Though the hotel may say that you have accepted the option (even if only verbally) to postpone.  I wonder whether hotels and things will all be back open, including big events like weddings, by the end of August.  If not, that may give you the option to re-invoke the original cancellation and refund.

Jeremy535897

The CMA are looking into wedding venues that try to avoid giving refunds.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds

MoneyBagsWallwork

Grumpy_chap said:

Based on that extract, yes you are entitled to the refund.
Though the hotel may say that you have accepted the option (even if only verbally) to postpone.  I wonder whether hotels and things will all be back open, including big events like weddings, by the end of August.  If not, that may give you the option to re-invoke the original cancellation and refund.

Thank you for your reply.
Do you think its worth giving them a call before the government announcement on sunday and ask them if they can guarantee my wedding will go ahead in may, and if not, can they process a refund? 
Or would you suggest waiting until sunday to get a definitive answer. Either way i cannot possibly see how a wedding can go ahead in 3 weeks time?! 
As far as i see it, a verbal agreement wont hold up in a court of law if it comes down to it. We initially agreed to august as they wouldn't let us postpone until may 2021 and wouldn't give us a refund so we felt pushed into making a decision. Looking into this situation i believe that it falls into the "unfair contract" territory.

EDIT: Spelling & Grammar

Grumpy_chap

If you actually just want the refund based on the original date being cancelled by the company for circumstances outside its control, it is probably worth directly asking for that in the first instance.  Given that they may try to fob you off on the phone, an e-mail may be worth while.  I assume the hotel have provided you with a specific named individual that is managing your big day and you are not dealing with whoever happens to be on the front desk?

Questions about August are far harder for the hotel (or anybody else) to answer as it is speculation.  We don't even know how clear that will become on Sunday when the Government give their update.

Undervalued

MoneyBagsWallwork said:

Grumpy_chap said:

Based on that extract, yes you are entitled to the refund.
Though the hotel may say that you have accepted the option (even if only verbally) to postpone.  I wonder whether hotels and things will all be back open, including big events like weddings, by the end of August.  If not, that may give you the option to re-invoke the original cancellation and refund.

Thank you for your reply.
Do you think its worth giving them a call before the government announcement on sunday and ask them if they can guarantee my wedding will go ahead in may, and if not, can they process a refund? 
Or would you suggest waiting until sunday to get a definitive answer. Either way i cannot possibly see how a wedding can go ahead in 3 weeks time?! 
As far as i see it, a verbal agreement wont hold up in a court of law if it comes down to it. We initially agreed to august as they wouldn't let us postpone until may 2021 and wouldn't give us a refund so we felt pushed into making a decision. Looking into this situation i believe that it falls into the "unfair contract" territory.

EDIT: Spelling & Grammar

A verbal agreement is just as valid as any other for almost all purposes in English law. Very few things have to be in writing. That said, it is obviously much harder to prove what was verbally agreed. However, in a civil dispute, it would ultimately come down to who the judge believed on the balance of probabilities.

Whilst I sympathise with your position, if you cancel whilst there is even a theoretical possibility the wedding could legally go ahead you are the ones breaking the contract. Just like all of the similar holiday questions it is a case of who blinks first!

If the venue wants to play "hard ball" they will take the position that it goes ahead unless they are legally prevented from doing so.