Wedding singer won't refund our deposit

stevie433

Courts will be a waste of your time and energy. I think it will depend who cancelled. If you cancelled then I don't believe they are obliged to refund as a given right it is at their descretion and good will and they are unlikely to have been able to rebook the date and may have refused other bookings to accomodate your event. In the current climate everyone is scraping by and they may not have the funds to pay out at this time. Cashflow for may small operators is a dire situation at the moment and a refund may not seem as vital as paying for food- this may not be the case but there are a number of reasons why a deposit isn't returned especially when it may not be a legal obligation.

bradders1983

Hmm thata a fair point, OP I assume you have cancelled rather than the other way round? If so you are on a hiding to nothing I fear.

Dianne2265

We were told by the Registrar that the wedding could not go ahead. We were not given a choice as the Government said all weddings were cancelled up to September although I believe that has been reviewed and weddings may be able to go ahead sooner but nothing has been clarified, he wouldn't have been able to do another event due to the rules in particular social distancing. That is why I believe the contract is 'frustrated ' both parties want it to go ahead but it cannot due to circumstances.

adamp87

Dianne2265 said:

We were told by the Registrar that the wedding could not go ahead. We were not given a choice as the Government said all weddings were cancelled up to September although I believe that has been reviewed and weddings may be able to go ahead sooner but nothing has been clarified, he wouldn't have been able to do another event due to the rules in particular social distancing. That is why I believe the contract is 'frustrated ' both parties want it to go ahead but it cannot due to circumstances.

I completely get where you are coming from but there’s also the other sides point of view here.

He was booked for a gig. Asked for a deposit to secure the date in the event you couldn’t make it or something changed - he then kept that date free for you.

Coronavirus happened & the event has been cancelled as a result under government rules.

Whilst you have secured another date the singer can’t do this. That’s really not there problem here.

You paid a deposit that secured them for a specific date, the date got cancelled and they couldn’t work, and more than likely have had no income during that time.

Perfectly within their right to keep the deposit as that’s what it’s for I think. Yes you are out of pocket but that’s the risk of a deposit in any situation.

GHolmesAdmin

Any court action will only leave you further out-of-pocket, just let it go. 

Runner5_2

I appreciate that £200 is a lot of money (not so much in the grand scheme of a wedding maybe) and it must be terrible to have your wedding postponed in the way. But please consider this singer who has likely lost his entire income. Depending on how long he has been doing it, he may have got 0 from any of the schemes. Perhaps chalk it up to experience and in the future, insure against sums you can't afford to lose. 

diggingdude

I am assuming he is willing to sing to you on the date he was booked, therefore not really his problem

jayzor

Why not pay him in full and have him sing a few numbers to you in the park from a safe distance? 

Dianne2265

He and his wife have a record company so it is not his only source of income. My fiance and I are going to sit down this weekend and decide what to do. Thank you all for your help.