Company refusing to refund fee for trade show stand which is now a "digital event"

skaart

MOVED FROM CONSUMER RIGHTS BOARD:

Back in Jan my micro business paid £2750 + VAT for a stand at a trade show due to take place 1st April. the terms were clearly laid out as a 3x2m stand, fasica board and so on, along with a handful of extras. 

Unsurprisingly, the show was postponed (to Sept). They have now stated that they event will now take place "digitally". I have argued that this is in breach of the original terms of the contract, and would like a full refund. 

They have refused, and are relying on a clause which reads....

 17. Liability
Whilst the Exhibition Organisers will endeavour to protect exhibition property whilst on display at the Exhibition, it must be clearly understood that the management of the Premises and the Exhibition Organisers cannot accept liability for any loss or damage sustained or occasioned from any cause whatsoever.E xhibitors will be responsible for all damage to property and for any loss or injury caused by them or their agents or employees and will indemnify the Exhibition Organisers against all claims and expenses arising there from. In the event of it being necessary for any reason whatsoever for the Exhibition to be abandoned, postponed or altered in any way in whole or in part, or if the Exhibition Organisers find it necessary to change the date of the Exhibition, the Exhibition Organisers shall not be liable for any loss which the Exhibitor or exhibition contractors may incur owing to the intervention of any authority which prevents or restricts the use of the Premises or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. In the event of XXXXXXXX  making the sole decision to cancel the event, we will reimburse direct revenues paid by you directly to XXXXXXXX Ltd

To me, this seems that this absolves them of any resultant costs to me due to their changing toe event, but not to the fee paid for the event itself, which they are unable to deliver as outlined in the agreement. I dont think any reasonable person could argue that the digital version of the event is in any way a viable substitute for hat i paid for. 

The also rely on: 

20. The Exhibition Organisers reserve the right to add to or amend the foregoing rules and regulations for the purpose of compliance with any statutory provision or in the interest of good conference management. Any such amendment or alteration will be binding on an Exhibitor provided the terms of such alterations or additions are intimated to the Exhibitor in writing by the Exhibition Organisers. 

On the surface this seems. bamboozle me into thinking they can make any change they like, but surely they cant twist the product out of all recognition and deliver that instead?

They have offered me to make use of the digital trade show and take a 75% credit on a future event. (thereby undermining theuir claim in the agreement that "the overall package will retain the sae value and no refund will apply ")   

 Furthermore.  since they are unable to prove that this future event will or could ever take place with the crisis and restrictions ongoing,, or that their company will still exist to honour the agreement by then, this is worthless to me. I think the original contract has been frustrated to such a degree that no amount of get out clauses can rescue them. 

Am i right? do i have precedent here? are there any laws or phrases i can use to back up my position? Any help greatly appreciated during this stressful and difficult time. 

I can upload the full redacted contract if this is useful. 

Much obliged for any help you can offer. 

Kind regagrds to you all

DC

Mistral001

Most terms and conditions were not written to cover for the present times, so going word for word in your terms and conditions will probably not help you much.  It might take a court case and a judge to decide.

Sandtree

skaart said:

On the surface this seems. bamboozle me into thinking they can make any change they like, but surely they cant twist the product out of all recognition and deliver that instead?

No, they can only make changes in response to external parties or a situation. If Covid19 hadnt happened and they just fancied changing it because they could get a better rate on the location then these clauses wouldnt have triggered. As Clause 17 says, if it is just their decision then they have to give you a refund.

Unfortunately as a business owner you are considered to be a grown up that has emerged from behind the nanny state apron. Protection for businesses is almost non-existent in comparison to consumer rights. The time to argue about these clauses was before executing the contract but you like them probably didn't predict Covid19

I assume they are relying on social distancing reducing capacity of the venue and therefore triggering the Clause 17 bold text by virtue of " restricts the use of the Premises or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever" which is worded as a broad catchall. Unless you could argue their maximum capacity hasn't been restricted by rules on social distancing then you are onto a loser and it turns from winning to damage limitation.

If they won't give you more goodwill then I would certainly tighten up what they are offering in terms of the credit towards future show. But yes, if they went bust it'd almost certainly be worth nothing.

Norman_Castle

skaart said:

 17. Liability
Whilst the Exhibition Organisers will endeavour to protect exhibition property whilst on display at the Exhibition, it must be clearly understood that the management of the Premises and the Exhibition Organisers cannot accept liability for any loss or damage sustained or occasioned from any cause whatsoever.E xhibitors will be responsible for all damage to property and for any loss or injury caused by them or their agents or employees and will indemnify the Exhibition Organisers against all claims and expenses arising there from. In the event of it being necessary for any reason whatsoever for the Exhibition to be abandoned, postponed or altered in any way in whole or in part, or if the Exhibition Organisers find it necessary to change the date of the Exhibition, the Exhibition Organisers shall not be liable for any loss which the Exhibitor or exhibition contractors may incur owing to the intervention of any authority which prevents or restricts the use of the Premises or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. In the event of XXXXXXXX  making the sole decision to cancel the event, we will reimburse direct revenues paid by you directly to XXXXXXXX Ltd

To me, this seems that this absolves them of any resultant costs to me due to their changing toe event, but not to the fee paid for the event itself, which they are unable to deliver as outlined in the agreement. I dont think any reasonable person could argue that the digital version of the event is in any way a viable substitute for hat i paid for.

I would read the above as absolving them for consequential losses such as a stand or fittings bought for the show or other arrangements which cannot now be used. A "digital" show is an entirely different event and will not work for many businesses. As the event is now materially different you should have the option to pull out with a refund, presumably the organisers are trying to avoid this as they will need to cover their costs which ultimately aren't your concern.

Contact the other stand holders, you should be able to find them from the shows promotions. Its likely to be easier or cheaper to take action as a group.