VAT on wedding bookings made in 2020

RS1990

Hello All, When 5% VAT was brought in I questioned my wedding venue if it would make a difference to our total balance. We were sadly told no as its a single wedding package. We accepted this and continued to book our wedding however when we received the first deposit invoice, VAT was charged at 5%. I questioned this and received thew following reply "We can confirm the prevailing rate is 20% up to and including Tuesday 14th July, however from Wednesday 15th July until Monday 11th January 2021 (inclusive) it is 5%, but this is on Food & Accommodation only." 

Our wedding is August 2020 and I'm due to pay another deposit in November (which will probably be charged 5%) and the final balance  is due next year. 

Can VAT only be charged at the time of transaction? And can they charge us the for the unpaid VAT when paying the final balance? 

jon81uk

Did you get a quote for £XX plus VAT or for £YY is the cost of hosting the wedding?

If you agreed to pay the quoted price £YY then they can still charge that sum. They are under no obligation to pass the lower VAT on.

bradders1983

At the end of the day if they quoted you an all in price, their VAT affairs are none of your business.

RS1990

bradders1983 said:

At the end of the day if they quoted you an all in price, their VAT affairs are none of your business.

jon81uk said:

Did you get a quote for £XX plus VAT or for £YY is the cost of hosting the wedding?

If you agreed to pay the quoted price £YY then they can still charge that sum. They are under no obligation to pass the lower VAT on.

Our contract states "Venue Hire Fee: £xxxx Including VAT , Total deposit due now: £xx Including VAT. And we are contracted to to a minimum of 72 guest at £xx per head including VAT. 
It seems like they are trying to pocket the extra 15% even though the 2 deposits will be charged at 5%. They haven't issued us a final balance due as the final balance will be going up when we add more guest nearer the time. It all just seems very shady and dishonest. 

JCS1

Perfectly legal, the legislation did state it was up to the company if they passed on the VAT rate change difference.

bradders1983

Nothing to add to the above. Dont want to repeat my earlier post again.

pdel61

RS1990 said:

Our wedding is August 2020 and I'm due to pay another deposit in November (which will probably be charged 5%) and the final balance  is due next year. 

How was your wedding

gettingtheresometime

RS1990 said:

bradders1983 said:

At the end of the day if they quoted you an all in price, their VAT affairs are none of your business.

jon81uk said:

Did you get a quote for £XX plus VAT or for £YY is the cost of hosting the wedding?

If you agreed to pay the quoted price £YY then they can still charge that sum. They are under no obligation to pass the lower VAT on.

Our contract states "Venue Hire Fee: £xxxx Including VAT , Total deposit due now: £xx Including VAT. And we are contracted to to a minimum of 72 guest at £xx per head including VAT. 
It seems like they are trying to pocket the extra 15% even though the 2 deposits will be charged at 5%. They haven't issued us a final balance due as the final balance will be going up when we add more guest nearer the time. It all just seems very shady and dishonest. 

I'm not sure why you think it's shady & dishonest - you're paying the price you agreed. 

Takmon

RS1990 said:

bradders1983 said:

At the end of the day if they quoted you an all in price, their VAT affairs are none of your business.

jon81uk said:

Did you get a quote for £XX plus VAT or for £YY is the cost of hosting the wedding?

If you agreed to pay the quoted price £YY then they can still charge that sum. They are under no obligation to pass the lower VAT on.

Our contract states "Venue Hire Fee: £xxxx Including VAT , Total deposit due now: £xx Including VAT. And we are contracted to to a minimum of 72 guest at £xx per head including VAT. 
It seems like they are trying to pocket the extra 15% even though the 2 deposits will be charged at 5%. They haven't issued us a final balance due as the final balance will be going up when we add more guest nearer the time. It all just seems very shady and dishonest. 

The whole idea of the VAT reduction is to help businesses which have suffered a loss of income due to Covid19 restrictions, so i think it's right that they should keep the money they are saving by paying less VAT because they will have lost far more than that over the last few months. 
Plus what would be the point in them giving you a price reduction on something you have already agreed to pay for.

mattyprice4004

RS1990 said:

bradders1983 said:

At the end of the day if they quoted you an all in price, their VAT affairs are none of your business.

jon81uk said:

Did you get a quote for £XX plus VAT or for £YY is the cost of hosting the wedding?

If you agreed to pay the quoted price £YY then they can still charge that sum. They are under no obligation to pass the lower VAT on.

Our contract states "Venue Hire Fee: £xxxx Including VAT , Total deposit due now: £xx Including VAT. And we are contracted to to a minimum of 72 guest at £xx per head including VAT. 
It seems like they are trying to pocket the extra 15% even though the 2 deposits will be charged at 5%. They haven't issued us a final balance due as the final balance will be going up when we add more guest nearer the time. It all just seems very shady and dishonest. 

You wouldn't be saying it was 'shady and dishonest' if you had an events company or wedding venue that had been barred from legally operating for half a year, and had minimal help from the Government during this time. 

You're still paying a set price inc VAT, they're just getting to keep a chunk of the VAT that would have been paid. That's between them and HMRC, and nothing to do with you. 

isplumm

the whole point of the VAT reduction is to give businesses more financial support - not to give customers cheaper deals.