Refund for birthday party

Emzmom88

i booked my daughters birthday party on Tuesday night and i stupidly paid on my debit card (never again) now the company are refusing to refund and were quite smug about me never getting my money back on Thursday the government changed the guidance when calling on Thursday once they opened they said all parties are cancelled but they are only offering vouchers and not any refunds 
I have tried and pleaded and i have established they are not a nice company.
I have called my bank and they said i need to wait 15 days before i can try and chargeback but i know that company will never give in (believe me ive worked in customer services 15 years and never been spoke to like that i assume the agent/company were on rouge traders at some point)
Is there anything else i can do? I have sent some details to trading standards.
There terms say you can cancel within 24 hours for a full refund but this was within 48 hours and it was the government changing the law and they acknowledged it by telling me over the phone that parties were cancelled!
Do i have a leg to stand on because it's really hurt the fact that they actively are avoiding paying back my money and smug that they are getting away with it....

macman

They don't have to 'give in' to a chargeback: your bank will refund it and then they have the opportunity to dispute it. But if they cancelled it, they have no defence anyway, it's a simple breach of contract. No obligation to accept a voucher. 
Why 'never again' on your debit card? Had you used bank transfer, then you would have had to pursue the supplier yourself.
In the meantime, ask the supplier in writing for a full refund, give them 7 days to repay or say you will be recovering via chargeback. This demonstrates to your card provider that you have exhausted all other means of recovery.

Emzmom88

I said never again on my debit card as i have seen holidays etc much easier to get the funds bk from a credit card.
Thank you for your advice i will write a letter today so i sent it to the branch or head office or both i will send it tomorrow recorded of course 😊 
They are trying to say their terms are no refunds but they cant provide what i purchased so how can they win its is about the money but also the principle because of how nasty they have been 

JamoLew

when you send the letter - get proof of posting but NOT signed for delivery

jon81uk

Did they cancel it or did you cancel?
If they cancelled then you are entitled to a refund as its breach of contract. Try a chargeback via the bank/
If you cancelled then the terms of the contract apply and that means no refunds could stand.

macman

You are far more likely to succeed with a chargeback than an S75, because it's the retailer that pays for a chargeback. With an S75, the card provider and the retailer are jointly liable. 

macman

Emzmom88 said:

I said never again on my debit card as i have seen holidays etc much easier to get the funds bk from a credit card.
Thank you for your advice i will write a letter today so i sent it to the branch or head office or both i will send it tomorrow recorded of course 😊 
They are trying to say their terms are no refunds but they cant provide what i purchased so how can they win its is about the money but also the principle because of how nasty they have been 

And they may well be, but that only applies if you cancel. They can't just cancel the booking and offer a voucher if you don't want one.

Emzmom88

Thank you they have cancelled....when i called to ask for an update they said all parties are cancelled now we are in a localised lockdown we couldn't have a gathering by law of any other households anyway.
Thank you for all your advice i really appreciate it i will write a letter tomorrow advising them but i wouldn't be surprised if it was ignored as they do not seem like they care to much given  the lack of customer service given...honestly shocking 😐