Wedding refund! Covid related

Aylesbury_Duck

iainandkathy said:

I am looking for some advice please. My daughter was due to get married on 30/11 this year but due to the ongoing Covid issues this will not now be possible. After much pressure the venue have now agreed to move the wedding but the dates they have offered next year aren't suitable. She originally booked 30/11 as the xmas decorations would be up and because it was a Monday which allowed  guests to travel on the Sunday. Two of the dates offered are Mondays but the decorations won't be up and the equivalent date next year is a Tuesday making travel difficult for guests. Are they within their right to cancel and obtain a full refund as the requirements haven't been met. The venue are suggesting that if she doesn't go ahed then their deposit (which is several thousand pounds) will be lost.

Why is it not possible?  If the venue can't provide what was agreed, then yes, she's entitled to ask for her money back.  If it's her choice to cancel/reschedule then she isn't entitled to an automatic refund.  If the venue can host the wedding but with restrictions, the situation will depend upon the terms of the contract.

lincroft1710

ThumbRemote said:

ssparks2003 said:

iainandkathy said:

I am looking for some advice please. My daughter was due to get married on 30/11 this year but due to the ongoing Covid issues this will not now be possible. After much pressure the venue have now agreed to move the wedding but the dates they have offered next year aren't suitable. She originally booked 30/11 as the xmas decorations would be up and because it was a Monday which allowed  guests to travel on the Sunday. Two of the dates offered are Mondays but the decorations won't be up and the equivalent date next year is a Tuesday making travel difficult for guests. Are they within their right to cancel and obtain a full refund as the requirements haven't been met. The venue are suggesting that if she doesn't go ahed then their deposit (which is several thousand pounds) will be lost.

You would be better off starting your own thread. But as a starter for 10 would be is the requirement for Christmas critical? Was the expressed clearly at the outset as a key requirement of the original booking? 

Clearly the original date was expressed as a key requirement. A change of that magnitude to the contract can only be done with both parties consent. 

lincroft1710 said:

iainandkathy said:

She originally booked 30/11 as the xmas decorations would be up and because it was a Monday which allowed  guests to travel on the Sunday. Two of the dates offered are Mondays but the decorations won't be up 

Why are Christmas decorations so important at a wedding?

What's that got to do with their consumer rights? They wanted them, as they are entirely free to do. This is a consumer rights forum, not a 'critique other peoples wedding choices' forum. 

Because it's hardly a requirement for a wedding ceremony and the majority of weddings take place outside of the Christmas period anyway. If it is so important, it means the wedding will have to be pushed back 12 months.

bris

Kias1992 said:

Spoke to consumer rights 

Whoever you spoke to is wrong. In the event of no written contract, contract law applies. This means other evidence of a contract  forms the contract. In this case your actions by giving them the deposit prove the contract exists. 

Whether you are entitled to a refund or not is all about who is breaching the contract. Covid complicates this a bit to be fair but if they are still offering the service on the day in question you are on sticky ground.

Gavin83

Poster 1, I agree with bris. Contract law applies here and as you’ve pulled out of the contract you’re liable for the photo booth company’s losses resulting from your cancellation. If it’s less than your deposit you should be entitled to some back, if it’s more then in theory you could be asked to pay the extra. I suspect if you went to court for this (which you most probably would need to) you’d lose your case.

Poster 2, who cancelled the wedding, the venue or your daughter?

Buster54321

Son supposed to get married May 2021, due to reduced numbers and uncertainty in the current climate they have contacted the venue/church etc and discussed it with them and have all agreed to let the date go under the current circumstances,  understandably they have returned the deposits, only the photographer refuses to refund the deposit, as he will try and fit in if a new date is booked and will waiver the £100 charge for changing the date, this is something that they do not even want to think about at the moment considering the disappointment they are already feeling. The situation is out of their control, what can we do, any advise please.  

Aylesbury_Duck

As it's your son cancelling, the photographer is doing nothing wrong.  The situation isn't out of their control, they are making a choice not to hold their wedding on that date, when the laws allow them to hold it.

Buster54321

Aylesbury_Duck said:

As it's your son cancelling, the photographer is doing nothing wrong.  The situation isn't out of their control, they are making a choice not to hold their wedding on that date, when the laws allow them to hold it.

Thanks for the reply
They are not canceling, they want it to go ahead but this is not the wedding that was booked,  it was agreed with all the services as the situation is unclear because of (reduced numbers ) the services offered to return deposits, except for the photographer      ( who must be doing the same to many other couples)  original numbers were 200, big difference to guidelines now, why should they be forced to randomly pick a date as everything is so unclear for the future. 
but thank you for your reply stay safe 

Aylesbury_Duck

Buster54321 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

As it's your son cancelling, the photographer is doing nothing wrong.  The situation isn't out of their control, they are making a choice not to hold their wedding on that date, when the laws allow them to hold it.

Thanks for the reply
They are not canceling, they want it to go ahead but this is not the wedding that was booked,  it was agreed with all the services as the situation is unclear because of (reduced numbers ) the services offered to return deposits, except for the photographer      ( who must be doing the same to many other couples)  original numbers were 200, big difference to guidelines now, why should they be forced to randomly pick a date as everything is so unclear for the future. 
but thank you for your reply stay safe 

You're welcome, but reduced numbers doesn't necessarily mean a photographer's work is lessened.  He's still available to take photos on the day.  There might be room for a slightly reduced service with fewer guests and therefore fewer group photos, for example, but the bulk of the photographer's cost is his day rate.

Bottom line is that the photographer was booked for the date in question, the wedding can lawfully proceed on that date and so if your son wishes to cancel then he is liable for the deposit if that was one of the terms of the booking.  Anything else is down to goodwill.

Undervalued

Buster54321 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

As it's your son cancelling, the photographer is doing nothing wrong.  The situation isn't out of their control, they are making a choice not to hold their wedding on that date, when the laws allow them to hold it.

Thanks for the reply
They are not canceling, they want it to go ahead but this is not the wedding that was booked,  it was agreed with all the services as the situation is unclear because of (reduced numbers ) the services offered to return deposits, except for the photographer      ( who must be doing the same to many other couples)  original numbers were 200, big difference to guidelines now, why should they be forced to randomly pick a date as everything is so unclear for the future. 
but thank you for your reply stay safe 

Maybe they did but the photographer is doing nothing wrong in taking a different view.

The photographer should however make reasonable efforts to mitigate his losses by trying to find an alternative booking for that day. If he succeeds in getting a booking of a similar value then your son would be entitled to his deposit back less the photographer's reasonable costs in finding the other work.

Buster54321

Thanks,
Just a thought,
what if some of these wedding services are no longer in business when new dates are arranged, what guarantees can all these couples get who have been forced to change wedding dates because of the current climate, nothing is definite at the moment.