Hairdresser refusing to pay deposit back

droopychops

I paid £66 as a deposit to hairdresser for cut and colour which would have been around £130. The salon would not do the colour as I reacted to a skin test.
I had haircut and paid £40. They kept the £66 original deposit towards the hair colour which was rescheduled. They cancelled due to lockdown. The appointment was brought forward over the weekend before lockdown for the Wednesday. I found on the Monday I could not make the appointment and cancelled via email followed up by a phone call on Tuesday lunchtime. As salon was closed on the Monday. They confirmed the appointment had already been cancelled and filled. They refused to refund the deposit and said it would be put on account for a December appointment.  I told then I was unable to schedule .  I have childcare issues. I offered to buy products instead but they refused and said it's a different section and my deposit can only be used for services. The only policy I saw  was a 24 hour cancellation policy via text which I adhered to. I am waiting for them to send Ts and Cs which do not seem to be on their website.  Where do I stand? Any help appreciated!

Aylesbury_Duck

All I could think about when reading that was Craig David 

When you get the terms and conditions, post them here so people can advise.  How did you pay?

droopychops

I paid by Visa and called the bank about chargeback but need the t's and c's and 'valid reason' for  refusal of refund first  as the bank say they can only do one chargeback attempt and if it fails I lose my money. They say that because they are offering an service still it's not straight forward even though I am unable to take up that offer. Thanks for the quick reply Aylesbury. I really wanna smile at the Craig David but my sense of humour has broken lockdown rules and gone on holiday 😭

Aylesbury_Duck

Are there really no appointments you can take up at all in December?  If you still want the treatment it would be easier than what might end up a drawn-out refund process. 

droopychops

Not unless I take a very active and loud 2 year old to sit for 2-3 hours while I have it done. We struggle with childcare and have already spent 2 weeks sorting out December to enable us to go to work. It would cost £50 to put her in nursery and 2 hours of travel to do it and that just doesnt seem worth it to me. My partner works late a lot so evening appointments dont help. Thats what I tried to do on the rescheduled appointment just before lockdown before finding out my partner would be working late.

Aylesbury_Duck

Understood.  If you adhered to their 24 hour cancellation policy and that allows a refund of your deposit, it sounds like a case of assertively telling them that.  If they don't comply, you have the chargeback option and ultimately, small claims court if needs be. 

droopychops

Thanks Aylesbury.  I was hoping to avoid the fight as life is already too stressful. I even tried to buy products from them instead which would have
meant a further purchase but they arent budging so here we go. The 24 hour policy is the only bit of policy I can find and that was sent with the text appointment confirmation. There is nothing about refunds on their site and nothing was said about the deposit being non refundable

droopychops

Heres the response when I asked for terms and conditions etc. I adhered to their cancellation policy too:

Your deposit was paid to secure your booking with us which you then chose to cancel. As a good will

Gesture we are agreeing to keep your deposit on your account for your next appointment in the salon. 

As I’m sure you can understand, we are unable to trade at the moment and are in no position to be giving refunds on deposits for appointments that were not attended when there was an appointment offered at a suitable time that you agreed to which you then later cancelled, in which we sustained a financial loss as a result of this.

We do hope you can understand and we welcome you to book your next appointment whenever is convenient for you to use up 

the credit you have on your account.

Aylesbury_Duck

I have sympathy with their predicament and you'll need to decide how far you want to push this.  As I see it, they cancelled the original appointment (lockdown) which, whilst not their fault, wasn't yours either and at that point, you were entitled to a refund of your deposit.  You agreed to it being brought forward (so the potential offer of a refund disappears) but then you subsequently cancelled.  That cancellation is now the one that matters.  If their policy is to retain deposits in the event of customer cancellation then they can do that, within reason.  If their policy is such that as long as you give at least 24 hours' notice, your deposit is refunded and you did so, then you're entitled to a refund.  If the policy says you can carry the deposit over to a new booking, you don't have a case.

What exactly does that policy say?  That's the critical part.  If you're entitled to a refund, then it's back to the options of chargeback or small claims action.

photome

Can you extend the period so you could book an appt  for next year and still use the deposit

droopychops

' Thank you for booking your next appointment.We have a 24 hour cancellation policy, please call salon, if you're unable to attend'
That's the only bit of policy and was sent as part of the confirmation text.
I've had another email but still no terms and conditions.  Its lengthy but basically they are offering half of the deposit back and half on account.
They also said
 'We do have the the legal right to keep the deposit to cover any financial loss the business suffers due to the cancellation' . They havent provided any figures to show what losses they have incurred . I somehow think with the scramble for people  to get in before lockdown they didnt lose anything.
Part of me thinks take this offer. Part of me thinks they filled the appointment straight away and I still havent seen any terms and conditions.  I adhered to the only policy I have seen. But it could be a lengthy process for £33..