Hen Party didn't go ahead and company ignoring us

meeshpeesh

Hi all, I booked my sister's hen party with a company called Clear Cut Weekends at the beginning of 2020. It was originally scheduled for August but with the pandemic the company agreed to postpone it to March 2021. Obviously this didn't go ahead - and in the weeks leading up to it I called and emailed several times trying to ascertain our options. The full balance hasn't been paid luckily but they still have £1400 paid in dribs and drabs by the various guests (so section 75 isn't of use to most of us) and they haven't gotten back to me at all. 

Any advice on what I can do? I feel awful as I have 14 guests that are now out of pocket after I was trusted to organise it

[Deleted User]

What do your terms say about your options?

Thrugelmir

Perhaps they were/are closed. 

mjm3346

If it's these ones they haven't posted on their FB page since Jan 2020  -  but lots of people have posted since then trying to get a response from them without any success

https://www.facebook.com/ClearCutWeekends/?ref=page_internal

elsien

Why do you feel awful? 

None of us had a crystal ball to see what was coming and you’d probably have been in a similar situation whoever organised it. 

[Deleted User]

You need to check your t’s and c’s. If you haven’t paid in full then you are probably in breech of contract and, hate to say it, you may have been deemed as cancelling yourself anyway, in which case you will probably not be entitled to a refund anyway?  Or is it a case of pay in full on arrival?  

If that is the case, all you can do is keep on trying to contact and wait.  I doubt you would all have individual insurance cover?  

As was said this isn’t your fault. Nobody will blame you.  It is annoying but not the end of the world.  

Just thinking it is likely thei accommodation would have been available back in August (even if you couldn’t all go) so the company sound as if they were willing to offer goodwill then?  Hopefully they are too swamped at moment to get round to answering your messages.  🤞

meeshpeesh

Deleted_User said:

What do your terms say about your options?

These seem to be the more relevant parts: 10B) Alterations Made By Us and On Behalf of Suppliers

"We reserve the right to make alterations to activities, accommodation (including allocation of room type) or any other arrangements, at any time where necessary due to any circumstances beyond our control. We will inform you of any such changes as soon as it is reasonably possible. Should it be necessary to make arrangements for an alternative activity at a lower cost value, you will be entitled to payment of the net difference between the original cost of the activity and the cost of the alternative arranged.
Those using the facilities of our suppliers automatically agree to be bound by their reasonable conditions regarding cancellations. In the event of part of your booking being cancelled, for example the last minute cancellation of a show or scheduled activity, we shall inform you as soon as possible. In such circumstances we will offer suitable alternatives including if necessary a refund for this part of your package. It will not be possible to offer a full refund of your package for this type of alteration.
If due to circumstances beyond our control it becomes necessary to substitute an alternative standard of accommodation or make any other alterations to the event that differ from the quoted package we shall inform you of the changes as soon as possible. If the changes are substantial and you are unwilling to accept them you may cancel the entire event by notifying us of your intentions in writing. Management will then review the case and if it is deemed that the changes were substantial enough to warrant the cancellation, a part or full refund may be issued.
Any venues quoted prior to receipt of your final package may be subject to change, and where these changes do not constitute major change as described above, Clear Cut Weekends accept no liability. These small changes can include but are not limited to, a different (but similar standard) hotel, nightclub, activity centre or restaurant.
If, due to circumstances beyond our control it becomes necessary to revise the price of your trip we reserve the right to do so with reasonable notice.

11) FORCE MAJEURE
We shall not be held liable for any delays or any failure to perform any of our obligations under these conditions, or any third party obligations, caused by any factor beyond our reasonable control (`force majeure’), including but not limited to acts of terrorism, industrial disputes, natural disasters, poor weather conditions and the declaration of war."

Terms and conditions are here: https://www.clearcutweekends.co.uk/hen-party/terms-conditions/ 

I understand they're not liable but they're just completely ignoring us, when I call it's just a recorded message that hasn't been updated in months and no response at all to emails. 

Tedber said:

You need to check your t’s and c’s. If you haven’t paid in full then you are probably in breech of contract and, hate to say it, you may have been deemed as cancelling yourself anyway, in which case you will probably not be entitled to a refund anyway?  Or is it a case of pay in full on arrival?  

If that is the case, all you can do is keep on trying to contact and wait.  I doubt you would all have individual insurance cover?  

As was said this isn’t your fault. Nobody will blame you.  It is annoying but not the end of the world.  

Just thinking it is likely thei accommodation would have been available back in August (even if you couldn’t all go) so the company sound as if they were willing to offer goodwill then?  Hopefully they are too swamped at moment to get round to answering your messages.  🤞

That's what I'm worried about - have lots of emails back and forth with them trying to come to a solution and they suddenly just stopped responding in February. It may well be the case that us not paying in full triggered a cancellation but it's preferable to people having paid in full and still been in this situation where they're not getting back to us 

michael1234

Tedber said:

You need to check your t’s and c’s. If you haven’t paid in full then you are probably in breech of contract and, hate to say it, you may have been deemed as cancelling yourself anyway, in which case you will probably not be entitled to a refund anyway?  Or is it a case of pay in full on arrival?  

If that is the case, all you can do is keep on trying to contact and wait.  I doubt you would all have individual insurance cover?  

As was said this isn’t your fault. Nobody will blame you.  It is annoying but not the end of the world.  

Just thinking it is likely thei accommodation would have been available back in August (even if you couldn’t all go) so the company sound as if they were willing to offer goodwill then?  Hopefully they are too swamped at moment to get round to answering your messages.  🤞

Such a shame that this forum started life as a place for folk to help others and has now become a place for a tiny minority to reply to hundreds of posts on topics they clearly have no experience of and certainly are of no use to the original posters. The typical response of such "know-it-alls" is condescension.

Pollycat

Michael1234

I really don't understand why you are taking other posters to task for their comments.

I can't see anything wrong in the reply by Tedber.

It shows sympathy and support and understanding of the situation the OP is in.

Are you saying the information given by Tedber is incorrect?

If it is, perhaps you could post correct information to help the OP.

[Deleted User]

michael1234 said:

Tedber said:

You need to check your t’s and c’s. If you haven’t paid in full then you are probably in breech of contract and, hate to say it, you may have been deemed as cancelling yourself anyway, in which case you will probably not be entitled to a refund anyway?  Or is it a case of pay in full on arrival?  

If that is the case, all you can do is keep on trying to contact and wait.  I doubt you would all have individual insurance cover?  

As was said this isn’t your fault. Nobody will blame you.  It is annoying but not the end of the world.  

Just thinking it is likely thei accommodation would have been available back in August (even if you couldn’t all go) so the company sound as if they were willing to offer goodwill then?  Hopefully they are too swamped at moment to get round to answering your messages.  🤞

Such a shame that this forum started life as a place for folk to help others and has now become a place for a tiny minority to reply to hundreds of posts on topics they clearly have no experience of and certainly are of no use to the original posters. The typical response of such "know-it-alls" is condescension.

As you see seem to be addressing me in particular Michael (not just here) and you have a problem with my posts.   I started off because I needed help back in early 2020 and I got some great advice.  I have since read up on so much and  am now giving my 'opinion' not only from my experience but also knowledge of what the actual 'law' is concerning the 'rights' of holiday makers (which is confusing granted).   I don't think anybody. on this forum purports to be legal experts?  I doubt any legal experts would give their 'advice' free of charge anyway.  Your expectations are totally way beyond what this forum is about.   Any questions by forum members are never to belittle original posters, they are just to gain more information so that an informed response can be given.  They also would not give false hope to people just because they don't understand what they have signed up for?   You can only sugar coat it but at end of day if they are wrong, they are wrong and only a court decsion might be an option?   

Reading your responses across the board, you do not appear to have any advice to any person, other than to ridicule those who do try to help.  Indeed If everyone felt like you do, then nobody would respond in any way and this forum would not exist.