Refund of restaurant deposit - taking longer and I need refund to book elsewhere

serendipity109

I booked a restaurant after calling first and ascertaining they could take my booking of 15. I paid £150 on their booking platform.
The following day I had an email stating owing to staff shortages they could no longer fulfil. I phoned them and she said staff had left and they couldn't guarantee they'd have replacement in 8 weeks time.
I asked for a full refund which she stated she would action and it would take a few days, this was on 1 July. I emailed again last Saturday and called today, she is now telling me it's going to take two weeks owing to the platform I booked on. Now this is a deposit for a hen do and I need this to book another venue and time is running out, so fed up, is there anything else I can do?

marcia_

 You could speak to your bank about a chargeback but even that won't be immediate but possibly quicker than the restaurant 

Bradden

marcia_ said:

 You could speak to your bank about a chargeback but even that won't be immediate but possibly quicker than the restaurant 

On what grounds do you suggest a chargeback on?

serendipity109

I paid on a credit card if that makes a difference. I feel annoyed she didn't let on it would take 14 days for it to be returned and they took the deposit knowing they hadn't the staff at the time.

pramsay13

Get another £10 each off everyone else.

serendipity109

pramsay13 said:

Get another £10 each off everyone else.

I didn't even get round to that, that isn't the issue, it's just they way they are handling this for me

lisyloo

If it’s local go round and “make a fuss” when it’s busy.
by that I mean politely (of course) but loud enough for other customers to hear, so they will do something about it.
you can stand your ground politely and say you don’t wish to leave until they have taken some positive action.
it quite possible to be politely assertive.

serendipity109

Unfortunately it's not that local but this is a great idea....

marcia_

Bradden said:

marcia_ said:

 You could speak to your bank about a chargeback but even that won't be immediate but possibly quicker than the restaurant 

On what grounds do you suggest a chargeback on?

 They've said they cant/wont be providing what's been paid for and have not refunded 

Manxman_in_exile

serendipity109 said:

... I asked for a full refund which she stated she would action and it would take a few days, this was on 1 July. I emailed again last Saturday and called today, she is now telling me it's going to take two weeks owing to the platform I booked on....

serendipity109 said:

... I feel annoyed she didn't let on it would take 14 days for it to be returned...

While refunds generally ought to be paid "without undue delay", I would normally accept a two week wait as being reasonable, and four weeks in some circumstances.  By the end of today you will only have been waiting 12 days, and when you emailed her last Saturday you had only been waiting for 7 days.  When she originally told you "a few days", did you ask her what she meant?

serendipity109 said:

... they took the deposit knowing they hadn't the staff at the time.

You might count yourself lucky they had the decency to tell you the day after you made the booking.

serendipity109 said:

I paid on a credit card if that makes a difference...

You haven't yet got any grounds on which to make a chargeback or s75 claim.

Bradden

I susopect it's not the fault of the restaurant but the plaform they've used for the booking. The staff may have limited control over how long it takes to go through. Was the payment made directly to them or through a 3rd party?