Wedding caterer upping prices after deposit paid

RichTHFC

TELLIT01 said:

Purely on the inflation figures.  Food price inflation for the 12 months to September was 13.1%, and just between June and July was 2.3%.  Both figures from the ONS (Office for National Statistics).  Commercial fuel costs have increased by several hundred %.

Good figures to know, thanks very much!

RichTHFC

sheramber said:

When is the wedding/  If it is some time away prices could increase even more.

Tread carefully. Beware of cost cutting  if they agree to a power price- .  cheaper,  lower quality supplies, poorer service on the day.

This is probably our biggest concern now as the wedding is 10 months off, and a new menu was created when we first received one from them...looks like it updates every 6 or 7 months so may well increase the same again and our budget is totally depleted and some.

Seems the best option is to voice concern, see what they come back with and play nice. Thank you!

TELLIT01

It's obviously of concern to you when you thought, not unreasonably, that you knew what the costs would be.  For the past several years you would have been right to make that assumption, but you can put the blame for much of the current massive inflation on Putin.  He has managed to mess up (polite version) the world.

Aylesbury_Duck

TELLIT01 said:

It's obviously of concern to you when you thought, not unreasonably, that you knew what the costs would be.  For the past several years you would have been right to make that assumption, but you can put the blame for much of the current massive inflation on Putin.  He has managed to mess up (polite version) the world.

Aided by Western European governments being too dependent upon Russia, knowing full well what Putin is all about.  

pinkshoes

RichTHFC said:

The caterer has now (7 months later) emailed to say she has had to increase the price of the menus "due to fuel prices and cost of living"...so the base menu is now £4 extra per head, with an additional £1.95 a head for an extra choice on the menu. This is a 30% increase in the cost of the food...!

So you'd agreed £20 a head and they now want £26?

The first step would be to get rid of the additional item that they're wanting an extra £1.95 per head for! That gets rid of a third of the increase. Is it really that important. 

I appreciate costs have gone up, and could go up again, but a company cannot just up it to anything. A 30% increase already on something you selected due to being able to control the cost is too much, so I would say you are within your right to cancel for a full refund.

BUT... in the 10 months until your wedding, can you get what you want for the same budget you had originally? You need to negotiate carefully.

Just hire some street food kiosks and negotiate prices! A friend of mine paid about £1000 for an Indian buffet for about 75 people which worked really well! 

It's your wedding - decide what is important. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

RichTHFC said:

I'm aware they did originally say "prices subject to change", but this is NOT detailed on their website terms and conditions and wasnt mentioned again at any other time

OP there's a few things, firstly how your contract was formed, if it was at a distance or off-premises then there are requirements for information and without these you aren't bound by the contract. 

If they could bind terms to you they would still need to be fair, prices subject to change on it's own would probably be unfair, if it was explained how they may change and you had the option to withdraw without penalty then that would probably be fair. 

If you force them to perform at the original price they might cut corners which could lead to disappointment. Other options are withdraw and find someone else or carry on with the increased price and in either case, should you wish to, try to recover losses of increased costs if the terms aren't binding. 
 
Problem is you get married, have a honeymoon, start a new life together, do you want an argument with a catering company hanging over you?