Pub Cancellation Charge

Arfster56

I was recently charged by a pub for a table cancellation.  They had a 48-hour cancellation notice when placing the online booking and took my card details.  However, 24 hours prior to the booking my 17-year-old dog was taken ill and I decided to try to call the pub to reschedule the table.  I couldn’t call them though as they had no contact number on the website or anywhere else online.  In the end I had to email them to explain the situation and to ask if we could reschedule.  Minutes later I received a cancellation notice and subsequently had money taken from my card.  This all feels unjustified.  They have no means of being contacted apart from email and they have no terms or conditions on the website.  I have tried to request an alternative booking and a refund from the pub, but they have refused such.  Am I fighting a lost cause or is there anything I can do to challenge them legally?

 

I understand the entertainment industries need for cancellation policies but in this case I wanted to reschedule not cancel but they seemed like a closed book when it came to communication.

Westin

How many people was the table booked for?

Emmia

The problem with a reschedule is that staff are on shift in who need to be paid, and food may have been bought on the basis you were dining, food which presumably would not keep for your rescheduled date (and cynically, what's to stop you cancelling that rescheduled date and thereby avoiding the charge).

The pub doesn't care about your 17 dog as the excuse for you not showing up (sorry if that's harsh) they're a business, probably run on tight margins.

Unfortunately the rise people booking tables at several places at the same time and then cancelling /no showing has led to the introduction of these policies. 

lisyloo

Personally I think it’s a lost cause.
is it harsh but you aren’t entitled to contact or a reschedule.
if you didn’t like the fact that they offer no contact or customer service then the choice is yours to vote with your feet.
sorry if that sounds harsh and I understand about your dog but sometimes it’s your responsibility not theirs.
its harsh but they can run their business how they like (within the law) and you can choose to dine where you like.
The only thing you can do is not book in future if you don’t like the service or terms offered.

Aylesbury_Duck

As I understand it, they're supposed to minimise their losses.  If they were able to re-sell your table at short notice, on broadly similar terms, then they haven't really lost anything other than some administrative costs.  But, the trouble you have is proving that occurred.

How many people had you booked for?  Getting a replacement booking for a table for two is much more likely than for a table of six, for example.

What have they charged?  A nominal deposit as per their conditions, or have they charged an estimated full bill?  If the former, you'll have to let it go because they've done nothing wrong.

TELLIT01

The difficulty in contacting them is a red herring.  They have a 48 hours cancellation policy and the OP tried to contact them 24 hours or less before the booking.  It clearly wasn't that difficult to contact them as they responded quickly after receiving the e-mail.

Hoenir

No shows come at a considerable cost to the business. Many establishments now schedule their staffing levels in line with bookings. The booking deposit is made very clear at the outset. Costs have to be covered. Why should the business pick up the entire bill?  

pinkshoes

Arfster56 said:

I was recently charged by a pub for a table cancellation.  They had a 48-hour cancellation notice when placing the online booking and took my card details.  However, 24 hours prior to the booking my 17-year-old dog was taken ill and I decided to try to call the pub to reschedule the table.  I couldn’t call them though as they had no contact number on the website or anywhere else online.  In the end I had to email them to explain the situation and to ask if we could reschedule.  Minutes later I received a cancellation notice and subsequently had money taken from my card.  This all feels unjustified.  They have no means of being contacted apart from email and they have no terms or conditions on the website.  I have tried to request an alternative booking and a refund from the pub, but they have refused such.  Am I fighting a lost cause or is there anything I can do to challenge them legally?

 

I understand the entertainment industries need for cancellation policies but in this case I wanted to reschedule not cancel but they seemed like a closed book when it came to communication.

I disagree with some of the above posts. 

If the website had NO T&Cs available, then they can't just take an amount on your card. This needs to be pre-agreed BEFORE you give over your card details. 

How much have they taken? How any was the table booked for?

I'd do another preliminary booking just to double check that there wasn't any sort of check box saying you agree to some T&Cs and these T&Cs state that if you cancel you have to pay a certain amount.

How did you know it had a 48 hour cancellation if there were no T&Cs? Did it not say anything about less than 48 hours and how much they'd charge?

ArbitraryRandom

pinkshoes said:

Arfster56 said:

I was recently charged by a pub for a table cancellation.  They had a 48-hour cancellation notice when placing the online booking and took my card details.  However, 24 hours prior to the booking my 17-year-old dog was taken ill and I decided to try to call the pub to reschedule the table.  I couldn’t call them though as they had no contact number on the website or anywhere else online.  In the end I had to email them to explain the situation and to ask if we could reschedule.  Minutes later I received a cancellation notice and subsequently had money taken from my card.  This all feels unjustified.  They have no means of being contacted apart from email and they have no terms or conditions on the website.  I have tried to request an alternative booking and a refund from the pub, but they have refused such.  Am I fighting a lost cause or is there anything I can do to challenge them legally?

 

I understand the entertainment industries need for cancellation policies but in this case I wanted to reschedule not cancel but they seemed like a closed book when it came to communication.

I disagree with some of the above posts. 

If the website had NO T&Cs available, then they can't just take an amount on your card. This needs to be pre-agreed BEFORE you give over your card details. 

How much have they taken? How any was the table booked for?

I'd do another preliminary booking just to double check that there wasn't any sort of check box saying you agree to some T&Cs and these T&Cs state that if you cancel you have to pay a certain amount.

How did you know it had a 48 hour cancellation if there were no T&Cs? Did it not say anything about less than 48 hours and how much they'd charge?

This would be my question also. 

user1977

What's the pub (or chain)?

RefluentBeans

ArbitraryRandom said:

pinkshoes said:

Arfster56 said:

I was recently charged by a pub for a table cancellation.  They had a 48-hour cancellation notice when placing the online booking and took my card details.  However, 24 hours prior to the booking my 17-year-old dog was taken ill and I decided to try to call the pub to reschedule the table.  I couldn’t call them though as they had no contact number on the website or anywhere else online.  In the end I had to email them to explain the situation and to ask if we could reschedule.  Minutes later I received a cancellation notice and subsequently had money taken from my card.  This all feels unjustified.  They have no means of being contacted apart from email and they have no terms or conditions on the website.  I have tried to request an alternative booking and a refund from the pub, but they have refused such.  Am I fighting a lost cause or is there anything I can do to challenge them legally?

 

I understand the entertainment industries need for cancellation policies but in this case I wanted to reschedule not cancel but they seemed like a closed book when it came to communication.

I disagree with some of the above posts. 

If the website had NO T&Cs available, then they can't just take an amount on your card. This needs to be pre-agreed BEFORE you give over your card details. 

How much have they taken? How any was the table booked for?

I'd do another preliminary booking just to double check that there wasn't any sort of check box saying you agree to some T&Cs and these T&Cs state that if you cancel you have to pay a certain amount.

How did you know it had a 48 hour cancellation if there were no T&Cs? Did it not say anything about less than 48 hours and how much they'd charge?

This would be my question also. 

Guessing most places use services like OpenTable which have their policies quite clearly laid out. The fact the OP knows of this policy would indicate that the policy is well presented and forms part of the contract. Additionally cancelling within 24 hours means that staffing is hard to change and reduce the costs to the business. Emergencies do happen, and it’s unfortunate, but the business has done nothing wrong. 

Of course the OP could ask for some of it back as credit to spend, but that’s going down the goodwill route. Likely the only route really worth pursuing.