Restaurant cancellation policy, even though didn’t cancel

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

HillStreetBlues said:

If OP phoned up to book an never been to the restaurant how would they know the layout. Was the OP told they would be sitting next to the toilet? I very much doubt that the OP is the first person who didn't want to sit there. So the restaurant would know it's a possibility that the table was unsuitable. It sounds like the OP wasn't able to make an informed decision.

My old local pub had a table by the toilets, even when busy it was often empty, people were always told when booking it would be that table.

Indeed, I don't think anyone is happy with being sat at a naff table where people are back and fourth whether that's the loo, the kitchen, entrance/garden door, pretty much goes against the whole idea of enjoying a meal out.

I understand a restaurant wants to maximise floor space and I guess it depends on the place as what to expect.

You could argue misleading omission if not told, shame restaurants aren't like the cinema were you can make an informed choice before booking by picking where you want to sit.  

MeteredOut

Can't believe I'm typing this, but it would be good to see a picture of the table beside the toilet.

HillStreetBlues

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

HillStreetBlues said:

If OP phoned up to book an never been to the restaurant how would they know the layout. Was the OP told they would be sitting next to the toilet? I very much doubt that the OP is the first person who didn't want to sit there. So the restaurant would know it's a possibility that the table was unsuitable. It sounds like the OP wasn't able to make an informed decision.

My old local pub had a table by the toilets, even when busy it was often empty, people were always told when booking it would be that table.

Indeed, I don't think anyone is happy with being sat at a naff table where people are back and fourth whether that's the loo, the kitchen, entrance/garden door, pretty much goes against the whole idea of enjoying a meal out.

I understand a restaurant wants to maximise floor space and I guess it depends on the place as what to expect.

You could argue misleading omission if not told, shame restaurants aren't like the cinema were you can make an informed choice before booking by picking where you want to sit.  

How about a different scenario instead of trying to be forced to sit where a person doesn't want to. A person can  choose their seat, but when the menu comes along, a person is told, you can't have anything but the tripe.

mksysb

gstar_77 said:

I booked a table, turned up, but given a table by the loo and asked to move to another free table. Restaurant said they couldn’t move me. So I said I would leave. Their policy is for cancellation or no show, but they still charged it. Are they allowed?

Of course you cancelled.  You walked out without ordering anything.

gstar_77

mksysb said:

gstar_77 said:

I booked a table, turned up, but given a table by the loo and asked to move to another free table. Restaurant said they couldn’t move me. So I said I would leave. Their policy is for cancellation or no show, but they still charged it. Are they allowed?

Of course you cancelled.  You walked out without ordering anything.

Their policy is for cancelling within 24h. I didn’t but they did not provide an appropriate table.

p00hsticks

gstar_77 said:

mksysb said:

gstar_77 said:

I booked a table, turned up, but given a table by the loo and asked to move to another free table. Restaurant said they couldn’t move me. So I said I would leave. Their policy is for cancellation or no show, but they still charged it. Are they allowed?

Of course you cancelled.  You walked out without ordering anything.

Their policy is for cancelling within 24h. I didn’t but they did not provide an appropriate table.

How do you (and the restaurant) define an 'appropriate table' though ?

And did you specify what sort of seating you would or would not consider appropriate when making the booking ?

If you'd booked a table for say four people and they offered you one that could only comfortably seat two, then IMO that's a different scenario from being given a table that seats four but is in a draft / near the toilets / kitchens / badly lit etc

HillStreetBlues

gstar_77 said:

mksysb said:

gstar_77 said:

I booked a table, turned up, but given a table by the loo and asked to move to another free table. Restaurant said they couldn’t move me. So I said I would leave. Their policy is for cancellation or no show, but they still charged it. Are they allowed?

Of course you cancelled.  You walked out without ordering anything.

Their policy is for cancelling within 24h. I didn’t but they did not provide an appropriate table.

Had you been there before? or was the first time you enter the restaurant?

Grumpy_chap

HillStreetBlues said:

How about a different scenario instead of trying to be forced to sit where a person doesn't want to. A person can  choose their seat, but when the menu comes along, a person is told, you can't have anything but the tripe.

I had the exact opposite in France, where the restaurant would not allow me to order the tripe, which is a shame as I really like tripe and it is a difficult dish to get.  The waiter just simply went on about the English ordering the tripe and then complaining about the dish and leaving bad reviews on Trip Advisor so he simply refuse to sell me the tripe and said I could have anything else.  We left and went elsewhere

PHK

gstar_77 said:

mksysb said:

gstar_77 said:

I booked a table, turned up, but given a table by the loo and asked to move to another free table. Restaurant said they couldn’t move me. So I said I would leave. Their policy is for cancellation or no show, but they still charged it. Are they allowed?

Of course you cancelled.  You walked out without ordering anything.

Their policy is for cancelling within 24h. I didn’t but they did not provide an appropriate table.

But what you should have done is mitigate your loss. That is negotiate a reduction because the table was near the door. (This is assuming you specified when booking either not wanting a table by the door or that you wanted a specific type of table)

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

PHK said:

gstar_77 said:

mksysb said:

gstar_77 said:

I booked a table, turned up, but given a table by the loo and asked to move to another free table. Restaurant said they couldn’t move me. So I said I would leave. Their policy is for cancellation or no show, but they still charged it. Are they allowed?

Of course you cancelled.  You walked out without ordering anything.

Their policy is for cancelling within 24h. I didn’t but they did not provide an appropriate table.

But what you should have done is mitigate your loss. That is negotiate a reduction because the table was near the door. (This is assuming you specified when booking either not wanting a table by the door or that you wanted a specific type of table)

As we're talking mitigating losses which goes down a legal avenue, rather than what happens in day to day life, the EU courts* have decided that businesses are experts in their fields and this in itself creates imbalance between a business and a consumer which is why consumer protection laws exist. 

The CPRs prohibit misleading omissions, the consumer shouldn't have to ask, instead they should be told anything that would alter the transactional decision of the average consumer.

I think the average person would turn down a table booking if specifically told they were going to be seated next to the toilet so by not stating it OP likely has the right to unwind the contract. 

If instead we are taking real world, I don't see a restaurant giving a discount for this and having been stuck with a naff table once or twice over the years, had the experience been completely free, I still wouldn't have bothered with hindsight. 

Sadly OP isn't really answering questions so we don't know what they paid for, what kind of place it was or how bad the table was so can only generalise. 

*I know we've left the EU and I believe UK courts are now to make their own decisions but, until ruled otherwise, for someone wishing to make a claim exampling the EU court decisions seems sensible given the EU wrote the legislation to begin with.