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Money Moral Dilemma: My daughter delivered a wedding cake an hour late - should she fully refund?

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Comments

  • Nasqueron
    Nasqueron Posts: 9,901 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Let me get this right- on her wedding day, our bride, between seeing her auntie who she hasn’t seen in ages, and meeting her new cousins in law, has actually had to ask where the cake is, dealt with it arriving an hour late, naffing up the schedule, and is expected to think that it’s OK to refund a few quid?? There will have been real anxiety here, on her wedding day. 

    Just refund the lot, and send flowers. 
    What kind of stupid bride orders a wedding cake to be delivered at 6pm on the night of their wedding? It should have been there long before the wedding guests arrived.  That's down to the bride and groom.  They should have had it arrive that morning or just before the wedding happened.  Not hours after for goodness sake. 
    What sort of stupid business doesn't plan for delays and turns up an hour after the agreed time? Why were they not on site ready at 5:30pm?

    You're assuming the wedding party had access to the site in plenty of time or had the means to store it and transport it themselves. What if they had booked the venue from 5pm, agreed delivery for 6pm for a cutting say 6:30pm - if they have to transport it themselves and dropped it, they would be at fault, hence agreed delivery time 

    Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness: 

    People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.

  • Nasqueron
    Nasqueron Posts: 9,901 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Who in their right mind orders a wedding cake to be delivered on the day if their wedding.... in the evening😮
    If it was delivered the night before the wedding, no,  refund at all.  
    If a bride was stupid enough to order their wedding cake to arrive on the evening of their wedding day then they shouldn't reproduce for theor stupidity alone.


    Yes your daughter should have been more professional.... she should have been in contact with the bride a few days before the wedding just to confirm the design, allergies or other requirements and to confirm date and time.  She needs to be more responsible.
    No she shouldn't be refunding in full the cost of the cake.  

    And anyone who is ordering their wedding cake to arrive on the evening of their wedding day.... have a word with yourselves and have ut delivered the night before or morning off.  Its called common sense. 
    How is it stupidity to get it delivered at an agreed time? That is perfectly normal for orders and deliveries! Why can't a cake company deliver items on time as agreed? What sort of stupid company leaves it so late that a delay on the day means they can't deliver on time, rather than being on site ready 30 minutes before agreed?

    You are assuming they have access to the evening venue the day before, or have means to transport it. Say you have a church wedding at 3pm, it lasts 2 hours. You have a party with access to the evening venue from say 5pm, food at 5:30pm with the cake to be delivered at 6pm for cutting at 6:30 perhaps? I would be deeply embarrassed if I had agreed to be somewhere for 6pm for a delivery and was setting off to arrive at 6pm and not allow for delays. 

    Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness: 

    People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.

  • martindow
    martindow Posts: 10,359 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 2 October at 10:45AM
    How can a cake possibly cost £450

    The magic word Wedding doubles or triples the price of everything.  Best to just ask for a cake and get a more sensible price!

    Regarding the 'dilemma', bad reputations spread quickly and can cause a lot of damage to a business.  A generous or total refund is in order so that the bride and groom can say that there was a near disaster, but the cake shop pulled out all of the stops and dealt with it well.  

    A couple spreading the word amongst their friends in the local area that a cake shop should be avoided for events could be terminal for this business.
  • Kim_13
    Kim_13 Posts: 2,849 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    If the delivery date was their wedding day, then there is a case for a higher refund. Not full - the wedding party should have known better than to ask for just in time delivery, just as your daughter shouldn’t have given herself virtually no margin for error. Somewhere between supplying the cake at cost and 50% discount, less if she hadn’t been aware that she was due to deliver it on their wedding day. 

    £100 might be reasonable if the delay had been the same for reasons outside of her control.

    If the delivery was the night before, £100 is reasonable.
  • Mr5Micawber
    Mr5Micawber Posts: 13 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Bridezilla needs to be taken to court. 
  • MJWMJW
    MJWMJW Posts: 1 Newbie
    First Post
    Was a contract written or assumed to deliver at a certain time?

    was the late delivery signed for and can be proven to be accepted as an acceptable late delivery?

    yes - no = full refund, go and collect the cake. 

    No - yes = no refund, but consider an offer of some money back if you are worried about ramifications. 

    Yes-yes = could it be reasonably argued the terms were agreed to under stress / duress?  = full refund. 

    Personally I’d give a full refund then advertise what you did for good will and general advertising purposes. 


  • Is it the Bride or her father wanting the refund? What does the receipt say? can she claim elsewhere ? Does anyone actually like wedding cake? £450 for a cake  seems very excessive so how expensive was the wedding? is your husband aware what a money fixated bride he's married?  loads of reasons why this marriage is doomed before it starts but if the contract is for a cake at 6 pm and it was not delivered at 6 pm she should have turned it away or struck a better deal at the time.
  • notmartin
    notmartin Posts: 18 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 10 Posts
    She fouled up on a wedding day - the one day you cannot have things go wrong. If the bride tells everyone she knows, your daughter will never bake another wedding cake. Give the full refund. People will then have confidence thinking 'well at least if she screws up we'll have the cake for free'.
  • Davecu
    Davecu Posts: 2 Newbie
    Fourth Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    £100 refund is plenty.
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