So it seems that the relevant Government body is going to take action against companies who are not playing fair with regards to refunding of monies paid, be that booking fees, deposits or full amounts. And also against companies charging excessive amounts (one wedding venue chain, for example, charging 80% cancellation fee).I'm not a solicitor. I'm not legally trained. I just happen to trust the UK legal system to be fair. This is my PERSONAL take on matters. UK law is generally sorted out in Parliament, given the ascent to go into Law and onto the Statute Books by the HM Queen. After that, it is down to the judicial system of court cases and judges to decide what exactly happens in each case...hence we have a system of Case Law in the UK. Just because it is written in Law doesn't necessarily mean it is so. Hence why this is way more complicated than it seems.
Martin Lewis
In my opinion the law isn't a quite clear cut as Martin Lewis seems to suggest when he says that "you should get all of your money back".
There are certain situations and circumstances in which things may be deducted from a booking fee / deposit or for cancelation charges to be applied.
UK Law
This is a direct quote form the above Government website.
Businesses can keep your deposit or advance payments, or ask you to pay a cancellation charge, only in certain circumstances
If you cancel the contract, the business is generally only entitled to keep or receive an amount sufficient to cover their actual losses that directly result from your cancellation (eg costs already incurred or loss of profit)
As you can see costs already incurred and loss of profit can be deducted from any deposit or advance payment, and if the deposit or advance payment doesn't cover those then they can be requested. The law is intended to be fair on both sides, not to unfairly penalise a business.
Same website
Don’t just accept the business can keep your deposit and advance payments or ask you to pay a cancellation charge if you cancel the contract.
The business can only do this if the contract term is fair.
A cancellation charge is not fair just because it’s in the contract you signed – it needs to be reasonable.
Sometimes you’re entitled to a full or partial refund – but you can’t always expect all of your money back if you change your mind.
CV-19, Lockdown & Imposed Restrictions and Refunds.
If you cancel because we are still in a period of lockdown then we 'may' be in a situation of a frustrated contract. I say 'may' because again that is a very ambiguous term and depends entirely on the specific of the contract and how that contract deals with the issue - usually under a heading called "Force Majeure". Incidentally Force Majeure doesn't exists in UK law.
What this means is that the contract never really took place, didn't exist etc. A total legal nightmare. Can't pay your mortgage because you have no money because you have no work because of lockdown? Potential frustrated contract - meaning you don't really owe anything to the mortgage provider...but in turn you don't have a right to live in the house you are in. See the total legal nightmare beginning to rear its head here? This is why the term has NEVER been used (as far as I'm aware) officially.
In reality you wedding supplier, holiday supplier etc would have incurred costs prior to the lockdown happening.
This is where I see the law being applied fairly. Personal opinion - Costs associated with servicing any contract up the point of lockdown should still be expected to be paid.
So as an example, as a wedding photographer, for me to book your wedding I have costs that need to be paid - my CODB, Costs of Doing Business. Things (but not limited to) like:
- Car for my face to face meeting
- Potential accommodation/subsistence costs of you live a distance away
- Fuel for the car
- Insurance for the car
- IT equipment to record your details
- Email to send invoices & contracts
- Software license to write your contracts (MS Word etc)
- Website to advertise
- Wedding fayres to advertise
- Brochures, flyers & business cards
- Mobile phone to stay in touch.
- Wedding fayre expense
- Social media expenses
- Per wedding photography
That's just a flavour of the stuff it takes for me to book a wedding. For me to agree to photograph your wedding it costs me money.
Question
Is it fair that I should be left out of pocket because you wanted me to photograph your wedding, and I agreed to do so?
I'd like to think all of my clients would agree that I should be compensated for my time and costs in meeting you and agreeing to photograph your wedding. This issue is how much are those costs!!!
Every business will differ; however, as my coachees know I nag constantly about making sure they know what their business costs are. The Cost of Doing Business. Using that as a basis I and they can prove exactly why my booking fee is what it is. It may be slightly less than the booking fee I asked you to pay - the booking fee is also there, to be blunt, to make it harder for you to just jump ship willy nilly to another photographer as you feel. My business relies on long term bookings, so this helps secure those bookings.
80% cancellation Charge?
Yeah - good one on the wedding venue's charging that! 80% cancellation fees are more than likely illegal as they are not based on real costs but are punitive damages. I'd advise any couple to take immediate legal advice and legal action if they are being asked to pay what seems an unreasonable amount by any wedding venue or supplier. I'd also bet you a chicken dinner the supplier would lose. It is because of cockwomble companies like Bijou Weddings that the government has taken action.
The Question of Refund of Booking Fee and Me
If you cancel a wedding months away and that date is not in the Governments lockdown period, but you are just "hedging your bets" then expect to be asked to pay for it. Your contract isn't frustrated as yet and it's a straight cancellation. So yeah, in cases like this I would argue (and I'd do so in court if required) that your whole booking fee is non-refundable. I have potentially turned away other couples who would have married on that date and lost money as a result of your cancellation. I don't keep emails that I don't need (GDPR issue) so any emails I get asking for a date I'm booked on get a reply and I delete them. I don't often get those because I have an online availability calendar.
If you cancel a wedding during the lockdown period then I will bend over backwards to help you find another date. If I'm booked I'll bend over backwards to find you another photographer - my blog post on that issue is here.
If you paid the balance in full and I'm booked on your new date then I will find you another wedding photographer and solve the problem for you (and yes, it is a problem at the moment). If that is a more expensive photographer I will pay any difference. It won't be a cheaper wedding photographer. You will NOT be out of pocket.
You will get back anything over and above my associated costs of booking the wedding. No questions. In cases where those numbers work out to be more than you paid in the booking fee, well I won't ask for anything more.
No more bookings for me.
I'm not taking any more bookings for 2021 to give me space for potential 2020 weddings to move. Am I going to lose out? Yes - but hey ho. We are all in this together kind of thing, and making sure I am as fair to my couples as I can be, whilst following the law, and making sure I still have a business to run my 2021 and 2022 and 2023 (Hi Kate & James!) weddings is of paramount importance.
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