Refund Complaint - Yes or No?

I hear you on this and agree.

I think it's a fair statement to make when there are no available preferred dates left. That being said I've had one couple being told they couldn't have a Saturday when there were seven available so they just cancelled and booked another place (this was a Bijou venue they had an issue with).

A common problem is that couples don't realise they the impact of their do being just one of 100 weddings a particular venue will have so squeezing twice as many into one year adds a level of pressure venues haven't had to deal with before.

Truth be told everyone in the industry, photographers like myself, venues and pretty much every person in the industry is taking a hit so I understand your frustration when you see people getting stroppy about changing from a Saturday to a Friday (or similar).

Hiya

The thing with all these so-called news stories is that they are there solely for the purpose of making the publication money through sales and adverts. They are never balanced articles. Sounds to me like the couple are trying to generate some sort of public sympathy; often people who just want everything their own way will shout loudest as they think this is the way to get what they want. Trust me, I used to work in various Customer Service roles, and I have seen and heard everything! I was also a Wedding Coordinator for the National Trust, and I have plenty of tales of Bridezillas and Groomzillas that would make your hair curl and make you laugh out loud!

if the couple have been offered alternative dates and they have refused them, then they really don’t have a leg to stand on, unless there is a problem with the venue trying to charge the same for an out of season weekday as they would for a high season Saturday.

I would maybe speak with your venue’s wedding coordinator to put your mind at rest.

We have postponed our September wedding by 12 months, and we did it early enough to be able to get an almost like for like date. Making decisions, however hard, early and a bit of forward thinking mean you have more options in the long run.

I'm worrying about a similar issue, we are due to get married on the 24th Oct 2020, we have a large family, and the minimum number of guests we can get it down to is 80. The venue have told us they will contact couples 12 weeks before the wedding to offer a reserve date. However, if the venue feel conditions improve they can pull their offer of a new date, we find out which date we get 8 weeks before. The problem is that due to our jobs we have limited dates when we can get married and are worried the dates we will be offered will be not possible for us. We have already been told there is limited availability for spring / summer. The venue are aware of our situation but we are worried what will happen if another date can't be reached. The venue costs over £7000 (50% has been paid as a deposit) and as it currently stands half of it is off limits and there is no catering happening, so I dont see how we would be expected to pay the remaining balance when the venue is also not meeting their half of the contract. Does anyone have any idea on where we might stand in the situation. The fact we can't do anything until the venue contacts us at 12 weeks is causing a lot of extra stress.

Can you not postpone rather than cancel? The fact that they are still offering dates for later in the year rather than giving you the choice seems very inflexible. What about waiting until 2022 if your choice of dates are limited?

Why is your venue charging £7000 if no catering?

As always, I would recommend that you contact your local Trading Standards department of your local council. They are likely to be very busy, so I would not delay.

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Same date, same problem. Venue suggesting bussing in guests 30 at a time, don't know how that adds up, the top table counts for ten so that's illegal.

It's 50% deposit, which they are keeping and demanding the balance, plus minimum drinks package which is another £2k.

The contract, Clause 29 is more like Catch 22.

They dismissed the CMA guideline with this.

"The CMA does not fully recognise the huge amount of services that venues provide to couples from the very first moment a couple pops over to view the venue and has not given adequate attention to the work that takes place at a venue (much of which takes place behind the scenes) to plan a wedding day or considered that the majority of work - in nearly all cases - occurs throughout a period of a 12 months to two years due to bookings being made so far in advance. "

They didn't mind taking taxpayers money by Furloughing their staff though.

Alternative dates; when you are Key workers that's next to impossible.

Just imagine if you ordered a new Mercedes and the dealer said that's not available, you can have Dacia for the same money, or we will keep your deposit.

I’m with the couple on this. If I’ve paid for a Saturday then I wouldn’t want a week and also weekdays are usually cheaper. There’s various reasons why a weekday wouldn’t work for me. Luckily my venue contract states that if I do have reschedule for Covid reasons and they can’t find a suitable day then they will refund my deposit minus admin fee’s.

CMA now backs refunds.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-cma-secures-refund-promise-from-bijou-weddings-group.

I also agree with the couple. Our friends had a similar issue with the venue claiming they had done a lot of work 12 months prior to the wedding. Honestly I find that hard to believe, apart from some simple scheduling. Also they were offered weekday in March... totally different experience to a summer weekend.

They had huge problems getting a refund... in the end they even had to bring in an external service to help https://www.refundmywedding.co.uk/

If the venue postponed they have cancelled under the CRA 2015 as they could not fulfil the contract, if you decide to work with them, you only have to agree - not be forced, if however the contract changes in substance i.e it was for 100 guests and they can now only (Under Law) accommodate you for 15 That is a fundamental change - THEY ARE IN BREACH:- not you the Consumer - Venues can not lose money as they are closed and getting Furlough and most are rebooking couples into dates which they do not know will be honoured as per the Original contract, hence they are varying the terms, if they refuse a refund they must explain the reasons why; under the CRA 2015 they can not charge Unreasonable costs or cancellation charges.

IF THEY POSTPONE THIS IS A CANCELATION - IF YOU POSTONE THIS IS YOUR CANCELLATION THE LAW WORKS BOTH WAYS, they can not postpone due to Covid, then force you to postpone to a new date, unless they offered you a new contract and varied the terms and offered to refund you if you did not want the postponement - if you are forced to postpone and requested a refund - they are breaking the law under the CRA 2015 for breach of Contract.