Venue Contract Nightmare!!!!!....:( ***UPDATE****

Blimey, that's a hell of a lot of hassle that you don't need! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that trading standards manage to sort it out for you.

I'm 100% with CB - what do Trading Standards know about these things? It really annoys me when people go to Trading Standards or the CAB, instead of going to see a solicitor who has trained for years to advise on exactly these kinds of things.

That aside, if the penalty clause is in the contract, I don't think there's much you can do about it, other than hope they'll be sympathetic. At the end of the day, they're running a business for profit, sympathy doesn't come into it. It would be worth finding out whether the sum would still be payable if they manage to fill the date. If not, then you could be pro-active and try to get someone to take over your booking.

I never expected to get this much of a response....

Anyway, the real issue I have is that they have plucked this figure of £4K out of thin air...the issue TS has is when they ask for a breakdown of what the £4K is, the hotel aren't forthcoming with the information. I haven't made contact in a couple of days , so that may have changed. When I first spoke to the hotel finance dept about the charges (before TS got involved), they said it included everything from bedroom hire, ceremony room hire, food, drinks package, canapes, evening buffet. My argument is that there is nowhere in the contract saying I need to choose all these options. They're response is that it is EXPECTED i will choose these. The only part that I can see in writing what must be booked is all hotel rooms have to be taken. going on that basis minus the deposit I have already paid I may have to pay £500?

TS have advised aswell they cannot charge cancellation as a puinitive measure, so if they receive another booking for my date then I shouldn't pay anything,based on that TS say I shouldn't cough up until after the event date (once I'm sure they haven't booked another event). TS have also said there are inconsistencies in the contract...they didn't go into more details...but she advised me they're several sections that concern her and she feels the hotel haven't sought proper legal advice when drafting the contract.

And for the people who advised I should just pay it and choose my battles etc, £4000 is a hell of a lot of money. I don't have that kind of spare cash lying about. If I am made to pay that then there will be no wedding for a very long time, but if my lawyer advises I need to then obviously I will but I need to know for sure that they are not in breach of legislation first.

I'm not going to become embroiled into a discussion about this save that you need some proper advice from someone who knows what they are talking about, and it strikes me that your contact at TS doesn't, specifically in terms of your position in law.

If you ignore their requests for payment (as TS have advised you)and the date remains untaken by someone else, your venue will be entitled to take you to court for the full amount based on the wedding plans you've shared with them - this would be far more than the cancellation fee they are trying to charge you. You need to front up to the issue, discuss your options with your venue and proactively try to get someone to take that date.

If I were in your position, I would explain that in the first instance you'll try to find someone to take the date and if that happens there'll be no loss to them and you won't need to pay anything. In the second instance, you agree that a cancellation charge is payable but is subject to the comments being made by TS and you await the outcome of their discussion. Only once you've done those things should you be prepared to walk away from the situation. If they then decide to take you to court (which they would be entitled to do), at least you've set out your stance and shown a proactive approach to settlement and any judge would take that into account.

You do what you like but if you come on here in June 2012 saying you're being taken to court for the full amount and what should you do I think you'll find the sympathy boat has sailed.

Good advice ?

The worst thing you can do is refuse to pay until after the date of the wedding. That is appalling advice from TS - as Cricks said, they would then be well within their rights to take you to court for the full amount.

I agree you shouln't just pay the £4000 - what is detailed above is a good plan of action. But if they can justify that you do in fact owe £4000 based on minimum numbers, bedrooms etc then unfortunately that's what you'll have to do.

Completely what Cricks said. That girl knows her shizzle.

What Cricks has said. She has no claim.

Exactly! Trading Standards know fvck all!

Sange you sound offended...I apologise I didn't mean for my last post to sound offensive.

I didn't makes this cancellation lightly, and in actual fact haven't physically cancelled the booking yet. Though I have the intention of cancelling if I can get this sorted out. In my original OP I mentioned my OH is at risk of redundancy which has prompted this decision. We stayed at the hotel at valentines and loved it and were all excited to be getting married there next year etc. Only about a month ago did this problem arise. We have decided it would be better to cancel at this stage as the futre is unclear for us financially at the moment and I don't want to risk the planning going too far and losing a whole lot more money by waiting to see what happens.

I was advised verbally at the time of booking that no more money would be required until 6 months before, so I assumed this would be when cancelation fees would apply (I put my hands up to not fully understanding the contract). I also believe The wording in the unfair terms contract Act something about if the terms cause an significant imbalance between supplier and consumer, could apply in my case. It also mentions they need to provide a justifiable breakdown which hasn't happened yet.

I may be looking at that in too simplistic terms, I'm not a lawyer so can't say for sure. If in the end they do justify the costs and I am advised it is reasonable then I will of course pay, but if I do have to pay then I will probably end up continuing the plans to get married there, cause If they're forcing me to pay a large sum (and possibly get into debt if OH ends up out of work) I may aswell get married there anyway.

Sange you sound offended...I apologise I didn't mean for my last post to sound offensive.

I didn't makes this cancellation lightly, and in actual fact haven't physically cancelled the booking yet. Though I have the intention of cancelling if I can get this sorted out. In my original OP I mentioned my OH is at risk of redundancy which has prompted this decision. We stayed at the hotel at valentines and loved it and were all excited to be getting married there next year etc. Only about a month ago did this problem arise. We have decided it would be better to cancel at this stage as the futre is unclear for us financially at the moment and I don't want to risk the planning going too far and losing a whole lot more money by waiting to see what happens.

I was advised verbally at the time of booking that no more money would be required until 6 months before, so I assumed this would be when cancelation fees would apply (I put my hands up to not fully understanding the contract). I also believe The wording in the unfair terms contract Act something about if the terms cause an significant imbalance between supplier and consumer, could apply in my case. It also mentions they need to provide a justifiable breakdown which hasn't happened yet.

I may be looking at that in too simplistic terms, I'm not a lawyer so can't say for sure. If in the end they do justify the costs and I am advised it is reasonable then I will of course pay, but if I do have to pay then I will probably end up continuing the plans to get married there, cause If they're forcing me to pay a large sum (and possibly get into debt if OH ends up out of work) I may aswell get married there anyway.

Sange you sound offended...I apologise I didn't mean for my last post to sound offensive.

I didn't makes this cancellation lightly, and in actual fact haven't physically cancelled the booking yet. Though I have the intention of cancelling if I can get this sorted out. In my original OP I mentioned my OH is at risk of redundancy which has prompted this decision. We stayed at the hotel at valentines and loved it and were all excited to be getting married there next year etc. Only about a month ago did this problem arise. We have decided it would be better to cancel at this stage as the futre is unclear for us financially at the moment and I don't want to risk the planning going too far and losing a whole lot more money by waiting to see what happens.

I was advised verbally at the time of booking that no more money would be required until 6 months before, so I assumed this would be when cancelation fees would apply (I put my hands up to not fully understanding the contract). I also believe The wording in the unfair terms contract Act something about if the terms cause an significant imbalance between supplier and consumer, could apply in my case. It also mentions they need to provide a justifiable breakdown which hasn't happened yet.

I may be looking at that in too simplistic terms, I'm not a lawyer so can't say for sure. If in the end they do justify the costs and I am advised it is reasonable then I will of course pay, but if I do have to pay then I will probably end up continuing the plans to get married there, cause If they're forcing me to pay a large sum (and possibly get into debt if OH ends up out of work) I may aswell get married there anyway.

OOPS have no idea why that posted 3 times!!!

It's only unfair if they end up finding someone else for that date and they're not out of pocket.

Payment terms and cancellation terms are two completely separate matters. Did you actually read the contract?