Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
-
Did you get another booking to fill the date? There's a lot going on at the moment with wedding suppliers being scrutinised for unfair booking fees and cancellation charges - if you filled the date and didn't actually lose out then a court would be likely to view your actions as unfair or unreasonable.
More info on the current situation here : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/w...d-to-play-fair
Julian
-
Last edited by yourdj; 04-05-2017 at 10:07 AM.
-
Originally Posted by
Spirits High
Got that one covered by this:
"PLEASE NOTE: This contract is not subject to a 'cooling-off period' by virtue of s28(1)(h) of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and therefore in the event of cancellation of the engagement by the Client, a cancellation fee will be made on the following basis:"
I was advised to put this in by someone who has great experience in the "law" game.
If I was you, I'd have this paragraph checked out currently as new consumer rights were afforded to Joe Public when the Consumer Rights Act 2015 came in to effect on 1st October 2015. This was something I'd followed closely after I'd learned about similar legislation in the US prior to this. A top US contracts lawyer basically said that suppliers and service providers were not right to be charging for services and/or products that they hadn't provided (ie "in the event of cancellation within 8 weeks prior to the event date, the full balance will become payable" - not allowed anymore!). And merely including a waiver in the contract is wrong, too, as you can't ask someone to waive away their statutory rights! The Consumer Rights Act 2015 included provision for this to stop people having to pay for stuff they haven't received, or rather, to stop unscrupulous businesses from cashing in! I'm not saying that your contract is wrong or not "fair" just that I would advise for it to be checked against current and updated legislation.
Originally Posted by
yourdj
That must be the Scotsman in you.
...
Racist!!
Dazzy D
Lightning Disco & Entertainment
Born to make you party!
-
Originally Posted by
DazzyD
A top US contracts lawyer basically said that suppliers and service providers were not right to be charging for services and/or products that they hadn't provided (ie "in the event of cancellation within 8 weeks prior to the event date, the full balance will become payable" - not allowed anymore!). And merely including a waiver in the contract is wrong, too, as you can't ask someone to waive away their statutory rights! The Consumer Rights Act 2015 included provision for this to stop people having to pay for stuff they haven't received, or rather, to stop unscrupulous businesses from cashing in!
Yes, that's true.
So it's OK to have a non-refundable deposit - but as mentioned above, there needs to be a statement in the contract about the cooling off period (or that it doesn't apply), otherwise a 1 year and 14 day default cooling off period applies.
With regards to charging the full amount if your services are cancelled close to the date, you're also correct that you'll find it very hard to charge the client the full rate. You cannot charge them for "lost profits", only to cover "costs incurred". Equally, you can't retain the full amount if they have already paid.
As you mention, this has all changed recently, and is getting some press now, so customers will become more aware of this.
-
Resident Antagonist
Originally Posted by
Shaun
I'm REALLY stubborn. I would take this as far as possible out of principle, regardless of the potential of them slating me. I'd sue them for that too if it were unjust. Otherwise, what is the point of having a contract.
I'm with Shaun.
Not in a 'Don't ask, don't tell' kinda way, but more in a 'I agree with him' kinda way.
-
-
I'd probably go quite far with it. Chances are they had wedding insurance so if anything happened to family etc they aren't actually paying the insurance company is.
If they've split up or whatever that's not my problem I'm not a charity. If they didn't get insurance they probably didn't book a hotel or marquee wedding as most require it I believe.
I get very iratated if people don't respect me though and have wasted too much time legally fighting those who've decided to treat me unfairly. Giving up because it's too much hassle is what these types thrive on.
-
-
I'd chalk it up to experience, take the missus out on the night of the gig and spend the booking fee - as a lot of people have said - there's not much good going to come from all of the negative energy associated with that.
It doesn't take a lot for a bride (and her pals, colleagues and their pals and their families and their aunts cats cousin) to really do you a number on social media: "So yeah my pals fiancé cheated on her and she broke off the wedding - now months later this "DJ" is harassing her with threatening letters asking for money when he didn't even do the gig!!!".... not a great look.
A few weeks back I sent out an e-mail to site visit a client who had booked me for an all day party - her husbands surprise 40th - on their sizeable estate in the middle of nowhere. I asked if, as discussed during the booking, we could tie in a time for me to visit when he's away just so I know what the place is like. I got a one line response: Sorry Jim, we've cancelled the party because my father in law died.
Now that might be total rubbish, they didn't mention when this happened and certainly wouldn't have let me know at that point if I hadn't e-mailed. I'm also technically due a four figure sum from them as per my t's and c's cancellation policy.
I sent her an e-mail expressing my sympathy and letting her know that if they wish to reschedule or book another event within 12 months of the original booking date - I'll put their booking fee towards it.
OK they've cost me money, I may have missed out on other gigs and it was a bit poor of them not to let me know earlier that they were cancelling but I'm a great believer in karma - if they're at it, I've still got a couple of hundred quid on the hip and if they are genuine then I've not burned any bridges.
-
Originally Posted by
Jim - Scotland's Party DJ
I'm also technically due a four figure sum from them as per my t's and c's cancellation policy.
Just because it's in your Ts and Cs doesn't mean it's enforceable - in fact - you'd struggle to get a court to agree that you are owed four figures when the party has been cancelled and you haven't performed.
Posting Permissions
- You may not post new threads
- You may not post replies
- You may not post attachments
- You may not edit your posts
-
Forum Rules