Covid: Contract wording going forward.

[Shaun]

Have any of you reworded your contract due to covid?

How many of you have returned deposits when asked due to covid (even if you think your current contract covers you)?

I've returned a few when asked. Thankfully most have rescheduled (or have provisionally rescheduled awaiting confirmation of dates the venue has available). 3 so far have requested their deposits, and rather than fight the case that booking fees are no refundable (as per contract they signed) I've just returned the deposit, wished them well and said I hope to work with them in the future. I just haven't had the inclination or head space to do otherwise.

It's got me thinking though. I want to tweak my T&C's and specifically state that in the case of such a circumstance in future it clear that booking fees are not returnable, even in such unprecedented circumstances such as a recurrance of this in the future.

I'd be interested to hear everyone else's thoughts.

[East Anglian Discos]

Have any of you reworded your contract due to covid?

How many of you have returned deposits when asked due to covid (even if you think your current contract covers you)?

I've returned a few when asked. Thankfully most have rescheduled (or have provisionally rescheduled awaiting confirmation of dates the venue has available). 3 so far have requested their deposits, and rather than fight the case that booking fees are no refundable (as per contract they signed) I've just returned the deposit, wished them well and said I hope to work with them in the future. I just haven't had the inclination or head space to do otherwise.

It's got me thinking though. I want to tweak my T&C's and specifically state that in the case of such a circumstance in future it clear that booking fees are not returnable, even in such unprecedented circumstances such as a recurrance of this in the future.

I'd be interested to hear everyone else's thoughts.

I've not returned any deposits so far, but for rebookings the deposits are simply carried forward and the contract amended. If not rebooked, then a fee is retained to cover my costs, which is covered in my contract & Terms & Conditions.

Covid 19 - is covered in my revised conditions which includes guests/clients and me adhering to social distancing

[Benny Smyth]

Depending on the size of your booking fee, that should cover you for the amount of work you did in creating the booking (client communication, building contracts and invoices etc.). It's not the sexiest aspect of the service that you provide but since that aspect has already been delivered, you are entitled to keep it if you can prove that you've earned it (if you take a £50 booking fee, that'll be easy to justify but if you take a £500 deposit, you'll probably have a harder time justifying it). You can also claim for any additional costs that have occurred because of the booking (consultations, specific song purchases etc.).

The guidance from the CMA themselves state:

Sometimes, a consumer will already have received some of the services they have paid for in advance. In those cases, the CMA considers that the consumer would normally be entitled to at least a refund for the services that are not provided. However, where they have already received something of value, consumers should generally be expected to pay for it and they will not usually be entitled to get all their money back.

In some cases, where Government public health measures prevent a business from providing a service or the consumer from receiving it, the business may be able to deduct a contribution to the costs it has already incurred in relation to the specific contract in question (where it cannot recover them elsewhere).

Source

The size of the deposit will dictate whether you are on shaky ground to keep all of it, but don't feel guilty for earning money for the work that you have already done.

[East Anglian Discos]

Depending on the size of your booking fee, that should cover you for the amount of work you did in creating the booking (client communication, building contracts and invoices etc.). It's not the sexiest aspect of the service that you provide but since that aspect has already been delivered, you are entitled to keep it if you can prove that you've earned it (if you take a £50 booking fee, that'll be easy to justify but if you take a £500 deposit, you'll probably have a harder time justifying it). You can also claim for any additional costs that have occurred because of the booking (consultations, specific song purchases etc.).

The size of the deposit will dictate whether you are on shaky ground to keep all of it, but don't feel guilty for earning money for the work that you have already done.

I agree with this. I think £50 or so is easy to justify retaining to cover costs. Better to have this nailed down in your T&C's

[rth_discos]

Remember that any T&Cs changed will only apply to new, future bookings.

I've not needed to amend any of mine, based on how things have operated throughout this.

I've been fortunate that I've been able to accommodate any date changes so far.

Ive had one cancellation, for which I've retained the deposit.

I've taken the approach on this of trying to be fair:

Anyone affected during the actual lockdown, if I couldn't accommodate their new date I would refund their deposit.

Anyone who is clearly outside the lockdown (ie, right now I'd treat that as September onwards), and I couldn't accommodate the new date/they cancelled, I would retain the deposit if they want to move the wedding (as that's through their choice at this stage).

So I've been a bit more generous than my terms permit, but it's been a highly unusual situation, and one that sits a bit outside of typical terms.

[Vectis]

I would advise breaking down the total cost of the booking somewhat, for example (categorise however you like):

Total charge: £500, made up as follows:
Administration associated with planning the event and preparing for the performance - £100
Pre-event meeting - £50
Performance, including equipment provision and transport - £350

Then, in the event of an enforced (or elective) cancellation, you can easily justify keeping back £100 or £150 (based on the example) because this was previously detailed as being separate from "doing the disco".