How likely are you to win a case when pursuing cancellation fees

[Andy P]

After a lot of cancellations recently Ive switched attack and now issue a contract to all customer - ive had someone cancel tonight an hour before the disco so am pretty sick and am going to pursue the whole fee, however how far can we go with this - how likely are the courts to find in our favor for cancellation of a service?

[Nakatomi]

After a lot of cancellations recently Ive switched attack and now issue a contract to all customer - ive had someone cancel tonight an hour before the disco so am pretty sick and am going to pursue the whole fee, however how far can we go with this - how likely are the courts to find in our favor for cancellation of a service?

It's always been my belief that a contract is binding, whether it be verbal or written. In the small claims court I suspect a written contact has more chance than a verbal one, although I've never had to pursue a case.

If your contact terms they signed specifically state late cancellation penalties they shouldn't have a leg to stand on, but you're better off waiting to hear from people with more experience than me

[Andy P]

Thats what Im hoping - Its something very new to me and I want to know if its actually worth the bother

[musicology]

I'm wondering why you are getting a high cancellation rate. What sort of gigs are these that are being cancelled on you?
I don't issue a contract as such but do send a confirmation letter stating the fee due if it's cancelled within a set period before the event. I don't take a deposit either but I very, very rarely get cancelled at short notice. The last one who did payed up with no problem.
I used to get problems with 18th / 21st self bookers but don't accept those bookings any more and that problem went away.

[Pe7e]

If your contract is fair and reasonable and signed by your client, the small claims court will uphold it and find in your favour. Unfortunately that's only the beginning, the next stage is getting payment, and that's not as straightforward as you might think, if your client doesn't have the (visible) means to pay, and doesn't have a credit rating worth protecting, it is virtually impossible to extract the payment from them if they have no intention of paying. Unfortunately you can soon find yourself even further out of pocket after paying unrecoverable court/enforcement costs chasing the debt. my advice is to be be careful before throwing money at chasing debts that are potentially lost causes, check their ability to pay first. Maybe you would be better off getting a substantial deposit up front, although that can be a put off for potential customers (even good ones).

[Pe7e]

I don't issue a contract as such but do send a confirmation letter stating the fee due if it's cancelled within a set period before the event.

Unless you have irrefutable evidence of acceptance, this would not be enforceable in a small claims court without a signature on your contract,

[Excalibur]

A contract stating yout ( fair ) terms and conditions, delivered by Echosign is undoubtedly the way forward. Take a deposit as well, so that in the worst case scenario, you've got something out of the deal.

We have had plenty of folk putting their T&Cs on here to share ( mine were taken from a nice man in Lincolnshire ) :D Nowadays, I'm afraid it's the only way to go. Makes you stand apart from the :cowboy:s as well, which is a good thing.

[Andy P]

I'm wondering why you are getting a high cancellation rate. What sort of gigs are these that are being cancelled on you?

For my first year I didnt really have an issue. got the odd person who might call or email to say its cancelled or they got a cheaper DJ but out of around 80 gigs it was countable on one hand.
Since the xmas period started Ive had 3 alone and all on dates ive knocked back other work in some cases as many as 5 times and gave leads to fellow DJs I work with.

This is where is become annoying as I could have been working and in some cases far better gigs. The main reason quoted is price and Im not an expensive DJ. On one occasion it was lack of contact which could be down to my fault - that being said the booking was back in august and I still messaged them 2 weeks before the event to check all was ok and she said "oh we lost your details so booked someone else".

The gigs have been all different things, a wedding, a dancing school party, a xmas party...

I dont think its anything to do with feedback as generally I get very high praise.

[Andy P]

If your contract is fair and reasonable and signed by your client, the small claims court will uphold it and find in your favour. Unfortunately that's only the beginning, the next stage is getting payment, and that's not as straightforward as you might think, if your client doesn't have the (visible) means to pay, and doesn't have a credit rating worth protecting, it is virtually impossible to extract the payment from them if they have no intention of paying. Unfortunately you can soon find yourself even further out of pocket after paying unrecoverable court/enforcement costs chasing the debt. my advice is to be be careful before throwing money at chasing debts that are potentially lost causes, check their ability to pay first. Maybe you would be better off getting a substantial deposit up front, although that can be a put off for potential customers (even good ones).

This is exactly my fear - my real job brings me into contact with the breadline members of society and often even a council has issues collecting from them so why would they pay a DJ as even a court order doesn't seem to motivate them.


A contract stating yout ( fair ) terms and conditions, delivered by Echosign is undoubtedly the way forward. Take a deposit as well, so that in the worst case scenario, you've got something out of the deal.

We have had plenty of folk putting their T&Cs on here to share ( mine were taken from a nice man in Lincolnshire ) :D Nowadays, I'm afraid it's the only way to go. Makes you stand apart from the :cowboy:s as well, which is a good thing.

Again working for the local council up here I've worked my T&C with a mate in trading standards so they are very amenable to both parties.

I guess after all the reading on here - so thanks members - it will be a new policy for 2015 of a 1/4 deposit up front and possible even full payment before the night so I dont waste my time getting ready

[yourdj]

If I had to give some advice I would say - Up your game and move into a different market!
Cancellations on the night are probably the most unprofessional thing you can encounter.
A reasonable booking fee will stop that, however.

Only had one cancellation last year as they had no money due to bankruptcy, but still wanted me as it was contracted.
I ended up cancelling it myself and keeping the booking fee as they clearly could not afford the £900 plus balance. They thanked me for it.

No win no fee online claims people would probably be better than small claims court, judging by other peoples previous posts.
I think you have to make some due diligence on your part first, by sending a series of nice polite letters.
Add extra commission (as stated by law) the longer it goes on - admin fee or something like that. :)

[Andy P]

I got paid, sent a nice letter explaining the reasons why we do this and they agreed to pay

[musicology]

I got paid, sent a nice letter explaining the reasons why we do this and they agreed to pay

Well done. Most people are ok if you explain nicely.

[ckpr2]

Chasing money can be good or bad.

I had someone owe me £3000 and it took a industrial tribunal to prove I was owed the money.
Even then he would not pay me.
I had to get a county court judgement against him.
Even then he proclaimed he had no money to give me.

I then had to get a statement from him of his income and outgoings.
By this time a year had passed.
Luckily his car had just been paid for and this left about £300 a month to pay me.
I then got 9 payments and on the last payment he refused to give it to me.
So I had to write back to him and threaten court again.
He eventually gave me the last payment.

Not quite a DJ not being paid but it shows how things can be hard work getting owed monies.

[Shaun]

If you have a fair set of terms and conditions I can see why no reason why you wouldn't be successful pursuing a cancellation fee (if indeed all aspects of the cancellation were in your favour). I'd follow through every time with pursuing a cancellation fee, there's no point having terms and conditions if you aren't prepared to act on them when you need to enforce them.

I've not had to go the legal route yet, but had to threaten someone with it last year. I eventually got paid in full, and if they hadn't I'd have no qualms about seeking legal recourse.

[Shaun]

Chasing money can be good or bad.

I had someone owe me £3000 and it took a industrial tribunal to prove I was owed the money.
Even then he would not pay me.
I had to get a county court judgement against him.
Even then he proclaimed he had no money to give me.

I then had to get a statement from him of his income and outgoings.
By this time a year had passed.
Luckily his car had just been paid for and this left about £300 a month to pay me.
I then got 9 payments and on the last payment he refused to give it to me.
So I had to write back to him and threaten court again.
He eventually gave me the last payment.

Not quite a DJ not being paid but it shows how things can be hard work getting owed monies.

Good on you for staying the course. :) :beer1:

[yourdj]

I got paid, sent a nice letter explaining the reasons why we do this and they agreed to pay

Nice, a nice common sense friendly letter at the start is the best way to go IMO as most people understand your situation, assuming they are not idots. A friendly nudge towards the t&c's is key reminding them that have signed it, but not being too aggressive ;)


Chasing money can be good or bad.

I had someone owe me £3000 and it took a industrial tribunal to prove I was owed the money.
Even then he would not pay me.
I had to get a county court judgement against him.
Even then he proclaimed he had no money to give me.

I then had to get a statement from him of his income and outgoings.
By this time a year had passed.
Luckily his car had just been paid for and this left about £300 a month to pay me.
I then got 9 payments and on the last payment he refused to give it to me.
So I had to write back to him and threaten court again.
He eventually gave me the last payment.

Not quite a DJ not being paid but it shows how things can be hard work getting owed monies.

Yes i agree - I would have given up for £300 long before and just put it behind me, so well done for getting the money.