Wedding Venue Has Building Works in it with scaffolding, looking to change venue

[hv86]

Hi

 

This is my first time posting here and would be grateful for any help and advice which could be provided.

 

I am due to get married in a coupe of months at a venue which is a National Heritage Trust building, for which we paid a 20% deposit around February this year after seeing the venue and agreeing terms with the company which run events at the venue.

 

Around late September we found out by chance, whilst looking for a wedding florist, that the roof at the venue was deemed structurally unsound and is presently being propped up by scaffolding, including some in the room where we are due to be married (wedding ceremony and reception both to be held in the same room). This had apparently been the case since mid August, although the venue had not notified us and it turned out that they had had to cancel a couple of weddings and move a couple to a large marquee in the lawns. Had we not found out through the florist, who knows when they would have advised us and we are aware that one of the other weddings which went ahead was only given 72 hours notice of the problems.

 

Naturally we contacted them at this stage and they advised that they were waiting on a structural surveyors report. When this eventually came out, they advised that works would not commence until January and we would have to get married in the room with scaffolding which they have attempted to cover up.

 

The room however looks terrible in comparison and my bride to be was naturally very upset. We have now found an alternative and are considering switching venues although this does present us with a couple of problems.

 

A number of guests have already booked rooms at the adjoining hotel (also part of the trust but run and managed by an entirely separate entity to those that run weddings at the main hall) and the hotel are refusing to hand back any deposits, despite cancellation being requested around 7-8 weeks in advance.

 

My questions is, would we have any recourse to having the wedding venue reimburse us for the cost of these deposits should we lose ours as well as the cost of a wedding license change?

 

Are we able to claim for any additional costs we incur as a result of this change?

 

Alternatively, would we have any recourse against the company that run the Hotel to return our deposits?

 

I really have no place to start so any advice or guidance would be hugely appreciated.

[renegadeimp]

What reason is the hotel using to deny refunding a deposit? Sadly, the venue for your wedding is NOT liable for guests staying in a hotel. They are only liable for things under their control, such as relocating you or reimbursing you.

[hv86]

Hi and many thanks for your reply.

 

The hotel gave my partner no reason other than that the deposits were non refundable and would be retained by the Hotel.

 

I was just checking through the correspondence and my partner was simply asked via email to pay a deposit of 20% to secure the rooms and an invoice was sent. We dont appear to have received a contract per say or any terms of business.

 

As a family, we have close to £1,000 in deposit with them due to the sheer number of rooms booked so it would be quite a hit. Would you think there is a way of getting it back directly from them?

 

Thanks again for your help.

[renegadeimp]

So they state non-refundable. Have they stated this in ANY documentation before the actual bookings? What is their reason for the deposit being non-refundable, especially when you are giving a good couple of months notice that you no longer require their services?

 

The main thing you need to check here is the hotels cancellation policy.

 

You could do a chargeback on your card using Section 75 but you would have to show that the info you were given was misleading before you booked.

[hv86]

It doesn't state anywhere that it is non-refundable, I have been through all of the correspondence. Apparently on the phone when my partner called to ask about cancellation they stated they would retain all deposits as they were non-refundable.

[renegadeimp]

You need a copy of their cancellation policy. Do they have a website anywhere?