Wedding deposit*** Partial Refund***

[Lys0306]

Maybe not the correct place to post but if someone could point me in the right direction I would be very grateful. 
 

On 31st Jan 2020 I paid €6500 deposit for a wedding (30%). Privately through the venue. 
This included hotel stay, food for 3 days for 50 people, wedding cake, set up of decorations, Alcohol and the wedding ceremony. 
We had to change our date due to concerns over Covid 19 from August 2021 to May 2022. 
Since doing this I have become pregnant, so have two of my wedding party, several guests don’t want to travel with the uncertainty and and the logistics have just become difficult with the thought of travelling with a 4 week old baby. 
I have emailed the venue and they have told me there is nothing they can do and I won’t receive my deposit back for any of my payments. 
They never informed me of this being a non refundable deposit, there is nothing written on their website and when I asked for Terms and conditions I was told they don’t have them. 
I have tried to be reasonable and have said that I accept I will lose the wedding ceremony deposit, however I don’t feel they should withhold deposits for food, decorating the tables and providing some seating that I was charged extra for. 
I also find this more frustrating as I have paid 30% of food for 50 adults, yet I told them that several guests were children and they were half price. I was told that this would all be calculated at the end and would work itself out. 
As a breakdown I have paid 

-€2550 for accommodation (which they will get by rentals again) 
-€1050 for them to provide me with hay bales, rugs and tables
-€240 for use of there lanterns, blankets, pillows. 
-€180 for the ceremony 
-€2550 for 3 days of food
-€135 for cake (not something I asked for and was told it would be taken off the final bill. 

I have asked for a breakdown of costings on how they have spent my deposit and they haven’t been very forthcoming and they repeat there is nothing that can be done. 

Could you please assist, or advise if there is anything more I can do. 

Kind regards 

Alyssa. 

[BankFodder]

What is the name of the wedding company please?

[BankFodder]

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/search/?&q=A wedding &quick=1&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy

 

[BankFodder]

In principle, and in particular because by their own admission there are no set terms and conditions, they would only be entitled to withhold money which amounted to their administrative expenses caused by your breach of contract.

Others will be along with more detailed explanations – but you should certainly write to them immediately and asked for a detailed breakdown of precisely how they have arrived at their particular calculations.

I how much do you reckon that you are out of pocket in total?

[Lys0306]

Thank you for your reply. I have looked at the other posts you have posted, however with it being Italy I’m unsure if the same rule apply. I have been searching the web for weeks for some sort of information. 
In total it’s the €6500 I’m down. I understand I’ll lose some of it for administration but I feel it’s unfair to keep money for Decorations and food that they have only said they will provide and cook on the day. 
for me personally I will also feel obligated to pay my guests there money back. So i will be down nearly £10000 and no wedding. 
The only option I have is to pay the remaining £20,000 and travel with a 5 week old baby if he/she arrives on time. It doesn’t seem fair. 
wedding resort is Guadalupe Tuscany Resort in Italy

[BankFodder]

Yes I'm not sure that it was at all clear that this was in Italy.

The problem is but although maybe the law might be the same and that is not certain, the problem with applying the rights in a court is going to be very different and very difficult.

 The English county court system is excellent and very accessible and very cheap. I'm afraid that in most European countries there is no such system in existence and accessing the Justice system is very much more difficult and certainly potentially much more expensive

 

 

 

[dx100uk]

how did you pay?

 

dx

[FTMDave]

I agree with BF.

 

I have had personal experience of both criminal and civil cases in Italy.  Italy has by far the worst civil law system in Europe.  If a case is defended it can easily take 10 years for it to grind through the system and for judgement to be reached.  The other bad point is that you're forced to do everything through a lawyer, even simple stuff you could do yourself - no, you must use a lawyer.

 

That said, there are ways & means of short-cutting the appalling system, and a lawyer once got a superb out-of-court settlement for me against a travel agent.  The lawyer of course had to be paid - but the travel agent did that.

 

If this was a small sum I would say to forget about it.

 

Except it isn't, it's €6500.  I think the best thing you could do is invest some money - hopefully not a lot - in an initial on-line meeting with an Italian lawyer who speaks English and who should be able immediately to tell you where you stand.

 

Please answer dx's question about how you paid.

[Lys0306]

Thanks both for your replies. 
I paid by bank transfer 

[dx100uk]

opps, next time you do anything like that for a large sum, never use bacs use a debit card or a credit card (part needed only).

 

paying by bacs removes all your easy methods of getting money back and be covered by consumer laws.

[Lys0306]

I’ve read that. Unfortunately this pregnancy was not expected so we never thought we would be in this position. Hindsight I wish I had done something differently. I just hope there’s a way I can recoup some money back for my guests. 

[FTMDave]

I can speak fluent Italian so I've just looked at the Italian version of their site, and there are no T&Cs anywhere.

 

Did you sign any sort of contract with them?

 

 

[Lys0306]

Thank you for taking the time. 
I signed this that I have attached. It’s the quote. Last page states the conditions and no where does it say non refundable. That’s what I’m holding out on. 
They have since emailed to say I can have a week half board with only my family. It’s something but I feel it’s still unfair. 
 

Thanksnew doc 2021-01-29 10.41.51.pdf

new doc 2021-01-29 10.41.51.pdf

[FTMDave]

You also mention money your guests have paid.

 

Can you tell us more about that?

[Lys0306]

All money that guests paid were directly to myself. So far they have paid £100 to me, we split the cost of the accommodation hire between all of us. This was done bank transfer and in faith therefore if this wedding doesn’t go ahead I feel obligated to pay them all back. So although I paid €6500 euro. I then need to pay out approximately £4000, maybe a little more to my guests. I know a few may say not too, but I’d feel much better that I did. 
 

Thanks 

[FTMDave]

OK, understood.  I thought perhaps they had made their own payments to the venue, but they hadn't.

[Lys0306]

*Update* 

 

With the help of this group and a lawyer I was able to recoup 1/3 of my deposit back from the Italian wedding venue. The lawyer explained that the money they took from me was in fact a part payment, which helped my case.
Unfortunately due to the cost in taking the wedding venue to court I wasn’t able to take it any further, it didn’t financially make sense to do so. However I am happy to receive something back as it wasn’t looking hopeful when I was trying on my own. Thank you for everyone’s comments and advice it has been very much appreciated.
 

 

[BankFodder]

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Thank you