Wedding Deposits

Father Hernandez · 06-07-2020 11:04am #1

Hi all, we like many were due to get married last month and a well known global pandemic ruined everything

Small thing in the grand scheme of things but my fiance and I decided to get married in a registry office already as we were mentally prepared to get married.

That said, we have paid quite a chunk of a deposit (€2.5k) to a well known hotel who have currently refused to give it back. We never got wedding insurance as it was a fairly quick engagement and we weren't expecting something like Covid to come along. Hindsight is great.

We did ask for a portion of the deposit back to help us through the past couple months but received no reply which was quite frustrating. The hotel itself is quite well established so surprised if they were to go under.

Currently we are in limbo whether to do something later in the year given they have our deposit, the moment being gone, etc, etc. Has anyone any recent experience with this or examples of being in the same boat?

I understand how deposits work but given this was completely out of our hands and there was a law that banned weddings during that time, it feels quite unfair that we are being punished and the hotel benefitting from something completely out of our hands.

Batgurl · 06-07-2020 7:32pm

You likely won’t be entitled to anything back as your contract likely says the deposit is non-refundable (as most are).

I don’t necessarily agree with that in your situation but ultimately, it’s also not the hotels fault your wedding didn’t go ahead.

Are you planning on foregoing a wedding reception entirely?

Perhaps you could reach an agreement with them to use the deposit to pay for a nice meal and a night away for you and your family later in the year?

My advice is to work with them to reach a compromise.

Teach30 · 08-07-2020 10:46pm

Seek professional advice On this. We were unable to arrange and plan for wedding due to government lockdown. As date got closer and restrictions lifted it turned out we could technically hold the wedding however it wasn’t feasible due to timing etc.

Hotel tried to accommodate us with alternative date however written into contract was day and months we would only go for. They were unable to accommodate us. We held tough and upon advising hotel we had our solicitor looking into it for us the €3500 was refunded. We didn’t actually have a solicitor.

Hotels are being advised to return deposits. Contact the consumer agency for further advice also.

Best of luck and don’t take too much notice of the contract it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. These are extraordinary times afterall.

jlm29 · 08-07-2020 11:18pm

Batgurl wrote: »

You likely won’t be entitled to anything back as your contract likely says the deposit is non-refundable (as most are).

Deposits are usually non-refundable if the couple changes their mind, etc. But the hotel was actually closed, so they weren’t available to provide the service. But it will depend on what the contract says. If I were the OP, I wouldn’t let it go too easily

Brianmwalker · 09-07-2020 9:49pm

If you decide to go the legal route could you pm me. I'm in a similar situation.

smndly · 10-07-2020 10:59am

We're in an identical situation. I've posted in the consumer issues forum about our circumstances. Would be great to hear of any success or failure when the legal route is taken as that's what we are looking at facing in the next few weeks.

I called the CCPC who were optimistic that we would get fully refunded as a breach of contract had occurred (due to government regulations) but would be great to hear of how others have gotten on.

alicantra123 · 14-07-2020 12:21pm

I am really glad there's a thread on this, I am in not quite the same-but a similar situation. I appreciate many venues are facing severe financial difficulties at the moment, however, I think its simplistic to think postponing is a suitable alternative for everyone.

I personally had to postpone my own wedding which was due to take place in April and now is rescheduled to later this year, and with the current situation its still very unclear how viable this date it. like may others, our contract sets out hefty cancellation percentages which kick in from 5 months out from the wedding. I had to rigorously renegotiate these terms with the venue recently as I felt that it wasn't fair to charge cancellation when the venue wasn't in a position to tell us what they could provide on the new date (can people dance? how many people can come? etc). Our venue is putting us under pressure now that we will need to pay 50% cancellation if we cancel at any point from now until the new date, which I am very reluctant to agree to.

Can I ask did you originally agree to postpone the wedding date with the venue? Or did the original date pass and the venue could not provide the services because they had to close? If you originally agreed to postpone I think you unfortunately probably have less leverage than if the date passed and there was no formal agreement with the venue.

You will need to scrutinize the cancellation policy on your contract. I sought informal legal advice when I originally rescheduled and it was very difficult to find someone willing to advise as it's such a grey area. the general advice I did receive was that if the venue is able to go ahead as agreed, and you decide to cancel, you are not entitled to get your deposit back. I think generally from a legal perspective, if the venue offers another date in the future this is generally accepted as a viable alternative, then the original cancellation policy stands (unfortunately for those who don't want to postpone). That said, I agree with the advice above that your best option may be to reach a compromise with the venue. However, I also know a lot of venues are offering full refunds as a gesture of goodwill.

I personally will be fighting for the right to cancel with full refund in the instance that the new agreed date is impinged by excessive covid restrictions, as for me this is too far removed from the original agreement for the terms of the contract to be valid.

I'm equally very interested to hear how other people negotiated cancellation fees, particularly when it is the case that the venue says the wedding can go ahead, but with severe covid restrictions.

Brianmwalker · 15-07-2020 9:43am

alicantra123 wrote: »

I am really glad there's a thread on this, I am in not quite the same-but a similar situation. I appreciate many venues are facing severe financial difficulties at the moment, however, I think its simplistic to think postponing is a suitable alternative for everyone.

I personally had to postpone my own wedding which was due to take place in April and now is rescheduled to later this year, and with the current situation its still very unclear how viable this date it. like may others, our contract sets out hefty cancellation percentages which kick in from 5 months out from the wedding. I had to rigorously renegotiate these terms with the venue recently as I felt that it wasn't fair to charge cancellation when the venue wasn't in a position to tell us what they could provide on the new date (can people dance? how many people can come? etc). Our venue is putting us under pressure now that we will need to pay 50% cancellation if we cancel at any point from now until the new date, which I am very reluctant to agree to.

Can I ask did you originally agree to postpone the wedding date with the venue? Or did the original date pass and the venue could not provide the services because they had to close? If you originally agreed to postpone I think you unfortunately probably have less leverage than if the date passed and there was no formal agreement with the venue.

You will need to scrutinize the cancellation policy on your contract. I sought informal legal advice when I originally rescheduled and it was very difficult to find someone willing to advise as it's such a grey area. the general advice I did receive was that if the venue is able to go ahead as agreed, and you decide to cancel, you are not entitled to get your deposit back. I think generally from a legal perspective, if the venue offers another date in the future this is generally accepted as a viable alternative, then the original cancellation policy stands (unfortunately for those who don't want to postpone). That said, I agree with the advice above that your best option may be to reach a compromise with the venue. However, I also know a lot of venues are offering full refunds as a gesture of goodwill.

I personally will be fighting for the right to cancel with full refund in the instance that the new agreed date is impinged by excessive covid restrictions, as for me this is too far removed from the original agreement for the terms of the contract to be valid.

I'm equally very interested to hear how other people negotiated cancellation fees, particularly when it is the case that the venue says the wedding can go ahead, but with severe covid restrictions.

Contact the ccpc and ihf. The more of us that do the better.

Pkiernan · 15-07-2020 9:49am

Batgurl wrote: »

You likely won’t be entitled to anything back as your contract likely says the deposit is non-refundable (as most are).

I don’t necessarily agree with that in your situation but ultimately, it’s also not the hotels fault your wedding didn’t go ahead.
.

Airlines have to provide refunds for cancellations , and Covid wasnt their fault.

OP, if the hotel refused to provide your reception then they should refund your desposit.

Small Claims Court could be an option, but you'll only get 2k back.

Inviere · 15-07-2020 9:51am

jlm29 wrote: »

Deposits are usually non-refundable if the couple changes their mind, etc. But the hotel was actually closed, so they weren’t available to provide the service. But it will depend on what the contract says. If I were the OP, I wouldn’t let it go too easily

I'd have thought the same here. The hotel was unable to provide the services you paid a deposit for, on the dates you booked....isn't that a slam dunk case of a sale/services contract being broken, therefore opening the door for a refund?

I'd hold firm on this, and get some professional advice. I'd also ask the hotel manage who and where to send legal correspondence, it might let them know you're holding your ground on it. Investigate the small claims court too.

Father Hernandez · 07-08-2020 4:14pm

Father Hernandez wrote: »

Hi all, we like many were due to get married last month and a well known global pandemic ruined everything

Small thing in the grand scheme of things but my fiance and I decided to get married in a registry office already as we were mentally prepared to get married.

That said, we have paid quite a chunk of a deposit (€2.5k) to a well known hotel who have currently refused to give it back. We never got wedding insurance as it was a fairly quick engagement and we weren't expecting something like Covid to come along. Hindsight is great.

We did ask for a portion of the deposit back to help us through the past couple months but received no reply which was quite frustrating. The hotel itself is quite well established so surprised if they were to go under.

Currently we are in limbo whether to do something later in the year given they have our deposit, the moment being gone, etc, etc. Has anyone any recent experience with this or examples of being in the same boat?

I understand how deposits work but given this was completely out of our hands and there was a law that banned weddings during that time, it feels quite unfair that we are being punished and the hotel benefitting from something completely out of our hands.

To give an update on this, we spoke to the wedding venue this week and explained our situation.

Within 2 hours the venue came back and were extremely accommodating and willing to give us back the refund given our situation.

Everything for us is up in the air and if we were to go down the route of a fancy party for a 1 year anniversary in the same venue we will but as explained would rather have the money in our account.

For anyone in a similar situation, be honest and frank with them as I'm sure we weren't the first and certainly not the last to ask the question. If anyone wants any more info, etc, send me a DM. Best of luck.

Brianmwalker · 07-08-2020 7:22pm

Father Hernandez wrote: »

To give an update on this, we spoke to the wedding venue this week and explained our situation.

Within 2 hours the venue came back and were extremely accommodating and willing to give us back the refund given our situation.

Everything for us is up in the air and if we were to go down the route of a fancy party for a 1 year anniversary in the same venue we will but as explained would rather have the money in our account.

For anyone in a similar situation, be honest and frank with them as I'm sure we weren't the first and certainly not the last to ask the question. If anyone wants any more info, etc, send me a DM. Best of luck.

Glad it worked out for you. I haven't been so lucky. Wonder what made the hotel change their mind

Wedding Deposits

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