Terms and Conditions, do I have to give a refund or not?

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Flapjack

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Hi,

I have terms and conditions on my website that say I take a non-refundable 50% deposit for makeup bookings.
I did makeup trials for a client and she paid the 50% deposit for her wedding day. She emailed me the other day to say she wants to cancel and have her deposit back. I said its non-refundable and she said she isnt accepting that as she said I never said which I did in person at the time of trials. She also said she never looked on her website at time of booking.

I said that my T&C's stand and that im not giving a refund. She said she will be taking things further. What should I do? will she be able to get the money back off me even though the terms and conditions are on my site?


Thanks
 
Did she ask to see them when booking? Im guessing no? So its not like you hid them from her! Is the booking a in few months or a few weeks? If its a few months away i might give half of it back but if shes been rude to you i would stand my ground!!

When you walk into tesco there T&C arent printing on the wall in massive letters!!

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Isn't the main point of a deposit to cover for losses or cancellations? Does she understand what a deposit is for? I think it depends how far away her booking is.
If its in the next couple weeks then i wouldn't give it back. However, If its a couple months then id at least refund half. (after explaining to her what a deposit is!)
X


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Nope you don't need to give her it back let her take it further she will lose out, good luck.
 
No you don't have to give it back. You could offer to transfer it to another service you offer if you wanted to be nice but you are under no obligation to do so. She won't get very far trying to get the deposit back.

When I pay a deposit for something I always make sure to ask whether it is refundable or transferable just incase.
 
I would wonder why she dosent want it done after her trail. Maybe she didnt like it and dosent want to say. I think she should get her deposit back if this is the case. X x

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Forgot to say if the wedding is cancelled or something unavoidable happened like her or the groom fell ill etc then as a gesture if good will I would refund but if she just changed her mind then no I would keep it as per T and C's.
 
Hi,

Yes she just changed her mind she said she has a friend who can do it for free.
On email discussions I mentioned a 50% deposit but didnt mention it was non-refundable but on my website Terms and Conditions its says it is non-refundable. When I went to hers to do the trials last month, I gave her (the bride) and all the bridesmaids a question sheet at the bottom of this it said that if they wanted to secure the wedding date I would need a 50% non-refundable depoist to hold that date which is in August. Also when she handed over the money I also said again its non-refundable. The reason I take a deposit is because I may have to turn down another potential client for that date which I did have to do as I had another bride enquire about the same date in August.
The client contacted me yesterday saying she wanted a refund as I hadnt given her anything to sign and the question sheet and terms and condiitions on my website werent good enough is that correct? I was thinking of giving her half of it back to her, but just had a nasty email from her which was very aggressive and saying she was taking legal action against me. Im a bit worried now but dont want to give her the £70 back as I feel im right and for the fact she has been so rude about it.

Any advice please?
 
Does your insurance offer free legal advice? If so I'd get on the phone to them as quickly as you can to find out where you stand. It may also help you prevent issues like this in future. Good luck!
 
Surely the money she paid you was for your time and products used at the trial?
I always charge everyone other than the bride for trial make up and take that on the day. Then give them the option to pay the rest there and then or on day of wedding. I include a trial for the bride in her overall price but I at least get something for going out and spending my time doing the trial.
I'm sure she won't really take it further, probably just trying to scare you into giving it back.
She maybe has cancelled the wedding and feels embarassed telling you so I know you say her emails are rude but maybe she is just emotional.
Why not explain politely that you ised products and time and turned away other bookings to do her trial and you are sorry she doesn't want to use you.
It really comes down to your decision about givIng her a full or partial refund.
I think I would settle for partial refund just to get her off your case but depends how much you want to stand our ground!
I hope it all goes on in the end!
 
Hi,

Yes she just changed her mind she said she has a friend who can do it for free.
On email discussions I mentioned a 50% deposit but didnt mention it was non-refundable but on my website Terms and Conditions its says it is non-refundable. When I went to hers to do the trials last month, I gave her (the bride) and all the bridesmaids a question sheet at the bottom of this it said that if they wanted to secure the wedding date I would need a 50% non-refundable depoist to hold that date which is in August. Also when she handed over the money I also said again its non-refundable. The reason I take a deposit is because I may have to turn down another potential client for that date which I did have to do as I had another bride enquire about the same date in August.
The client contacted me yesterday saying she wanted a refund as I hadnt given her anything to sign and the question sheet and terms and condiitions on my website werent good enough is that correct? I was thinking of giving her half of it back to her, but just had a nasty email from her which was very aggressive and saying she was taking legal action against me. Im a bit worried now but dont want to give her the £70 back as I feel im right and for the fact she has been so rude about it.

Any advice please?

To me it sounds like shes had the trial with you - liked the look and got a friend to copy it for free - do not refund her a penny! I wouldnt anyway, keep every email and always be polite and professional, and seek your own legal advice

Ive just been writing my terms and conditions and shall be emailing it to every customer when booking and in the email highlighting the terms and conditions attached.

Good luck xx
 
Surely the money she paid you was for your time and products used at the trial?
I always charge everyone other than the bride for trial make up and take that on the day. Then give them the option to pay the rest there and then or on day of wedding. I include a trial for the bride in her overall price but I at least get something for going out and spending my time doing the trial.
I'm sure she won't really take it further, probably just trying to scare you into giving it back.
She maybe has cancelled the wedding and feels embarassed telling you so I know you say her emails are rude but maybe she is just emotional.
Why not explain politely that you ised products and time and turned away other bookings to do her trial and you are sorry she doesn't want to use you.
It really comes down to your decision about givIng her a full or partial refund.
I think I would settle for partial refund just to get her off your case but depends how much you want to stand our ground!
I hope it all goes on in the end!

Hi,

Yes they paid for trials as well which was £10 per person. Then to secure the wedding date they gave me 50% deposit for the wedding day.
She keeps trying to call me not sure I want to answer as dont want her to abuse me over the phone.
I think ill have to seek legal advice on this.

Thanks
 
No I wouldn't answer the phone If I was you because of it does go any further she can come up with things that may have been said on the phone stick to the emails if I were u also if I wouldnt give the deposit back because on many occasions she read that it was non transferable so she already knew that hope eveything works it self out
 
Hi,

Yes they paid for trials as well which was £10 per person. Then to secure the wedding date they gave me 50% deposit for the wedding day.
She keeps trying to call me not sure I want to answer as dont want her to abuse me over the phone.
I think ill have to seek legal advice on this.

Thanks


Right I see!
Why not ring her( I know you don't want to be shouted at! Who does?!) but it shows then thy you are willing to try and help.
If she shouts at you, politely tell her that she can not speak to you like that and if she can't discuss it calmly then you can only communicate via email.
Explain that if she wants to seek legal advice that that is fine with you and that you ought to as well so you both know where you stand. If you get legal advice and end up having to refund her then at least you can tell her that's why you are refunding and then she knows you're not just caving in! Better to find out where it all lies now so it doesn't happen again and you and your clients are very clear on deposits! I hope it doesn't get messy for you and that she comes round in the end.
 
I would send her a very very over polite email say that you have seeked legal advice and that basically your not give her back her deposit and that she has no rights to take legal action! i would word it so your are very polite! i think when clients are very rude i love to be over friend and polite not rude back! even though you may not have seeked legal advice all her bluff!! if she was really that bothered to seek legal advice she probably would of made up a lie about the wedding like been canceled etc!
 
Hey Hun you need a disclaimer and always get them to sign!
She's just trying her luck, if she try's legal action they will say its written the the terms and for £70 they will say it will cost more to claim it bk!
 
If you don't want to talk on the phone email her stating that you have been in contact with you solicitor and they have advised that all correspondence be in written form so you both have copies if she wants to take it further.
If she is trying her luck then that will probably stop her in her tracks xx
 
If you had charged a fair price for the trial instead of £10.00 each you might not be trying to hold on to this deposit quite so tightly.

My feeling is that you should always charge the same (or more) for a make-up trial as this is where all the hard work is done.

If they then decide to go with someone else for the actual day for whatever reason then you have been properly rewarded for the work you have carried out.

Although it is your policy to secure a non-refundable deposit I can't help but feel that August is a very long way off and you will easily fill that space.

The advice being offered so far is not very customer friendly even if it is factual.

The client would have been wiser to have the trial and then pay the non-refundable deposit, at least this way she would have seen your work and decided whether she liked it or not.

And maybe you could suggest this to your clients in future?

Only you can decide on the fairest way to treat your clients but think about how you would like to be treated if you were the client.

Increase your trial prices!!!

Peace and respect

Jacqui xx
 
Can you suggest that if you get a booking for that date then you will give her the deposit back, but until you have filled the gap then she won't get her deposit back?

Just an idea x
 
Hi

I appreciate that this is an old post, but still relevant I feel. Whilst I appreciate the morel stance, I would say this is a situation that needs to be looked at in practice terms.

Is she likely to pursue the matter for the sake of £70?

If she did pursue, are you in a financial position to defend your business. Winor lose it wouldprobably cost more than the £70 that you lose. [And it would be worth checking your insurance and trade memberships to see if you get any free legal support, as already stated]

Is the decision not to refund based on financial necessity or proving a point.?

Sometimes the right decision isn't always the morel right decision,or the decision that sits most comfortable.

just my views. Maybe it would be worth seeing a solicitor [many offer a free initial session and asking there advice. At least then you can make sure your protected. The treat of further action is never nice, especially when you don't know where you stand,
 

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