B P Collins acted for clients, Drs Jack and Katie Nash, who were due to marry in June 2020 in Northumberland. When their planned wedding could not go ahead on this date due to Government restrictions during the height of the pandemic, the venue offered to move the date to later in the year, which the couple accepted. But when further government regulations meant that they could have only 15 instead of 100 people at the wedding, they decided that they’d rather wait until restrictions were lifted, as they wanted all of their friends and family to be there on their special day.
When they asked for their deposit back, it was already an extremely stressful time for the couple as Dr Katie Nash was redeployed to a Covid ward at hospital, while Dr Jack Nash was working at a GP practice where he was treating a lot of elderly patients who had contracted the virus. However, the venue refused to pay the whole deposit back.
The case
Jack and Katie had requested a full refund as the contract had been frustrated due to COVID-19 and the venue could not provide the wedding either as planned, or which was not radically different to what had originally been planned. However, the venue said that as it had already incurred costs directly related to the wedding, they would retain a substantial amount of the couple’s deposit should the offer of a wedding for 15 people not go ahead. By the end of 2020, the couple was still chasing for a refund from the venue. Jack explains:
“It soon became clear that after trying to come to an agreement, the venue owners’ offer was derisory. There was no flexibility on their part. After we started looking for legal advice, we came across B P Collins which is an expert in this area.”
How B P Collins helped
“From the start B P Collins was professional and put us at ease straight away. It was approachable and flexible around our NHS jobs, even speaking with us at the weekends. It was also thorough and turned things around quickly,” Jack said.
B P Collins sent a letter before court action to the venue stating that Jack and Katie were entitled to claim the full return of their deposit paid under the contract prior to the wedding being frustrated due to COVID-19. However, when the venue refused to pay, the couple had no choice but to have the matter settled in court, which could have been a potentially nerve-wracking experience for them. But Jack explains:
“We had never been involved with the courts before but B P Collins’ guidance through the process really helped us. Although we were determined to see the case through to a conclusion, we were apprehensive about the final judgment.”
After reading B P Collins’ case and reviewing the venue owners’ financial accounts, the judge was not convinced that the venue had incurred any expenses that were specifically related to the couple’s wedding before the contract was frustrated, and subsequently ordered the wedding venue to return the couple’s entire deposit and pay their court fees.
Jack adds: “We were really delighted with the outcome. It made us feel vindicated and that we’d done the right thing.”
Jack and Katie got married in December 2020 and plan to have a huge party with friends and family in 2023. B P Collins wish them all the best.
B P Collins has acted for many couples who have tried to recoup their deposit from their wedding venue after their contract became frustrated, but have been unable to do so. Please get in touch at enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk or call 01753 889995 to see how we can help you today.
