PLEASE HELP! Cancelling wedding hall!

One of my bridesmaids signed a contract and put a deposit down for a place in June 2005. She no longer is getting married there- she's getting married in another country to accomodate her sick grandmom who can't make it to NY.

She doesn't care about losing her $500 deposit but they have a clause in the contract stating that "over 180 days, there is a 25% cancellation fee"

SO her dad crossed out "over" leaving it to read "180 days of the event, there is a 25% cancellation fee"

The hall is now saying that they will charge the 25% fee although it's still 16 or so months away AND they are getting all these calls for that same date.

Any suggestions?? THANK YOU!

Re: PLEASE HELP! Cancelling wedding hall!

most places release deposit if the day gets booked again. ask your friend to speak to someone else about this situation. that is nonsense

Re: PLEASE HELP! Cancelling wedding hall!

since it is so far away, i think you can fight this. you need to find out what the courts would consider a "reasonable amount of time" to rebook the hall for another event. they should determine an amount less than 16 months.

i went through something similar once i was considering breaking an apartment lease. technically one is responsible for the entire year or the months remaining at the time of termination, however a "reasonable amount of time" to re-rent was established to be about 3 months in our case. so if we were to fight it, we anticipated the worst case scenario to be 3 months rent, not the entire year...

i wound up staying put, but gathered the information. i would suggest you do the same, since there is so much time for them to rebook...

Re: PLEASE HELP! Cancelling wedding hall!

I work for a large catering company in NYC. What we do is this - if you cancel and we can't rebook the date, then you owe us whatever % it says in the contract. If we can rebook the date for the same price or more money, then we return your deposit and only keep an amount (if any) to cover our out of pocket expenses due to your cancellation. If we rebook it for less money than your wedding, then you owe us the proportionate difference. It doesn't really matter whether it's a year away or a month away. You should see if they will enter into a similar agreement with your friend so that even if they have to pay the 25%, the hall will agree to refund it in the future in the above circumstances.

Re: PLEASE HELP! Cancelling wedding hall!

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Posted by kpny622

I work for a large catering company in NYC. What we do is this - if you cancel and we can't rebook the date, then you owe us whatever % it says in the contract. If we can rebook the date for the same price or more money, then we return your deposit and only keep an amount (if any) to cover our out of pocket expenses due to your cancellation. If we rebook it for less money than your wedding, then you owe us the proportionate difference. It doesn't really matter whether it's a year away or a month away. You should see if they will enter into a similar agreement with your friend so that even if they have to pay the 25%, the hall will agree to refund it in the future in the above circumstances.

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Re: PLEASE HELP! Cancelling wedding hall!

Just a suggestion, but why dont you place a post on the site asking if anyone wants this date and they save the $500deposit.. something like this:

(NAME OF HALL)is available for a wedding
on (FOR DATE & day of the week)
AND SAVE $500.00 off the cost

My friend booked her wedding there and now needs to cancel but will lose her $500 deposit....& FM you for details...

there are a lot of girls still looking for a hall and just getting started with plans, maybe one of them will pick that place and date with the $500. discount !

Good Luck

Re: PLEASE HELP! Cancelling wedding hall!

If it is Suffolk or NYC the law is very clear - if cancel more than 6 months prior deposit must be returned except for $100 to cover office costs = which is reasonable. It doesn't matter what your contract says the law supersedes the contract. She can contact the BBB and they will help her. If she is booked with a Nassau facility there is no similar law - a good reason to do business in Suffolk.