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Kalei
Newbie September 2021 Ontario

Caterer won’t return our deposit

Kalei, on May 18, 2021 at 14:32 Posted in Wedding reception 0 14
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Hey friends, as we have all experienced at some point, COVID has put a wrench in some of our plans. For myself, my caterer willingly postponed to a new date from last year to this year. I asked them about cancelling and if we would be able to retain a partial amount of our deposit back, as we don’t believe that by September it would be safe enough to have our original quoted sized event. After emailing them expressing our concerns for them as a vendor and their lost business, hoping to meet them in the middle and only requesting a portion of the deposit back. They literally told me to punish JT and Ford for their short comings instead of them as a vendor... awkward and unprofessional. And told me to wait until closer to September to cancel, and also that they’re on the verge of bankruptcy. I thought by giving enough grace by cancelling months in advance it would allow them to book other events. Anyways they’re telling me now to stick to the contract and that my deposit is non-refundable. The contract is fairly mundane and doesn’t say much about cancelling except that the deposit is Non refundable. Any advice as to what I can do? If anything?

14 Comments

Latest activity by Rhi, on May 20, 2021 at 21:55
  • R
    Curious August 2021 British Columbia
    Rhi ·
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    I totally understand from your point of view how it doesn’t seem fair because these are factors completely outside of your control. On the other side they aren’t wrong to not return what I’m sure was a non-refundable deposit. The wedding industry and so many others have been hit so hard. Im sure those deposits may be one of the only things keeping them afloat until things hopefully begin to open up more. I realize it’s frustrating for you, my fiancé and I are in the same boat but at the end of the day they really aren’t doing anything wrong because both parties agreed upon the deposit being non refundable.
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  • Rayanne
    Master June 2022 Ontario
    Rayanne ·
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    I think I would be worried about them actually going bankrupt because if they do you'll end up with nothing. It's good you have a backup. Once wedding is over if they are still in business you could always do a review of your experience....
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  • Tunisha
    Super October 2021 Ontario
    Tunisha ·
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    Ohhhhh yes. I’m happy you found another option. In this case.... That sounds like a good plan to use the money that they have for you. Let them do something with that money that you put down for sure. Like do a nice friends linkup with some nice photos and all that after. Good luck, I hope it all goes well.




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  • Hank
    Featured September 2021 Ontario
    Hank ·
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    Ugh, sounds like they're just doing everything they can to get you not to cancel. Hope it works out for you. Worst case scenario, maybe just get them to cater a boxed lunch or something for the deposit.

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  • Kalei
    Newbie September 2021 Ontario
    Kalei ·
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    Yea I agree. I did a lot of reading and researching and I got pretty much that same conclusion. I might just settle to rebook them with a tiny guest count for a different day just to salvage our money lost.


    But I will say I actually did reached out to them last October/November inquiring about the process of cancelling if it did come to that and they told me not to even bother discussing it with them until closer to September this year lol, so pretty much the same answer.
    Thank you so much for your help and advice!!
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  • Kalei
    Newbie September 2021 Ontario
    Kalei ·
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    Ugh yea so unprofessional.. we were trying to plan ahead and cancel early in case we couldn’t have a reception by then. But we also didn’t have a staffed venue originally because we were planning to use a community centre. Since last years guidance was 10 indoors for an unstaffed venue, we decided to look for a staffed venue instead. But I don’t want to use up my permitted numbers with extra servers as Buffett style just won’t be safe to do.. we are in a predicament. I just have a bad taste in my mouth about these guys now so I want out. It’s an unfortunate situation!
    We have found an alternate arrangement that will cost us way less even if we lose our deposit with them completely. They’ll do our catering and would be our reception venue, so it’s a way better option. But hoping to recoup something from our deposit anyways.. we’ll see 😅
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  • Kelsey
    Frequent user June 2022 Ontario
    Kelsey ·
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    Unfortunately it sounds like they're sticking by their contract which says non refundable deposit. Which makes sense from a vendor standpoint. However, they do seem super unprofessional in their response. Be glad you aren't working with them
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  • Hank
    Featured September 2021 Ontario
    Hank ·
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    I do feel they overreacted and taking it out on you in such a manner was uncalled for. But to be fair, booking another wedding catering job with just over three months out is pretty much impossible. If you gave them a year, maybe. But this kind of thing is usually planned much farther in advance.

    I will say, clauses like the minimum head count don't automatically shield anyone from anything. They can't force you to consume 65 portions of food when the law won't allow that many to gather.

    That being said, there is precedence in Canadian case law that gives vendors some advantage over keeping deposits from covid cancellations. If you're legally able to have a reception of any kind and you're choosing to cancel period because it's not what you originally intended and refuse any alternatives from the vendor, you won't get your deposit back. So let's say the government allows a reception for 10 people but you said "screw it" because you wanted more people, or that they will have to wear masks and can't dance. If the caterer was willing to serve your 10 meals in a manner that is legal on your contracted day, but you choose not to go ahead with it, you're not entitled to the deposit since the caterer was willing to accommodate and the restrictions didn't impact their ability to fulfill their services to you.

    On the other hand, if you are willing to move forward with new rules and restrictions but they choose to not go ahead with your event because they feel like it's not worth it for them to execute only 10 servings of food, they cannot keep your deposit. They also cannot just up the price per person by an unreasonable amount. Basically no one side can unilaterally change the terms of the contract.

    Hopefully things work out for you.

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  • Tunisha
    Super October 2021 Ontario
    Tunisha ·
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    Sorry that you’re going through this Kalei. This is so unacceptable and unprofessional. I don’t know why they don’t understand that you’re in a predicament than they are. You’re spending money for an event that’s once in a lifetime during a tough time.


    What would be your next move in this case? Like communicate with them again in regards to their unprofessionalism and or what their process could be as you cannot decide closer to the date...? They are very inconsiderate.
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  • Christiana
    Super November 2020 British Columbia
    Christiana ·
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    Yikes! It doesn't sound like they're very professional at all. Without knowing exactly what's in your contact it's probably going to be difficult for anyone to give you good advice. But if you're not okay with walking away from the deposit I'd consider speaking with a lawyer about what your options might be.

    What is your plan for September if you can't have your original size? Are you going to do something smaller instead or postpone again?

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  • Kalei
    Newbie September 2021 Ontario
    Kalei ·
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    Firstly I’m so dumb, my wedding is September 5th 😂 The 12th was last year oops. We had for 65 people, but there was a clause in the contract about not being “allowed” to drop more than 5% from that number. We gave them $950, so not an insane amount but definitely enough. That’s why I was hoping just to get a small portion back. And honestly I would’ve tried to work with them but after the whole bankruptcy statement and bringing in politics, I’m just completely disgusted by them. If they want me to wait until closer to our date to officially cancel them, then I will but I find it funny they wouldn’t want us to cancel earlier than later in order to get another event booked- considering according to them they’ve had “multiple” inquiries... for a Sunday of a long weekend lol sure
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  • Hank
    Featured September 2021 Ontario
    Hank ·
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    How many people were they contracted for? Is your deposit able to cover a smaller attendance count? Can you downsize the contract? Maybe that could be the compromise. And obviously they'll need to come up with a different solution that's not buffet since they can't force you to have a buffet if it's against the rules at the time. I would consider these options instead of outright cancelling.

    Also, I'd be very weary of anyone threatening bankruptcy.

    Btw, your profile says your date is Sept 5. We're Sept 5, which is why I thought we're date twins lol

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  • Kalei
    Newbie September 2021 Ontario
    Kalei ·
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    It was supposed to be Buffett style, so 2 staff and food. It included apps, the main course and a choice of two salads. We booked them back at the beginning of 2019 as we were supposed to get married last year. Postponing isn’t an option for us, we’re just getting it over with this year lol.


    Sounds like Sept 12 will be a great day!!
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  • Hank
    Featured September 2021 Ontario
    Hank ·
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    What does the catering entail? Are they also in charge of staffing/bar and providing all dinnerware/utensils or are they just providing food for the venue to plate and serve?

    PS we're wedding date twins!

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