To think wedding venue can't charge us for their invoicing mistake AFTER wedding

[maria1113]

We were sent a 'final invoice' for our wedding, a few weeks before the big day. Being busy and tired we scanned the invoice and paid the total as requested in bold at the very bottom of the form. Now, two days after our wedding we have an email to say they've noticed they invoiced us wrongly on said 'final invoice'. They now realise they have invoiced us just over £800 short. Is this our problem?

Hate confrontation, my partner is not brave enough to take the lead on this one and having a debate with the venue that we loved will leave a huge stain in the memory of our wedding day, wether we win or lose the debate.

If I stand firm, fight our corner and they accept their mistake, we will feel unwelcome there in future and risk looking like total tight wads. If I refuse to pay, and they lay the blame solely at our door, they could charge us without authorisation as we have given our card details for previous deposit and invoice payments. I can't see a way to avoid hassle, embarrassment and expense. We've spent a lot on the wedding and really aren't in a place to hand out that kind of money willingly.

Anyone know where we stand legally? Their contract says nothing about what will happen in the event they make an invoicing mistake.

Horrible horribleness. We just want to relax, haven't even unpacked our bags from the weekend, now got this lovely flaming bag of shite dumped at the doorstep. thought wedding stress was over. Hello old friend!

Any advice legal or moral welcome.

[SquawkFish]

What was the price you agreed beforehand?

Did you realise their invoice was 800 pounds short when you paid it?

[VeryBitchyRestingFace]

Did you agree a figure before deciding to book?

[RhiWrites]

Well you presumably budgeted for your wedding and expected to have to pay so while you might not want to, you can afford to and it's the right thing to do.

I get where you're coming from because my work stupidly overpaid me and now I have to pay them back. But even though it was their stupid mistake I still owe the money - and you owe your venue money.

Just pay it and move on.

[PerspicaciaTick]

Do you actually owe them the extra £800 for services they are giving you, or are they trying to charge you £800 extra on top of what you owe them?

[mickeysminnie]

Was the invoice wrong? If it was you should pay. If they had overcharged you, would you expect your money back after checking the invoice?

[WhittlingIhopMonkey]

Ah here. Pay them what you owe them

£800 isn't a small amount if money, you obviously had it budgeted and you presumably enjoyed your big day.

If you have no reason not to pay it would seem to me as taking advantage of them and being dishonest.

[LucyInTheSkyWithDonuts]

Is this £800 you were expecting to pay as part of your original quote or an extra £800? If it's an honest mistake and you've paid £800 less than you should then pay it. If they are suddenly wacking on an extra £800 for unclear reasons then challenge it.

[AllPowerfulLizardPerson]

If you had paid a bill on autopilot and you later noticed that it was £800 too high, you would expect them to refund the amount charged in error.

So, assuming the new bill is indeed the correct amount, you should pay.

[viques]

So you did not notice that the cost of the venue, which you had compared,discussed ad infinitum,spent time reviewing, then booked and paid a deposit on, came out at getting on for £1000 pounds LESS than you were budgeting for. I am willing to bet good money that busy and stressed as you were you would have been on the phone to them within minutes if they had sent you an invoice for nearly £1000 MORE than you were expecting!

[BreatheDeep]

Not sure what the legal position is but my brother's wedding venue forgot to add £500 to their bill and they just waived it and said they didn't have to pay as it was their mistake.

[GladAllOver]

I'd compare the invoice with what was quoted beforehand and included in that quote.
If it's a genuine mistake and the £800 is for something you requested, then of course you should pay.
Quite apart from the moral issue, do you want memories of your special day clouded by reminder notes and solicitors' letters?

[ladyvimes]

Not sure about legally but morally I would think you owe them £800. Why would you not pay this? It sounds like you were really happy with the venue and it sounds like an honest mistake. Did you not think when you saw the invoice it sounded a bit short?
When we bought our house our (newly qualified) solicitor forgot to charge us their fee (first time buyers and we didn't notice or realise). We had a letter months after moving in apologising and requesting payment. We paid as they had provided a service and deserved to be paid for it. The 'legalities' of it never entered our heads!

[RedSauceAndJellyJuice]

Pay them , you enjoyed the services they provided and you must have had an original price from them ?

[Haggard1]

Pay it, but you could add it would be nice to have a free bottle of champagne when you book dinner there for your anniversary (for the inconvenience of it all)

[Mybugslife]

If they've billed you £800 you weren't expecting in the 1st place when u chose the venue then fair enough I wouldn't pay, but presumably you used the venue and there was nothing wrong with it so you owe them the £800. They may have made a mistake yes but if u knew how much it cost before when u chose to use them it's not like it's a massive surprise.

[SquawkFish]

As someone who has just been on the other side (almost, I have not been paid anything for an agreed service), please pay them if the agreed price (booking price) did include the £800.

I don't understand why anyone would not pay what they had agreed upfront. Particularly when it is something like a wedding venue which you usually have many months to pick and a choice between a few different ones with different price ranges.

Please correct me if I am misunderstanding something.

[AyeAmarok]

Depends on what was agreed initially, if you expected it to be £800 higher, then pay it.

[JacquettaWoodville]

It may be that the difference is a bar bill, if the OP had a free bar for guests.

[ClashCityRocker]

If you agreed the additional £800 you need to pay.

My contract law is a bit ropey but if those were the terms agreed I don't think you'd have a leg to stand on legally.

[witsender]

My post vanished!

The fact you state that you were 'busy and tired' (too tired to think as you paid?) when you paid implies to me that you knew it was low but kept quiet. If it was £800 high I bet you would have noticed! As it was, they have noticed. I bet you did too.

Pay what you owe. Presumably you budgeted for the wedding?

If it is costs that are extra and undiscussed (as in, you set a total for the bar bill and they went over the total you stated by £800) then that is a bit different.

[VeryBitchyRestingFace]

I hope the radio silence from OP means she's off settling the bill.

[WhiskersAndPaws]

You have to pay what you owe legally you still owe them if it is the same as the price they quoted and you accepted. I assume you signed a contract or formally agreed to a price beforehand?

[44PumpLane]

Agree with others, if you overpaid by even a small amount you would expect them to refund you.

No one is infallible, they didn't notice their mistake but neither did they. They have now though and as annoying as it is you owe them that money- you should pay it.

[fittedcupboard]

What's the difference for? Meeting them halfway at 400 might be an option.

[SquawkFish]

It may be that the difference is a bar bill, if the OP had a free bar for guests.

I thought about this too, but I think that if you agree to foot the bill for a free bar beforehand, you should still pay the bill in full even if an invoicing mistake has been made.