Wedding Photographer Cancellation - unreasonable?

I wouldn't ignore emails. I'd be replying saying that their request is in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and they will not be paying anything over and above the deposit already paid.

If the supplier takes them to court I think they would be in a strong position to argue that The request is unfair 'if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer'– Regulation 5(1). Unfair terms are not enforceable against the consumer.

Furthermore If a consumer believes a contract contains an unfair term they can complain to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) or to one of several consumer-related organisations that can act against unfair consumer contracts. Such a complaint may lead to court action.

It’s worth pushing back on, and replying to the photographer is definitely advised, rather than ignoring.

This isn't how it works. The contract is either legally binding and enforceable or it's not. If it's unfair and unenforceable, it doesn't matter that she signed it originally; she isn't bound by it.

OP it sounds like the terms may be unfair and it's probably worth just ignoring him but if you want complete peace of mind then it's worth a quick chat with a consumer advice organisation or a legal professional to show them the contract.

No he is not unreasonable to demand what is in the contract is honoured

The court may feel differently of course

But why does that mean he can get 100% profit for a cancelled day?

He's had zero outlay, no work, no travel, no materials, no wear and tear on equipment.

Just 100% profit.

Greedy.

I'm a wedding photographer OP, and since Covid, rulings on this sort of thing have become a lot more in favour of the customer.

It is reasonable to lose a deposit (although even then, there have been many disputes won by couples in court claiming that deposits should not be kept) but 7 months before the date, expecting that sort of payment, is absolutely taking the piss. Of course they can fill the date - I often get couples searching for photographers with less than a year before their wedding.

What is the wording in the contract?

Even with a solid contract in place, Clients may argue that a non-refundable deposit is unfair if their circumstances change or if the terms are unfair.

Obviously I'm not a judge/lawyer but based on personal experience, I believe the terms that your sisters photographer has outlined could easily be considered as unfair in a small claims court (I've seen this happen personally with just a deposit) so I'd get her to respond as such,

I'd be looking at the contract first to determine the actual terms outlined. Then I'd be considering their enforceability based on the consumer act 2015 and unfair contract act 1977.

Most people I think could spot a review written in revenge or because of a bad experience, I'm not sure that is a good idea.

He's trying to bully you!

Don't let him.

I would ignore any emails from him.

What a grabby twat.

Exactly this! He wants 100% profit.

Tell him to go take a run, say take me to court then.

He's a chancer.

When they were informed of the cancellation (straight away 7 months out) they weren’t very nice about it and basically said she’d lose the deposit (somewhat expected)

What do you mean they weren't very nice about it? If all they did is explain she'd lose the deposit that's perfectly fair enough.

This. Surely court will laugh him out if he went down that route. Awful way to run a business. Karma won't be kind.... Hope you get sorted. (And can you check and see if he was working that day!?l )

It probably isn’t likely he’d been be to get another booking given people book so far in advance-7 months is nothing. Morally- entirely different story but ultimately that’s what pays his mortgage etc.

You cannot be held to an unfair contract term, even if it is in a contract.

A judge is not going to agree to the OP's sister having to pay the full amount of it goes to small claims court.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/there-s-an-unfair-term-in-my-contract-how-can-i-complain-and-get-my-money-back-aeHsV7t85zl5

Wow! I’m so sorry your sister is dealing with this. I’m a wedding videographer. I charge 25% to book. That’s non refundable (but I’ll honour it for a new date in the future). I don’t even charge the balance until 30 days before. At this point it’s non-refundable because there’s no way I’ll rebook that date (but I try to show some leniency for sudden ill health etc.) Nine months is madness! Just know that he’ll get a bad rep for doing this and it’ll impact his business. Karma!

I think it’s completely shit
but also she did actually agree to pay in these circumstances when she signed the contract
the terms were laid out in black and white . If she thought that it was unfair then the time to point this out was then . If she didn’t like the t’s and c’s she shouldn’t of signed

I don’t think it is reasonable to expect the full fee but I will say to those mentioning empathy, as someone who used to work in the wedding industry, that clients usually offer zero empathy to those working in it too. I heard awful stories during Covid and since - yes weddings were cancelled and rearranged and that’s difficult for clients but also lots of people like photographers were suddenly out of work and not all qualified for help. Clients didn’t care and would harass or be abusive to get deposits back - deposits often paid 2 or 3 years in advance.

I’m wedding photographer. It’s a ridiculously long cancellation period for full payment (9 months?) and I wouldn’t expect that to be enforceable. Most credible photographers would have 1-3 months (more likely calendar weeks) as their cancellation period. As another poster has said, ignore him and see if he’ll follow through on going to court, it will cost him money to do so in the first place and there’s no guarantee he’ll win. During the Covid years (!) several contract court cases were heard and often the judge ruled in favour of the client citing the work hadn’t been undertaken so why should the client pay the full sum. Generally, and obviously, I will sympathise with wedding photographers (as I am one) because more frequently than people realise, we get shafted by many means, but this person sounds rather unfeeling and generally a bit of a shit to pursue this. I’d be interested to know who it is - this is much more typical of a male photographer than it is a female, I’m sorry to say.

Surely some of the balance would have been the cost of photos. So while his time may be chargeable if he cannot get another booking , the work in creating the images and albums is not. Was there a breakdown of charges in the contract?

I'd ignore him too.

If he wants to pursue through small claims, he's going to firstly have to prove his attempts to rebook that date, and secondly demonstrate the actual profit he missed out on once costs are factored in.

If he's awarded anything at all, it will be less than what he's seeking now.