AIBU to be annoyed my daughter’s party package changed last minute?

Stop being a walkover!

Don’t be a doormat. There is no need for rudeness, but it is important to be assertive and clear about your expectations and request a partial refund. Otherwise this business will carry on offering poor service to other customers. Stand up for yourself. You can do it after the party of course.

You’re not voting with your feet though, you’re being ripped off and a complete walkover.

They’re not going to cancel the booking, don’t be silly.

When they told you there was no cake did you just say, ok then and just pay the full balance?

I had similar for my daughters party - when I booked the food options were pizza or hotdogs - both veggie and meat. I phoned a couple of days before to ask if I needed to let them know in advance what everyone is having and she told me its changed now and is sandwiches. I told her my daughter wont eat sandwiches, she doesn't like them and the only reason I booked a party rather than just the event was the food. They tried to get me to back down but I refused and in the end they agreed to do pizza for everyone. I would absolutely tell them they owe you a partial refund

No. It's not their call. They promised you a service, and quoted you a price for it.
You paid a deposit. That means you have a contract with them.
They cannot change the terms to remove part of that service without notifying you and without adjusting the price accordingly.
Tell them that if they don't either produce a cake to the appropriate standard (i.e. like the one in the picture on their website) or reduce the price to the cost of your sourcing one at short notice, you will report them to the local trading standards office and leave an honest review about their business practices on line.

If you haven't already paid the balance you should negotiate a discount for the service you're not receiving (the cake). If you have already paid it all you should request a refund or an upgrade of some sort.

A small business is less likely to cancel imo. They surely need the bookings? And bad press would be worse?

Did you pay the balance?
Bit odd to do so before the party isn’t it?

Absolutely fine for them to change what is included...for customers booking after the change has been brought in. They should be honouring their previous package for customers who have already booked. They didn't even have the decency to notify you with appropriate notice. I'd be demanding a partial refund to cover what they are now not providing and leaving honest, factual reviews.

Talk to Trading Standards.

If you booked and paid a deposit on the basis of a promised service, then the contract became binding on that date.

Just because you haven't fully paid doesn't give them the right to vary the agreed.peice or service.

If you speak nicely with confidence - that we had a problem and it is now solved so everything is great - and smile they will
probably just say ‘ok’ and be happy all
is now sorted.

No I absolutely would not stand for this,
you need to negotiate what the final cost is as ultimately they are not providing the full package. It's shocking that it hasn't been communicated to you, or that a discount has not been offered.

Don’t go in heavy handed just say with confidence and finality “Here is the final payment. As you were unable to provide the agreed cake I sourced one from M&S at the cost of £x so the final sum is £Y” The replacement cake cost should be of similar standard to the one they provide ie don’t expect them to pay for a hand made sculptured three tier creation if they normally provide a slab cake from Asda.

You are being a fool if you’re paying for a service they won’t be providing

You’ll be an absolute idiot not to raise the cost issue at this stage

Fair enough but if you won't want to go back anyway, have the party and then do a blistering complaint/online review. They are in breach of contract.

I don’t like being difficult to deal with

Well this woman doesn’t care, she’s more than happy to mess you around and rip you off. Your choice to accept it but not booking her again isn’t exactly sending a strong message is it?

It's not being rude or difficult to accurately point out you've paid for a service which you are not getting.
It's cost you ££ extra to provide these things and reimbursement + a gesture for the poor service and additional work is an entirely fair and reasonable thing to ask for.

Nor is it rude to point out that had you not been diligent, you would have turned up without party bags or a birthday cake and would have spent an hour on a mad dash round Tesco's instead of enjoying the party. It's conatruxtive criticism that allows them to review their other bookings.

They should be trying to keep you sweet, not the other way around!

I have friends like this who would 'rather die' than have a polite yet mildly confrontational conversation when they're being messed about by a business. There's a million miles between accepting crap service and being a crazy person ranting.

I’d screen shot that and send them an email with a receipt for the cake to point out their website isn’t updated, they haven’t communicated the change to you, and you want the price of the cake removed from the bill and refunded.

Cheeky and disorganised, I hope the rest of the party goes ok.

The terms of the contract were agreed when booked. They can’t unilaterally vary the terms after you booked. Definitely take the cost of the cake and any other items that were agreed six months ago but not supplied off the bill.

This is why businesses get away with crap service.