AIBU to expect the birthday cake booking date changed without extra charge?

I do agree with this too, I wouldn't be pre-emptively annoyed when you dont know what they will suggest yet. I think get the cost first and then see what is reasonable.

To be fair a lot of those examples I would expect with 24 hours notice to lose the payment because its too short notice to find replacement business. My Daughter cancelled a driving lesson short notice the other week as she was unwell and I paid the full price, I was told it wasn't necessary but I wouldn't want them to be out of pocket at short notice. Ive done the same with a massage in the past.

To me short notice cancellations do require costs covered. What I dont agree with is the baker deciding to essentially donate your paid for product to someone else whilst keeping the full cost. You should have been offered the cake anyway or perhaps a replacement date at a slightly reduced cost. I dont think they should have given the cake away at all without communication but I also think its a bit much expecting a replacement date with no extra charge. There should be a middle ground. You either pay for 2 cakes and get 2 cakes or you cover the lost costs and then pay full price for the new one.

You’ve paid £200 already for a cake, does she want you to pay a further £200? But where’s your cake that you initially paid for, she didn’t give that to you, regardless of the party being cancelled, you paid for a product that you didn’t receive, she said she’s freezing the cake implying she’s keeping it for you. If she wasn’t going to have you reschedule, she should’ve given you the option of her decorating the cake anyway and giving it to you as you’ve paid or asking you get back in touch to reschedule.

But for all you know she's going to give you a new one for £20...

OP don't forget this woman now has to block out time at a later date to decorate this cake for you (even if she had frozen the other one) but actually bake it as well.

OP you haven't been very clear here. You implied you'd been asked to pay the full amount again.

the fact you've posted without knowing what you have to pay and the fact you think you should pay nothing when she's blocked out time for you is a bit cheeky.

You should ask her to tell you what you will owe her next time so you can budget and decide if it's feasible and she should be able to confirm this as it sounds like she isn't being clear either.

But the OP didn’t ask for a refund.
the cake maker said “I have decorated it so I can freeze it for a later date”

cake maker still got paid the full amount (including delivery fee), said they’d freeze the cake, gave that cake away and the OP is left with nothing other than potentially having to pay the same again.

the cake maker should have given the OP the cake as it was or stated “I’ll still decorate it to a degree and deliver tomorrow as it’s been paid for in full”

the cake maker should not have said/done “I’ll freeze it for a later date. Actually I’ve given it to someone else!”

I’ve asked chat gpt for help explaining it because I’m giving up. Here’s a screen shot.

You may want to argue that the time allocated to decorating the cake is now an empty slot, but she can utilise another empty slot in the future. So swapping one empty slot for another - no loss.

you cannot possibly be being serious? Yes, the decorating of it is obviously the bit I’m referring to. You cannot seriously think an empty slot tomorrow is the same as an empty slot in the future? Rather blooming obviously, the empty slot tomorrow is going to be a lot harder/likely impossible to fill.

and obviously, yes, the sponge bit being put in the freezer is fine and belonged to the op. That isn’t the bit I am - exceptionally patiently if I do say so myself - trying to explain to those who don’t get it.

This type of job is time reliant - you need a cake ready at X so they need to make it at Y. This is their job. They have allocated eg 3pm to 4pm on Monday, I’ll be making a cake for Sandra. You can’t just cancel and expect them to just suck up that hour that they’ll no longer make any money in.

But the cake was made and usable, if it had been frozen, as promised. The making of the cake hadn’t been cancelled. The cake had been made in the time slot allocated to making the cake and been paid for!
You may want to argue that the time allocated to decorating the cake is now an empty slot, but she can utilise another empty slot in the future. So swapping one empty slot for another - no loss.

I absolutely agree with you.

it’s just the time slot reserved bit im trying to explain to people who don’t get it.

The cake maker then gave away the cake the OP had paid for…

the cake wasn’t uncollected, it was supposed to be delivered (also paid the delivery fee)

the OP isn’t expecting to have a cake for free. They’re expecting to have the cake they paid for and were told it would be frozen to use another time.
OP was then told the cake they had paid for had been given away - that is theft

No they wouldn’t! Neither would I expect them to, as I respect their time. For example I recently couldn’t make a massage I had booked. I texted her ‘so sorry I can’t make tomorrow, family emergency. I will of course pay you for your time. I’ll book another when I’m sorted.’ She said ‘no worries at all, let me know when you’re free, hope all ok’ . It’s just respect for other people and their time.

She’d already made the cake and bought the ingredients. 24 hours is not long enough to cancel something like that. Get a cake from the supermarket or make your own.

That’s absolutely fine, she shouldn’t be out of pocket. What is wrong is she gave that cake that was fully paid for to someone else - she made it ready, fair enough, the person she should have give the cake to is the one who paid for it!

Who’s to say the cake maker didn’t find another job? OP cancelled on Fri morning for a cake late Sat afternoon. Plenty of time to take on last minute orders (which tend to come in on a Friday). Or she can just have an easy Saturday - I know you said you found this ridiculous but personally I love it. The cake maker has already been paid and the work will be done at a later date.

would have thought, in any case, the majority of time and expertise is spent on the decoration of the cake, which hadn’t been started when the op cancelled. Any extra charge is just trying it on.

as always, on any small own business thread, of any type, I am baffled by the huge numbers of people who don’t understand that your cancelling has lost that small business a profit making time slot. You need to pay for the time they had reserved for you. This type of job is time reliant - you need a cake ready at X so they need to make it at Y. This is their job. They have allocated eg 3pm to 4pm on Monday, I’ll be making a cake for Sandra. You can’t just cancel and expect them to just suck up that hour that they’ll no longer make any money in. This applies to so many own businesses - whether it’s a PT, or a physio appointment, or a hairdressers, or a cake maker, a driving lesson. They have allocated an hour (or whatever) of their WORKING day for you, you can’t just cancel with not enough notice for them to get another job. This is surely common sense? I normally find MN fairly clever and sensible, this is one of the only types of threads where a far too high number don’t understand a simple concept.

I think both sides are a but unreasonable. I think a discount would be reasonable but not the cake done for no charge. However, the cake maker sounds quite unprofessional. She should have had a contact and she should have offered you something at the time such as the cake as ordered, a partial decorated cake or undecorated cake alongside a partial refund or money off a future order subject to availability. Paying £200 and getting nothing should not happen. I'm also surprised she hasn't done any decorating at the point it was cancelled. She will have lost money though because she had time set aside for the cake which probably couldn't be filled. It is normally possible to recoup some costs of an uncollected cake though by posting on local sites.

A baker will charge for the ingredients, their time and expertise, overheads, and profit. In op’s case = £200. The op has already paid for it all - it was the baker’s decision to give away (or sell) the cake she’d made with the ingredients op had already paid for, when she could have frozen it and used it later. In effect, it was the op’s property which was given away or sold. She shouldn’t have to buy it again!
I would have thought, in any case, the majority of time and expertise is spent on the decoration of the cake, which hadn’t been started when the op cancelled. Any extra charge is just trying it on.

Well I didn’t “make it up” I took it directly from the OP.
i missed a later post where she confirmed she hadn’t heard back from the cake maker

Honestly this is what I thought too but on the OP posting more they actually dont know whats expected yet

I thought the OP had said she didnt want to be charged full price but yes I do agree looking back at the title, to not want to pay a penny extra feels wrong too. I will be honest I read the thread again but I didnt look back at the title again and didnt pay that much attenion to the title once I was reading the thread.

I think its poor communication on both their parts. The OP hasnt actually been told yet how much they are expected to pay so it may not even be a problem but the baker should not have expected to keep the full amount and just give away the cake.

Um. You’ve made that bit up. Well, with some inferring from a misleading op. The op has confirmed that the cake maker has not yet confirmed what she will be charging.

Love to know how old the child was whose birthday is in question

I missed that post, apologies.