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AIBU?

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

434 replies

JavSurge · 14/09/2026 11:38

We had to cancel DD's birthday party the day before due to her having S&D. We'd have gone through with it if it was a runny nose but not S&D, as much for our guests as well as her.

Anyway, most of the vendors (hall, entertainment etc) have honoured bookings in changing the date without charge given the circumstances.

As for the cake, she wants to charge us again. Now, for context, she had not finished the cake, had not started icing or decorating it. What's more, once I informed her the party couldn't go ahead, she said she'd pop the sponge in the freezer to be used for another time.

Now we have a new date arranged I have contacted her (2 days later) and asked if the sponge will last (Google says it will) until the party in a couple of weeks and if she's available to decorate it and deliver it on that date.

She's come back saying she didn't freeze it in the end and instead gave it to her neighbour, and now expects us to pay again for a new cake?!
If she'd iced it and it was ready to go then I would completely understand. However, given that it's just a change of date, am I being unreasonable to have expected her to just to use the sponge for us, or even used the sponge for another customer and then made it fresh. Either way to me seems reasonable as she'd not be using extra resources or time.
I can of course understand she might have got an extra customer (money) on the later date but it wouldn't have caused her extra costs.

Am I being being completely unreasonable?
If the cake was decorated I'd have never asked her to redo the whole thing for free but given that she said she was freezing the sponge surely it would be reasonable for her to do it free of charge (or a nominal fee if anything extra is needed)?

OP posts:
SheilaFentiman · 20/09/2026 18:31

Like I said, I don’t think either of them communicated perfectly.

But there are plenty of services where you would lose not just a 50% deposit but the full cost if you cancelled with less than 48h notice.

Had the cake maker delivered the uniced original cake (and not made the - no doubt regretted - comment about the freezer) then I am sure she would be charging OP full price for the second cake also.

Anyway, let’s agree to disagree.

Cyb3rg4l · 20/09/2026 18:44

Bloke58 · 20/09/2026 16:54

Should she pay for the icing though as she didn't spend time on that?

Her fee is for the time cleared in her schedule to make and deliver the cake. She commits to that time and likely turns away other work to keep her schedule free. It’s a set fee, not an itemised breakdown. So yes she should pay the full fee.

Cyb3rg4l · 20/09/2026 18:52

MsSquiz · 20/09/2026 17:21

As the cake maker had received full payment prior to the cake being completed and prior to cancellation, she should have offered the OP a full and completed cake

The client cancelled before the delivery date of the cake. If she wanted the cake she could just have collected it on the day rather than cancelling Which is what I would have done personally. I will say it is very bad practice for the cake maker not to have a proper contract setting out the cancellation policy, but I don’t think their policy is unreasonable at all.

MaryBeardsShoes · 20/09/2026 19:32

You sound like an absolute pain in the arse customer, cancelling things all the time and expecting free make ups. I’m glad I don’t tolerate customers like this!

MsSquiz · 20/09/2026 19:48

Cyb3rg4l · 20/09/2026 18:52

The client cancelled before the delivery date of the cake. If she wanted the cake she could just have collected it on the day rather than cancelling Which is what I would have done personally. I will say it is very bad practice for the cake maker not to have a proper contract setting out the cancellation policy, but I don’t think their policy is unreasonable at all.

But she took the baker saying she would “freeze it for a later date” to mean for her - this was poor comms from the baker.

baker should have this situation in her T&Cs to cover her back.

Baker should have said either ok, thanks for letting me know about the cancellation or would you like me to deliver the paid for cake to you anyway

edit - spelling mistake

usernametaken135 · 21/09/2026 19:49

JavSurge · 14/09/2026 11:45

She didn't provide me with a contract and to be honest if it had been anything else I would have asked for T&C's but these tend to be over social media, local recommendations, type of arrangement.
In theory she wouldn't be using any extra time as she hadn't started the decorating, and the sponge cake didn't need to be wasted, could have been sold on or reused for the new date.

You assume she had space in her freezer to store it for a two weeks. I think it is quite common to freeze cakes for a day or so but she might have needed that space for other cakes that needed assembling over these two weeks.

Missey85 · 23/09/2026 05:08

MaryBeardsShoes · 20/09/2026 19:32

You sound like an absolute pain in the arse customer, cancelling things all the time and expecting free make ups. I’m glad I don’t tolerate customers like this!

As someone who worked in a bakery she's the worst kind 😂😂😂 she's tried to scam a free cake and it backfired

WiddlinDiddlin · 23/09/2026 13:57

Missey85 · 23/09/2026 05:08

As someone who worked in a bakery she's the worst kind 😂😂😂 she's tried to scam a free cake and it backfired

Oh do people trying to scam free cakes typically pay £200 up front then cancel and not ask immediately for their cake at whatever state it is currently in?

The op could not sound LESS like she's trying to scam a free cake. She sounds a lot like someone trying to postpone an event, being a bit scatty about it and trying to get the cake she's paid for.

Lougle · 23/09/2026 14:18

Coming back to this, I do think the outcome is reasonable. It might be better to think of it as 50% for the late cancellation and 100% for the new cake booking.

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