To think you should check the invoices you send out.

[FirstNameSurname]

We have a dog who goes to a puppy walking group once a week in an enclosed field. They collect and drop off. We pay monthly via a website after getting emailed an invoice with a clicky link to the payments section of my account online. It is advertised as a weekly fee and you have to give 4 weeks notice of stopping or one week to change the walk in any way.

When starting we had a couple of bills for odd amounts but from then on (9ish months) they have been either a 4 weekly amount or 5 depending on how the month works. We have never cancelled. They have cancelled numerous times for weather, breakdowns, covid etc we have been charged for the walk each time except once when they explicitly said we wouldn't be charged. Roughly once every 6 weeks they cancel for one reason or another.

Last month had 3 cancellations at short notice from them but we still recieved a bill for the full amount. I queried it as paying for 4 walks but recieving one feels like I'm being had really.

They have come back to say they don't charge for their cancellations and have altered the invoice for last month. I replied saying I had always paid for their cancellations in the past and could they check my account. They have replied to say I should have checked the invoice and alerted them at the time and basically tough luck. I admit I'm an idiot for blindly paying invoices as they arrived and not questioning them but I presumed as they are oversubscribed we were basically paying to keep his space. Now I know I shouldn't have been charged it feels underhand to consistently send out full bills to everyone knowing they have cancelled and expect owners to ask for adjustments every time.

It's quite usual for companies to bill the full amount and wait for customers to query it because (like you) a proportion of them will either not check or think it's not worth the bother of disputing.

A company I used to work for did this, I was responsible for printing and enveloping the invoices then raising credit notes afterwards. I'd say that 25% of our overcharges were never refunded. You sometimes got a massive repayment when someone had been overcharged for years, we had to do a £40k refund once. The "problem" was that so many customers took us to court there were judges who informally told us that if we ever appeared before them again they'd automatically judge against us.

Yes it was underhand but so was the company I worked for - this was the least underhand of several dubious money-making tactics.

Next time they invoice you, send back the dates they cancelled which you have already paid for and say you are in credit by X number of walks.

But I'd find another company after that.

Find another dog walker.

Go through each invoice and write up a spreadsheet of how many walks you have paid for versus how many walks you have had.

Send it to them. Tell them how much they owe you and wait for their reply.

If they offer to refund or credit.. take them up on it and use the credit as your notice.

If they do not, reply stating that unfortunately you can no longer continue the relationship and end immediately, stating that their breaching of their own terms has resulted in a breach of contract and you will not be paying the notice period.

A lot of these small local businesses are run by people who aren’t experienced in business. They’ll be good with dogs, maybe not so good at admin/accounts etc. Often the accounts side of it will be done by a family member whilst juggling the business and family life.

It’s up to you whether you are happy to accept that you need to check your bills for the sake of using the service, or whether you want to find a more professional service.

If I were you, and if I was happy with the service otherwise, and especially as you say it’s oversubscribed, I’d just check the bills myself each month.

I wouldn't dream of using this company again. Find another.

Yes they should check, but so should you. Paying an invoice is generally seen as accepting that it's correct.
Assuming the person sending the invoice isn't the one arranging (and canceling) the sessions, it makes sense for you to check before paying.