Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Lost my deposit-AIBU?

231 replies

Outofpocket2022 · 12/03/2022 12:28

Not sure if AIBU to feel a bit annoyed by all of this….
My family and all live in different parts of the country, and although we all visit each other’s different houses etc at various points we try to get all together once a year for a meal out-generally on Mother’s Day.

We booked a restaurant (not a chain-small family owned type place) midway between all of us for Mother’s Day in 2020 but the pandemic happened and it got cancelled. We’d paid a pretty substantial deposit of £70, and the restaurant got in touch to offer either a full refund or that if we still wanted to visit then they would issue a voucher for the sum of the deposit plus a % extra per person as a thank you.
We accepted the voucher (perhaps foolishly in hindsight) and didn’t think anything more of it. Mother’s day 2021 came around and lockdown was still in place so we didn’t book anything.

Fast forward to 2022 and I booked the same restaurant again for Mother’s Day. They emailed asking for a deposit so we got back in touch to explain about the voucher.

Problem is, the voucher has expired.

I’m really annoyed with myself that I didn’t check in advance and also that I didn’t get back in touch with them perhaps the same time last year. But everything was still shut and it didn’t really cross my mind. The restaurant isn’t somewhere we’d pass so wouldn’t have been on the radar for us to visit earlier. I got back in contact with them via email to explain the circumstances and asked if they would be able to reconsider letting us use our part of the deposit (not the extra % they added on for goodwill) and it was a flat no. The response was from the owner rather than other staff so I’m pretty sure it’s the final answer. They said that everyone else who was issue a voucher has used it and they were a small business who had been impacted by Covid and they hoped we understood.

It’s not their fault that the voucher had expired-that’s 100% on us and we should have checked. But £70 is a lot of money to us and it feels a little bit snakey if I’m honest. Especially as they’d asked for our support in the early part of the pandemic by having a voucher issues rather than taking the refund.

So yeh, feeling a bit peeved but would be good to hear others opinions-AIBU?

OP posts:
Nsky · 12/03/2022 12:31

They are a business not a charity, be more careful

SalsaLove · 12/03/2022 12:32

I get where they are coming from but I think they should honour the voucher as a goodwill gesture and a way to get more customers. Now, it’s doubtful you will ever go there or recommend it to anyone else.

SunscreenCentral · 12/03/2022 12:32

I thought a law had been introduced to make that illegal (the cancellation of vouchers/gift cards?)
It is here in Ireland, I'm almost certain

fabulousathome · 12/03/2022 12:32

If you have a lot of people coming, try and do a deal with them, for example they will take ÂŁ35 off the bill?

Circlesandtriangles · 12/03/2022 12:34

I think it's cheeky of them not to honour it given the pandemic. It means you've essentially paid them money for nothing. I get their costs will have risen, so they could offer to honour 75% of it or something to offset that.

WhatNowwwww · 12/03/2022 12:34

I think that’s really shitty of them to be honest and short sighted! You certainly won’t be going back there will you.

AChocolateOrangeaday · 12/03/2022 12:34

What was the expiry date on the voucher when issued?

LoopyDream · 12/03/2022 12:37

I think it’s shitty of them considering you’re still coming - and will be paying a lot more than £70. I would email back and nicely say that if they can’t meet you half way at £35 you’ll cancel the booking and find elsewhere.

BankingOnChange · 12/03/2022 12:38

But £70 is a lot of money to us and it feels a little bit snakey if I’m honest

It's not. They're a business who exist to make a profit...it's likely that they needed the certainty of an expiry date without having the voucher hanging over them forever more. Yabu.

ThinWomansBrain · 12/03/2022 12:38

as a goodwill gesture they could have offered to let you use it on an off peak time slot (ie not mothers day when they're likely to be busy) - but not unreasonable to have an end date of sayi one year.
I think I'd be voting with my feet and going elsewhere.

Original poster
Outofpocket2022 · 12/03/2022 12:40

The expiry date was 1 year on from the original booking.....the most of which was still in lockdown anyway! But as I said that is on me and yes I should have been more careful.

I didn't realise there was a law about voucher expiries so will check that out. Sort of moot now because there's no chance we'll be going again!

OP posts:
BankingOnChange · 12/03/2022 12:41

and short sighted! You certainly won’t be going back there will you

A customer who's made no effort to visit since March 2020 - I don't think they'll be crying any tears over the loss of custom in this instance tbh.

LuaDipa · 12/03/2022 12:42

I think it’s very poor customer service considering you were kind enough to not accept the refund in the first instance. They will have been closed for a good portion of the year last year so your chances to visit were limited. It’s disappointing that they can’t show a bit of understanding of your unique circumstances and sad because on the next occasion you will likely take the refund rather than support the small business in their hour of need.

RewildingAmbridge · 12/03/2022 12:44

It's a bad business decision, they've said no to using the voucher and have retained your ÂŁ70 but I'm assuming now you'll go somewhere else (I would). So they've lost the rest of the cost of your meal, any repeat business and are rising a poor review, maybe they can afford to do that, but I have family members who work in hospitality and I'd be surprised if that's the case at the moment.

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 12/03/2022 12:45

You should have read the terms and conditions. But it's a bit shortsighted of them to turn you away from what sounds like a major major family meal. Their loss. Well, and yours!

Our local Toby carvery extended vouchers by 3 months but I"m not sure they are obliged to do it for 12 months.

Wonnle · 12/03/2022 12:47

It's a bit off really given you couldn't use the voucher for most of the 12 months , slag them on (anti) social media that normally does the trick

Hunderland · 12/03/2022 12:47

I've had this, one where the company happily added on another year and one where I'd bid on a school fundraiser and won a night away in a hotel - they have ignored my messages, I went back to them and suggested a meal instead but heard nothing. This thread has reminded me to keep chasing Hmm

MoiraNotRuby · 12/03/2022 12:49

Hospitality has been really badly affected. I totally understand where this small business is coming from.

LairyMcClairy · 12/03/2022 12:51

Agree they should let you use it at an off peak time. Could you suggest that to them?

Hankunamatata · 12/03/2022 12:52

2020 so 2 years ago. Theres been lifts of lockdown over those times. You didn't get in touch at all over the 2 years? Then I agree with business

PenguinLove1 · 12/03/2022 12:56

I don't think its fair to say you couldn't have used it in those 12 months, if you had booked for March 2020 then it would have reopened in July and stayed open until the mid December when again they would have had to close for a few months, im sure if you had gotten in touch early last year they would have extended it by a few months but to not get in touch for 2 years and then be annoyed isn't really their fault. You could have net for a family meal on another date instead of waiting for mothers day.

That money will have been included in their accounts years ago now, to honor it now would potentially mean they would probably be giving you the meal at a loss which i wouldnt imagine any hospitality venue will be in the position to do now- their business will very likely have been massively impacted by covid.

Vouchers always pretty much expire 12 months later, you made the wrong decision at the time by choosing a voucher for a venue that you would only ever visit once in a year.

And please dont give them abuse on social media as a pp said because you made a mistake, thats some horrible advice and basically tryibg to bully them into changing their terms and conditions to avoid bad press.

Im so surprised by the amount of people thinking they are in the wrong.

Original poster
Outofpocket2022 · 12/03/2022 12:56

No I didn't get in touch with them and that's my fault-as I said it's not somewhere that's near where we live so very much been a case of 'out of sight out of mind' type thing.
I'm disappointed because it looks like a nice place, and yeh we're a big group so we would likely have spent that money again twice over in the restaurant.
2 years is a long time though so I appreciate the restaurant thinks it's odd maybe

OP posts:
Easterbunnyiswindowshopping · 12/03/2022 12:57

Go somewhere else. Upload a review and mention why you chose there not plan A. Very sly imo. Even Vue extended our owed tickets by 12 months. So 2 years from issue!!

Original poster
Outofpocket2022 · 12/03/2022 13:00

Didn't read the Ts & Cs coz there weren't any 🤷🏻‍♀️ just a sort of pdf homemade voucher type thing. Again, lesson learnt for us I guess

OP posts:
amusedbush · 12/03/2022 13:00

Similar happened to me. I turned 30 early on in the first lockdown and a friend bought me a treatment voucher for a nice spa in town as a birthday present. Obviously they were closed for months and even when they reopened, they weren't allowed to do facial treatments due to mask requirements. The other options were hot stone massages and body wraps, etc, which I'm just not interested in.

Then they closed again for the winter lockdown, then opened with the same limited treatment menu. I phoned and asked about an extension and they said yes to an extra six months. Then when I phoned to finally book my appointment, the manager knew nothing about any extension and just said too bad, it was expired. A complete waste and really disappointing.