Cake maker refusing to make my cake!

[fartoobiled]

Unless I pay £15 more than o originally agreed

I paid a £15 nonrefundable deposit and now she wants another £15 on top of the £50 I was due to pay for the Cake so a total of £80 instead of the £65 I was going to pay in total

Am I being unreasonable to think this is really unfair? She says this is due to the increase in cost of living for example petrol prices and the price of ingredients

Thing is though I paid the £15 which is nonrefundable. So if I don't pay the extra I lose my money

Your Mum and Dsis are pushovers! Cake maker is a CF.

She is being unreasonable unless you have altered the design to something more time consuming , or requested something more expensive than what you agreed on but since it’s only 2 weeks ago that’s not likely.

I would insist on her giving the deposit back - it’s her who’s changing the contract not you. Non-refundable is there to protect her from people pulling out at the last minute, it’s not so she can take the piss.

I would be putting it on your local ‘name and shame’ or ‘rant and rave’ Facebook pages. Of course prices go up but that’s ridiculous.

Oh yeah i'd definitely do the threatening to go on FB ect in order to get the deposit back - not force the sale.

Lord knows what she'd put in it ! 😱

These were my thoughts too!

She’s out of order. Nothings gone up that much in two weeks! I’d be livid.

Oh god I agree. I think I would pay up only for this reason then fb shame later

I would put this all over social media about what she did. I wouldn't use her if she was the only one who could bake that cake.

She runs a business - she needs to know her costs and price accordingly. The risk of mispricing is entirely on her, not the customer. She needs to proceed at the agreed price or return your deposit.

I’m a cake maker and she is completely wrong to do this. How to lose regular customers!

Prices have been rising fairly steadily.

You’d have thought she would have quoted accordingly.

Tough titties now cfcm. 🎂

I'd be taking screen shots of her messages confirming the original price and tag her in posts on social media personally.
Awful.

Realistically you couldn't trust her not to sabotage the cake now so paying extra is pointless.

Either write off the £15 or follow it up, I'd take it further personally on principle.

Deposit back seems the best option.

Not just social media but I suggest trading standards, and I'd be tempted to suggest that there is tax avoidance going on to HMRC. Small claims would be an option of last resort, hope it would not come to that.

Yes absolutely for £15 plus inconvenience plus costs. That what "small claims means".
Been in business (catering) for over 30 years. Would never try and charge a customer more just because I under estimated to what the costing. Sometimes you need to take hit on one sale to keep customers happy for future gains and to keep your reputations and goodwill.
The amount of lost sales they would suffer once their reputation is ruined is incalculable.
At this point I would insist on a refund because I wouldn't trust them enough to eat what they baked.

I’m infuriated in your behalf - 23% increase in a couple of weeks. Can’t understand your family’s response unless the cake is for them and they are not paying - but even I can’t see why they are not backing up up the the cake maker in an unprofessional CF!

Ouch! Yeah I'd definitely back out of that and want my money back.. it's just not professional at all.

What's the cake for? It it really specifically designed? Just thinking M&S do beautiful cakes at very reasonable prices for collection xx

Good luck OP and stand your ground for sure!!

Let this be a lesson to never do business with someone who calls you "hun."

But seriously, I wouldn't let it go on principle.

Small claims court time. Write to her telling her this and giving her a date to refund your deposit by. If she doesn't refund then take it further. You will win.

I would insist on the deposit back. She has broken the contract by changing the terms and she either needs to return the deposit as it is her that’s in breach, or fulfil the contract on its original terms. However, I wouldn’t want a cake made by someone who didn’t want to do it - frankly cutting corners and ending up with a crap cake would be the least worst possibility - so I’d want the deposit returned. And I’d make it clear that no deposit = very honest reviews about her poor customer service, failure to quote accurately and failure to honour contract terms.

No, no, no. She can charge whatever she wants for future orders, but she can’t change a price after it’s been agreed and you’ve paid a deposit. I would find another cake maker and mention small claims court re. your deposit.

WeAreBob the law is one thing, but it's never worth fighting over a principle. The important thing is does she want the cake or not? If she does, just cough up. And it's certainly not worth going to court over. Life's too short!

I 100% would not eat a cake she made after this. Not even if it was the original price.

It’s always worth fighting over a principle… It’s one of the more important things in life.

There's a lot of questionable advice/assertions about what is "breach of contract" here (without knowledge of the exact exchange of messaging about the price and other terms, BUT: on the assumption that you agreed a fixed price for the cake, without any caveats from the seller as to "unilateral right to increase the price", then you will be entitled to EITHER the cake you ordered at the price quoted, OR refund of your deposit.

I would suggest that you respond saying you'll be happy to accept either of the above options. She is not entitled to unilaterally change an agreed price AND keep your deposit.

I'm a dispute resolution partner in a City law firm.

Idiot posters who are saying to pay the extra, are the reason there are so many cheeky fuckers in the world!
I wouldn't pay it and I'd tell her to refund the deposit or you are going to put the screenshots of your conversations everywhere that she trades.