About being charged for missed appointment?

[Buttercupdaisies]

For several months I’ve had a weekly appointment somewhere. This week, I had to go into hospital as am 33 weeks pregnant and had an injury (all was fine.) I rang up and explained and apologised.

They have just charged my card the full amount. I suspect a lot or people will say I am BU but I don’t feel great about it, tbh. Just wondered what the consensus was.

You do seem to be very defensive about this OP. If you cancelled an appointment last minute, as much as you may be a good customer, why should they lose out? You could afford the £30 as you were going to pay it anyway. You just didn't get your massage as something else came up.

Some businesses will let the charge go if it's a one off but not all will. Some take a blanket approach and that's not wrong. If they had offered to waive the charge would you have said "No absolutely not, you provide a valuable service and wouldn't be out of pocket on my account?"

1. why should they lose the money and not you?

2. it’s standard for service providers to charge if you cancel with less than 24 hours notice. It will be in their terms and conditions and it is legal.

How has OP not valued their time? She did all she reasonably could to let them know she couldn't come given the circumstances. If she hadn't bothered to tell them, you might have good reason to make that claim, but she didn't. There was literally nothing more OP could have done to ensure their time was used to its full value.

OP feels that ordinary human consideration and good business would both suggest to this company that maybe on this occasion their charge should be waived, not least because otherwise they lose a good, regular customer. Other business owners posting on here have said they would take that approach, and indeed some posters (me included) have experience of businesses taking a similar approach. That isn't undervaluing their time, it's just practical business sense.

Without knowing the details it is hard to comment. My podiatrist doesn't charge for the first missed appointment but does for subsequent ones. He also discharges anyone who misses four times as he actually has a waiting list. The NHS do not charge but the amputee clinic my friend attends has 12% missed appointments for limb fitting and 25% for orthotics. Not good is it!

The point about Ts and Cs has been made several times on here, it's difficult to understand why you have repeated it.

Likewise your first question has been answered. OP has accepted that she lost the money, she has as a result taken the decision she is not going back there. As a result of their decision not to allow any leeway for a medical emergency, they lose a good regular customer and also the possibility of further business from people she might recommend. Let's hope the knowledge that they've stuck to their Ts and Cs pays the bills.

Depends what the appointment is for. If it’s a beauty appointment for example it’s not a necessity and then wouldn’t be covered by pregnancy discrimination.

@Moveoverdarlin your version of sisterhood doesn't pay their bills. Maybe the OP should think of the "sisterhood" and not resent paying a fully justified missed appointment fee to a "sister" trying to make a living?

Most businesses get to know which of their customers is likely to be taking the piss. If the customer has been a regular one for a long time, has never missed an appointment, and always pays promptly, most businesses would accept they are probably entirely genuine - especially when the business owners know, as they did in this case, that the customer is in late pregnancy and therefore more vulnerable to health scares.

I didn’t care to read 15 pages of comments.

I think that, as a regular customer, I'd be a bit upset at being charged, too. A bit of goodwill goes a long way and if they refused me a refund, I'd possibly think about finding sonewhere else.

I got the impression the back massages were during the pregnancy rather than a long term client, but I may well have misunderstood.

@longtompot OP said it was an answering machine and she left a voicemail, she hasn't actually spoken to anyone in real life, as it were.

I've not read the full thread but have read your replies @Buttercupdaisies , I may have missed it but have you followed up your voicemail with a call and actually spoken to someone? (Apologies if I've missed you saying it).
I work in an environment that's similar and in all honesty it wouldn't be the first time that technology has failed (the voicemail), or when under stress people haven't managed to leave the message/send the email they thought they had- maybe they didn't actually get your message so they just have you down as a no show?

I have had that happen from the other side where they have rang or emailed but the message hasn't got through and therefore we just have them as a no show with no explanation and charge accordingly and they have received a receipt and called to clarify and once explained we've put them in credit for the next appointment or offered a refund.

In your shoes, I wouldn't write them off until you knew for certain that they had definitely got your message and knew why you didn't attend and still charged.

How many customers do they have?

What happens if every customer has a compelling reason to miss an appointment? Can they give a goodwill gesture to every customer and STILL make ends meet?

The problem is they have to treat every loyal customer equally. And that is unaffordable for someone who probably doesn't make a huge amount of money anyway.

YABU. They are a business not a charity.

Just had this exact scenario with an activity my child attends….. was hoping for some kind of sympathy as it was a one-off illness issue. BUT it was in the T&cs so what can I say. I was going to ditch the person now but decided I’m in the wrong. Paid, was friendly, texted for something… got zero reply and now I feel like I shouldn’t have bothered paying! It’s like they’ve now ditched us!

Op has been very clear that she doesn't want to pay for their time.

That's what I mean when I say that she doesn't value their time.

If you were one of my regular clients I would never have charged you (beauty industry) sometimes things happen that simply cannot be avoided! I’ve not read all your replies yet but have you spoken to them and questioned it?
if not I really think you should - and they should apologise.
In my terms and conditions I can charge for late cancellations or no shows but honestly it’s extremely rare, I think I’ve only done it once in a ten year career and that was because a client kept booking then cancelling last minute!
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy x

I think the business has been very, very shortsighted if you are a weekly customer. a cancellation fee, sure, ok, understandable. But I suspect their insistence on you still paying full price under the (provable) circumstances will cost them multiples of that full price when you find somewhere else to conduct your business.

For me personally, I think you are right to be annoyed by this. It was a genuine reason for missing your appointment and you had the decency to call and let them know. It would have been good customer service for them to not charge you on this occasion, as you have been a valued customer, and it was a genuine reason. By doing this they have lost your custom. Good customer service keeps customers coning back.

Nope. She left a voicemail telling them she had a hospital appointment and she didn't call back when she had her card charged.

She hasn't spoken to anyone.

Apologies - I should have said it was an urgent hospital appointment with concerns about her pregnancy. That is really relevant.

I understand your upset actually. After weekly appointments for a long time, you get to know people and you think they would be worried enough for you being in hospital not to charge you. Caring for your customers goes a long way.

I’ve caught up and saw that - which is fair enough and if it weren’t for them having card details on file I wouldn’t blame @Buttercupdaisies but definitely call and make sure they remove her card details though!

Hang on

You cancelled with just 3 hours notice and it's only £30 anyhow?

Yabu

FWIW - I don't think YABU. Yes, it's in the T&Cs but in the circumstances and given your ongoing relationship, I would expect it to be waived