To ask for non-refundable deposit back

[Roundgreysoft]

I know mumsnet hate tattoos but please put that aside the the sake of the question.

I had a tattoo appt booked for 7 months. I got very poorly and was hospitalised. Knowing I may still not be well enough to attend (in fact the tattooist probably wouldn't have been able to go ahead on medical grounds), I cancelled the appt with 6 weeks notice and asked to reschedule when I was definitely well enough, as I may not be by the appt date. Was upfront when originally booking that I could only do Saturdays due to childcare. The shop is a long way from me and I can only do a weekend because of people being around to basically help for the whole day.

Tattooist will now not rebook for a Saturday at any point in 2024. They haven’t said they're fully booked, just said they can't do any Saturdays now. They also didn't mention that this would be impossible for them when I asked to reschedule. They are 2 hours drive from me and I've used them 3 times before (did not have the childcare to worry about then). It is a 4 hour round trip to get there and back without the time it takes to do the tattoo.

I paid a £70 non refundable deposit at the time of booking. Should I ask for them to return this? Am I being unreasonable expecting them to rebook for a Saturday if they did before - I don't care if I have to wait months for this, or even if it is next year, but they don't seem to understand I can't magic up childcare for an entire day.
With 6 weeks to go they filled my cancelled appointment and hadn't done my artwork. Still haven't as I don't actually have an appointment yet. So the deposit isn't being held against anything.

I work in an industry where I actually ask for payment in full to secure dates in my diary, but if people cancel with at least 3 days notice then they are refunded in full, and I only keep the money if they cancel on the day (50% if less than 3 days). If I originally offer one week day for somebody and we reschedule, then I will always give them the opportunity to reschedule for the same day I agreed to to start with.
I hate having to ask for a refund when it clearly states non-refundable but...

Interested in opinions.

nothing to lose by asking op

and they’d be very unreasonable not to refund

shame as you are a repeat customer

It sounds to me like they are no longer working Saturdays, rather than fully booked for 2024.
Is there really no other day of the week for the whole of the year that you can go? I'd prefer to change the day instead of losing 70 quid.

You can try, they sound like they think you're a bit of a timewaster so don't want to save a Saturday slot for you. They might refund you to get rid of you. Or you can suck it up, sort childcare on a weekday and book for a weekday instead.

It is entirely down to your contract. Non refundable seems pretty clear though and you cancelled, but it depends what the T&C say about date changes.

What you do with your customers is not relevant.

I have no idea how that gif thing got there, I don’t use them normally. Anyway it won’t let me delete, I have tried. 🤷‍♀️

You say that you knew the deposit was non refundable, so on that basis, YABU

That's not actually true. I could write anything in a contract, doesn't mean it's legal. This page explains it a bit more:

Can I claim back a non-refundable deposit? - Which?

We love you too Pickle 😉

Not necesssarily.

Get some childcare

You can try, they sound like they think you're a bit of a timewaster so don't want to save a Saturday slot for you. They might refund you to get rid of you. Or you can suck it up, sort childcare on a weekday and book for a weekday instead

I was hospitalised with sepsis and emailed them 6 weeks prior to the appointment. The recovery has beeb very long. All of our other appointments have gone ahead. Can't help getting sepsis and definitely didn't want it!

Those saying get childcare, it is for a baby. No relatives feel comfortable doing a whole day where I'm 2 hours away. DH can't take the time off but is around across weekends.

Terms about date changes say I can change the date once with at least 2 days notice.

who has the baby when you were recovering for 6 weeks?

you don’t have a friend??

No harm in asking, don't think you have anything more you can do if they say no.

how old is your baby?

ring them and ask if open on a saturday

• sounds to me like they are no longer working Saturdays, rather than fully booked for 2024. Is there really no other day of the week for the whole of the year that you can go? I'd prefer to change the day instead of losing 70 quid.*

My thoughts too. The difficulty is my baby is very young so I genuinely do not have the support for such a long stint during the week. If they were local, I could do it, but it's a 4 hour round trip to even get there and nobody feels comfortable. I'm not sure I would either. DH is home on weekends.

how old is your baby?

you got sepsis
you tattoo app was 6 weeks away at this point and you cancelled

correct?

FunnyFinch 5 months.

I’m pretty sure your deposit is only non refundable if they were unable to fill your appointment?

was your appointment originally on a saturday?

are you allowed tattoos when 7 months pregnant?

you were 7 months pregnant and you got sepsis?