Who is the CF, me or the beauty salon?

[superdelooper]

Last week my DM was talking about getting powder ombre brows done. My friend had them done, and they are lovely, so asked friend for the salon details so I could contact them for DM.
I reached out to the salon via WhatsApp on Friday (there is no online booking or website) and someone responded immediately with details and an appointment time for this week (Thursday).
All good, fairly reasonable pricing and DM was happy to go ahead and get me to book. There was a £50 booking fee, which I paid, with the balance to be paid at the appointment.
Within an hour of making the booking DM realised she had forgotten about the blood thinners she takes and after a bit of google searching, we realised she needed at least a week off the thinners before she could safely have her eyebrows done. I reached out to the salon again and they assured me she would be fine to continue with the booking, even while still taking the thinners. DM is in her 70's and we didn't want to risk it and requested to cancel the booking. Salon again said it would be fine (these messages have since been deleted by salon) but I insisted we cancelled and apologised. Fine, booking cancelled. I then asked for the booking fee to be refunded. Salon refused stating this booking fee was 'non refundable'.
When we made the initial booking she sent a message with bank details and a note about things to do/not do prior to the appointment. It also stated there was a £50 'booking fee', no mention of this being non refundable.
Who is in the wrong here? We tried asking politely for the fee to be refunded as it seems like a lot to be charged for an appointment we booked and cancelled within an hour, DM would have been happy to pay a small admin fee but £50 is a quarter of what the eyebrows would have cost to have done.

So is paediatrics

Yes, both based on age. So not ageism, but different concerns and features of treatment due to age.

I honestly don’t think that was the reason behind the post ..do you?

No, but this is part of a discussion on a particular point… or don’t you understand that either?

OK..you win ..for rudeness

OK, thanks <bows> 😁👍🏻

The usual response…Ugh

You’re not the only one with lastworditus 😂

If the salon were reputable they would have done a pre treatment consultation before taking the booking and deposit, and asked about any medical conditions/medication which might be contra-indicated. This is an industry standard. The fact that they didn’t to this, and then deleted WhatsApp messages giving inappropriate advice, suggests that they knew they had dropped the ball. I think they should give OP’s DM a full refund and look at their policy regarding consultations.

I must be out of touch but £200 to get your eyebrows done? Yikes I wouldn't even pay that for a new hair style cut

yes you are it's like getting your eyebrows tattooed on you..as I said in my post above my mother in law 82 gets hers done evey 6 months. she has no eyebrows due to alopecia. the fact she she can wake up evey day and look normal is a great got confidence boost to her. you might be also horrified to know that she spends about 1.5k on her wig every year. its hers money she can do what she likes with it

just also to add its a skilled process the therapist will have to be highly trained. takes a while to do it and equipment insurance etc adds up so the salon has to charge the costs to cover all that

Exactly. It’s permanent.

Fuck me - £200 for EYEBROWS????

Also - booking fee is same as deposit but I do think salon are being a bit arsey if you cancelled within the hour.

For tattooed permanent eyebrows I’m sure. Not just waxing.

As explained above again!!!! it's permanent eyebrows. it helps people who have no eyebrows, look normal some people who have no eyebrows for whatever reason due to cancer alopecia etc. it helps their confidence
can people STOP saying 200 for eyebrows!!!!!

They can look awful... but not if done properly. My eyebrows have lightened as I've got older and I'd lost the tail end due to hypothyroidism. I have fusion eyebrows (part microblading, part powder ombre) and they look great. They're not like slugs, very natural. Microblading and powder are both a type of semi permanent tattoo

VanillaImpulse agree with you

Mine were £225 with £50 off and worth every penny! I don’t have any eyebrows and had microblading a few years ago which was agony. Ombré was uncomfortable but not bad and I now have beautiful looking brows instead of trying and failing to draw them on neatly.

I appreciate they require a booking fee to stop time wasters.

This situation feels quite unique and under these circumstances I would have refunded you. Especially as you realised so quickly.

No advice but what I find crazy is that someone who isn't even a medical professional advises clients on blood thinners to stop them for a week prior to their procedure and a few days after.

Previous stroke/MI/DVT? Who cares if you throw a blood clot, least your eyebrows look good 🤨

Contact your credit card company/ bank to pursue a refund. If the salon say the booking fee is non refundable this must be clearly stated in their terms and conditions. If they don’t have a website I don’t see how they can have published these terms and conditions.
I once got a £500 deposit returned from a car yard because their terms and conditions didnt specify that deposits were non refundable

@superdelooper The Citizens Advice website says you have 14 days to change your mind...

"If you want to cancel a service you’ve arranged online, over the phone or by mail-order, you get a 14-day cooling-off period - for example, if you've booked airport parking, hired a cleaner or gardener or asked a solicitor to sell your house or a plumber to service your boiler. During the 14 days, you can cancel for any reason and get your money back."

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/changed-your-mind/cancelling-a-service-youve-arranged/

Just get your bank to action a chargeback. If they'd been reasonable and had terms saying non-refundable, I'd have said it's on you. The fact it didn't makes it unenforceable.

I'd also be tipping off trading standards regards them ignoring medical guidance. That could also invalidate their insurance because they're taking undue risk with clients.

I didn't think booking fees were ever refundable in any situation