Is this fair?

[notgivinga]

One of my nieces was getting married later in the summer, but last week it was all called off.
she had a hen party booked abroad and everyone going has paid nearly £300 as a deposit which has now obviously been lost.
she has now written in the group that she is so sorry but they all need to pay a cancellation fee of just under £100.
Do you think this fair. Just as an aside the wedding is off as she was texting other men.
BTW it’s not me going but my daughter

My first thought on reading the OP too. This makes no sense

How much was the total holiday OP? I would be inclined to go rather than lose £400. Especially if it's All Inclusive and not much spending money needed.

I think your daughter should still go . If she is bride's sister friend , what is the problem? Rooms already allocated. It's not going to be a week is it ? Why would the family be upset with anyone except the Runaway Bride ?

Why would the family be annoyed with your daughter rather than the non bride?

She should ask whether people would like to still go as a holiday (easier if everyone knows each other and isn't just connected via her), and if not, I think it probably needs to come out of any money saved from cancelling the wedding.
If only some want to make the trip anyway, they may have other friends who could fill the spaces.

Exactly what I was thinking. I know the op says there's a cancellation fee but personally I'd be telling the holiday company to do one and asking WHEN they resell the holiday to refund the deposit. Pretty sure that given the time frame, it is actually a legal precedent that if the holiday is resold, then the holiday company/hotel/airline hasn't lost out and should refund the deposit less a reasonable handling charge...

Mind you is she the one who called it off?

Has the bride already cancelled without informing everyone? There's no way she'd be getting any more money out of me for her f*ck up.

I'd just go on the holiday rather than lose £300/400.

Exactly and as someone has already pointed out, she must have money saved for the wedding that she can use

Your dd should flip it and ask for the return of her £300 since your niece has cancelled the wedding, and by extension the holiday.

Either they still go or they all get the £300 they have already paid back
Why should they all lose money - even if she wasn't the reason the wedding was called off they should all get the money back - but the fact she was cheating she should be falling over herself to pay it back.
Agree with everyone else - if you cancel you lose your deposit - you don't pay anything more - she is trying to recoup money for other deposits she has lost - guessing her fiance is making her foot the bill for the cancellation

I would go to the weekend abroad anyway with my mates if I were her.

Nah, she's sabotaged her wedding, nobody else. Personally I'd still go if there were other people in the party who fancied it, but if not, there's not a chance in hell I'd be losing money on this. No way.

This. Texting other men, just before you are supposed to be wed, is grim.

Hell nah that's what the deposit is for! And this poor woman is going through such turmoil how awful of them to try and take advantage of her misery.

No, it's not fair. The ex-bride to be needs to suck up the cancellation fee. It's her marriage she's cancelled.

If she was cheated on by her not-to-be husband, maybe her friends/relatives could take pity on her and help her out, but otherwise. Nope.

But upthread a PP - not @notgivinga - said it was the non-bride who cheated (how do you know???), so ...

I might have missed it - but is this cancellation fee legit?

You/your DD needs to see the small print for themselves.

Then decide what to do? Tell the company to do one, the the bride that wasn't to pay up herself, suck it up and pay the £100 or go on the holiday.

Bollocks to that, she fucked around so she should suffer all the consequences. If you think about you were all being hoodwinked as was her fiance who was getting married under false pretences. I would not give her a cent.

Unfortunately with Love holidays it is but your daughter would be crazy to pay it.

The bride should really be reimbursing everyone. The deposit is security if they can't go because of reasons of their own. Not that the bride has caused it to be cancelled. She owes them their money back. Like if the holiday company cancelled your holiday they'd have to give you your money back.

I wouldn't be paying another £100 just to keep the peace.

The Not-Bride is responsible - she needs to be responsible for her own actions.

My daughter called of her wedding 8 weeks before because she discovered her fiance was a conman who had defrauded people and had CCJS . My daughter footed the bill for the deposit after first asking the hens if they still wanted to go to the spa hotel.
I dont think it fair to expect people to be out of pocket when a wedding is called off.

Is it t possible for spots to be sold on to someone else, so anyone wanting to use the holiday with others could do so? Eg if say 2 hens no longer want to go but a remaining hen has two cousins who'd be up for it.

Nope. Very unfair that she expects others to suffer financially as a result of her actions.

Well what happens if you don't pay this fee? You're already giving them £300 and getting nothing in return. That barely makes sense tbh.

I mean I'd just go on the holiday if there were others up for it rather than lose £300. And have to pay this mystery extra 100.

As it stands it's pay about an extra £400 (guessing here obviously) to complete the cost of the booking and get a holiday, or pay the same to get nothing whatsoever?!

Total madness! She should be trying to find a way of paying everyone back the £300, not expecting them to further lose out! I wouldn't dream of paying that. I'd probably have sent a laughing emoji in response tbh!