Cancellation fee. Should I have been told in advance?

[LightningStrikesThrice]

I booked a service 10 days ago for this afternoon via Facebook. Unfortunately I have had to cancel it this morning. I have just recieved an email saying that I need to pay 50% of the appointment charge as a cancellation fee.

I just wondered if they can do this or if I should have been made aware of it at the time of booking?

Thanks

Did they make you aware of the terms and conditions when you booked? Are they available on their FB page, no matter how small the font?!

Sorry - clearly they didn’t make you aware of this policy but did they make you aware of ANY T&Cs when you booked?

No I wasnt aware of any. I messaged the lady through Facebook. We agreed the time and that was it. She sent me a reminder message last week about today's appointment but it just said remember you have an appointment and the appointment details.

Have you paid her upfront? If you’ve not sent any money and was not made aware of the fees then just refuse. She’s hardly going to take you to court over it

Reply and ask her to point out where this is part of the T&C of booking a service.

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations the supplier must ensure that, when making the appointment, you explicitly agree that doing so implies an obligation to pay. This must be clear and unambiguous. Simply making you aware that there are terms and conditions is not enough. If they have not done this you are not bound by your order so they cannot charge a cancellation fee.

What sort of service was it. A 50% cancellation fee is typical for many services? Does her Facebook account have T&Cs on it?

Whether you have to pay legally is irrelevant , morally you should because at this late stage she’s hardly going to be able to book someone else .

Cancelling on the day attracts a fee in virtually all cases.

No I havent paid her anything. I'm supposed to make payment when she comes this afternoon.

I cant see any terms on her facebook page and the page does not link to a website or anything.

Its dog socialisation. We are fostering a dog aggressive dog and she was booked to come out with her dog and we were doing some desensitization with him.

You should have been told in advance but you should check whether there's any information available on her Facebook page.

Next time try and give much more notice - she has a business to run and may have been relying on that money.