Missed hairdressers appointment

[Gettingbysomehow]

Can anyone advice please.
I missed a hairdressers appointment because I had to go into work.
Pretty rubbish of me I know but i did say at the time I can't book now because I don't know what my shifts are but they insisted and said I can always change it.
Now they want the full amount for the missed appointment.
I've looked on the consumer advice pages and it says they have to have informed me of the charge for missed appointments at the time we made the appointment in order to do this. They did no such thng and it was not brought to my attention so I don't see why I should pay if they didn't do this.
Am I right (not morally obviously but legally).

Telling you can include a sign in the salon which they nearly all have.

How did they get your card details?

Also check text or booking confirmation and whether there is any reference to accepting terms and conditions anywhere.

Realistically you should have cancelled.

Is this a reverse? Have you had a client that was a no show?

.

Basically if you originally booked the appointment online through a booking system you will have had to accept any terms and conditions before your appointment was accepted, it normally clearly states that there will be a cancellation charge and normally sends you a text reminder 24 hours before so you would of been aware of this previously, therefore making yourself legally liable to pay any charges. If you booked via phone call or walked in and booked then they will of had to of advised you about the charges and if you agreed to book then again making yourself liable because most hairdressers won’t take on a new client or let them book in without explaining the charges. Also if this is an auto charge you’ve obviously given them some sort of card details or input them on a system for them to be able to charge you so you would have had to agree to this aswell so again basically agreeing to their terms and conditions.

It'll be in the cancellation policy. Usually at least 24 hours or the full amount will be charged - they don't have enough notice to fill your slot especially for a big service like a colour, and the hairdresser loses earnings for that time. Good luck - but if they show you accepted these terms and didn't notify them in time, you have no legal recourse.

The fact is you haven't entered a legal contract with the hairdressers. You paying is more of an ethical expectation than a legal one. Also it is expensive to take someone to the small claims court so they would be unlikely to pursue it further. However they would be in their rights to refuse you further services so if you opt not to pay you will need to find a new hair dresser.

Do you want to go back there? I am not a hairdresser but if I do private practice you pay in full if you dont show up or cancel with less than 24 hours notice. More than that and I have a chance to rebook your appointment and not lose money. Any less and I cannot fill the spot so you have cost me money. 2 of those and I wont see someone again.

I work in a similar industry, I doubt they will chase you for the money, nor can they force you to pay but you will not get rebooked into that salon.
If a client no-shows for me and doesn't offer to pay then they aren't welcome back because they don't value my time.

If you had a job and you travelled to work and your boss said, go home you're not needed. You have then wasted your time and lost your wages, same thing for us in the hair and beauty industry.
I do believe clients are starting to realise this is our wages, but then you get clients like yourself that think it's ok to simply not turn up.

This isn’t the place for legal advice though is it @Gettingbysomehow ? That said, they would only be able to enforce the charge by taking you to the small claims court. I think it’s very unlikely they would do that since they would have to pay a fee to do so. I must say though that you should have rung them and cancelled your appointment. There is no excuse for not doing that!

Pay them if you ever want to go back there.

1. as a gesture for messing up their day

2. to compensate for the fact you left an appointment untaken and unable to be filled at such short notice.

Lots of hairdressers are self employed and rent the space in salons to work from.

As for legally, I think as longs as they display it somewhere you can access (e.g. website) they can charge it.

So they have to prove they informed you of the cancellation policy/charge. Will they be able to do this?

Worst case, if they took you to Small Claims, you have the defence that you told them you were unable to book because you didn't know your shifts but she booked it in regardless without your agreement.

It's' pretty u likely that they didn't provide you with their T&C in some form. By text message when you booked the first time (or email) or on some kind of sign at the front desk when you booked in person.

Realistically, they'r not going to chase you for the money as it's not worth it for them so I don't think you need to worry about the police being called or anything.

But you can't go there again.

Of course, they could do what our local salon did - put up a picture of a woman who walked in, had an appointment and then didn't pay. They used cctv footage!

If they haven’t charged you a deposit then you’re home free.

Just ignore them and never go back.

@GingerIsBest At a salon I used to work in, a woman asked if she could go out for a cigarette while her colour was developing, and she never came back! I imagined her getting the bus home with a hair full of dye 😂

Unless they have your card details they will have to take you to small claims. If you didn't sign anything and didn't receive any other terms and conditions which they can claim you have accepted in some way then I can't see them enforcing it. Or you could pay them and leave a review highlighting this issue to other customers.

I am asking for actual legal and consumer rights advice that is correct not a guess based on your personal opinions.

On Mumsnet?

• insert incredulous face here -

If they have your card details it is a bit trickier (could cancel the card?) otherwise I just wouldn't contact them or go there again

This sounds like the weirdest hairdressing salon I have ever heard of. Both for charging full amount for a missed appointment and for trying to force clients to come back - bizarre!! Email Paul Lewis the consumer rights chap on Moneybox on radio 4.

Don't pay. Find new hairdresser.

Give them nothing. Find a new salon.

🤣🤣 that’s so funny!

Love your name btw. I don’t smoke the reefa!!!

Legally - the hairdressers would have had to have informed you of their cancellation policy either in writing or verbally.

You've not said what happened. Did you get an email? Did you forget to cancel?
@prh47bridge posts are the ones to listen to.

I've forgotten my appointment on two occasions over the years. I paid for both. Only £14 each time but still paid.

Charging for missed appointments is completely normal and common practice. How else would they make a living, if people just didn’t keep the appointment?!