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Original poster

RESTAURANT BOOKING CANCELLED - DEPOSIT TAKEN FROM BANK

30 replies

Aweekoffwork · 18/02/2026 16:07

We booked a Valentine’s meal at Miller & Carter but, about four days beforehand, cancelled (because of the high cost which was not made clear on the website).

They have taken £20 deposit from my Bank and it’s impossible to get through to them to ask them to refund. I’m sure in the small print it might say non-refundable deposit but has anyone else had a similar experience?

OP posts:
ladyamy · 19/02/2026 08:40

APatternGrammar · 19/02/2026 08:29

If the restaurant advertised the meal at a different price when it took the deposit or made it seem as if you could order from the normal menu (as it seemed from the OP), it should be refundable as the terms have changed. But from the subsequent posts it sounds that OP made the reservation aware that she hadn’t read far enough to know the price, so of course, she won’t have a hope of getting the deposit back.

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When the worked in telephone banking, although was many moons ago, a chargeback would only be honoured if there was evidence of fraudulent activity. But like you say, the OP has made peace with the fact she’s lost the deposit.

ShawnaMacallister · 19/02/2026 08:44

mrschocolatte · 19/02/2026 07:03

Just curious here - did they take the deposit at the time of booking? Or after you cancelled? If they took the deposit when you booked then I think that’s fair enough. But if they took it after you cancelled that seems a bit iffy to me.

It's perfectly legal. You agree to it when you make the booking with your card details.

TheYearofMagicalThinking · 19/02/2026 08:46

Aweekoffwork · 19/02/2026 06:55

Thank you for replies.

it would have been £50 per head plus drinks. I only found out this after talking to a work colleague. On the website there were just two options: Set Menu or Valentine’s Menu with no details of what the menus consisted of (I probably should have spent longer looking on the website 🙄 coz it would’ve been somewhere)

I’m just writing it off 😅 but thanks for your help 😄

How much did you think it would be!? This is on you, I'm afraid. That is far from excessive for a special meal, I'm actually surprised it isn't more than that. You need to check these things properly if you're on a tight budget.

mrschocolatte · 19/02/2026 08:54

ShawnaMacallister · 19/02/2026 08:44

It's perfectly legal. You agree to it when you make the booking with your card details.

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I’m not disagreeing necessarily. I just think it’s a bit iffy if you give 4 days notice to cancel, they take the £20. I would wager that table was taken up on the night. But I guess they are within their rights to do so.

Blondeshavemorefun · 19/02/2026 18:14

So what I said then £50 per person plus drinks perfectly normal

out of curiosity what did you think you would be paying?@Aweekoffwork

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