They cancelled. They kept your money.
When the person you booked pulls out, the money you paid has nothing left to pay for. 'Non-refundable' covers your cancellation, not theirs. A letter before action asks for it back by a date. Written free, today.
Alongside the money itself, courts may award simple interest on money you have been kept out of — commonly 8% a year under the County Courts Act 1984 — and the court fee is typically added to a successful claim. Interest is discretionary. The letter sets this out so the other side can see what ignoring it costs.
How people describe it when they reach us
The sorts of things people tell us. Illustrative, based on patterns in the cases that reach us.
Your legal rights when a service provider cancels and doesn't refund
In England and Wales a booking is a contract. A provider who cancels for their own reasons is in breach; money paid for the cancelled service is recoverable, and the extra cost of a reasonable replacement may be too. Consumer law limits what a 'non-refundable' term can do.
Case lawContract law — breach of contractFailing to do what was paid for may amount to breach of contract.
A job, a purchase or a loan is typically analysed as a contract. If one side does not perform a central promise — work not done, money not repaid, goods not handed over — a court may find a breach and will then consider what loss flowed from it. The measure is normally the money you are out of pocket, proved with evidence.
ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.62An unfair term in a consumer contract is generally not binding on the consumer.
Section 62 usually provides that a term is unfair if, contrary to good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights to the consumer's detriment. Non-refundable deposits, cancellation charges and one-sided small print may be examined against this test; courts typically look at how prominent the term was and whether the consumer had a real chance to see it.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.54If a service isn't done properly, the usual remedies are repeat performance or a price reduction.
Section 54 generally sets out the consumer's remedies where a service breaches the statutory terms: the right to require repeat performance, and, where that is impossible or not done in a reasonable time, the right to a price reduction. Courts may also consider damages for loss caused, depending on the circumstances.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗This is general information about the law in England and Wales, not advice about your case. Which provisions apply, and how, depends on the facts.
Four things you'll hear. None of them end it.
For your cancellation, maybe. For theirs, no. A deposit secures their performance; if they don't perform, there is nothing to secure. Even for your cancellation, a court can look at whether keeping all of it is fair.
Sympathy isn't a defence. Unless the contract said so, cancelling for their own reasons is a breach; the money paid for the cancelled service is owed back, and the extra cost of a replacement may be too.
You can accept or decline. If the date was the point — a wedding, a move, an exam — a different date is not performance. The letter says which.
That isn't a defence either. The letter asks for the sum by a date, or a plan.
Five things worth gathering now
The letter first. Court only if they ignore it.
Your side, your words
What happened, what was agreed, what you are out of pocket. We ask what a court would ask, so the letter says what a court would need to hear.
Written for you, free
A formal letter before action with a 14-day deadline, setting out what is owed and why. You see it at no charge. Posting it by tracked mail and watching the deadline is £15.
Court claim, prepared
If the deadline passes: one tap turns the letter into a small claim, drafted, checked and filed. The £15 comes off our fee. The decision is the court's.
What JustClaim is: we prepare and file the paperwork for your claim, for a fixed price shown before you pay. We're not a law firm, this isn't legal advice, and no outcome is ever guaranteed — what you get is the strongest honest version of your case, properly made.
Questions people in this exact spot ask
They cancelled, not me. Do I get everything back?
Usually the money paid for the service, yes — there is nothing left for it to pay for. Where you had to book a dearer replacement at short notice, the difference is often recoverable too. The letter sets both out.
The booking said the deposit was non-refundable.
That term is about you cancelling. It doesn't let them keep money for a service they chose not to provide.
They've offered a different date instead.
You can accept or decline. If the original date mattered — an event, a move — declining is reasonable and the refund is still owed.
They say they've gone out of business.
Check Companies House if it was a company; a sole trader is personally liable regardless. 'Gone bust' is often a way of ending the conversation. Tell us what you find.
How much does it cost if it goes further?
If the letter is ignored, a court claim has a court fee set by the amount: £35 up to £300, £50 up to £500, £70 up to £1,000, £115 up to £3,000. If you win, the fee is normally added to what the other side is ordered to pay. Our fixed price is shown before you pay anything.
Is the letter really free?
Yes. Tell us what happened and the letter before action is written and shown to you at no charge. If you want us to post it by tracked mail and watch the 14-day deadline, that is £15, shown before you pay — and it comes off our fee if it later becomes a court claim.
Cancelled on you, kept your money?
Tell us what happened. The letter before action is written free and shown to you today; posting it and watching the deadline is £15.
Write the letter — free →