The general trend in society at the moment is for everyone to cram as much as possible into each day, which sometimes results in double booking or missing a meeting or appointment. Try to keep track of all your appointments, as you may have to pay a penalty or lose your deposit if you do not cancel them with sufficient notice. This will still apply once the Consumer Protection Act has been implemented in October 2010.

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Question of the Week: Does a consumer have the right to cancel advance bookings and reservations?
The short answer is yes, but take note of the conditions listed below.

What you need to know:

  • A supplier may require a reasonable deposit for an advance reservation.
  • A supplier may impose a reasonable charge for cancellation of the order or reservation.
  • A charge is considered unreasonable if it exceeds a fair amount with regard to the nature of the goods; how early the consumer cancels the reservation and whether the supplier can find another consumer to take up the reservation. [Ch 2, Part C]

Interesting Fact
A supplier cannot charge a consumer a cancellation fee if the consumer is unable to honour the booking due to death or hospitalisation of the person for whom, or for whose benefit, the booking or reservation was made.

Click here to find out more about the Consumer Protection Act.

[Visual sourced from http://images.google.com]