Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Wed and breakfast
Couples refuse offer of hotel stay & demand their deposits back
YESTERDAY
any deposits because the hotel wasn’t cancelling the weddings.
“Then we were offered a Sunday in October. In a panic I asked for it to be pencilled in but our minister was unable to take the wedding in our church that day and then my health took a turn for the worse.”
During that time Kiri discovered two masses on her neck and was sent for urgent scans.
She said: “Unfortunately the news wasn’t great. The lumps are still under investigation but my GP is worried about them.
“The consultant is also concerned and will be doing a biopsy when they grow past 10mm so we will see soon.
“But this new medical issue meant we felt we wanted to get married as soon as possible. We were scared and didn’t want to waste any time.
“I explained this to the Leighinmohr House Hotel and said we’d dearly have loved a proper wedding but all the circumstances conspired against us. I asked for my deposit back so we could pay for the registrar for our wedding. They refused.”
Kiri and Ben tied the knot outdoors on June 11 with just eight guests.
The bride wore a £30 wedding dress bought online, having been unable to have her original wedding dress altered due to the closure of dressmakers during the pandemic.
She said: “For the couples who missed out on their weddings over the 100 days of lockdown, I’d think paying back the £500 for the few not rescheduled would’ve been the decent thing to do, especially when there apparently are so few of us.”
After 109 days of lockdown indoor weddings were permitted again from July 10 in line with social distancing.
A Competition and Markets Authority spokesperson said it had had contact from many disappointed brides, adding: “The CMA has published guidance setting out its view on how the law operates on refunds and cancellations in order to help consumers understand their rights and take their own action where appropriate, and to help businesses treat their customers fairly.”
A spokesperson for Leighinmohr House Hotel said: “We fully empathise with brides and grooms at this unprecedented time.
“Since the Government imposed restrictions on couples and venues alike at the end of March, understandably so, brides, grooms and venues have been placed in an invidious position. “The vast majority of our wedding bookings affected have been moved to new dates, dates have been offered to other couples, including weekend dates, and gestures of goodwill have also been offered where we cannot find a compromise solution.
“The hotel continues to work alongside couples at this time of great upheaval with the goal of achieving an alternative solution where possible.”