Q: Nearly a year ago, my fiancée and I paid an €800 deposit to hire a wedding reception venue. We are going to get married in six months’ time but we are having second thoughts about the place. In fact, we have found another venue which we feel is more suitable for the kind of wedding we want. Are we entitled to claim our deposit back if we opt to cancel the booking?

A: Unless you have a pre-sale agreement that allows you to change your mind and cancel the booking, then legally you do not have any rights. Change of mind situations are not covered by law.

These kinds of bookings are almost always finalised with the signing of a contract. If there is a clause in your contract that allows you to cancel the booking, then it must be written as one of the terms and conditions.

If there is nothing that refers to such a situation, legally you do not have any right to claim a refund of your deposit, since you are the ones not adhering to your legal obligation – which is that of hiring the wedding venue.

Therefore the trader may keep the deposit and may also make you honour your part of the contract, which is hiring the wedding venue. The latter is usually enforced if the trader proves lack of business due to your request to cancel the booking.