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A couple of weeks ago I had an enquiry for a date in December, the client asked me to pencil them in and advise them if I had any further enquiries. I received another enquiry from a company who 100% wanted this date. I advised the first client who agreed to go ahead with the date so I informed client no.2 I couldn't book them. A few days later client no.1 cancelled!!
This really wound me up. I went out of my way to respect these people, pencilled them in and contacted them as soon as I had a second enquiry. Normally I'd let this go but we're talking December here, a time of year when I expect to be performing every day for about 20 straight days.
Under normal circumstances when taking a booking I will send the clients through a booking confirmation detailing my terms and conditions which state that a cancellation within 60 days will result in payment for 50% and within 30 days payment in full. In this case I didn't have the chance to send through the terms and conditions as they cancelled before I sent them. Despite this I have still invoiced them for 50% which they are not happy about.
Whilst normally I'd go out of my way to avoid upsetting a potential client I feel they have treated me with utter contempt and have decided to pursue this with vigour. I'm pretty sure if this went to small claims court I would win as I have their agreement to the fee and the date, in writing, as well as written acknowledgement that I was turning down another booking for them. My only doubt is the fact I was yet to send them through the terms and conditions.
What would other people do in this situation? Pursue the bas##### or let it go?

I don't believe in "penciling in" a booking and I advise you not to do it again in the future. I usually say, "Yes, I'll pencil you in but if someone else calls me to book I will have to take it. It really is first come, first served." I may promise to call them back but of course I never do. There might be an exception if the first booking pays vastly more than the second but even here I would be very careful and in practice it hasn't happened yet anyway. I always assume a non confirmed booking is in the promised land and a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.

I think you should forget pursuing this and put it down to experience. It is a painful lesson to learn but once learned you won't repeat the mistake.

You're right. I have sent an invoice and an angry e-mail and will leave it there. If they pay I'll just see it as a bonus and like you say a lesson learned.
Whilst I may still pencil people in for the quiet parts of the year when it comes to December and some weekends where I could sell each date 3 or 4 times over it will be first come first served.
It dawns on me how much time I waste contacting people who I have pencilled in who never bother to reply.

I'd let it go, you would be happier. And I'm not so sure you would win in small claims court. As you said it is a busy season for you and you may yet get another customer to fill this slot in which case you will lose no revenue so there is nothing to sue for.

Have you tried calling customer number 2 and inform them that your other client can not honour the contract and that you are available for the time they requested? I'd certainly try that.

I agree with Bmat. Your time is too valuable to go around chasing people who make promises. I find that 75% of the time I am asked to pencil someone in I never hear from them again. I just treat it as any other enquiry until they tell me it is a definite booking. If they call back fine. If not, I am not going to run around chasing them.

Customer no.2 had already found someone else. I'm not concerned about filling the date, confident someone else will come along just fed up with stupid, thoughtless people. The more I think about it the more naive I realise I am pencilling people in, what a massive waste of my time.
Whilst I wouldn't bother taking someone to court for a few hundred quid I reckon I would win. My understanding of the law is that a written agreement to work for a fixed amount on a fixed date is tantamount to a legal contract and if one of the parties breaks the contract they would be liable for a payment. It would take far too much time and trouble to make it worthwhile finding out though.

Ed Wood wrote:Customer no.2 had already found someone else. I'm not concerned about filling the date, confident someone else will come along just fed up with stupid, thoughtless people. The more I think about it the more naive I realise I am pencilling people in, what a massive waste of my time.
Whilst I wouldn't bother taking someone to court for a few hundred quid I reckon I would win. My understanding of the law is that a written agreement to work for a fixed amount on a fixed date is tantamount to a legal contract and if one of the parties breaks the contract they would be liable for a payment. It would take far too much time and trouble to make it worthwhile finding out though.

Only if you actually lost the revenue. If however you book somebody else for that time slot then you have suffered no damage and there is nothing to sue for. This is exactly what the term, 'you can't have your cake and eat it too' means.

If you perform the gig for the client and they don't pay and you have your contract then that is lost revenue and you can sue and possibly win. If the party cancels out the contract after the time specified and you can't book another then you can sue and possibly win. If you don't specify a time when it is too late the cancel the jude may choose a reasonable time and usually they will look at other contracts made by other performers in the area.

If, however somebody cancels for a specific time slot, and then you fill that time slot with another client, under the eyes of the law you have not suffered any damage and therefore nothing to sue for. The law does not legislate for rude, stupid or any of the like and it doesn't matter how unfair or logical it sounds.

bmat wrote: The law does not legislate for rude, stupid or any of the like and it doesn't matter how unfair or logical it sounds.

Well it bl00dy well should
When I become king of the world the rude, the stupid, selfish and anyone who appears on, or for that matter watches, reality television will be in all sorts of trouble.

Tell future enquirers that the booking isn't firm until you receive the deposit and, if a cheque, its cleared through your bank. It sounds harsh but it can be expressed nicely.

I've been caught out by last minute cancellations a couple of times in the past, now I always ask for a 10% deposit to secure the booking and full payment 7 days before the performance.

I am going to disagree with everyone here. They knew you were turning down work to accommodate them, then they cancelled you. So I would sue. You will win. In fact, it will not go to court. Once they get the summons they will see sense and will pay you to make it go away. You have learned a lesson here, but they have not yet, and they need to. So sue.

Of course, I am Irish, and we sue more than any other nation (including the Americans).

Any lawyers on this site to give advice? Of course I have always thought that 90% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

TonyB wrote:They knew you were turning down work to accommodate them, then they cancelled you. So I would sue.

Sue on what grounds? That they knew you were (he was) turning down work? In what industry does that ever stand up as a good reason to take legal action?
T.

Going the legal route may prove problematic for two reasons.

1 - since you did not put the client through your normal booking confirmation process detailing your cancellation fees you won't be able to enforce this - this was not part of the contract they signed.

2. This - "A few days later client no.1 cancelled ". It depends what you mean by a "few days". With any contract there must be what is known as a cooling off period - usually seven days. During this period any party has the right to cancell the contract for any reason.

Jim

mark lewis wrote:Any lawyers on this site to give advice? Of course I have always thought that 90% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

Outrageous!

It's actually a mere 87.4%

No lawyer should give advice in a situation like this (a forum) - that's what the "retainer" is for, and then it will be covered by their professional indemnity policy, should things go wrong.

Just in broad terms, was there a contract to provide services on a given date? It sounds as though there was indeed a contract. The real problem is the terms of that contract.

The point bmat made is a very relevant one, but not the absolute end. English law allows for a contract to include a "genuine pre-estimate of loss" that applies in the event of a breach. It is open to someone to provide, say, that in the event of cancellation at short notice, the whole fee is payable (because it's too late to get another job). It actually doesn't matter if you do then get another job, because your right to a payment is enshrined in the contract. The payment is a pre-estimate of your loss (or damage, as bmat correctly calls it).

The important things are that the contract must provide for it and it must be a genuine pre-estimate. You couldn't have a contract that says, for example, if you cancel the booking less than a year in advance, you will pay me £5,000,000 (unless, perhaps, you are David Copperfield and this is a Vegas two year contract). That sort of payment is known as a "penalty" and is not enforceable.

The problem you have is proving this was a term of the contract. Ironically, if it is not a term of the contract, should it turn out that you cannot now fill this date with another booking, the person in breach of contract might end up owing you the full fee, for the reason bmat gave. If it is not a term and you do get a replacement booking, there is no loss to you and no contractual provision entitling you to payment.

Generally speaking, there is no right for one party to cancel a contract and to do so is a breach of contract. Jim has raised a highly relevant point on distance selling and that contracts for services may be subject to a statutory cooling-off period.

I am not certain that the regulations apply to booking a magician, though, because there is an exception for "leisure services" that are to be provided on a specific date. That makes sense, precisely for the reason it might be an issue here (you've turned down another job so as to be able to do magic for the booker on a particular date). Catering is another service caught by this same exemption.

Unfortunately, there is no explanation of exactly what is a "leisure service". You'd need to consult an expert on whether your contract is caught by the distance selling regulations and, if so, the effect they have (should things get that far).

From a practical point of view, I am not sure this is worth pursuing. On the one hand, it teaches people that they cannot just do what they like and "mess around" businesses and you get some money (maybe). On the other, you might have suffered no loss other than a sense of (justified) annoyance and the legal position is iffy for a couple of reasons (the possible application of the law on distance selling and the uncertainty of the inclusion of the term allowing you to charge for cancellations). It might also have a less foreseen effect. What if this person might have booked you again in the future? What if they tell other people about you and what happened? Could it cost you even more money in the long term?

It might be better to explain your position (it's a busy time of year, you have lost a confirmed booking, etc.) but be magnanimous and perhaps make the point that other magicians would sue for this. Perhaps you can secure, say, a 10% goodwill payment to reflect the hassle you have had. It might be better to have a PR triumph than get a sum of cash and someone bad-mouthing you.