'AITA for keeping my reception venue when I couldn't get a refund?'
"AITA for keeping my reception venue when I couldn't get a refund?"
My fiancee cheated on me and I found out about six weeks ago. I called off our wedding. Sorry to be so matter of fact about it but I'm still not okay. I managed to get partial refunds on almost everything. The photographer only kept $200 of our deposit.
Our church doesn't charge members for using it for weddings. But they also did not allow alcohol in their reception hall so we booked that separately. The venue had a strict policy of not giving back any money without three months notice. Since I only gave a month and a half and had paid in full I was getting nothing back. I was pissed.
My brother actually came up with the plan. We held a party with a Mario Kart tournament. We had a huge screen and projector. I knew I had a bunch of friends with that night free. So we did that instead. Twenty and thirty something idiots playing a children's game for bragging rights. We had a blast. I felt like I was in college again.
I had sent my ex her part of every deposit but obviously nothing for the venue. I have not heard from her. But the venue wanted me to release the date. I said I would if they gave me a refund. They refused so I refused. Since we got catering separately I didn't even need to tip the staff.
Now I am hearing that I screwed over the venue and staff by taking up room that they could have rented to a different event. Some people are saying that I kept someone from having a beautiful wedding there.
I don't care. I don't owe the venue an opportunity to be paid twice. I honestly would have accepted it if they kept our 30% deposit. But they kept the whole thing. We didn't leave a mess so they probably saved on janitorial services. Was I the AH?
Here’s what people had to say to OP:
You gave them the option to refund you and get the venue back for that date. They declined. NTA. They simply got greedy and wanted to get paid twice for the same thing.
Sounds like they kept someone from having a beautiful wedding there. NTA. You played by their rules and they’re mad they couldn’t get double paid.
NTA They're making you pay for it, it's yours. What they should have done is offered you a full refund when they found they could rebook it.
Businesses have become completely unreasonable. The art of being reasonable is gone and replaced by everyone wanting to become rich. Every business owner thinks it's their destiny to become rich. Ain't it enough to provide value, employ staff, and pay yourself?
That’s the right thing to do in venue contracts. If the venue can be rented, the original signee should get their money back less the deposit. They shouldn’t be able to profit from someone else’s misfortune.
Not less the deposit. All the money back if they're rebooking it for the same date. The deposit is there in case they can't rent it out that soon. They're trying to double dip, and it's a really sleazy business practice.
NTA. The venue wanted to make double or more. It is all on them.
NTA, you didn't screw anyone over! If they wanted to charge someone else for the date, then they should have refunded you. They're trying to double dip. Forget that, even if I didn't have friends, I'm not releasing the venue without a refund.
I would have sat there by myself having a sad sack pity party. Your Mario kart party is a great idea. Like the other vendors, they could have probably offered you a partial refund and still rent out the venue. Still made 50% of the fee for free.
You PAID for it. Whatever you do with the space is your decision.
Definitely NTA if you had gotten married then nobody could have had their wedding there either way. It doesn’t matter what you did with the venue it was paid for. Sounds like you had fun and made memories instead of spending it home alone crying.
NTA. You paid. You get the benefit. Doesn’t matter what for. Wedding. Mario kart. Standing alone in the room and screaming at the universe. Doesn’t matter. You paid it. You got it!!!!
NTA. They didn't return your deposit so you decided not to cancel. If they really wanted you to release the date, they should have returned your cost since they weren't going to lose anything. I'm glad you and yiur friends had a great Mario Kart tournament!
NTA, that's their problem not yours. They could have given a refund chose not too.
NTA. They got paid. They were just trying to be greedy. The reason for non refundable is they would lose that revenue if they can't book anything else. But they obviously had something else to replace your wedding, so they can suck it.
You paid for a service then used the service to your best ability, doesn’t make you the AH. Anyone saying these things need a reality check and how dare the venue speak to you like that after you’ve experienced something traumatic. I wouldn’t have released it either and would have used what my no refundable money had bought. That’s wildly entitled of a venue.
You had paid in full with over a month before the date? How odd. But NTA. You paid for the reservation and would’ve surrendered the date with a partial refund, more than reasonable of you.
No_Negotiation_3951 (OP)
We didn't have to. I did just to get it off our plate so to speak. That's part of my issue. The 20% half payment, and 50% full payment weren't even due when I cancelled. I was trying to be proactive and it bit me on the ass.
NTA - Unless the venue was going to refund you, they had no right to tell you how to use it. This was their own fault, and unless the people who have a problem with what you did were going to reimburse you, they can shut the hell up. The venue screwed up here.