Fictional case · accreditation practical · Events & services
Judge it yourself first
This is a fictional dispute — no real parties, drafted as the accreditation practical. Read the brief, commit to your own determination, then compare it with the venue's. Then tell us where we got it wrong; that critique is the part we actually want. Your committed answer is recorded against your email — it's the practical component of accreditation, and first answers stand.
Meridian Events v. Kestrel Sound — the £1,200 cancelled-booking deposit
The agreement. Kestrel Sound (a sole-trader AV engineer) agreed over email and WhatsApp to provide sound and lighting for Meridian Events' corporate awards evening: full-day setup and operation for £1,800 — a £1,200 booking deposit, £600 on the night. Cancellation was never discussed; the thread is the whole contract.
What happened. Nineteen days before the event, Meridian's end client pulled the whole evening; Meridian cancelled the same day and asked for the deposit back "minus anything you're genuinely out of pocket". Kestrel replied: "Deposits are non-refundable — that's industry standard. That date's been blocked out in my diary for months." By the event date Kestrel had picked up a half-day wedding job at £400 for the same day. No equipment had been hired in, and no preparation had been done beyond an equipment list.
The claim. Meridian claims the £1,200 deposit back. Kestrel asserts non-refundability is industry standard and that the blocked date cost him other work he can no longer name.