Hi Andy I have just scanned the documents, I am thinking of sending the attached I include the documents . I will prepare and send the finals and post these up tonight if I am advised further as I have just got back home at 5.30 and did these . WITNESS STATEMENT 1.pdf WITNESS STATEMENT 2.pdf

Thank you Andy I will confirm the above to my daughter to put in the same witness statement confirming the above, I will post up the final versions of both on my return from work in the evening after I have completed these together with the documents I intend to rely on, I will write to the Court when next week and inform them that my daughter is abroad, and can join the link via telephone but if this is not acceptable then I provide Notice as follows with the email and the telephone number which has been requested by the Court by 2 July 2021. I will refer to the below in the email next week, Non-attendance of parties at a final hearing 27.9 (1) If a party who does not attend a final hearing– (a) has given written notice to the court and the other party at least 7 days before the hearing date that he will not attend; (b) has served on the other party at least 7 days before the hearing date any other documents which he has filed with the court; and (c) has, in his written notice, requested the court to decide the claim in his absence and has confirmed his compliance with paragraphs (a) and (b) above, the court will take into account that party’s statement of case and any other documents he has filed and served when it decides the claim.

I can confirm that my daughter will be able to join the hearing over the internet if this is permitted, please can you advise does the statement need to be in her words but exactly as mine or just a short one supporting my statement. I have redone the statement and attach this I have added and or removed some parts of the statement, which are relevant and others which did not assist. WITNESS STATEMENT cag final.pdf

Hello Andy Thanks for your response above. Just to be clear does my daughter need to submit a separate Witness statement? Are we submitting 2 - one for 1st Claimant and one for my daughter? My daughter is living abroad do we need to write this into the statement, will this have any bearing on the hearing? Thanks.

WS Amended as per advice..pdf Hi Andy I refer to the attached, please can you advise I will be able to rectify any issues tomorrow evening now, please can you confirm if this is in order, as I anticipate to send the documents by email before the deadline on Friday once I have completed all the work as I am in between work and meetings at the moment. exhibit bundle.docx

Understood I will compile all legislation - CMA guidelines and the law into the Document Index and refer to them there, I will provide the links in the document list as opposed to actual copies as I do not wish to change any of the format of the law or legislation when sending printed copies by email, as its easier for the Court and everyone to follow the links, I hope this is acceptable - I anticipate to have everything in order by Friday to submit by email.

WS Amended.pdf Please see above attached Andy I will get the exhibit sheet completed today hopefully all ready by Friday latest to email to both Court and other side before the deadline. but I am not sure they have sent their copy to the Court as there was no indication in the letter other than stating they have.

Thank you Andy I will complete this as soon as I can as I need to go through the documents and find two more we need to include ,

amended WS - Please can you confirm if this is OK Andy, thanksWS Amended as per advice..docx

Hi Andy, Please can I be advised if the WS is in order, I am compiling the list of documents and law, Please can I be advised if this is OK to send to Court I can then prepare the letter for Court to attach and the letter for costs for 46 Hours which I need to send. I anticipate I will have all ready by Thursday evening to send to Court, unless there are any changes I am advised by the Forum. Thank you W S CAG.pdf

Thank you Andy I will incorporate the law and the sections of the CMA guidance into the statement and provide links for the Court, I will post up the final version on Thursday here and submit to the Court and defendant by email attaching the documents by the evening - I can confirm that I have condensed down my statement and also made it relevant to the particulars of claim so that I am not wasting the 30 Minutes Hearing I will of course attach only important facts and documents to confirm my claim for the Refund.

Hi Andy just a quick question if we provide links to the law we rely on for instance do we have to provide paper copies in addition or just the links are sufficient as below, if I provide a working link on the court emailed documents do I also need to provide a printed copy to the Court, I will be emailing all the papers and the statements to the Court as I don't think I will have them finalised before 23 June earliest so, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wedding-services-coronavirus-covid-19-cancellations-and-refunds/wedding-services-affected-by-covid-19-statement-of-the-cmas-position-on-cancellation-and-refunds https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-refunds-cma-warns-wedding-firms-over-unfair-practices https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-wedding-and-civil-partnership-ceremonies-receptions-and-celebrations https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic Consumer Rights Act 2015: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents/enacted Unfair Trading Regulations (2008): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/contents/made Frustrated Contracts law: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/6-7/40 I assume if I am correct I can send by email before 2pm 24 June 2021 to put in the forum and send to both the defendants and the Court, please can I be advised what I do if the defendants do not issue me with their documents by the above date as they have been completely unreasonable to date in their dealing with matters in Court.

while we are dealing with unprofessional and less customer focused Venue managers at Goosedale, we have a number of relatives who have been given options by their Venue management including a FULL UNCONDITIONAL REFUND, the latest one issued to a relative yesterday has been attached. It is now clear not all venues are being unreasonable, and are helping couples who are in need of the funds to plan for their big day at a alternative arrangement. I must state it is extremely vital you look at the history of the venue dealing with Customers before you hand over your money to them, and only deal with Venues now which provide the assurances and services to give you the correct options and not Force the matter through Court like we are : Goosedale shame on you for trading in such a unprofessional manner. venue refund from a good business.pdf

Thank you for that advice Andy I will post up the final version before submission to the other side and Court at the relevant times given by the Court and for the costs on the 05 July 2021.

Thank you for the information Andy, I can confirm that I will not be claiming for loss of wages but just want to be compensated for the hours of work I completed in dealing with this matter when in fact it should have been resolved and the money refunded in September 2020. I have spent on average over the last two weeks 10 hours a week sorting the documents out, in the time to the claim being submitted and the claim being resent to include my daughter and the venue refusing to deal with me, I had already spent over 20 Hours on preparing the claim, the documents dealing with the issue of re- issuing proceedings and adding my daughter and then a further Research and a further 6 hours in dealing with the defendant. So I propose to claim as follows: 20 Hours Research and issuing of proceedings to Court and defending claim, to add my daughter from 04 September 2020 to January 05 2021. 6 Hours to deal with the matters in relation to the defendant and there DQ and incorrect filing and raising this with the court. 10 Hours per week from 01 June 2021 through to 23 June 2020 in preparing the documents, filing the documents, dealing with all statement issues and calibrating the claim to prepare for the Hearing on 09 July 2021, including 30 minutes to attend that Hearing I therefore propose to claim as per the guidelines £19.00 per hour for 46 Hours which is a total of £874, I also will list that the defendant owes interest at the rate specified on the claim form at a daily rate together with costs of £105, awarded to me, for him forcing me to add my daughter to the claim. There are also costs associated with the claim issuance and this will be in addition, I will of course send this to the Defendant by recorded delivery on the 5 July 2021 and issue this to the Court by email. I hope that this is on order if there is any mistake or something is not correct please be feel to correct me, I will of course post up the final version on here on 4 July 2021. Thank you for all your kind support to date, I dont think I could have got this far without your help and guidance and hope that the matter will soon be closed and the refund issued through Court as per the CMA guidelines and the law.

Hi Andy I am finalising and documenting the final version and will post this up as soon as this has been completed next week, I can confirm that I am preparing 3 Copies of 1) List of documents 2)Witness statements I expect to be in a position to post the final version once approved here to the defendants by 23 June and send to the Court by email on the same date. I am a little confused about what legal costs I can claim, I understand Litigant in person costs are £19 per hour, I have calculated that I have to date spent over 46 Hours on the matter since the claim went into Court, this includes preparing the documents, scanning and responding to the claim this is in addition to the cots already incurred. please can I be advised what format I need to sent to the Court and by which date or will this go in with the above documents by the deadline of 25 June 2021. All advice appreciated as before, thank you for all the support to date.

Thank you Andy, I will of course post up the final version within the next two weeks, and before submission as confirmed.

The date for Court and Service is 25 June 2021 so I will post send these by this date once finalised with the documents I need to be seen by the Court, please can it be confirmed will I need separate statements from my daughter and Husband or can this all be included in this document as it has been. My daughter is confirming what I have sated, and my husband needs to make the statement when he spoke to the Venue to confirm that we did not accept their date of 08 October 2020 as it was not a weekend and the venue was not able to provide the service we paid for in full at all, his telephone call was cut off and ignored by the defendant as with all our communication to them including the letter before claim.

I now attach the Draft I am completing the full document list and the statement will be finalised by the deadline, I would be obliged if I can be advised if the format is correct and if the content of the statement is in order, I am also compiling all the Government Guidance issued on the relevant dates and this will be included in the final version. Thank you for all your advice to date and the matter will be ready for the Hearing in due course. WS DRAFT 2.pdf

Hi Andy and BankFodder I will start preparing my witness statements next month to send to the forum in private in first week of June I am currently going through the documents and would just be obliged if you can let me know if I need to include all documents in the file I have or the most important ones to show the contract, the frustration , Letter before claim and the responses from the defendants. I can confirm that I am still not advised if the Solicitors have informed the Court they will be representing the Defendant and the last response from the Court in this matter was in January when they stated the Defendant was acting on his own. I am hoping to follow the protocol for witness statements here https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/standard-directions/general/witness-statements but if this is not correct please can I be advised, I also wish to hold on posting the final version in the main forum until a later date as the Defendant is reading the posts I am making but not in dialogue to resolve this matter, which is very concerning. Thank you for all the advice and assistance to date.

Thank you Andy, I will get this ready sometime end of May for further advice and guidance.

Please can the Forum also confirm the following as I can not seem to understand how the Defendant proposes to keep funds we have given them on the basis: The contract was Frustrated due to covid restrictions in May 2020, and accepted by them as such, hence the proposed new dates which we had been told we must accept failing which there will be no refund. The Contract has no variation clauses, which we have agreed to or can be agreed to as the venue was hired for 350 guests and they have stated a revised contract was agreed, this is a lie, hence we are concerned they are trying to confuse the Court with claiming they are entitled to keep 80% of the whole payment of £7700, which is again against CMA guidelines. In the alternative they are arguing that we have a Frustrated contract but we owe them money and this amounts to 30% of the whole amount due, it seem they wish to rely on the claim of Bijou, however they have not provided any bespoke or relevant or indeed any service to us, in addition this is again against the CMA guidelines. I can confirm that our witness statement will be completed together with all the above information and together with a letter from the Defendants and their emails and our letters before claim, as we have serious concerns that the defence is misleading the Court. We can confirm that we have spent Hours dealing with this matter to date, since the start of the claim and we understand that, we have incurred additional costs of pursuing a claim which should have been settled at the point when we issued the Letter before Claim, at at the time the Defendant refused to issue the refund based on his own interpretation of the facts and law dated 23 September 2020. We will of course be approaching the press once this matter has been through the Court as there are hundreds of other people who have been left in the same situation and venues like these and the legal advisors have just become greedy and have tried to hold on to funds which the CMA has confirmed they are not and never have been entitled to. I await the good advice of the Forum and can confirm that I am grateful for the advices given to allow the matter to reach this crucial stage before I approach the National and local press in this matter.

further clarification of the law by a law firm: https://www.fsp-law.com/to-have-and-to-hold-cma-issues-guidance-for-the-wedding-industry/ These Venues are so deluded they have no regard for their customers or any of the brides and grooms who have given them their life savings for a special day, instead they have become greed ridden and have interpreted the law to suit their own affairs, given that the Government has given and supported these venues with Tax payers money while including Furlough support; they really have been taking the money on both sides of the coin and then providing nothing to their customers this is against the CMA guidance and the law of Frustrated Contracts. The Irony is they have accepted the contracts are frustrated but they wish to keep hold of funds to which they have not provided any service for, technically this is theft and the sooner the CMA takes action the better.

I am compiling the relevant legal guidance from the CMA and consumer law, please can the Forum advise which others are relevant in addition to these Frustrated Contracts Law : https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/6-7/40/section/1 CMA LAW GUIDANCE HOW THE LAW APPLIES: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-open-letter-to-the-weddings-sector https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/450440/Unfair_Terms_Main_Guidance.pdf