Planning an event? Here are some helpful tips to make sure the experience goes smoothly and some info about your rights in certain situations.
Top 8 tips for planning an event
- Plan ahead. Try to start your arrangements early so there’s more flexibility in planning.
- Research reputable vendors. Do your research and ask friends and family for recommendations. Learn the art of reading reviews. Make sure you get references. Beware of deals that are too good to be true and check their standing with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
- Read the fine print. Make sure all the dates are included in the contract and find out what the cancellation and refund policies are (including returns on deposits). Make sure that the terms are completely spelled out in the written contract and that you know exactly what will happen if the contract is cancelled for some reason.
- Avoid paying cash. That way if something goes wrong, you can ask your credit card provider for a charge-back. Also, avoid paying in full before the contracted goods or services are provided to you.
- Check in occasionally. It may be a good idea to mark some days in your calendar to check in with each vendor to make sure things are moving along at the scheduled times.
- Give yourself extra time. Give yourself some leeway and anticipate that there may be delays.
- Get it all in writing. This is a good practice for any contract. It’s important to have serious discussions regarding contracts, dates, and cost in writing for your own record. You may need to refer to it later if you run into problems.
Run into a problem?
The first thing to do is to try to work it out with the vendor directly. This should be your first step. Depending on what your issue is, you may be able to explain your case and the business may be happy to address your concerns. You may be interested in reading our blog posts about how to write an effective complaint letter, and general tips for resolving complaints. If that doesn’t work out, you might be interested to learn that sometimes these types of contracts are considered to be something called a future performance contract. A future performance contract is an agreement where you do not pay in full upfront, or you don’t get the goods or services immediately. By law, your contract must contain specific information. If it doesn’t, you may be entitled to certain cancellation rights. Learn more about this on our website. If your issue isn’t related to a future performance contract, it may be considered a quality of service issue. In these situations, you might feel as though the quality of the good or service that you received did not meet the minimum standards of what you were expecting. Learn more about what you can do when this happens.
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About Consumer Protection BC
We are responsible for regulating specific industries and certain consumer transactions in British Columbia. If your concern is captured under the laws we enforce, we will use the tools at our disposal to assist you. If we can’t help you directly, we will be happy to provide you with as much information as possible. Depending on your concern, another organization may be the ones to speak to; other times, court or legal assistance may be the best option. Explore our website at www.consumerprotectionbc.ca.
Good advise.