Increasing legal counseling regarding cancellation fees for weddings, etc. New Corona May 6 18:03

Canceled events, trips, etc., one after another due to the spread of the new coronavirus. Currently, legal counsel regarding the payment of cancellation fees is increasing, especially for weddings, where the amount of money is large and there are many serious cases. Experts generally say that you do not have to pay a cancellation fee, but depending on when you cancel, you may.

By the 27th of last month, there were 1373 consultations about cancellations and postponements of weddings related to the new coronavirus at consumer life centers nationwide.

Even after the declaration of an emergency, wedding halls have not been subject to leave requests, but there are many ceremony halls that refrain from doing business.

If a wedding is canceled due to the spread of infection, will the couple have to pay the cancellation fee? Noriko Homma, a lawyer familiar with consumer issues, generally says that there is no obligation to pay cancellation fees.

Homma said, "We understand that at weddings, people from other prefectures move and eat and drink with an unspecified number of people, so it cannot be held in situations where the government demands to avoid the" three secrets. " Since it is a situation that "I can not do it even if I want to hold it", it is canceled due to "force majeure" which is not responsible for the ceremony, it is not the consumer's own convenience, neither is responsible, It is considered that the couple is not obliged to pay the cancellation fee. "

On the other hand, depending on the timing of the cancellation request, such as when canceling at an early stage prior to the declaration of an emergency, the cancellation fee may be determined based on the contract between the couple and the ceremony place, and it may be determined that the couple is at their own convenience. It is said that there is also a nature.

In addition, some ceremonial halls try to respond by postponing the ceremony, but if there is a situation where the couple cannot postpone it, they do not know how the ceremony will judge the cancellation fee.

“The wedding ceremony is a once-in-a-lifetime memorable event, so it is desirable for the ceremony to respond flexibly so that the parties can discuss and resolve it.”

The husband who asked for the cancellation fee

A married couple in their 20s in Saitama prefecture who was planning to have a wedding this June was told that the ceremony could be postponed for free from the ceremony due to the spread of the infection, but it could overlap with the wife's delivery schedule. Yes, I applied for cancellation at the end of March.

Then, it was said that the ceremony was requested to pay about 700,000 yen as a cancellation fee because it was a cancellation for personal reasons.

My husband said, "I didn't think I could get rid of it that way because I thought it would be possible to think based on the current social situation. No matter what I talk about, there is no answer but" according to the clause ". I understand that the ceremony is difficult to manage at Shikiba, so I want to end it without conflict as much as possible. "

The company that operates the ceremony hall postponed holding the ceremony after the declaration of an emergency and took measures to postpone it for free, but said that it will be undecided after May 6th.