NWB - Community Blog

06 Aug 2008

Double Booked for Friday Night GRRRRRRRRRRR

Filed Under : Rants

Posted By : Scott - Metalleeka | Comments : 7

Needless to say we will not be playing at The Oxford in Blackpool this coming Friday

This is the first time we're ever been double booked and I'm still really angry about it but what can you do.

I'm more annoyed about the fact that if I hadn't of contacted the venue to check that everything was still ok, would we have lugged all the gear down to Blackpool only to be told to go away?????

What do the rest of you guys normally do regarding payment?
Do you ask for full payment, or some sort of compensation, especially as we turned down the chance to play another gig for more money on the 8th?

Anyway, we are now available this coming Friday.

Thanks

Scott

Comments

# Posted by Big Deal - 06/08/2008, 17:30 (GMT)

You are entitled to full payment as you had a verbal contract with the venue. However if you insist on it they might not give you a re-booking. If your not bothered about playing there again (and I wouldn't want to go back there personally) then demand full payment and if they decline to agree, take them to small claims court they don't have a leg to stand on

# Posted by Scott - Metalleeka - 07/08/2008, 13:06 (GMT)

I think we'll just let it drop this time but have no intention of playing there again anyway. Not the friendliest landlord we've ever played for. And the fact that the last time we played, we agreed on a 2x45min set and actually played 1x50 and 1x45, but he still made a sarky comment about not playing til midnight. Plus the fact that we were playing for a first gig reduced rate.
Not to mention the comment of "are you not going to put some music on?"
We're a band, not a mobile disco
What did he expect for what he paid?

As you can tell, I'm still quite angry about the way we've been treated but I'm sure it'll happen again. Next time I won't be so polite on the phone if we get double booked.

# Posted by Big Deal - 07/08/2008, 14:07 (GMT)

Personally I think its silly to just let it drop. Basically he has your money which he owes you. He did not give you fair warning of the cancellation and give you time to find alternative work. I would phone him up and say you owe us the fee, if you don't pay up we will take you to small claims court and that will incur futher costs to cover expenses. Legally he doesn't have a leg to stand on. Landlords get away with this all the time but they are just employers and have a duty to contracted employees whether written or verbal. If he had a good reason to cancel like the pub had burned down etc then I would give them the benefit of the doubt. however booking another band is not a valid reason to cancell your contract without fair notice

# Posted by Regenesis - 07/08/2008, 14:40 (GMT)

Its interesting that the Oxford is doing this we are booked later in the year and will be checking before we gig as Big deak says if there was a good reason to cancel fair enough but it wasn't as if the gig didn't exist after all he did have another band on...ut it's up to you ...if i had travelled to a gig and was double booked then expenses would have to be met ie fuel etc.

# Posted by Regenesis - 07/08/2008, 14:41 (GMT)

Many apologies I meant Big Deal not my typo doh!

# Posted by ATLANTA ROOTS - 07/08/2008, 15:44 (GMT)

well at least the Oxford has been named & shamed

# Posted by Ian from Bolton - 07/08/2008, 17:50 (GMT)

We have turned up to places once or twice and have got there to find another band half set up.

In the event of a landlord messing up his diary, you do have recourse to the small claims court and a 99% certainty of winning your fee and costs.

The last time this happened to us, we had a discussion with the landlord and we came away with (I think it was) 75% of our fee and a compensatory booking. One of his staff had mucked the diary right up.

I have seen bands crossed out in diaries without being contacted - this is especially common when pubs suddenly change hands.

Another time, we still had problems with The Wheatsheaf in Altrincham after we had supplied them with a planner the previous November as we were the first to be booked for the next year.

It was nearly inpossible to sort the mess out that one of their girls had made. She had booked groups into the diary at regular intervals without actually contacting any of them, regardless of the fact that we had gigs booked in since the previous November. She then rang us 6 times about one particular date, then we turned up to find ourselves still double booked and her sacked. The landlord very sportingly compensated us, though not to the tune of our fee. We haven't bothered to go back there after that. I do believe in 'name and shame' - especially when I won't touch a venue with a 10 foot pole ever again.

My favourite gig cock-up is fully detailed on my blog at http://12rants.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html
But the landlord was such an utter psycho that I'm NOT going to name the pub!!!
They ARE registered on NorthWestBands.

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