The E'Laysa Guesthouse and Vineyard Retreat in Penticton.

Image Credit: www.readytotrip.com

A Calgary couple that cancelled their Penticton wedding due to COVID have ended up in the small claims court after both sides had very different versions of what was said when it came to getting a refund.

In November 2019, the groom, Francisco Flores booked a two-night stay and wedding at the E'Laysa Guesthouse and Vineyard Retreat in Penticton for July 2020 and paid $4,300.

When COVID hit just months before the wedding, Flores contacted the boutique guesthouse and discussed cancelling.

Flores said the guesthouse owner, Silke Otremba, told him the couple would get a full refund.

However, Otremba disputed this and said she told Flores she was waiting on some investment funds and when she received the money she would consider "doing something" for them.

The details are laid out in a June 10 Civil Resolution Agreement.

According to the decision, the guesthouse said the cancellation policy agreement applied and the couple isn't entitled to any refund.

Otremba submitted a link to the guesthouse website's cancellation policy as evidence.

However, the Tribunal refused to accept the website as evidence and not evidence of what the cancellation policy was at the time.

The Tribunal then assessed multiple emails sent by both parties regarding the refund, one that does contain some of the terms and conditions of cancellation.

After assessing the emails the Tribunal ruled that Flores was due a 50 per cent refund on the rooms.

However, the Tribunal found that there was nothing in the cancellation policy addressing the $2,500 wedding booking fee.

Otremba said weddings have to be cancelled three months in advance to get a refund so no refund is owed.

However, the Tribunal disagreed.

"On September 21, 2021, Ms. Otremba also said that she owed Mr. Flores $2,500 under the cancellation policy. Based on the evidence before me, I find that the parties’ agreement at the time Mr. Flores made his reservation entitled him to a refund for the wedding booking fee on cancellation," the Tribunal ruled.

READ MORE: B.C. trade show organizer learns global pandemic not good enough reason to get refund

While the Tribunal settled that Flores was owed $2,500, he argued he was owed a full refund.

According to the decision, Otremba said she would get Flores a refund and asked him to be patient.

Almost six months passed and the parties emailed numerous times about the refund.

Then in March 2021 Otremba told Mr. Flores that refunds were only given to travellers prevented by law from travelling. As there were no travel bans from Alberta to B.C. in place at the time nothing prevented him from getting married at the guesthouse.

Otremba said he could have the $2,500 wedding fee back straight away, or wait until she could give a full refund.

Flores agreed to wait.

However, the Tribunal said the details of the agreement were too vague to make a ruling on.

"Although Mr. Flores told Ms. Otremba in his May 26, 2020 email that he accepted her offer, it is unclear what the terms of that offer were," the Tribunal said. "The same applies to the parties’ March 9, 2021 negotiations. Ms. Otremba’s March 9, 2021 offer is vague since it does not specify what amount, if any, she is agreeing to pay Mr. Flores."

Ultimately, after assessing all the evidence the Tribunal ruled Flores was only owed $2,500 and not a full refund.

The couple ended up getting married in a backyard in Calgary and it appears the guesthouse has since closed.

READ MORE: Big White vacation rental owner who told guests to ignore public health order loses court case

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022