Get your full refund back as events are cancelled in alert level 4 lockdown

One hotel said it’s closing for two weeks and no, the family couldn’t get a refund of their deposit because they don’t have the money. Just like that. Now the crucial issue is that while last week someone cancelling a hotel booking or a wedding because of COVID-19 fears was entirely a voluntary decision, this week, if it’s a booking for an event in these two weeks, it's not.
And that means those who paid deposits for events that now cannot legally take place are legally entitled to a FULL refund - the CPA’s “reasonable cancelation penalty” no longer applies.
Ideally, as we keep saying, the consumer should consider accepting a postponement, but in the case of many wedding cancellations, the couple, exhausted from all the on-off uncertainty, and the impossibility of knowing whether guests, especially those travelling from overseas, will be able to attend, have given up on the idea of a wedding and have just had very small private marriage ceremonies.

So a postponement is not appropriate.

So what about “Force Majeure” - uncontrollable events such as war, political unrest, strikes, acts of God, national lockdowns?

Can companies play that card to avoid paying refunds for events that now can’t happen because of government restriction?
LISTEN here to find out…