Official guidance given to thousands of couples whose wedding had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic could be unlawful, it has been claimed.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been advising couples to seek full refunds from their wedding suppliers, including venues, rather than through their own wedding insurance.
Many have faced long delays in getting their money back because both suppliers and insurers consider each other responsible for paying out when weddings are cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions.
More than 200 members of the Wedding Venues Support Group, set up during the pandemic, crowdfunded legal analysis of the CMA guidance.
Jonathan Kirk QC said the guidance may have "unfairly placed the burden of COVID-19 compensation on smaller traders as opposed to national insurance providers".
There is "no excuse" for the fact that the CMA failed to consult the £10bn wedding industry, which employs half a million people in the UK, before issuing the guidance, according to the leading barrister.
He found the guidance contains "material errors of law" and may be "counter-productive to the interests of consumers" because it has resulted in insurance companies refusing payouts to couples.
Many wedding venues have warned they face financial ruin due to the pandemic and have said the guidance doesn't take into account costs including upkeep, planning meetings and site visits in the run-up to the big day itself.
They argue that as well as losing out on any income when an event is cancelled, they also face the prospect of actually making a loss if they have to pay a full refund.
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The Association of British Insurers says wedding insurance is a "safety net" for when a refund isn't possible, but insists that if a wedding can't go ahead, it's the suppliers who are legally obliged to provide a refund.
Faye Hughes' wedding reception was cancelled due to the lockdown in March. She works as a wedding supplier at the reception venue in Bristol and is still waiting to get back the £7,000 she spent - something she expected her insurance to sort out.
"Like any insurance - car insurance or house insurance - you feel that if there are unforeseen circumstances, which arguably a pandemic is, then you should be able to recover the costs," she said.
A spokesperson for the CMA, which is an independent government department, said "[our] statements in relation to cancellations and refunds during the pandemic set out, and remain, our view of the law".
