Am I entitled for a refund?

Question

I booked a birthday party . The party is suppose to be on Sunday March 22nd . I had to put down a non-refundable fee of $100. Now with the state emergency of the COVID-19 situation I had to cancel the event . Parents do not feel safe to bring their children in this kind of environment where bathrooms, dressing rooms and  sitting area can be an open to the Coronavirus . No matter how much they claim they clean the place, as parents we want to keep our children safe. The issue is that they do not want to return my $100. I would understand if the cancelation was under a normal circumstance but unfortunately it was not. My daughter and I were both heartbroken that we had to cancel but we had no choice. Originally there was suppose to be 20 children and 20 adults there, none of them feel like it's safe.  Now the business owner said I can reschedule but not knowing how long this will last tells me  I will not be rescheduling. Do you have any advice for me? I truly would appreciate any

Brent T. Geers · Answer

Everyone is feeling your pain. This is new territory for everyone. Under current orders, that business cannot operate. I believe sound business practice would be for them to give you back your $100. However, I'm unsure if they are required to do so. They may well take the position that this shut-down is not their fault either, and they are still willing to accommodate your party when they resume operations, and so if you are saying no to that, then they may treat it as a cancellation and keep the deposit. Best thing to do is read the fine print of the contract.

Q: Am I entitled for a refund?