I was charged £500 for canceling a restaurant booking despite giving it two days’ notice – my warning to others

A WOMAN has hit back at a restaurant that has charged her £500 to cancel her booking despite giving two days notice.

Lorida Quiambao was stunned when she received an email saying she had been charged a late cancellation fee despite giving the restaurant 48 hours notice.

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The Melbourne, Australia woman had reserved a table for six to celebrate her birthday at Yarraville’s posh Navi restaurant.

But on Thursday, Lorida felt unwell and decided to cancel the reservation for the meal that was supposed to take place on Sunday.

She was shocked to receive an email saying she had been charged a cancellation fee of over £500 ($1000).

Lorida took it to social media and slammed the restaurant’s storyline as “ridiculous.”

She wrote in an angry post: “I understand cancellation fees. I’ve worked in hospitality before.

“They’ll probably reserve that table and make the money.

“No restaurant or business should be allowed to charge such cancellation fees just like that.”

Navi offers a set menu using ingredients sourced from local small producers and farms.

The £500 charge applies to the restaurant’s £90 set menu, charged six times for the six people sharing the meal.

Lorida said she was surprised by the fee, as the restaurant’s website states that a booking must be canceled 48 hours in advance.

However, in an email she received, the restaurant clarified that five days’ notice is required for bookings of five people or more.

A restaurant spokesman told 7News that chef and owner Julian Hills tried to call Lorida to explain the policy and offer a refund.

Hill wrote online: “We only have a table of six, which is a quarter of our restaurant.

“If we fill the table, which we make every effort to do (including contacting those on our waiting list and sharing on social media), we will refund.

“I’m a small business and I can’t afford to face the loss of a quarter of my restaurant without having enough time to replenish.”

The restaurant took to social media to try and fill the booking.

In an update post, Lorida explained that she was on her way to the hospital when she got a call from the restaurant and couldn’t speak.

She claimed not to have been contacted since and said she would have been more understanding if she had been charged a “reasonable” cancellation fee, having given the restaurant more than 48 hours’ notice.

“It was never my intention nor was it to spoil this restaurant because honestly the food was really good,” she added.

She concludes by saying that the restaurant filled out the booking and refunded her the money.