Upon booking your appointment your artist will require a non refundable booking fee to secure your booking! The amount will be at the discretion of the artist you are working with.
The amount paid is a reservation fee, it is paid as a separate payment to the cost of your tattoo overall, although it is included in the overall quote you have been given for the piece - your artist will break these costs down for you and tell you which payments are due and when.
The Booking fee itself does not pay for any of the actual tattooing process as this is what the amount paid on the day is for, the booking fee cost covers the following.
Why do we charge deposits?
- To give your artist security. We’re all self employed artists, and working with different clients every day can be unpredictable. The booking fee pays for the time your artist has set into their schedule for your appointment so that if the client cancels on short notice, or fails to attend, their lost time has still been paid for.
- For any design work that needs doing before your appointment. The amount of work prior to your appointment will vary by artist, but pre appointment preparation concerning designs will always be necessary for your artist.
- For the setup. Before you arrive for your appointment, the artist will set up and prepare their entire area for your arrival. A lot of the items used are single use and if unused will have to be disposed of. This process is time consuming and expensive so we must make sure that we can fund this in the event of a no show appointment.
Cancellation Policy
We do require a minimum of 72 hours notice for a cancellation.
- If you can provide us with appropriate notice for your cancellation, your booking fee will be honoured and your artist will work with you to find a different date that works for you.
- Inside of the 72 hour window, your booking fee will be void as it is unlikely your artist will then be able to fill the time booked for your appointment, however exceptions can be made at the discretion of your artist in certain circumstances. We understand that things happen and we are more than happy to communicate with you about the issue and try to work around it. In these scenarios your artist will usually require a new booking fee, but will not void your old one. Therefore the amount paid towards your overall cost will be the combined amount of both booking fees paid.
- You may transfer your booking fee to someone you know if they can take the session, as long as you can let the artist you are working with be aware, and can have the new attendee contact the artist before the appointment to discuss design requirements.
Failure to attend
- If you fail to attend your appointment without any prior notice or contact before the start time of your appointment, your booking fee will be void and the artist reserves the right to blacklist you from their services in the future, at their discretion. This is non negotiable. In this case, the booking fee will act as the payment received for the loss of time and income, and cover all of the services listed above to ensure the artist does not make a loss on the day.
Why are the booking fees non-refundable?
UK consumer law states that businesses can keep your booking fee or advance payment in certain circumstances.
- If you cancel the appointment, the business is generally only entitled to keep or receive the amount sufficient to cover their actual losses that directly result from your cancellation (e.g. costs already incurred or loss of profit)
- Businesses must take reasonable steps to reduce their losses (e.g. by reselling goods or services)
- Non refundable booking fees should only be a small percentage of the total price
- Cancellation charges must be a genuine estimate of the business’ direct loss.
(Source GOV.UK)
Booking fees may be refunded only when all of the following criteria apply.
- If the cancellation is purely the fault of the artist or studio (e.g. emergency or illness),
- If no other solution can be reached, e.g. a change of appointment date
- If all the client responsibilities above have been adhered to.