The short version
Tell us early. We will be clear about costs.
We will try to rearrange a booking where we can. Any cancellation charge must reflect the reasonable direct loss that remains after costs saved, refunds and replacement bookings are taken into account. The full price is never an automatic cancellation penalty.
To cancel or ask for a new date, email enquiries@thegamekeeper.co.uk with your booking reference.
How cancellation charges are worked out
Tell us as soon as possible if you need to cancel or change an arrangement. Send the request to enquiries@thegamekeeper.co.uk and include your booking reference. A cancellation takes effect when we receive it.
Any cancellation charge will be based on the reasonable, direct loss caused by that cancellation. We will take account of the notice given, costs already committed, costs saved, refunds obtained, and any place or date we can reasonably rebook. We will not recover the same loss twice, and any charge is capped at the agreed price for the cancelled service. We can explain the calculation and provide a reasonable breakdown on request.
An advance payment or deposit is credited against the agreed price. It is not automatically forfeited. If a charge is due, we may deduct the lawful amount and refund any remaining balance. If no charge is due, the payment is refunded.
If a written quote or booking offer sets out a different service-specific cancellation arrangement, it applies only where it is clearly shown before acceptance and expressly agreed. Any such term remains subject to applicable law.
Pest control
Farm work, livestock, crops, access and welfare can change at short notice. If you need to move an assessment or pest-control visit for a genuine farm or land-management reason, tell us as soon as you can. We will normally rearrange it without a cancellation charge.
No charge is due for pest-control work that has not been carried out. If agreed work has started, the invoice may include the agreed price for work completed and any materials or third-party costs that you authorised in advance and that cannot reasonably be recovered. We will credit costs saved or refunded.
If we have already set out or attended but cannot work because agreed access was not available, we may charge only a reasonable attendance or travel amount that was explained and agreed before the visit, plus any authorised non-recoverable third-party cost. We will not add an undisclosed call-out fee.
The invoice for completed pest-control work is issued after the job, as agreed. A cancelled or rearranged job is not invoiced as though the work had been completed.
Clay days
Clay days require full payment before the booking is confirmed. If you cancel or request a change, we will first try to move the booking to a mutually agreed date. Where that is not possible, any amount retained or requested will be calculated under the general loss rule above.
For a cancellation received at least seven clear calendar days before the event, we will normally be able to avoid or recover more of the arrangements. Any charge will be limited to event-specific costs that remain genuinely non-recoverable, such as agreed land or equipment hire, transport, consumables or third-party charges, after savings and refunds.
A cancellation received less than seven clear calendar days before the event, or a no-show, may leave additional staff, transport, equipment and unused-capacity costs. We may recover those direct losses only to the extent they remain unavoidable after reasonable steps to reduce them. The full price is not automatically forfeited; any balance after a lawful charge is refunded.
Game and sports shoots
Game and sports shoots are planned around a short seasonal window. The date may require advance commitments for land, game, gamekeepers, beaters, ammunition, equipment, catering and other event costs. Please give at least fourteen clear calendar days' notice if you need to cancel or change a booking.
If you cancel fourteen or more clear calendar days before the event, we will try to rearrange the date. If that is not possible, any charge will be limited to direct, event-specific costs that are already committed and cannot reasonably be cancelled, refunded or reused.
Cancellation with fewer than fourteen clear calendar days' notice, a no-show, or a late reduction in party size can leave significant costs and an unfilled place. We may include unavoidable commitments and the net contribution lost for capacity that cannot reasonably be rebooked, after deducting savings, refunds and replacement bookings. The full agreed price may be due only where that calculation supports it; it is not an automatic penalty. Any charge is capped at the agreed price for the cancelled places or booking.
If a participant can no longer attend, ask promptly about transferring their place to a replacement. A substitute may attend only after The Gamekeeper has approved them and completed all required checks. We will not unreasonably delay that decision, and any charge will be limited to reasonable additional costs caused by the change.
Weather and safety postponements
Ordinary rain, cold, mud and the wet or wintry weather normally expected during an English autumn or winter are not, by themselves, reasons for a customer to cancel a shoot or receive a refund. Please bring suitable clothing and footwear.
Safety comes first. If thunder or lightning, flooding, dangerous wind or visibility, unsafe ground, blocked emergency access or another serious condition makes the planned activity unsafe, The Gamekeeper or the appointed person in charge will postpone the shoot and contact you to arrange a replacement date. The decision is based on the conditions and the site-specific safety assessment, not simply on an unfavourable forecast.
A weather postponement is not treated as a customer cancellation. Payments will be transferred to the replacement date. If a suitable replacement date cannot be agreed or The Gamekeeper cannot provide the service, any refund due for the service not supplied will be made in accordance with the booking agreement and applicable law. Nothing here limits a right that cannot lawfully be excluded.
When The Gamekeeper changes or cancels
If The Gamekeeper cancels or makes a material change, we will contact you promptly and offer a reasonable alternative date or arrangement. If the service cannot be provided and you do not accept an alternative, we will refund payments for the part of the service not supplied, subject to any lawful amount for work already completed and your statutory rights.
Consumer rights
Nothing in this policy removes a consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded. Pest-control services and fixed-date leisure events can have different statutory cancellation rules. Where a statutory cooling-off right applies to a pest-control contract made online, by telephone or away from business premises, we will provide the required cancellation information before the contract is made. If you ask us to start within that period, we will explain any amount that may be payable for work supplied before cancellation.
For a leisure activity booked for a specific date or period, the statutory fourteen-day change-of-mind right may not apply. This does not remove your other statutory rights or the cancellation and refund protections set out here.
Questions or a cancellation request
Email enquiries@thegamekeeper.co.uk and include your name, booking reference and the date or service affected. If you disagree with a cancellation calculation, ask us for the breakdown and we will review it.
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. They do not limit any consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded.
