A vendor who rented a booth at the Richmond Night Market in 2020 — cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic — got about two-thirds of her deposit back, but she was unsuccessful in retroactively getting the rest.
Yiwei Zhang applied to the Civil Resolution Tribunal for an additional $2,625 refund, after agreeing to and receiving a refund for $6,475.
According to Firework Productions Ltd., which runs the night market, Zhang agreed to this amount, after being given three options, two of which would have allowed her to put most of the money toward the 2021 night market.
Zhang originally paid more than $9,000 to secure her booth at the 2020 night market.
Her contract included language saying Firework could cancel the market “without liability if the cancellation is caused by regulations or laws of any government,” the CRT stated in its decision.
On March 17, 2020, a public health order limited public gatherings to 50 people, effectively cancelling the night market.
Of the three choices given by Firework, Zhang opted for paying a $2,500 + GST administrative fee and receiving the $6,475 refund.
Firework provided a copy of the refund cheque from March 2022, which Zhang deposited and which cleared at the bank.
The CRT stated that Zhang didn’t provide any submissions “denying that she agreed to the settlement agreement.”
“I find the evidence is consistent with Mrs. Zhang accepting $6,475 as a settlement for the cancelled market,” the CRT ruled. “As a result, she is not entitled to any further refund.”
Her claim was dismissed in early August.
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