Hair salon cancellation policy, deposits and no-show charges: what UK law allows

A client books three hours for a full head of highlights, then simply does not turn up. No call, no message, and a stylist standing next to an empty chair on your busiest afternoon. The obvious reaction is to start taking deposits and charging for missed appointments. In the UK you are allowed to do both, but the law sets real limits: a policy nobody saw before booking is unenforceable, and a charge designed to punish rather than to cover your loss can be challenged as an unfair term.

This guide explains what the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Competition and Markets Authority's guidance actually allow a hair salon to do, where salon owners most often get it wrong, and how to write a policy that protects your diary without falling foul of consumer law. It is published on the blog of ViteUneCoupe, a online booking system for hair salons, free and commission-free, so we will also be honest about what booking software can and cannot do here.

One caveat before we start: this article is general information, not legal advice. The example wording below is a starting point to adapt, never a guaranteed-compliant template. For a dispute or an unusual situation, speak to a solicitor or your trade body.

Can a hair salon charge for a missed appointment in the UK?

Yes, in principle. When a client books an appointment, you and the client form a contract: you reserve a stylist's time, the client agrees to turn up. If they cancel late or never arrive, you can ask them to compensate your loss, provided two conditions are met.

First, the client must have agreed to the policy before booking. A cancellation fee you only mention after the no-show is not part of the contract. The charge has to be brought to the client's attention at the time of booking: on your online booking page, stated when they book by phone, displayed where they cannot miss it. A poster behind the reception desk that the client first sees after the missed appointment does not count.

Second, the amount must be proportionate. Under Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a term in a consumer contract must be fair, and the Act's Schedule 2 lists the kinds of terms likely to be unfair. Two are aimed squarely at cancellation charges: a term requiring the consumer to pay "a disproportionately high sum in compensation or for services which have not been supplied", and a term letting the trader keep sums paid without offering the consumer equivalent compensation when the trader is the one who cancels. An unfair term is not binding on the consumer, so an excessive fee can simply be refused, and a card payment taken under one can be disputed.

In practice that means a fee for a missed appointment should reflect what the slot genuinely cost you, not the full price of a service you never performed and whose products you never used. If you resold the slot to a walk-in, your loss may be close to zero.

What the CMA says about deposits and cancellation charges

The Competition and Markets Authority enforces unfair contract terms law, and its business guidance on how to write fair contracts (checked in October 2026) is the clearest official statement of where the line sits. The points that matter for a hair salon:

• A cancellation fee must not be excessive and should reflect the steps you can take to minimise your losses, such as offering the slot to another client or your waiting list.
• Blanket non-refundable deposits are a red flag. A term making prepayments non-refundable regardless of why the client cancels is likely to be unfair. A client who gives you three weeks' notice has caused you no real loss.
• You should only keep what covers your genuine loss. Keeping a 50 % deposit on a cancelled colour appointment you then refilled means you have been compensated twice.
• Fairness cuts both ways. If you cancel on the client, or the stylist is off sick and no alternative works for them, the deposit comes back in full. A policy that keeps the client's money whoever cancels mirrors exactly the term Schedule 2 flags as unfair.
• Terms must be transparent. Plain English, legible, and available before the client commits, not buried in small print.

None of this stops you running a firm policy. It stops you running a punitive one. A salon that asks for a modest booking deposit on long colour appointments, refunds it with reasonable notice, and keeps it only after a late cancellation or no-show sits comfortably within the guidance.

How large should a deposit be?

There is no legal percentage. The CMA's approach is that a deposit taken just to reserve a service should be small, and that larger advance payments are only justified where you genuinely incur costs before the appointment, which is rare in hairdressing. UK salons commonly ask for something between a fixed £10 or £20 booking fee and around half the service price for long, high-value appointments; the higher you go, the more clearly the amount needs to map onto a real risk of loss, and the easier it must be to reschedule without losing it.

A sensible structure many salons use:

• Short services (a dry cut, a fringe trim): no deposit, reminders do the work.
• Long or high-value services (balayage, colour corrections, hair extensions): a deposit that stings enough to make the booking feel real, deducted from the final bill.
• Clients with a history of no-shows: deposit required for any booking, which is easier to defend than charging everyone heavily.

The clearest case for a substantial deposit is wedding work: trials, early starts and dates you turn other clients away for are genuine costs incurred in advance, and we cover how to secure them in our guide to bridal and wedding hair bookings.

Whatever you choose, apply it consistently and write it down. If you are unsure where to start, start low: a small deposit kept fairly converts better than a large one that scares off new clients, and the point is to change behaviour, not to earn revenue from absences. Our guide on reducing no-shows in a UK hair salon covers the full toolkit, because a deposit is only one lever among several.

Online bookings and the 14-day cooling-off question

Here is the wrinkle most salon articles skip. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give consumers who buy a service at a distance, which includes your online booking page and bookings taken by phone, a 14-day cooling-off period during which they can cancel for any reason and get their money back.

There is an exemption in regulation 28 for "services related to leisure activities, if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance". Whether a hair appointment is a service related to a leisure activity has never been clearly settled for salons, so the honest answer is that the exemption may or may not cover you. The safe operating assumption is that a client who books online and changes their mind promptly, well before the appointment, is entitled to their deposit back, and that fighting over it is not worth the review it generates.

Two practical consequences. If you take deposits online, say clearly at checkout when and how they are refundable. And if a client books an appointment that takes place within the next 14 days, it is sensible to have them acknowledge that they are asking for the service within the cooling-off window, which the regulations anticipate: online booking tools and your confirmation email can carry that wording.

Writing a policy clients actually see and accept

The legal requirements and the commercial ones point the same way: a short, visible, fair policy beats a long aggressive one. Make sure it appears everywhere a booking can start, since the policy only binds clients who could see it before committing:

• on your online booking page, before payment or confirmation;
• in the confirmation email, and again in the appointment reminder;
• stated in one sentence when you take a booking by phone;
• on your website and Google Business Profile description.

Keep the record. If you ever need to defend a charge, what saves you is being able to show that this client, on this date, was shown this policy. A booking system that stores the booking trail and the notes on each client record does this automatically; a paper diary does not.

Example policy wording to adapt

These are examples to adapt to your salon, not legally approved templates. Have your final wording checked, especially if you charge more than a small deposit.

Cancellations. Life happens. You can cancel or move your appointment free of charge up to 48 hours before. After that, your deposit is used to cover part of the reserved time; rebook within two weeks and we will put it towards your next visit.

Deposits. Colour, balayage and extension appointments are secured with a £20 deposit, deducted from your bill on the day. It is fully refundable with at least 48 hours' notice, and always refundable if we have to cancel on you.

Missed appointments. If you miss an appointment without letting us know, we may ask for a deposit to secure your next booking.

Notice what these examples avoid: no "non-refundable under any circumstances", no charging 100 % of the service price for every late cancellation, no keeping the deposit when the salon cancels. Each of those is the kind of term the CMA guidance singles out.

Is the law different in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

Mostly no. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 apply across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so the fairness rules above are the same for a salon in Glasgow or Belfast as for one in Manchester. What differs is enforcement machinery: recovering an unpaid fee through the courts means a money claim in England and Wales, the simple procedure in Scotland, or small claims in Northern Ireland. For the amounts involved in a missed haircut, court is almost never worth it, which is one more reason to take deposits upfront rather than chase charges afterwards. And when a disagreement over a charge spills into a dispute about the service itself, our guide to handling complaints and refunds in a hair salon picks up where this one stops.

Where booking software fits in, and where it does not

A policy only works if clients see it at booking time and are reminded before the appointment, which is exactly what online booking automates. With ViteUneCoupe, the free plan gives your hair salon unlimited online bookings with 0 % commission, a personalised booking page where your policy sits in front of every client, your service catalogue, staff schedules and client database. The Standard plan, from 29 € excl. VAT per month with no commitment, adds automatic email confirmations, reminders and thank-you messages, and calendar sync. One honest note for UK readers: the subscription is billed in euros, not pounds, and reminders are by email, not SMS.

Equally honestly: ViteUneCoupe does not process deposits or card payments today, so deposits remain something you take in the salon or by payment link from your own provider. Card-based no-show protection, where the client's card details secure the booking and a fee can be charged after a no-show, is coming soon in the Standard + Anti No-Show plan at 49 € excl. VAT per month. If deposits taken at booking are non-negotiable for you right now, our comparison of hair salon booking software for the UK covers tools that already include them.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep the whole deposit when a client no-shows?

Only if that genuinely reflects your loss. If the deposit is modest relative to the appointment and the slot stayed empty, keeping it is defensible. If you refilled the slot, or the deposit was a large share of the price, keeping all of it risks being a disproportionate charge under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Can I charge 100 % of the service price for a missed appointment?

Charging the full price of a service you never performed is the classic example of a term likely to be unfair: you saved products and, possibly, resold the time. A proportionate fee tied to your actual loss, agreed before booking, is the safer route.

Do I have to refund a deposit if I cancel the appointment?

Yes. A term letting you keep the client's money when you are the one cancelling, without equivalent compensation for them, appears on the Consumer Rights Act's list of terms likely to be unfair. Refund promptly and rebook.

Is a verbal warning about my cancellation policy enough?

It can form part of the contract, but it is hard to prove later. Back it up in writing: show the policy at online checkout and repeat it in the confirmation email, so there is a record the client saw it before the appointment.

Does the 14-day cooling-off period apply to salon appointments booked online?

It applies to distance contracts for services, and whether the "leisure activities" exemption covers hair appointments has not been clearly settled. Assume a prompt change of mind, well before the appointment, entitles the client to their money back, and design your deposit policy around late cancellations and no-shows instead.