Cancellation falls on death ears

The party of five cancelled their table a few hours before they were due in St James Street at Petrus, which Ramsay part owns, but were left out of pocket by £200 after they were charged £40 each for failing to turn up.

They felt aggrieved by Petrus's "mercenary instinct" especially as they believed they had a genuine reason for postponing - the mother of one of the diners, Lindka Cierach, who designed the Duchess of York's wedding dress, had just died.

Organiser Jane Norbury was astonished when her explanation fell on deaf ears. Her husband, Robert, a retired stockbroker, even telephoned the establishment later in the evening to ask if the two of them could have the table instead and to inquire if he could re-book the following week. Mr Norbury discovered the table had already gone and came away from the conversation still £200 poorer.

Despite having dined twice before at the highly-rated Petrus, the couple now say they will never return.

"We were so angry. It's an extremely good restaurant and the food has always been excellent but the attitude of the staff left us feeling very poorly treated," Mrs Norbury said today. "What reason do you need to give to cancel a table? Lindka just didn't feel like going out after what had happened and we had no choice but to pull out.

"We are not the type of people to book a restaurant and then not turn up. I understand why a restaurant may ask for a cancellation charge but I do feel this was a valid reason and there should have been more flexibility. It may be they didn't believe me.

"I didn't find out until the morning of the day we were dining that Lindka had suffered a bereavement. I tried throughout the day to find other friends to join us but everyone had plans."

Lindka Cierach said today: "I just was not able to go. I feel very disappointed with people's attitudes these days which seem to be all money-orientated and a complete lack of care."

A growing number of restaurants insist on taking a customer's credit card number and unless 24 hours' notice is given before cancellation they will charge a fee. At Petrus, where a meal usually costs about £100 a head, this is done for parties of five or more.

Gordon Ramsay's business partner Chris Hutcheson today said he should have been informed of the matter sooner and that "if we were heavy handed, then it needs to be put right".

Mr Hutcheson added: "Restaurants have to have a mechanism whereby people will honour their commitment otherwise we lose money. All we can do is put out an olive branch, which I think we did, but Mr Norbury said he would never come to Petrus again.

"We have lost a customer and they have lost a restaurant and we must learn from this. I will write to Mr Norbury again to see if anything can be done."

Review: Petrus