Can a salon keep a deposit or charge a no-show fee? (UK)

The short answer

Yes. A salon, barber or beauty business can take a deposit and can keep it, or charge a cancellation amount, when a client cancels late or does not turn up. But the term has to be fair. A term that is not fair is not binding on the client, however clearly it was written down and whatever the client ticked.

There is no legal limit on the size of a deposit, and no set number of hours’ notice. What matters is whether the term is fair in the circumstances, and the CMA has said what it looks for.

What the law says

Your booking terms are a contract between you and a consumer. Section 62 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says an unfair term in a consumer contract is not binding on the consumer. A term is unfair if, against the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations, to the consumer’s detriment. Fairness is judged by looking at the nature of the service, everything that was true when the term was agreed, and the other terms of the contract.

Schedule 2 to the Act lists terms that may be regarded as unfair. Three matter here:

• A term that lets you keep what the client has paid when they decide not to go ahead, without giving them equivalent compensation when you are the one who cancels.
• A term that makes a client who does not go ahead pay a disproportionately high sum for a service you did not supply.
• A term that makes a client who breaks the contract pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.

What the CMA says about deposits

The CMA’s unfair-terms guidance, CMA37, was reissued on 22 July 2026. Paragraph numbers can move between editions, so check the current text. In summary, it says:

• A deposit kept in full. A genuine deposit may be kept in full if it works as a binding reservation, you tell the client at the earliest chance that a deposit is due, and you state the precise cases in which it is not refundable. Those cases must be clear and narrow, so you have no wide discretion to keep it. Such a deposit will not normally be more than a small percentage of the price, because a larger one may be a disguised penalty. No source we found gives a number for “small”, so be wary of anyone who claims the law sets one.
• Non-refundable whatever happens. A term that makes a substantial prepayment entirely non-refundable, whatever the reason and whatever it costs you, is more likely to be unfair.
• Cancellation charges. A charge is more likely to be unfair if it does not reflect what you save by not doing the work, or your chance to reduce the loss by rebooking the time. It is also at risk if it is a fixed arbitrary sum, if it recovers all your costs rather than your net loss, if it pays you twice for the same loss, or if it leaves you wide discretion over the amount.
• A sliding scale. A scale of charges can be acceptable if no point on it is disproportionate or punitive, and it is given proper prominence. A cancellation table set out in a very clear form, not small print, was accepted by a court (Clipper Ventures v Boyde, 2013).
• When the charge is due. A charge is more likely to be fair if the cases are clear, upfront and reasonable, the client can easily avoid it, and they got a real benefit from agreeing to it.
• When you cancel. A client whose booking you cancel, or which cannot go ahead through no fault of theirs, is entitled to a prompt, full refund of anything prepaid, including a deposit described as non-refundable.

A card saved at booking is the same thing

Some businesses save a client’s card and charge it if they do not turn up. That is a cancellation charge, and the rules above apply to it in the same way. Show the amount and the trigger before the client agrees, charge only what you showed, and never “an amount at our discretion”. If you advertise free cancellation up to a point, it must be free in every case up to that point, with no admin fee.

What to do

1. Keep the deposit modest, and be able to say why it is the size it is.
2. Show the deposit and the cases where it is kept before the client pays, and again in the confirmation.
3. Name the cases narrowly: a cancellation inside your notice period, and a no-show.
4. Refund in full whenever you cancel or cannot do the appointment.
5. Make cancelling easy, and remind clients before the appointment. A reminder text and a cancellation link make the charge easier to avoid, which counts in your favour.
6. Use plain words. The CMA warns against jargon such as “indemnify”.

Our salon cancellation policy template puts all of this into wording you can use, in salon, barber, and nails and lashes versions, and how to write a salon deposit and cancellation policy explains what each part is for.

What this guide does not cover

Online bookings are distance contracts, and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give some consumers a right to cancel within 14 days, with exceptions for services booked for a specific date. We have not checked how that applies to appointments, so look at it before you rely on a rule here for an online booking. Unusual services, such as very long treatments or products ordered for a client, are worth asking your own adviser about.

Who can act if a term is unfair

An unfair term is not binding, so a client can refuse to pay it. The CMA and Trading Standards can also take action over unfair terms. If you are unsure about your wording, change it to a smaller deposit and a shorter list of cases before you go further.

This guide sets out the position as we read it on the date above. It has not yet been reviewed by a solicitor, and the law and the CMA’s guidance can change.