A consumer has a right to cancel an advance reservation, booking or order. The act allows a supplier to require a reasonable deposit in advance and impose a reasonable charge for cancellation. But, the act protects the consumer against cancellation charges in the case of death or hospitalization of the specific person for who the transaction was made. So if you place an order or make a reservation and cancel because your mother is sick, well you going to pay the cancellation fee.

However if you can prove that you were either dead or hospitalized, well the supplier is not allowed to charge you the cancellation fee. Note that the act protects the consumer and the suppliers.  Cancellation fees are based on what is reasonable and the act also looks at what is the general practice in the relevant industry. It is based on the nature of goods or sevices rendered. The length of notice of cancellation provided by the consumer. The reasonable potential for the service provider to find an alternative consumer between the time of receiving the cancellation notice and the time of the cancelled reservation or order.  So cancellation fees may vary from product to product and service to service.  This section does not apply to a franchise agreement, or in respect of any special-order goods.  For instance, if a supplier sells standard vanities of 900mm wide and the customer wants one 600mm wide, that will be a special order. The customer cannot expect the supplier to refund unless the special order did not meet the requirements as set out in the agreement (design) between supplier and customer.