STEPHEN LEWIS finds out how to avoid disappointment if that grand Valentine gesture turns into a damp squib.

WE LIVE in an age of grand gestures - which means that for those looking to make a big statement, a bunch of flowers or box of chocolates just doesn't cut it as a Valentine's gift any more.

There are risks to thinking big, however. Just imagine: perhaps you're planning to surprise her with tickets to a concert - but at the last minute it's cancelled because the lead singer has come down with a throat infection.

You may even have booked a DJ to host your own Valentine's party - then the day before he has to pull out for family reasons.

Or maybe that romantic dinner-for-two at that new, swanky restaurant turns out to be an expensive flop.

Nobody can guarantee that things won't ever go wrong. But if the worst comes to the worst and your long-planned grand Valentine's gesture turns into a damp squib, the least you should be able to expect is a refund, or an offer of an alternative date at your convenience. Isn't it?

Hopefully, yes. But it is not always that simple.

Sometimes, hidden in the small print on the back of your ticket for example, there will be a hidden "trap" such as conditions making it difficult for you to claim a refund if you cannot make the re-arranged concert date.

If the cancellation is your own fault - through illness or whatever - you may even find, after looking at the small print, that you cannot get a refund at all.

So what can you do to ensure that, if it does all go wrong, at least you're not out of pocket as well?

A new leaflet from the Office of Fair Trading - catchily titled "Unfair terms in consumer entertainment contracts" - aims to tell you just that.

The key factor is that when you book a concert or DJ you are actually entering into a contract, the OFT says. And that gives you certain rights.

If you want to avoid disappointment, the most important thing is to check the terms and conditions before you book, so that you know exactly what the business is providing under that contract first.

Things to look out for include terms or conditions that:

allow a business to make any changes it wants to the event, service or activity;

allow a business to refuse admission to events without good reason;

deny refunds or limit them unfairly even where a performance, event or activity does not take place;

impose excess cancellation charges.

Even if you have already booked, however, you still have rights as a consumer.

Companies providing entertainments are bound by regulations that came into force in 1999 to ensure the terms of their contracts are fair - so just because something is in the small print does not necessarily mean it is legally binding. An excessive cancellation charge, for example, could be held to be unfair.

Only a court can decide if the terms a company has set are fair or unfair. But the OFT's new leaflet should give your a pretty good idea of whether you're likely to have a claim - and what your rights as a consumer are.

"Consumers often don't realise when they book entertainments that they are actually entering into a contract and have protection from unfair terms," says Christine Wade, director of consumer regulation enforcement. "This leaflet will help consumers get a fair deal."

Some Valentine nightmares, and what to do...

The flowers delivered with a romantic note on the day are already wilting by the time you receive them.

Refuse to accept them, advises Colin Rumford, head of York Trading Standards, and then inform the person who arranged for them to be delivered to you straight away (if you know who it is!) so they can make a claim. It will be for them, not you, to make a claim, because it was them who entered into the contract.

The romantic candlelit meal for two at a local restaurant is a disaster

However disappointing the food may have been, you are legally obliged to pay for it, Colin says. But make sure you complain at the time, and follow this up with a letter seeking redress afterwards. If you are not sure how to proceed, trading standards can advise you. They also have specimen letters on their website.

The company organising your Valentine's party sends you a different DJ

A company cannot provide you with a different kind of product or service to what was agreed without compensating you, the OFT says.

If the change is an important one, you are entitled to compensation, or possibly even a full refund. Seek advice.

The concert is cancelled

You should be able to get a refund and in certain circumstances compensation. This could even apply if the event has been postponed, not cancelled, the OFT says.

For a copy of the OFT leaflet visit www.oft.gov.uk or call 0870 6060321.

York Trading Standards can be reached on 01904 551562.

The website, which includes a selection of sample letters to use when making complaints, is at www.york.gov.uk/business/tradingstandards

Updated: 09:16 Thursday, February 12, 2004