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Cancellations

  • What is the cancellation deadline ?

    This is the last date you can tell us you need to cancel your place without losing your full deposit. This year it is set to 4 weeks before the festival. You can see a list of our festivals and their cancellation dates here.

    If you make a late application to steward at a festival after the cancellation deadline our cancellation policy still applies.




  • Will I get my full deposit back if I cancel ?

    From the date you pay your deposit, a "cooling off" period of seven days applies during which you may make changes to the festivals you have booked without charge by contacting stewards@oxfam.org.uk or telephoning 0300 200 1266.

    After this period, you will be charged an admin fee of at least £20, whatever the reason for your cancellation. The total amount of admin fee deducted from your deposit will depend on how many festivals you cancel and the dates you cancel them - see below for more details. An admin fee will still be charged if you cancel because of illness, as your cancellation still affects our planning and we are still committed to providing a replacement team member.

    If you cancel before the cancellation date:

    If you cancel one festival before the cancellation date, a £20 admin fee will be deducted from your deposit.

    If you cancel two or more festivals on the same occasion before the cancellation date, you will only be charged a £40 admin fee.

    If you cancel two or more festivals on seperate occasions before the cancellation date, a £20 admin fee will be charged each time you cancel, up to your full deposit.

    Once the admin fee has been deducted the rest of your deposit will be returned within three weeks of your cancellation, or within one month of your final festival with us if you are attending, or have attended, other festivals.

    You should receive an email from WorldPay to confirm this has taken place.

    If you cancel after the cancellation date:
    If you cancel one or more festivals after their cancellation dates, you will lose your full deposit.

    If you cancel one or more festivals after the cancellation date, but:

    • have already stewarded with us this year and completed all your shifts, we will consider your refund on a case-by-case basis.
    • have a place at a future festival, we may contact you to assess your reliability for future festivals. If we decide to keep your place at a future festival and you complete all your shifts, we will consider your refund on a case-by-case basis.
    • can provide us with documentary evidence of a valid reason, such as doctors note, we will consider your refund case.

    If you cancel a festival on the arrival day, and have a place at another festival (whether you have already stewarded or are yet to steward) you will lose your deposit, unless you can provide a valid reason for cancelling.




  • Why do I lose my deposit if I cancel after a certain date ?

    In the event of cancellation after the cancellation date, we incur extra administrative costs to find a replacement at short notice. This could involve re-opening applications and advertising the cancelled place, or even sub-contracting the place to an outside agency who charge us standard industry hourly rates.

    If we are unable to provide the festival with enough stewards to fulfil the roles we have agreed, our income from the festival is reduced and our reputation as a provider of a professional volunteer steward service to festivals is damaged.

    The cancellation policy operates to cover these eventualities, to enable us to work professionally with festival partners and avoid putting our funds at risk.

    If extenuating circumstances make cancellation unavoidable, we will consider these on a case by case basis, but otherwise the cancellation policy will apply.




  • How do I cancel my stewarding place ?

    The easiest way is to email us at stewards@oxfam.org.uk with CANCEL + the festival name in the subject line, and you will get a reply email within 3 working days confirming that your cancellation has been processed. If you do not receive this confirmation, your cancellation has not been noted, so you should phone us to check on 0300 200 1266.

    If you want to cancel more than one festival, please do not send a separate email for each one, but send an email with CANCEL FESTIVALS in the subject line. If you have to cancel multiple festivals at the same time, you will only pay one admin fee of £40.

    If it is after the date that we have left the office and are onsite at the festival, please DO NOT email or phone the usual number, you will need to phone the staff onsite. You will find the date the staff go to site and the mobile number in your pre festival information.

  • Why is the admin fee £20 ?

    We have calculated how much it costs Oxfam every time someone cancels, in terms of administrating their application, arranging an early refund, and the staff hours and communications involved. This fee covers these costs.

  • If I have to cancel can I get one of my friends to take my place ?

    We are not able to transfer deposits from one steward to another. Therefore, if you are cancelling and your friend wants to steward they will need to apply independently. If there are no places currently available then they will need to add their name to the stewarding waiting list - they cannot take your place.

  • What happens if I cannot attend a festival because I am sick ?

    If you can't make it to a festival at the last minute because of illness, or some other unavoidable complication, you MUST call us to let us know. If you cannot get through to us on the onsite mobile number, which will be on your pre-festival information, then call the Oxfam Stewarding Office on 0117 916 6483. If you do not let us know that you are ill, (or have another valid reason), you will not get any of your deposit back.

    If you get a message to us, you will most likely be charged an admin fee for late cancellation, but will keep your place at any future festivals you have already successfully applied for this year.

    If you provide a valid doctor's note or other documentary evidence, we will consider your refund case.

    The quickest and most reliable way to get any evidence to us is to scan the document/s and email it to stewards@oxfam.org.uk. You can also post them to the Oxfam Stewarding office, however we would advise you to send photocopied documents and keep the originals.




  • What happens if I just don't show up to a festival ?

    If you don't turn up at a festival and have made no effort to contact us, you will lose your full deposit and your place at future festivals will be cancelled. You will also be given 'Denied status' which prevents you from stewarding with Oxfam again.