Even with the best booking systems and timely reminders, there are slots in almost every practitioner’s week when a client just doesn’t show up. Worse still, they forget to cancel which means there’s no time to take another booking to fill that spot. Even if this only happens once or twice a month, the lost time and revenue adds up over the course of a year. 

One way to mitigate this risk is to set up a no show charge.  A no show charge is a fee a client pays when they miss an appointment or cancel too late for you to fill the slot. This guide is designed to walk UK clinic owners through the process of setting up a fair fee, writing the policy in plain language, telling clients at the right moments, and applying it the same way every time.

What you'll need to get started

• Your current booking terms, if you have them
• A rough count of how often clients miss or late-cancel, and how quickly you refill those slots
• Your session fees for each appointment type
• Everywhere clients see your terms: booking page, intake forms, confirmations, and reminders
• A solicitor you can ask a few short questions

Check where you stand legally

Start with the law before you pick a number. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidance for businesses says the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) sets out the law on unfair terms in consumer contracts and explains how to make terms fair and transparent.

Three ideas matter most for a no show charge:

• Fairness is judged when the term is agreed. The CRA has a fairness test and a grey list of terms that may be unfair in Schedule 2 Part 1, according to Ofcom's guidance on unfair terms. The CRA Explanatory Notes say a court should consider the circumstances when the term was agreed. So show clients the fee before they book.
• Keep the fee proportionate. In Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi and ParkingEye v Beavis, the Supreme Court said a charge for breach is a penalty if it's out of all proportion to the other party's legitimate interest (Lexology). Cavendish was a commercial contract case and ParkingEye was a consumer-level parking charge case; neither was a health-service no-show case (Supreme Court judgment). Tie your fee to the real cost of an empty slot.
• Take care with prepayments. A CMA consultation draft says that, generally, consumers shouldn't end up paying for what hasn't been supplied when a contract is cancelled. It's a draft, not final guidance, but it's worth reading if you take payment upfront.

Online and phone bookings may add another layer. Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, cancellation rights apply to distance and off-premises contracts only (government guidance). Under regulation 36, you mustn't start a service before the cancellation period (14 calendar days) ends unless the client expressly asks you to. 

Decide your fee, notice window, and exceptions

Make three separate decisions and write each one down.

1. Notice window. Base it on how much warning you realistically need to offer the slot to someone else.
2. Fee. Options include a share of the session fee for late cancellations and a higher amount for no-shows. Be able to explain in one sentence how the fee relates to the lost slot.
3. Exceptions. Decide now what you'll waive, such as emergencies, sudden illness, or bereavement, and whether a first miss gets a warning instead of a charge.

Write the policy in plain, client-friendly language

Keep it short enough to read on a phone. Practitioners registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) already work to standards that require valid, informed consent (standard 1.4) and information given in a way service users can understand (standard 2.3), per the HCPC standards. Counsellors and psychotherapists on voluntary registers should check their own body's expectations (BACP and UKCP). Practitioners from other disciplines should also check their respective governing body for specific guidance on fees and missed appointments. This includes RCSLT for speech language therapists, RCOT for occupational therapists, BPS for psychologists, BDA for dieticians, and CSP for physiotherapists.

Here’s a  plain-English template to get you started:

We keep your appointment time just for you. If you need to cancel or move it, please give us at least [notice window]. Late cancellations are charged at [amount], and missed appointments at [amount]. We'll always consider waiving this for genuine emergencies, so please tell us as soon as you can.

Communicate it at booking and in every reminder

Clients should see the policy before they're committed. For on-premises contracts, regulation 9 requires certain information to be given clearly before the consumer is bound, if it isn't already apparent from the context.  While Schedule 1 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 does not specifically regulate or set rules for cancellation fees or no-show charges, but it does require traders to disclose the conditions for terminating the contract (if it is of indeterminate duration or extends automatically) and general payment/performance arrangements for on-premises contracts. 

Put the wording on your online booking page, intake form, booking confirmation, and each reminder. Ask clients to actively accept it at booking so you have a record.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) says routine customer service messages about a current contract aren't direct marketing. Clinic appointment reminders count as non-marketing service messages under the UK's Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Non-marketing messages must still follow UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) fairness and transparency rules. Keep reminders factual and free of promotions. 

Remember to apply it consistently

Consistency is what makes a policy feel fair. Charge when the policy says to, waive when a written exception applies, and log every waiver with a reason.

Here’s an example to put this idea into context: 

A physiotherapy clinic has a 24-hour notice window and a first-miss warning. A client misses a Tuesday appointment without a word, so reception logs a first miss and sends a friendly message with no charge. Three weeks later the same client cancels two hours before a session. The fee applies, and the invoice quotes the policy they accepted at booking. Another client cancels an hour before because their child has been taken to hospital. That falls within the written emergency exception, so the fee is waived and logged.

Handle disputes and refusals calmly

Start with a conversation: listen, check the record, and decide whether an exception applies. When defending a "no-show" chargeback for appointment-based services in the UK, card schemes (such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express) expect the merchant to provide clear, compelling evidence that the customer explicitly agreed to a cancellation/no-show policy and then failed to attend.

If a client disputes a card payment, UK Finance says there's no automatic right to a chargeback, and outcomes depend on factors including the supplier's terms. The Financial Ombudsman Service says banks ask for supporting evidence and don't have to raise one. Keep the accepted policy, booking record, and reminders together. 

If it reaches a claim in England, Citizens Advice says to send a letter before the claim with a reply deadline, usually 14 days. A money claim up to £300 costs £35 in court fees, and if the defendant doesn't pay you can request judgment. 

Save time by automating reminders

Manual reminders are the first thing to slip on a busy day. In splose, automated SMS reminders can go out without anyone remembering to send them. Add your policy wording to the message, and pair them with self-service cancel and reschedule so clients can free up a slot without phoning.

If you want to take a card at booking and charge it later, get advice first. Under the UK GDPR, storing a customer's payment card details for future use generally requires explicit, informed, and unambiguous consent (Article 6(1)(a)), gathered via a clear affirmative action (such as an un-ticked checkbox or a separate opt-in prompt like "May we keep this card for future payments?") 

A few common mistakes to avoid

• Setting a fee that bears no relation to the lost slot
• Mentioning the policy only after a client misses
• Waiving for some clients and not others, with no recorded reason
• Hiding the wording in long terms nobody reads
• Sending reminders that mix in promotions

Frequently asked questions

What Is a no show charge?

A no show charge is a fee a client pays when they miss an appointment or cancel inside your notice window without a valid reason. Clinics use it to cover the cost of a slot that can't be refilled at short notice, so the fee should reflect that lost time.

How do you charge a client a no show fee?

Raise an invoice that names the missed appointment and quotes the policy the client accepted at booking. Send it promptly with a polite note, a payment link, and an offer to talk if they think an exception applies. If you hold an agreed payment method, charge it only as your terms allow.

Do clients legally have to pay a cancellation fee?

Only if the fee is a term of their contract and that term is fair. The CRA sets the fairness test for consumer contracts, and courts look at the circumstances when the term was agreed, so a clear, proportionate fee that the client accepted before booking is the safest footing.

Can a client refuse to pay or dispute a no show charge?

Yes. A client can refuse to pay, complain to you, or ask their bank for a chargeback, though banks don't have to raise one and the outcome depends on the facts, including your terms and the evidence you hold. Talk first and check your records before considering a small claim.

Your next steps

Draft your notice window, fee, and exceptions this week, then add the wording to your booking page and reminders. Once it's live, read our guide to setting up a full billing loop so invoices and payments are easier to follow.