Key points
- Patients keep to a policy they can read in a few seconds before they pay, with a fee that matches what an empty slot costs the clinic.
- UK guidance from the CMA accepts a prominent sliding scale of cancellation charges, provided no fee is disproportionate or punitive and fees allow for refilling the slot.1
- A UK booking made online or by phone is usually a distance contract with a 14 day cancellation period, and a good policy works with that right.3
- In the US, AMA ethics guidance asks for missed-appointment fees notified in advance and based on reasonable costs, and Medicare allows them only when every patient is charged the same.45
- Every confirmation and reminder carries the policy and one press to move the appointment.
Summary
Write the policy in a few plain sentences, show it before payment and again in every booking message, and charge no more than the real cost of a slot that cannot be refilled. In the UK it respects the 14 day cancellation right on distance bookings, and in the US any missed-appointment fee is notified in advance and applied to every patient equally.
A full diary, with patients who move early when plans change and a rare fee they agreed to in plain words before paying. The terms are visible at a glance, and the clinic rebooks each slot given back.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee your cancellation terms carried from the booking page into every confirmation and reminder, drafted in your clinic's voice and approved by your team.
| Check | Why it matters | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| Plain language, legible | UK law requires written consumer terms to be transparent | A patient can repeat the policy after one reading |
| Shown before payment | Terms bind only when the patient sees them before committing | The policy sits beside the pay button |
| Fee reflects the real cost of the slot | Fees should allow for the chance to refill the slot | The fee falls as notice increases |
| Sliding scale in a table | A prominent scale gives patients certainty | Two or three bands, none punitive |
| 14 day distance right respected | UK bookings made online or by phone are usually distance contracts | Fees apply only after the period or after an early start request |
| Same fee for every patient | Medicare requires missed-appointment charges to apply equally | One fee schedule, whoever pays |
| Waiver rule written down | Consistency keeps the policy fair | A stated rule for genuine emergencies |
| Repeated in confirmation and reminder | Patients act on the terms they saw last | Every message carries a move link |
Three sentences patients accept
Write the policy as three sentences covering the notice period, what happens to the money inside and outside it, and how to move the appointment.
A patient who knows that moving carries no fee until two days before, and costs the deposit after that, moves early, and the clinic gets the slot back with time to refill it. The payment side is in our guide to deposits and payment links.
What UK consumer law expects
Section 68 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires every written term of a consumer contract to be transparent, expressed in plain and intelligible language and legible.2
The CMA's guidance on unfair contract terms, updated on 22 July 2026, says a cancellation fee should reflect any saving the business makes and its ability to reduce the loss by finding another customer, as well as any benefit of being paid early.1 For a clinic, refilling carries most weight, so a slot given back five days ahead is a slot to rebook.
The same guidance accepts a sliding scale of cancellation charges given appropriate prominence, where the charges are never likely to be disproportionate or punitive.1 In one case the CMA cites, a 75% charge was held fair for a round the world sailing trip that required compulsory training and committed crew, partly because the scale sat in a clear table.1 A clinic visit calls for a far gentler scale.
The 14 day right on bookings made at a distance
A booking made online, by phone or by message, without the patient and clinic meeting, is usually a distance contract under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. For a service, the patient may cancel within 14 days of the day the contract is entered into, without giving a reason.3
Where the appointment falls inside those 14 days, the clinic needs the patient's express request to begin early. A patient who then cancels within the period pays a proportionate amount for any service already provided, and once the service is fully performed with their acknowledgement, the right to cancel ends.3 The rules do not apply to the extent a contract is for a medicinal product supplied by a prescriber.3
So a late cancellation fee on a distance booking applies once the 14 days have passed, or where the patient asked for an earlier appointment and acknowledged the terms. Take advice on how your own services fit these rules.
What US guidance expects
The AMA Code of Medical Ethics asks physicians to notify patients clearly and in advance of any fees for nonclinical services, and to base fees for missed appointments, or appointments not cancelled in advance in keeping with the practice's published policy, on reasonable costs to the practice.4
For Medicare patients, CMS allows a missed-appointment charge only if the practice also charges non-Medicare patients, and the amount must be the same for everyone. The charge is billed to the patient directly and never to Medicare.5 Check your own state's consumer law as well.
Scripts for booking messages
Use the same words at booking and in every message after it. The scripts use a 48 hour notice period as an example, and each clinic sets its own from its real refill rate.
Before payment. "Your appointment is held for you. Moving or cancelling carries no fee up to 48 hours before, and your deposit is refunded or carried to the new time. Within 48 hours we keep the deposit, because we can rarely offer the time to another patient."
In the confirmation. "You are booked for Thursday at 14:30. You can move this appointment with one press below, and moving it more than 48 hours ahead never carries a fee."
In the reminder, three days before. "We look forward to seeing you on Thursday at 14:30. If your plans have changed, moving now carries no fee and lets another patient have the time."
Reminders carry the policy
In a BMJ Open meta-analysis of randomised studies, patients sent digital notifications were 23% more likely to attend than those sent none, and no-shows fell from 21% to 15%.6 A reminder with a move link turns a likely no-show into a moved slot.
wai Checkout puts the cancellation terms, the receipt and one press to move the appointment in every confirmation, sent in the clinic's name.7 With wai Admin, the same wording is drafted into WhatsApp and email replies, and the team approves each one before it sends.8 Moving a booking is covered step by step in our guide to the booking and rescheduling workflow.
Where to start
Write the policy as three sentences. Set the notice period from data, by checking how often slots cancelled at 24, 48 and 72 hours were rebooked last quarter.
Check the wording against the 14 day rule for distance bookings and, in the US, against the equal-charge rule, then use it at booking and in every confirmation and reminder. For three months, track late cancellations and no-shows alongside fees charged and waived, and the diary stays full.
Bring your current policy. We show it carried into your booking page and every confirmation, with your team approving each message.
Frequently asked questions
How much of a deposit can a clinic keep after a late cancellation?
Enough to cover the real loss from a slot that cannot be refilled. UK guidance says a deposit kept in full should normally be no more than a small percentage of the price, with the circumstances in which it is kept made clear at the earliest opportunity.1
Can a US clinic charge for a missed appointment?
Does the 14 day cancellation right apply to clinic bookings?
Often, for UK bookings made online, by phone or by message. The patient can cancel a service within 14 days of booking, and if they asked for an earlier appointment they pay a proportionate amount for anything already provided.3 Take advice on your own services.
Where should the cancellation policy appear?
At booking, before the patient pays, and again in every confirmation and reminder, in the same words. wai Checkout includes the cancellation terms in every confirmation.7
Should a clinic ever waive the fee?
Yes, by a written rule for genuine emergencies applied the same way to everyone.
How much notice should the policy ask for?
Set it from how quickly the clinic refills. Measure how often slots cancelled at 24, 48 and 72 hours were rebooked, and set the notice period where refilling becomes unlikely.
Sources
- 1Competition and Markets Authority, 2026Unfair contract terms guidance (CMA37), updated 22 July 2026Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 2legislation.gov.uk, 2015Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 68, requirement for transparencyRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 3legislation.gov.uk, 2013The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, Part 3, right to cancelRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 4American Medical AssociationCode of Medical Ethics Opinion 11.3.2, Fees for Nonclinical and Administrative ServicesRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 5Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2016Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 1, section 30.3.13, Charges for Missed AppointmentsRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 6BMJ Open, Robotham and colleagues, 2016Using digital notifications to improve attendance in clinic, systematic review and meta-analysisRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 7wai, 2026wai Checkout, booking and payment for any clinicRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 8wai, 2026wai Admin, the front desk and back officeRead 14 October 2026Read source
A full diary, with a policy patients keep in every message.
Fifteen minutes on your own booking page and patient messages, each one approved by your team. We reply within one working day.
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