united-kingdom medical
Can a private business require a doctor&#39;s note from a customer?
<p>A holiday has been booked and paid for, but due to medical reasons, must now be cancelled. The company booked with offers a cancellation fee so that if a booking with them is cancelled, then a full refund will be issued less the initial deposit.</p>
<p>However, the business has demanded that a doctor's note be provided to prove there are medical grounds for the cancellation before they will issue the refund.</p>
<p>Is it legal in the UK for a private business to request a doctor's note? All research I have tried to conduct on the subject deals with employers and employees, which is not relevant to this situation.</p>

<p>Yes, this could be required. </p>

<p>This is (1) because while disclosure of private medical information is generally prohibited, you would be voluntarily waiving that privacy to receive a benefit, and (2) because the disclosure by the doctor wouldn't have to say anything more than that there was a medically valid reason for the cancellation without going into detail about its nature. You already told the company you were medically indisposed, so that bare fact wasn't confidential anyway.</p>
