 Jessica K. Cunningham |
Can a shoot be 'not refundable'? Ok, this is coming from the other side of the street. I had signed up for a buodior shoot in December a couple of months ago. Paid in full, $1600. I needed to loose 20 more lbs and would be ready! Then, despite the doctor and I both believing I could not get pregnant, we are 12 weeks along! Now they won't refund a dime of my money! I thought they should at least try to fill my spot first, or refund a partial amount, but the won't refund a dime! I would NEVER do this to someone. What are the laws on non refundable? What is the duty of the photographer to mitigate damages? I am beyond devestated. I did not just change my mind, this came out of no where! How stupid I was to pay in full... but that is the only option she gave me.
|
|
|
|
||
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Anything can be non-refundable if you agree to it before hand.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Lynn R. Powers |
If you signed a contract with her that states that any and all payments are non- refundable I am sorry to say that the photographer wins even if you die. Most photographers will keep at least some if not all of a required deposit. If you cannot resolve this problem with her please make sure that you put the word out on how shabily you were treated. Now if you came at Thanksgiving time with the news I might have more compassion for the photographer.
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
If a no-refund policy was made clear, and she agreed to it, why should she try to bad mouth the photographer?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Shino D. Elliott |
Since you can't get a refund, can you change the nature of the shoot to a pregnancy shot? Maybe you can still get something from it. Shino
|
|
|
|
||
|
Bob Cammarata |
There's always NEXT December. I find it difficult to believe that any photographer would have a problem with postponing the appointment to a later date. And bad mouthing any business with a signed contract in hand could lead to legal troubles down the road.
|
|
|
|
||
- Dennis Flanagan Contact Dennis Flanagan Dennis Flanagan's Gallery |
I don't know the facts of the case, but if you feel wronged, contact your local Better Business Bureau.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica K. Cunningham |
How did I 'bad mouth' anyone? I did not use the name of the business, or say anything other than I thought she was wrong, so that is ridiculous to say. I never expected a full refund, but I did expect her to try and mitigate her damages, rebook my date, since I was canceling months in advance. What about all the items she owes me through the contract? The books, the prints, shouldn't I at least get credit for those? What if I had broken my leg right before the shoot and been in a cast? I have medical evidence showing I could not get pregnant, so to me it falls under the same category. I would love to change it to a pregnancy shoot, she will not allow it. When making a contract, one person agrees to give up x and the other person y. She is not giving up any of x, when it comes to out of pocket expenses such as prints, books, all those things. I would be happy to pay her for her time. Oh and guess what? She is offering half prices shoots up until Christmas now! My shoot is November 4th!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Jessica K. Cunningham |
I am really flustered over this bad mouthing thing. What did I say bad about the photographer, other than implying that she was immoral in my opinion, and I didn't even say that! Like I want to go around telling everyone that I am an idiot who pays for things in full. I was trying to find out the legalities of contracts and do a slight venting of my anger. I am a photographer, otherwise I wouldn't be on here. I understand she is owed something for her trouble. But I bend over backwards to make a my clients happy, and would never treat someone like that. This is west Texas, not New York or LA, people don't have the kind of money to waste on stuff like photography, so when they do spend their money with me, I appreciate it. I guess that makes me naive on how other people do business. Even with a contract, there can't be 'no options'. There is always a way to meet in the middle and make both parties happy.
|
|
|
|
||
- Ken Smith Contact Ken Smith Ken Smith's Gallery |
Jessica, I think the "bad-mouthing" comment was Bob C's response to Lynne's comment about the "shabby" treatment. I don't think anyone said you were bad-mouthing anyone.
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Just calm down a minute. We were referring to Lynn P. saying you should put the word out about how she treated you. Before going so far as to say(as Lynn said it, not you) having no soul, yadda yadda yadda... the foundation of the situation is still based on what was agreed upon in the contract at the being. Granted, practically every time there's an agreement for some amount of money up front, you usually here that it's part now and the rest later. But that's not what happened. And any suggestion to anyone to spread any news or word about things that happened outside her actual obligation wouldn't be right. I know it would be nice, and in my mind, probably not any amount of difficulty to reschedule or do some other kind of portrait. But you still have to take into account that it's so common, especially with portraits or people just wanting photos you've taken, for people to not follow through, not show up, or change their minds after the effort's been put forth or some expenses have been put out. And taking a hard line like the photographer is doing, she's weighing it against loosing a potential customer for good. And it's the choice I guess she feels she can do. But that doesn't mean she's done anything wrong.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Bob Cammarata |
I was only responding to Lynn's suggestion that..."If you cannot resolve this problem with her please make sure that you put the word out on how shabily you were treated." This would, in my view, likely come back some day to haunt you and I was simply advising against that.
|
|
|
|
||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||