Wedding Photographer hasn't delivered photos two years on....

Even though very tempting to hit the anti-social media, I would hang fire, as well if they need to go down the court route, then it might be held against them, and most likely affect any compensation that they may be able to claim on top of the refund of money.

I would ring trading standards to see if there has been any other complaints against the company of not fulfilling the obligations and not giving a refund, could stand in good stead if in court you can say, that other customers have also face similar.

Then I would give CAB a call, they can go through most of the legalities etc with your friend as it might be that if its a sure case you can win the case, aa not sure what the limit is for a small claims court, but she could most likely also sue for compensation for ruin her day with their failure to provide what she paid for and the stress resolving the situation

I should imagine that if it's wiser to put in a larger claim (sue) any slagging they've done on social media won't do this case any good at all if it landed in court, there is always a chance they might settle out of court. This route if I'm right, it's the companies liabilities lawyers that handle in the main the decision making rather than the photographer.
 
I somehow doubt they have liability lawyers but I do agree on holding back the negative feedback until any court case has been settled. She just needs to get in with it.
 
ive just done it to a big Chinese online shopping , the got attacked on facebook and trustpilot, they said I would have to wait for 15 days , until I said the attack would continue . I getting my refund , the 1 star trust pilot every 2 days was the final straw for them.
 
Brentor said:
I somehow doubt they have liability lawyers but I do agree on holding back the negative feedback until any court case has been settled. She just needs to get in with it.
Click to expand...

Why would you doubt that pretty mush every professional photographers insurer includes that?
 
steve_lyt said:
ive just done it to a big Chinese online shopping , the got attacked on facebook and trustpilot, they said I would have to wait for 15 days , until I said the attack would continue . I getting my refund , the 1 star trust pilot every 2 days was the final straw for them.
Click to expand...

The same method does not suit all circumstances.... ... especially when it comes to comparing an offshore supplier vs a 'local' (very) small business!

IMO @Ellie Jones has laid out the most sensible steps to initiate stronger proceedings!
 
f/2.8 said:
Why would you doubt that pretty mush every professional photographers insurer includes that?
Click to expand...

Ours doesn’t :) If the facts are, they took the money and didn’t supply the goods, there is no defence. At the end of the day there is a lot of talk about what to do, the solution is to spend £70 and fill in a few boxes online at moneyclaim t takes 5mins. Most cases are dealt with way before court as the defendant usually will not have a defence but if it does, the courts are designed to get through these cases at speed, this isn’t a criminal case, the judge reads the notes asked a couple of questions and that’s it it’s done, 10mins if your lucky,

I have been there done that got many tee shirts, and on both sides, and I can tell you it’s more of a pain in the arse to be a defendant than a claimant.

So the moral of the story is do it the simple and proper way or forget about it.
 
Last edited:
Ellie Jones said:
Even though very tempting to hit the anti-social media, I would hang fire, as well if they need to go down the court route, then it might be held against them, and most likely affect any compensation that they may be able to claim on top of the refund of money.

I would ring trading standards to see if there has been any other complaints against the company of not fulfilling the obligations and not giving a refund, could stand in good stead if in court you can say, that other customers have also face similar.

Then I would give CAB a call, they can go through most of the legalities etc with your friend as it might be that if its a sure case you can win the case, aa not sure what the limit is for a small claims court, but she could most likely also sue for compensation for ruin her day with their failure to provide what she paid for and the stress resolving the situation

I should imagine that if it's wiser to put in a larger claim (sue) any slagging they've done on social media won't do this case any good at all if it landed in court, there is always a chance they might settle out of court. This route if I'm right, it's the companies liabilities lawyers that handle in the main the decision making rather than the photographer.
Click to expand...
Hi Ellie, I agree with what you have said and this is the reason why I haven't advised her to hit social media. Also, due to them changing business addresses regularly, I don't want them to get a heads up that she is pursuing the case. We have said to her that she should file a claim against them at their latest address and wait it out. She has already spoken to trading standards and CAB, the latter said that she had a good case and would most likely win, but she needs to know their correct address. I've also asked why she has waited so long and her reason was that she had other things happening such as a house move and a newborn, so the photos thing was just sidelined during that time, although she had been trying to get in touch now and again to no avail.
 
Use the registered office to contact them rather than the actual business address, it looks like they use the address of their accountants. The fact they have changed it frequently is not a good sign. Your friend just needs to get on with it.
 
Brentor said:
Use the registered office to contact them rather than the actual business address, it looks like they use the address of their accountants. The fact they have changed it frequently is not a good sign. Your friend just needs to get on with it.
Click to expand...

We have told her to crack on with it and the address we have mentioned is the registered office address, which, incidentally, she didn't use before when she tried contacting them previously. I will keep the forum updated on any progress. Thank you to everyone for your help, it's greatly appreciated.
 
It is best to judge the best probability of a successful result. The first time I initiated a small claims court case for a cancelled holiday home, the defendant did not turn up or even respond to the court so the full amount I claimed was awarded to me. However, the summons could not be delivered as he had fled the country. I then discovered that there were many more claims pending against him. So success in winning the case but I never got any money.

On another occasion I threatened to make a claim against a local Kitchen installer as my cooker had fallen apart after 5 years. The local company contacted the manufacturer who initially was inclined to do nothing. I gave the final warning and it was clear that I would go ahead. At this point the manufacturer stepped in and rectified all problems for no cost. The big difference that the manufacturer was a well known international company and the product was one of their top of the range models. They would almost certainly have lost in a small claims court and the poor publicity would have been more damaging than fixing my cooker.

Just one further thing. Did anyone else take photos/videos so at least the occasion was recorded.

Dave
 
Dave Canon said:
It is best to judge the best probability of a successful result. The first time I initiated a small claims court case for a cancelled holiday home, the defendant did not turn up or even respond to the court so the full amount I claimed was awarded to me. However, the summons could not be delivered as he had fled the country. I then discovered that there were many more claims pending against him. So success in winning the case but I never got any money.

On another occasion I threatened to make a claim against a local Kitchen installer as my cooker had fallen apart after 5 years. The local company contacted the manufacturer who initially was inclined to do nothing. I gave the final warning and it was clear that I would go ahead. At this point the manufacturer stepped in and rectified all problems for no cost. The big difference that the manufacturer was a well known international company and the product was one of their top of the range models. They would almost certainly have lost in a small claims court and the poor publicity would have been more damaging than fixing my cooker.

Just one further thing. Did anyone else take photos/videos so at least the occasion was recorded.

Dave
Click to expand...
Many of us took pictures on our phones, so she has plenty. We've got the photographers in our shots, so we can prove that they were present.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top