Wedding photographers taking far too long, are they able to provide refund?

warrenpk

Our wedding photographers have been less than professional. The wedding was in August, and we were promised the photographs and video by the start of September.

After countless emails we received the photos in December, and still have not received the video! To make it worse they were late for the photographs on the morning of the wedding!

The price is not far off the £1000 mark, and obviously we would like some of this back.

What kind of information would we need to approach them, and is there anything we can do to enforce it?

halibut2209

Are you happy to never see the video?

andycris3107

6 months is more than sufficient. The fact that you have not received anything is worrying as it may suggest an underlying problem that you aren't aware of. Here is what I would consider:

- Are you happy with the photos supplied and are they as requested or suggested when you took out the contract?

- What contract do you have with the photographer and how is it represented? Did you have a verbal contract only or a written contract with specified services to be delivered and importantly other than the suggestion of delivery in September is this documented anywhere?

- What reason has the photographer given for not supplying the video?

- Is your photographer a professional trading as such and does he have insurance?

- You mention that they were late for the wedding, what impact did this have i.e. did their being late impact the service or not. If they missed a crucial part of the ceremony or proceeding which had been agreed as part of the contract then this is significant, if this did not happen then put this out of your mind as it is not relevant.

- When considering all of the above you can determine what outcome you are looking for? Do you merely want to obtain your video or do you want a partial refund. and finally are you seeking compensation?

Once you have determined what you want you should outline this clearly in a letter or email and send this to them in the format:

What was promised contractually
What was delivered and when
What is outstanding
What you are now seeking

If you feel that the letter will go unanswered or will not result in a resolution you could consider small claims, in which case you should start your correspondence with the term 'Notice before action' to indicate that you will seek action through the small claims court in the event that they don't resolve the matter and clearly state that this will be the next step in the process if no resolution is found.

Small claims is fairly straight forward (there's a guide here on MSE here ) though it can be a little time consuming. You will need to clearly show that you have incurred loss and that compensation is warranted.