Wedding venue problems - want to cancel.

beks · 6 September 2009 at 7:55AM

Hi (reposting as I think I posted in the wrong place previously - sorry!)

Newbie to these boards to please bear with me!!

My fiance and I booked a wedding venue in May this year, we paid £5000 upfront - at the time I loved the venue and the owners were very pushy at getting us to enter into an agreement. We are due to get married in July next year and although, I know this is a long way off, I wanted to start getting things organised. We had no receipt and we have never signed anything as we paid by card over the phone. However, the money has been taken out our account as it is shown on card statements (not credit card unfortunately).

Anyway, I have spent 2 months trying to get hold of them (by phone and email) as we had no receipt of the money paid and finally have and they have turned round and told me that they have no record of us and have no paper work etc etc. I am fuming and I have had it and dont want to get married there. Their attitude has been very rude and no aplogies have been made for this - just an email telling me to supply them with full names, addresses, date of wedding and what was agreed with the manager.

Since being unable to contact them I have read some horrendous reviews and I really dont want to get married there, I am so scared that my wedding will be ruined. I am fuming but we have paid an extortionate amount of money and I have no idea whether we could get it back. We cannot afford to lose that money but I dont wish to pay it to incompetent people who have no record of us, I could not rely on them to get the rest of the day right.

Has anyone got any advice, I am already totally wrecked with this and dont know where to start.

karen_newcastle · 6 September 2009 at 10:20AM

I would start by arranging a face to face meeting with the manager of the venue. Take your bank statements to the venue and ask for a full refund as they have messed you around. I would also ring your bank and explain the situation to them. They maybe abe to help.

Good luck...by the way £5000 is a MASSIVE desposit to pay :-(

svjenni · 6 September 2009 at 10:33AM

...especially with no recipt or paperwork

you need a meeting asap with as much proof as you can gather together however I would go in with the idea that you want your booking, not that you want to cancel.

If you go in saying you want to cancel and you have no proof you paid anything then I can only see you being out of pocket as the end result

lindaatno9 · 6 September 2009 at 10:51AM

If they've taken money from you it is their responsability to provide a receipt. You have a statement showing who the money has been paid to, so suggest they get their finger out and sort it!!

beks · 6 September 2009 at 12:05PM

Yes they have taken the money, the thing that gets me is that they are not willing to apologise or admit to doing anything wrong, they are just requesting all the information and details of what we booked, including our names, addresses, how much we paid and for what I dont even know if they have booked the date of our wedding to someone else. I am so angry that I really can't even think of having our wedding there - particularly as the reviews I have read since having all these problems have been horrific!
Karen, yes we know that is a HUGE deposit, but it was a pay upfront scheme to save money and it has paid for everything. We are by no means well off but that was OHs savings. The thing that gets me the most is that the manager has been avoiding my calls and emails for 2 months now and now he has got someone else to email me for all the information. I am fuming - it seems like we have picked the wrong person to have a disagreement with though as everyone has told me he is arrogant and money grabbing. Wish I knew all this before we booked. I feel like my day has been ruined already and there is no way out. :-(

Herbiecat · 6 September 2009 at 12:08PM

Have you been to talk to them face to face and shown them proof that the payment went through? Mistakes happen and maybe the proof would sort it.

beks · 6 September 2009 at 12:26PM

Thanks fir the reply, no we havent met them as the manager has been avoiding my calls and emails and apparently is 'too busy'. The only time i have heard from this is yesterday, after 6 weeks of ringing, to say they have no record of us. Yes, I understand mistakes do happen but not to apologise and avoid the issue is what is the problem. I just cannot go through with having the wedding with them, I have lost all faith in them and would be so worried that more will go wrong. We have printed off the bank statements and it says their venue in black and white so I dont see how they can deny they have the money but I also dont know if we can get it back.

Herbiecat · 6 September 2009 at 12:42PM

Sorry but if I had been trying to contact a place that I had given £5000 to for 6 weeks, id have paid em a visit with my receipts and asked them what the hecks going on.

Go and see them today or tomorrow and don't leave until its sorted.

If if given someone £5000, if be camping out on their doorstep!!!

beks · 6 September 2009 at 12:57PM

Herbiecat wrote: »

Sorry but if I had been trying to contact a place that I had given £5000 to for 6 weeks, id have paid em a visit with my receipts and asked them what the hecks going on.

Go and see them today or tomorrow and don't leave until its sorted.

If if given someone £5000, if be camping out on their doorstep!!!

LOL!!! Yeah, I know, , normally I would have but for some reason I presumed it was all ok. Daft I know and believe me, I regret it but am heading there this afternoon to get some answers. Got to be strong though as normally I am a pushover!!! If no joy today, I will be going to CAB tomorrow as well and see if they can advise at all. Now I feel like a complete idiot as well losing my faith in the venue!!! :embarasse

svjenni · 6 September 2009 at 1:10PM

I don't know anything about this sort of thing so please take my advice with a pinch of salt, but i'd think about having a chat with trading standards too

chaosweddings · 6 September 2009 at 3:11PM

This happened to a couple i was working with last year, they paid the deposit which was a large sum and left it at that, the wedding co-ordinator in the hotel said everthing was booked and they need not worry about anything until closer to the date.....

they had to send invites out early as alot of the guests were coming from overseas and rang up to book rooms only to find that the hotel did not have a wedding booked on that date for mr and miss x but mr and miss z.
the couple rang the hotel and finally found out after about 50 phone calls and numerous visits that the in hotel wedding co-ordinator who had since left had not put the wedding date onto the computer and therfore had booked the date out to another couple.

luckily they had took out wedding insurance and it covered the deposit and booked a venue elsewhere , i now insist that all couples i work with have wedding insurance !

also the so called wedding co-ordinator was a youngish girl who used to be the receptionist and took on the role as a wedding co-ordinator with no training or experiance in co-ordinating weddings.

my advice would be to go to the hotel with the proof you have of the maoney being taken from your account and demand a refund if they wont do this contact trading standards , also get wedding insurance asap from £49

hope it works out for you

Wedding venue problems - want to cancel.

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