Wedding was cancelled due to Sandy - venue has not issued refund yet!

wedgirl853

Hi Ladies,

I am reluctant to name the wedding venue here. 

My fiance and I were supposed to have been married in Sea Bright on November 3rd.  Due to Sandy, the wedding was cancelled, the venue was damaged and not re-opening.
 
We have been assured by the venue owner that we would get the money already paid refunded.  However, this owner claims everything has to be done through their insurance and as of right now "does not have the money." 

Am I wrong to think it is unfair that we have to wait for this venue to go through their insurance before they can pay their customers back?

My fiance and I own a property in Sea Bright as well and have supposed losses too.  We are going with a different venue for a 2013 wedding and I need this money back before we pay the second venue. 

We plan to sue this venue if they don't return the money in 30 days. 

Smitten2012

Hi - I am so sorry you are going throught this - I cant even imagine the frustration!

Unfortunately i don't have any words of advice as I have no idea about the laws regarding something like that are.
 
Just wanted to say good luck to you and really hope it all works out!

P.s. maybe get in contact with the town's court and see if they have any advice before you spend more money on legal counsel, etc....

dandelionsgirl

Do you have wedding insurance?  If so you can get the money to secure a new venue without having to wait for the refund.

gelaine22

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_wedding-was-cancelled-due-to-sandy-venue-has-not-issued-refund-yet?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:cf3bc15c-5a23-45b1-aa40-362ee23b5f0dPost:ec940cb3-a5ed-477d-b5ca-9c2934b76901">Wedding was cancelled due to Sandy - venue has not issued refund yet!</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi Ladies, I am reluctant to name the wedding venue here.  My fiance and I were supposed to have been married in Sea Bright on November 3rd.  Due to Sandy, the wedding was cancelled, the venue was damaged and not re-opening.   We have been assured by the venue owner that we would get the money already paid refunded.  However, this owner claims everything has to be done through their insurance and as of right now "does not have the money."  Am I wrong to think it is unfair that we have to wait for this venue to go through their insurance before they can pay their customers back? My fiance and I own a property in Sea Bright as well and have supposed losses too.  We are going with a different venue for a 2013 wedding and I need this money back before we pay the second venue.  We plan to sue this venue if they don't return the money in 30 days. 
Posted by wedgirl853[/QUOTE]

I also have never gone through this but have u mentioned your intent to pursue this through the courts to your venue? I'm thinking maybe they will reimburse you if you do that? I could be wrong though. It sounds as though they do not have the money to give back to you which is why they need the insurance company to do it.

I think by the time you get to court with them their insurance may have already refunded you the money. Also, have you contacted their insurance yourself? I'm sure you can obtain that information. It seems unfair that you have to wait but you now dont have the funds to book another venue and the clock is ticking.

GiGiV2012

Maybe check with Help me Howard or 7 on your Side or some of those other local news programs. See if they can help.

HobokensFury

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_wedding-was-cancelled-due-to-sandy-venue-has-not-issued-refund-yet?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:cf3bc15c-5a23-45b1-aa40-362ee23b5f0dPost:87094abb-8ce8-42c1-ac53-3a279a9a0d0e">Re: Wedding was cancelled due to Sandy - venue has not issued refund yet!</a>:
[QUOTE]Maybe check with Help me Howard or 7 on your Side or some of those other local news programs. See if they can help.
Posted by GiGiV2012[/QUOTE]

7 on your side recently (maybe 3 weeks ago) went after the Pantagis Renaissance for the exact same thing. They got all of the couple's money back.

wedgirl853

We issued them a certified letter yesterday, stating that if the money is not returned within 30 days, we will pursue legal action.  We can go through small claims court and won't need a lawyer if it comes to that.  Hopefully, we can get our funds back in 30 days.  I thought about contacting their insurance directly, that is a good idea.  Just need to find out what insurance they use.  We do not have wedding insurance.  Thanks ladies - I will hope for the best! 

JoanE2012

Hope you get your money back!  Our wedding was also affected by Sandy, but we were fortunately able to reschedule for December.  I couldn't image having to find a new venue (with money locked up with the original venue!) in addition to the usual rescheduling nightmares.  Good luck!

JoanE2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_wedding-was-cancelled-due-to-sandy-venue-has-not-issued-refund-yet?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:cf3bc15c-5a23-45b1-aa40-362ee23b5f0dPost:9ed328f8-a7e2-447f-bb45-9f733d0a36ab">Re: Wedding was cancelled due to Sandy - venue has not issued refund yet!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Wedding was cancelled due to Sandy - venue has not issued refund yet! : 7 on your side recently (maybe 3 weeks ago) went after the Pantagis Renaissance for the exact same thing. They got all of the couple's money back.
Posted by HobokenBride2012[/QUOTE]

I cringed when I originally read this story with the Pantagis couple.  They paid the full balance 19 days before the wedding when it wasn't due until 3 days before.  This is a good reminder why it's not always good to pay early!  You never know what could happen.

Also not sure why the venue said they were cancelling on them.....and why they didn't offer a reschedule.  Our venue didn't cancel on us when there was no power.....they simply offered us options for new dates.  If we refused them all, I suppose they could've kept the money they did have. Acts of God were mentioned in most of my contracts.

HappyGem84

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_wedding-was-cancelled-due-to-sandy-venue-has-not-issued-refund-yet?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:cf3bc15c-5a23-45b1-aa40-362ee23b5f0dPost:9ed328f8-a7e2-447f-bb45-9f733d0a36ab">Re: Wedding was cancelled due to Sandy - venue has not issued refund yet!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Wedding was cancelled due to Sandy - venue has not issued refund yet! : 7 on your side recently (maybe 3 weeks ago) went after the Pantagis Renaissance for the exact same thing. They got all of the couple's money back.
Posted by HobokenBride2012[/QUOTE]


OH wow I heard about that story on nj.com! I'm so glad to hear they got their money back!

ktbelle09

I am also having a situation now.  My wedding was scheduled for November 3 in NJ.  (I live in NC!)  Due to Sandy, we had to reschedule and May 4 is the only date that worked with all of my vendors.  Just last week, my florist told me that I will be charged an entire new fee.  I don't know what to do!  I don't have the money to give to them and they already have all my money from before!  He told me he had ordered all of my flowers and had to throw everything out, so he is charging me for all of that, plus a whole new wedding!  It's unbelievable.  Isn't that what he should have insurance for??