WR? bad vendor

greenet

I had an event coordinator that was hired via our caterer. i have disliekd her since last fall went she refused to get us her prices after months of calling. She got back to me over the summer once or twice- each time getting everything wrong. Last week - before my wedding she finally gets back to me. Half of our order she gets wrong. They dont have all of teh rentals becaus she waited until Wednesday or Thursday to order them. We didnt get a final invoice until Friday at 330 in which it was included with our caterer. I didnt open it until 1030 pm the night before my wedding. I asked FI to look it over- he didnt- it was wrong. Payment was given. And lets just say- she was over paid $200. She refuses to render payment until she sees a signed contract- Well I thought that the one through our caterer was for her as well- so I didnt think anything of it because that is what it was. This wednesday I asked for a breakdown of costs and it was more. Our caterer was suppose to hold payment until an agreement was reached. Well he wouldnt. I didnt want to cancel the check- but I should have. I am torn. She is not on the BBB. I tried that. I could put her name on the not recommended list- which my rating already gave her an F. I am just VERY disappointed and surprised that people arent very good hearted. WWYD?

dreamalotmp

Um - Her name doesn't start with a C, does it?

greenet

It does

dreamalotmp

INTERESTING. Would you be willing to email me her name? I can tell you if it was my caterer/coordinator who owes me $16k. mem49 at pitt dot edu

greenet

YGM

hey_its_jenn

Inquiring minds would like to know if it's the same! Queeen P - i'm still down for tagging her house with you!

dreamalotmp

Not her. I would still report her to the BBB if you can. I hate when people are jerks.

greenet

I tried... she isnt registered with it because she is independent. is there another way to do it?

dreamalotmp

Hmm - not sure. Any law-type knotties know (jbean, kwynn?). Jenn - I'm still up for tagging her garage, too, but I'm also afraid of Johnny Law. :P

hey_its_jenn

Johnny Law aint got nothin' on us!

mamboqueen

ARen't you allowed to put negative vendor reviews now? There was a post on one of the boards not too long ago. I;ll go look for it

dreamalotmp

Yes - anyone can post negative vendor reviews.

d78

Hi mamboqueen! Are you new? We luuurrrve introductions! ;-)

KRMac

Sure, you can post the vendors name, etc - but if you are trying to get money back from her it might not be the best idea. 

kwynn

I'm a little confused by the details in this post. I also don't know exactly what outcome you are looking for.The BBB is primarily set up to protect the businesses, IMO. Try to register a complaint there, but if she doesn't have an actual business and is just doing this on the side, I don't know if that will work.I'd post negative reviews on weddingwire and the like sites. I'd Google her name and basically post an honest review of her wherever it appears (I think there is some sort of Google business ratings things there).She refuses to render payment until she sees a signed contract- Well I thought that the one through our caterer was for her as well- so I didnt think anything of it because that is what it was. So you don't have a signed contract with her, yet she now wants you to sign one? Does she work for the catering company or for herself?For example, did the company say "We'd like to recommend a great DOC who does work with us a lot. Her fee is XXX. Would you like to set up a meeting with her?"Or did they say "Our DOC provides services at an additional cost. Would you like to book her?"This wednesday I asked for a breakdown of costs and it was more. Our caterer was suppose to hold payment until an agreement was reached. Well he wouldnt. I didnt want to cancel the check- but I should have. Yesterday? Or a few days before your wedding? Usually, they want everything paid in full prior to your day. I'm confused by the timeline here.I am just VERY disappointed and surprised that people arent very good hearted. It is the WI, the wedding industry. It is a business and people have to be paid. If estimates were slightly off ($200) and your contract doesn't dictate how overages will be handled, the vendor isn't going to eat the costs. You have to consult your contract for this and see if they are in breach or if you are. I may not be fully understanding the situation, so if you provide more details, I'm sure we can all help you out better. :)You hired her via your caterer, which to me says she was outside your catering contract; you should have had a contract with her. Is there anything you have that puts prices in writing, etc?HTH!

greenet

our caterer said that we have to use her. she works independent of him. i contacted her in the winter of 08 for a contract. I signed one with the caterer with her fees on it. i received a contract from the caterer the night before our wedding without a cost breakdown. FI handled it and paid them the day off our wedding. I looked at it Tues after the wedding. The costs werent right for her fees. I email him. He sent me a copy of her contract that I had never seen because I thought that hers was a part of his with these fees on it. She overcharged us for two things totalling 200 dollars.She is private so she isnt on BBB. I am hoping for the over charges back. 'I am not sure there is anything that I can do because she refused to meet with me and wanted to meet with me a week before my wedding. oh well

kwynn

It is possible that her prices went up over the course of a year. $200 is not a big jump, especially if it was going towards linens, etc, and not her fees. What kind of caterer did you use that forces you to use a DOC that is independent of their company? You can send a certified letter asking for your money back and detailing why. But it seems as though you were at fault as well, not carefully reading the invoice. I would suggest that she meet you halfway as there were miscommunication on both sides of the fence here. Perhaps she will agree to give you back $100?

greenet

thanks- ill see. i guess you can say we were at fault. I just assumed that the fees were for the heaters for last weekend  - not an increase in her fees that were contracted for already. I even asked her the alst time we spoke about her fees and she said that is what it was- I feel played.

greenet

thanks for your insight into the situation