No, you can't have your deposit back..(sheesh!)

[SoCalDem]

Woman Fights Company Over Wedding Money

Local 6 Helps Bride-To-Be Get Full Refund

POSTED: Tuesday, March 17, 2009
UPDATED: 9:15 am EDT March 18, 2009
http://www.clickorlando.com/money/18953446/detail.html#-
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Local 6 Problem Solvers help a bride-to-be fight a Central Florida company that would not refund her deposit after her fiance died suddenly from cancer. Blythe Carpenter and Jeffery Kalish, both in their 30s and whom had never been married, were engaged last May. "His big thing was that, 'I waited this long to find the right girl and get married,' so he wanted this big blowout wedding," Carpenter said. They made wedding arrangements, including deciding on flowers, the cake, the caterer and the venue. They also chose to hold the reception for their Jan. 31 wedding at CityArts Factory in downtown Orlando.

snip

But in November, Kalish became very ill.

"Dec. 12 was the day he had the exploratory surgery, and we were told right there he had cancer stage four and that it spread throughout his abdomen, so we pretty much decided we would need to cancel to wedding and maybe we could do something quick later on if chemo would have been an option," Carpenter said. On Dec. 12, Blythe's wedding planner notified all the vendors that the wedding was off -- at least for a while. All the vendors returned Blythe's deposits -- except CityArts Factory.The company said it would not return her deposit of more than $1,300 because of its strict cancellation policy, which states that there are no refunds within 60 days of the scheduled event.

"It absolutely makes no sense to me," said Carpenter, who added that she tried to appeal to a manager at CityArts Factory. "He just pretty much said everybody is in the same financial situation as you." Kalish died in mid-January, but the manager held firm. "I had to remind and say, 'I had no option in this matter.' I would pay 10 times if I could get him back and to get married, that's all we wanted to do," Carpenter said. "I just want him back. If I could have him back for one more day, one more hour, one more hug, one more kiss, one more opportunity to talk to him on the phone." The venue decided to send Carpenter a $500 refund, along with a copy of the cancellation policy, which was circled for emphasis, she said.

snip

The Problem Solvers contacted the executive director of the downtown arts district, which oversees CityArts. He agreed to fully refund Blythe's deposit, and she has already received the check. Local 6 News suggested that anyone signing a contract can put provisions or "outs" into it for protection. Also, wedding insurance is available through several carriers.

[petronius]

1. Pretty crude behavior by the vendor

The advice at the end from Local 6 News is also pretty lame; what kind of "outs" do they suggest tis couple should have added? "A full refund will be provided if one of us dies suddenly and horribly"? That may be logical, but it's a pretty huge buzzkill in the wedding arena...

[SoCalDem]

2. A good wedding planner would build it into the package

and sell it as a necessary evil, but as a normal thing, so the brides would not feel odd about it:)

[petronius]

4. I'm sure you're right, but it seems creepy to me. Still, that's why people

use professionals for things like this...

[Hello_Kitty]

3. Bad PR move on the part of that company.

At least they were smart enough to mitigate it by giving her the full refund, once the heat was applied.

Kinda along the lines of this topic: Just so people know, a lot of companies gauge grieving families. The worst offenders are airlines. Never, EVER, ask for a "bereavement" fare. Investigations have revealed that airlines actually charge a LOT more for them. If you need to make a quick flight for a death in the family, just see what the regular fare is on short notice. You'd be surprised how much cheaper it is. I found that out when my mom died. :(