Andrea Halsey Portraits Reviews (%countItem)
Andrea Halsey Portraits Rating
Address: 29 Hartsfield Ct, Greensboro, North Carolina, United States, 27407-6146
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I unfortunately had a terrible experience with Andrea. I found her on *** and loved her pictures. I was looking for a photographer to do a portrait of my daughter to hang in our foyer. My recollection of our initial conversation was that the final product (canvas and frame) would cost $1,000 - $1,200. I paid her a $533 deposit over the phone. Unfortunately, we had no contract and no written documentation of this conversation.
After coming to my house, she said that to get a high end frame could cost a great deal more. I told her I would like to see frame quality options and prices once we got closer to that point in the process. After doing a 1 hour photoshoot in a park, and meeting at her in-home studio a week later to see a few images, she quoted me prices of $4,500 and $2,800, depending on size of canvas and frame selection. I told her that was a great deal more than I was expecting to pay, and asked for additional options. She didn't provide any less expensive options. I left and told her I would be getting back with her.
A few days later, I emailed her stating again that her prices were unaffordable and I would like to explore the options of just purchasing a few digital images from her. She replied two days later stating that she does not sell digital images, that I must have been thinking of a conversation with another photographer b/c the prices I were expecting were no where near what she charges, and that the $533 was not a "deposit," but a "shoot fee." She informed me that if I didn't make a decision by August, she be destroying the images and moving on to her fall clients. She redirected me to the $2,800 - $4,500 options.
At this point, I have received nothing of value for the $533 and she was not offering any sort of compromise. I replied to her email the same day, stating that if she could not provide at least one full resolution digital image (the primary one she showed me that would be the portrait) that I would have no choice but to file a charge back with my credit card. Notice that this was an offer of $533 for ONE edited, full resolution digital image. I asked her to let me know before the end of the day. This was two days ago and she has failed to respond.
I filed a dispute with my credit card this morning. I understand that there was a miscommunication between us and she was expecting to get more for the project. I was also expecting a product for a much lower amount. Unfortunately, we have no contract to know which one of us is mistaken. It is my opinion that if a photographer enters into a project with a client expecting several thousand dollars, this needs to be memorialized up front, in writing, in contract form, before any money is accepted and work completed. For context, I paid $4,500 for my wedding photographer, which included a full day of shooting (with an assistant - so two photographers), over 100 fully edited digital photos, and a wedding album. We had a contract.
I have been very disappointed with her lack of professionalism and flexibility in attempting to resolve our misunderstanding and this unfortunate issue.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. I decided to contact my client to see if there is some kind of mutual resolution to be made and left a voice message on her phone today. However, I will not be willing to give her free product as stated in her desired settlement, in exchange for her to stop with the negative reviews, complaints and chargebacks. What she is asking for is a full resolution digital file which we provide with the purchase of wall art. Since she is not purchasing wall art, she is not entitled to the full resolution digital file for free. The $500 (plus tax) session fee in question was for services rendered on July 13th. I have attached proof of service with images at the session including myself, my assistant, the client and her daughter. Other services provided included planning the session and picking out outfits as well as going to her home to take measurements of her wall for a proposed wall portrait. On July 25th, she came to my studio where I presented the blueprints to her on a projector. These services were provided over the course of a month.Additionally, I have attached a part of her email stating she was happy with the services we provided.On July 29th, as a courtesy, I sent her my blueprints so that she could use them with a photographer who will fit her budget for her wall portrait. They are mathematically to scale on her wall. I have attached these as well for your review.At this point, any further negative action she takes will be considered harassment to elicit free product. I hope that she will contact me with an appropriate resolution and will be happy to keep you updated.Again, thank you for taking the time to help small businesses and consumers alike. Please let me know if there is any further action I need to take with the Revdex.com complaint.I appreciate your help.~Andrea
I am rejecting this response because: Andrea Halsey last emailed me on July 31st, 2019. I replied to her within the hour. I offered a resolution and asked her to let me know by the end of the day. I waited two days, with no response. I initiated the charge back and have since moved on and found replacement services.
I finally heard back from Andrea on Monday, August 19th, 2019 -- 19 days after my last contact with her. In her voice mail, she mentioned experiencing some sort of unexpected "life changing" situation. While unfortunate, I had no reason to believe she was doing anything other than ignoring me, and therefore reasonably acquired replacement services based on the absence of communication.
Andrea believes that the experience of a shoot has value in and of itself, without receiving anything additional of value in return. That was NOT my understanding when I paid the $500 deposit, and I would have never paid $500 solely for the experience of having her take photographs of my child. I believed it to be a deposit for a portrait at a much lower final price than she quoted. Unfortunately for her, we have no contract memorializing our agreement.
Since I have already obtained replacement services, I have no need of her digital files, her canvases, or anything from her at all. Due to her lack of a timely response, I was forced to move on. For this reason, I am unable to cancel the charge back as the $500 was unfortunately in vain. My time was also wasted in this endeavor that never materialized as I expected.
I do hate that this unfortunate misunderstanding occurred. But I cannot remain in limbo while service providers go weeks without contact.
The client was notified of my absence due to a sensitive family matter, on July 31st. I would never ignore a client and have done my best to provide quality services rendered for her project throughout the course of a month. I am responding as requested by the Revdex.com. Since she is no longer seeking product or services from us, I believe the matter has been resolved. I wish her the best of luck completing her project elsewhere.