Great Valley Catering, Incorporated

Wednesday, June 18, 2014Dear ***,Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaintI am in receipt of your letter today concerning ID # [redacted] , a complaint that was submitted on Friday, 6/13/from [redacted] regarding "selling practices." This involved a cancelled wedding ceremony and reception scheduled for Sunday, 6/22/14, for her son [redacted] and bride-to-be, [redacted] and our businessI have enclosed all of the email responses since I was notified of the cancellation on Monday, 6/9/I have also enclosed copies of the pages of the contract where our policies on cancellations are stated twice in the contract, her name and signature and copies of both refunded checks with dates, amounts, etcthat were sent back to herI have also enclosed copies of all of the checks that she paid amounts with[redacted] 's first email about the cancellation was sent on 6/9/at 8:44PM, which I did not read until Tuesday morning on 6/10/Upon reading the cancellation notice, I immediately responded by calling (upon notice of the cancellation, this was the only phone call between us) ** [redacted] knowing that her son is a marine living on the West coast in California and that they all must have been very upset to have to cancel the wedding just days priorI did not call anyone else as I did not have any information i.eaddress or phone number for the yrold bride-to-be, [redacted] or her mother (who also signed the contract) and have not heard from themAll along, ** [redacted] was in charge and did all of the corresponding/planning with meI surmise that this is because she and her husband were paying for all of the expenses and she had her name on the contract as well as signed the contract being the mother of [redacted] , the groom-to-be, their son.During that phone conversation, I advised her that this had happened beforeBeing in business some years, a few times when a client had paid all monies due and had to cancel and despite our contractual agreement, what we had done is given the jilted customers who had made the payments, a credit for the amount paid (minus an administrative fee) toward a future event.That is also what was offered to them via my email on 6/10/at 5:57PM as well as return of their security deposit (check #***; see enclosed copy), etc.As one can see from the emails, on that same Tuesday, 6/10/14, minutes after my initial response, she was requesting that we give them all of the food as compensation for the cancellationOn the same day at 9:58PM, my response was that per our contract, rather than them loose all of the monies that were paid, this was our offer; a full credit towards another eventShe responds again on Thursday, 6/12/at almost 5PM now requesting a refund that she had calculated and figured outPrior to the refund figures in the email, she states that she has contacted an attorney and also ends the email asking for "an immediate response." She emails again on Friday, 6/13/at almost 11AM with the same mentions of a lawyer, court, a response from a business owner (where the rehearsal dinner was supposed to take place) writing his/her alleged response to whatever ** [redacted] told this person and the same proposal for a financial refundI responded about minutes later informing her that our business had been reviewing a response and that I was too busy on Friday going into three events over the weekend including that day, to give her our responseI informed her that I would respond to her on Monday, 6/16/14.As promised on Monday, 6/16/14,responded to her at 5:39PMCheck # [redacted] was sent to her dated the same day and mailed the next for the amount that she asked forThere have been no further emails from ** [redacted] after this last email from meApparently, she had already complained to your department on Friday, 6/13/at 5:07PM when I had informed her that day at 11:47AM that I would respond back to her on MondayAs you can see, all was resolved just the way she asked for it in only one week’s time.** [redacted] did not give us much time to consider responses to this situationShe even mentions in her complaint to the Revdex.com that allegedly, according to someone at " [redacted] ***," "the vendor only accepted Check which the bank ( [redacted] ***] stated is fraudulantely able to try and keep the monies, by not accepting credit card for all paymenis harder for retrieval." Since when is accepting a check for payments fraudulent? She complied and sent all of the enclosed payments via checks without ever any mention of being disgruntled over the form of payment (see enclosed copies of payments with checks) until she wanted money back.She was also contractually agreeable (since 1/11/when they bought the date and it was off the market; see enclosed contract) to all policies and payments prior to what she ambiguously says is the sole reason for the cancellation; her son's military activationThis is based on her word only with no other proof of military activation or reason for the cancellationOur business is also appalled that she is allegedly out in the community speaking to various individuals and telling them who knows what to be getting such responses when the situation does not involve them and was not even resolved with her yet (which we believe is now resolved in a matter of a week's time)She received exactly what she asked forShe also threatened us with a lawsuit and going to the newsWe hadn't even had a chance to consider or respond in a timely manner, which we had to do under duress with threat of a lawsuit and media involvement.My husband and I are the owners of this companyWe are both born in the USA and are citizens whose deceased fathers had served in the militaryWe understand the sacrifice these men and women are making on our behalf, which is why I immediately calledWe are in no way unsympathetic to the situation and hope that this is the true and only reason for this cancellation.Contractually, we have explained that upon cancellation, any and ALL payments are non-refundable (ppl & of the enclosed copies of the contract)A sample of our contract is given to all prospective customers prior to any signed contract, which ** [redacted] was given and had in her possession to read in advance of contracting with our business.We feel that we have fairly resolved this situation, do not have unfair "selling practices" and were placed under duress even making any decision regarding this situationBased on her informing us of responses from individuals, we also believe that unfortunately, defamation of character is taking place in the communityEven her complaint to the Revdex.com, as proven via the enclosed copies of the signed contract, email dates and times, was untrue and premature to what we consider final resolution of the situation.I look forward to your response and again, thank you for allowing us to give a response.Sincerely,

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted] PS - I would have gladly provided such papers for proof - as mentioned, this is a loss on both ends.  Information on troops now heading to [redacted] were in paper 4 days after my son was told to " be ready '  - anyway, yes, they did provide a check for the minimum requested and I did lose out on almost $10000 and I believe that was a fair agreement.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014Dear **. [redacted],Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint. I am in receipt of your letter today concerning ID #[redacted], a complaint that was submitted on Friday, 6/13/14 from [redacted] regarding "selling practices." This involved a...

cancelled wedding ceremony and reception scheduled for Sunday, 6/22/14, for her son [redacted] and bride-to-be, [redacted] and our business. I have enclosed all of the email responses since I was notified of the cancellation on Monday, 6/9/14. I have also enclosed copies of the pages of the contract where our policies on cancellations are stated twice in the contract, her name and signature and copies of both refunded checks with dates, amounts, etc. that were sent back to her. I have also enclosed copies of all of the checks that she paid amounts with.[redacted]'s first email about the cancellation was sent on 6/9/14 at 8:44PM, which I did not read until Tuesday morning on 6/10/14. Upon reading the cancellation notice, I immediately responded by calling (upon notice of the cancellation, this was the only phone call between us) **. [redacted] knowing that her son is a marine living on the West coast in California and that they all must have been very upset to have to cancel the wedding just 13 days prior. I did not call anyone else as I did not have any information i.e. address or phone number for the 17 yr. old bride-to-be, [redacted] or her mother (who also signed the contract) and have not heard from them. All along, **. [redacted] was in charge and did all of the corresponding/planning with me. I surmise that this is because she and her husband were paying for all of the expenses and she had her name on the contract as well as signed the contract being the mother of [redacted], the groom-to-be, their son.During that phone conversation, I advised her that this had happened before. Being in business some 14 years, a few times when a client had paid all monies due and had to cancel and despite our contractual agreement, what we had done is given the jilted customers who had made the payments, a credit for the amount paid (minus an administrative fee) toward a future event.That is also what was offered to them via my email on 6/10/14 at 5:57PM as well as return of their security deposit (check #[redacted]; see enclosed copy), etc.As one can see from the emails, on that same Tuesday, 6/10/14, 14 minutes after my initial response, she was requesting that we give them all of the food as compensation for the cancellation. On the same day at 9:58PM, my response was that per our contract, rather than them loose all of the monies that were paid, this was our offer; a full credit towards another event. She responds again on Thursday, 6/12/14 at almost 5PM now requesting a refund that she had calculated and figured out. Prior to the refund figures in the email, she states that she has contacted an attorney and also ends the email asking for "an immediate response." She emails again on Friday, 6/13/14 at almost 11AM with the same mentions of a lawyer, court, a response from a business owner (where the rehearsal dinner was supposed to take place) writing his/her alleged response to whatever **. [redacted] told this person and the same proposal for a financial refund. I responded about 51 minutes later informing her that our business had been reviewing a response and that I was too busy on Friday going into three events over the weekend including that day, to give her our response. I informed her that I would respond to her on Monday, 6/16/14.As promised on Monday, 6/16/14,1 responded to her at 5:39PM. Check #[redacted] was sent to her dated the same day and mailed the next for the amount that she asked for. There have been no further emails from **. [redacted] after this last email from me. Apparently, she had already complained to your department on Friday, 6/13/14 at 5:07PM when I had informed her that day at 11:47AM that I would respond back to her on Monday. As you can see, all was resolved just the way she asked for it in only one week’s time.**. [redacted] did not give us much time to consider responses to this situation. She even mentions in her complaint to the Revdex.com that allegedly, according to someone at "[redacted]," "the vendor only accepted Check which the bank ([redacted]] stated is fraudulantely able to try and keep the monies, by not accepting credit card for all payments-it is harder for retrieval." Since when is accepting a check for payments fraudulent? She complied and sent all of the enclosed payments via checks without ever any mention of being disgruntled over the form of payment (see enclosed copies of payments with checks) until she wanted money back.She was also contractually agreeable (since 1/11/14 when they bought the date and it was off the market; see enclosed contract) to all policies and payments prior to what she ambiguously says is the sole reason for the cancellation; her son's military activation. This is based on her word only with no other proof of military activation or reason for the cancellation. Our business is also appalled that she is allegedly out in the community speaking to various individuals and telling them who knows what to be getting such responses when the situation does not involve them and was not even resolved with her yet (which we believe is now resolved in a matter of a week's time). She received exactly what she asked for. She also threatened us with a lawsuit and going to the news. We hadn't even had a chance to consider or respond in a timely manner, which we had to do under duress with threat of a lawsuit and media involvement.My husband and I are the owners of this company. We are both born in the USA and are citizens whose deceased fathers had served in the military. We understand the sacrifice these men and women are making on our behalf, which is why I immediately called. We are in no way unsympathetic to the situation and hope that this is the true and only reason for this cancellation.Contractually, we have explained that upon cancellation, any and ALL payments are non-refundable (ppl & 3 of the enclosed copies of the contract). A sample of our contract is given to all prospective customers prior to any signed contract, which **. [redacted] was given and had in her possession to read in advance of contracting with our business.We feel that we have fairly resolved this situation, do not have unfair "selling practices" and were placed under duress even making any decision regarding this situation. Based on her informing us of responses from individuals, we also believe that unfortunately, defamation of character is taking place in the community. Even her complaint to the Revdex.com, as proven via the enclosed copies of the signed contract, email dates and times, was untrue and premature to what we consider final resolution of the situation.I look forward to your response and again, thank you for allowing us to give a response.Sincerely,