Paniolo Ranch

Complaint: My rebuttal to Paniolo Ranch’s response is as follows, taking quotes from their response: “Mr [redacted] entered into a contract with the Paniolo Ranch for a wedding on October 9, They decided about months before the wedding to cancel the wedding because their child passed awayWe are deeply sorry for their unthinkable lossBecause of this, we offered to refund 50% of their deposit, or offered to reopen the date and agreed to reimburse them 100% of their deposit upon rebooking.” Yes, the wedding was canceled SEVEN MONTHS in advance Seven months’ notice is more than sufficient to refund a deposit in full, and nowhere in that email was anything said about rebooking, that’s simply not true Please also understand that this offer was made on June 15, after many unanswered phone calls and promises to be called back dating back to the 21st of March, and a long email explaining the situation on the 25th of May It took nearly three months for Paniolo Ranch to even attempt to communicate with us about the matter “The contract says that the final payment is also non-refundableThis also refers to the depositWe tell all of our guests that the deposit is non-refundable whdn payment is made.” I’m shocked that an attorney thinks it’s ok to make assumptions about a contract, and that the final payment is the same thing as a deposit We were never told that the deposit is non-refundable What the contract DOES say is, “All refunds will be made to the person who signed the contract.” “We held this date for them for almost two months (from 2/1/until 3/21/16)Had this date been open earlier, we undoubtedly would have been able to resell it.” I’m sorry I have no control over when and where tragedies take place, nor do I have the power to sell anything for Paniolo Ranch I’m not sure why these dates are even relevant especially when it took nearly twice as long (3/21/until 6/15/16) to even address our concern “It costs our small, familyrun business about $everytime a wedding cancelsWe cannot afford to just give away money.” This is simply not true, as you don’t have any out of pocket expenses when a wedding is bookedWe are a small family that can’t afford to give away money and not receive anything for it “We offered to return the $1000, but were met with anger.” This is quite the exaggeration Please keep in mind that this response took nearly three months to receiveSee the below email correspondence, with my response below that: From: [redacted] Judy < [redacted] >Date: June 15, at 2:44:PM CDTTo: [redacted] Subject: Re: Cancelation Hi ***, After some discussion we have decided to give you back half of your deposit ($1000)We are all really sorry for troubles, but please understand that we have held this very popular date for quiet some timePlease let me know if you agree with this and we will proceed from there Have a great day! My response: From: [redacted] Date: June 16, at 9:50:AM CDTTo: [redacted] Judy < [redacted] >Subject: Re: Cancelation No, I do not agree with this This event was reserved for only a month and a half before it was canceled, and canceled more than six months in advance If this is such a popular date than I’m sure you will have no problem reserving it for another guest This is just bad business and understand that I will be taking further steps to resolve this matter “We initially offered a 50% refund of $to simply be kind, but we are redacting this offer and will continue to try to resell the dateWe are sorry for the loss, and the initial delay in answering.” This is the most contradictory statement I’ve ever read and frankly is a blatant display of arrogance “This is not a situation we have faced beforeOur policy is that we NEVER refund depositsWe were trying to be kind.” Again, nowhere in the contract is it stated that Paniolo Ranch does not refund deposits For a family run business their understanding of a family tragedy is absolutely shocking I’m also deeply disturbed that they would rather hire an attorney to respond to my complaint, rather than to just refund my deposit in the first place I have also attached the contract in full for reference with personal information blacked out to adhere to Revdex.com policy Regards, [redacted]

I am responding for the Paniolo Ranch regarding the complaint made by *** ***. Mr*** entered into a contract with the Paniolo Ranch for a wedding on October 9, 2016. They decided about months before the wedding to cancel the wedding because their child passed
away. We are deeply sorry for their unthinkable loss. Because of this, we offered to refund 50% of their deposit, or offered to reopen the date and agreed to reimburse them 100% of their deposit upon rebooking. The contract says that the final payment is also non-refundable. This also refers to the deposit. We tell all of our guests that the deposit is non-refundable whdn payment is made. Once a wedding is booked, we block off that date and it prevents us from being able to sell the wedding to anyone else. We held this date for them for almost two months (from 2/1/until 3/21/16). Had this date been open earlier, we undoubtedly would have been able to resell it. It costs our small, family-run business about $everytime a wedding cancels. We cannot afford to just give away money. We offered to return the $1000, but were met with anger We initially offered a 50% refund of $to simply be kind, but we are redacting this offer and will continue to try to resell the date We are sorry for the loss, and the initial delay in answering. This is not a situation we have faced before. Our policy is that we NEVER refund deposits. We were trying to be kind *** ** *** *** Attorney at Law

Complaint: 11514837
My rebuttal to Paniolo Ranch’s response is as follows, taking quotes from their response:
 
 
“Mr. [redacted] entered into a contract with the Paniolo Ranch for a wedding on October 9, 2016. They decided about 7 months before the wedding to cancel the wedding because their child passed away. We are deeply sorry for their unthinkable loss. Because of this, we offered to refund 50% of their deposit, or offered to reopen the date and agreed to reimburse them 100% of their deposit upon rebooking.”
 
Yes, the wedding was canceled SEVEN MONTHS in advance.  Seven months’ notice is more than sufficient to refund a deposit in full, and nowhere in that email was anything said about rebooking, that’s simply not true.  Please also understand that this offer was made on June 15, 2016 after many unanswered phone calls and promises to be called back dating back to the 21st of March, and a long email explaining the situation on the 25th of May.  It took nearly three months for Paniolo Ranch to even attempt to communicate with us about the matter.
 
“The contract says that the final payment is also non-refundable. This also refers to the deposit. We tell all of our guests that the deposit is non-refundable whdn payment is made.”
 
I’m shocked that an attorney thinks it’s ok to make assumptions about a contract, and that the final payment is the same thing as a deposit.  We were never told that the deposit is non-refundable.  What the contract DOES say is, “All refunds will be made to the person who signed the contract.”
 
“We held this date for them for almost two months (from 2/1/16 until 3/21/16). Had this date been open earlier, we undoubtedly would have been able to resell it.”
 
I’m sorry I have no control over when and where tragedies take place, nor do I have the power to sell anything for Paniolo Ranch.  I’m not sure why these dates are even relevant especially when it took nearly twice as long (3/21/16 until 6/15/16) to even address our concern.
 
“It costs our small, familyrun business about $6000 everytime a wedding cancels. We cannot afford to just give away money.”
 
This is simply not true, as you don’t have any out of pocket expenses when a wedding is booked. We are a small family that can’t afford to give away money and not receive anything for it.
 
“We offered to return the $1000, but were met with anger.”
 
This is quite the exaggeration.  Please keep in mind that this response took nearly three months to receive. See the below email correspondence, with my response below that:
 
From: [redacted] Judy <[redacted]>Date: June 15, 2016 at 2:44:08 PM CDTTo: [redacted] Subject: Re: Cancelation
Hi [redacted],
 
After some discussion we have decided to give you back half of your deposit ($1000). We are all really sorry for troubles, but please understand that we have held this very popular date for quiet some time. Please let me know if you agree with this and we will proceed from there.
 
Have a great day!
 
My response:
 
From: [redacted]Date: June 16, 2016 at 9:50:02 AM CDTTo: [redacted] Judy <[redacted]>Subject: Re: Cancelation
No, I do not agree with this.  This event was reserved for only a month and a half before it was canceled, and canceled more than six months in advance.  If this is such a popular date than I’m sure you will have no problem reserving it for another guest.  This is just bad business and understand that I will be taking further steps to resolve this matter.
 
“We initially offered a 50% refund of $1000 to simply be kind, but we are redacting this offer and will continue to try to resell the date. We are sorry for the loss, and the initial delay in answering.”
 
This is the most contradictory statement I’ve ever read and frankly is a blatant display of arrogance.
 
“This is not a situation we have faced before. Our policy is that we NEVER refund deposits. We were trying to be kind.”
 
Again, nowhere in the contract is it stated that Paniolo Ranch does not refund deposits.  For a family run business their understanding of a family tragedy is absolutely shocking.  I’m also deeply disturbed that they would rather hire an attorney to respond to my complaint, rather than to just refund my deposit in the first place.
 
I have also attached the contract in full for reference with personal information blacked out to adhere to Revdex.com policy.
 
 
Regards,[redacted]