Rebecca McCoy Photography

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I do not want credits for money that I paid above and beyond what was required at booking No services were renderedShe can keep the depositI would not like a credit for services Who is to say that she doesn't go out of business soon? Then I would be left with a piece of paper worth absolutely nothingI should of only paid what was required for the deposit and not tried to save any money with Rebecca Again, she should of informed me when I paid in FULL that she does not give back any money when an event is cancelled She should clarify this on her contract and add it to her cancellation section of the policy My personal relationships and state has nothing to do with the situation and I have not had any disputes with any other vendor (church, catering, reception venue) in regards to my wedding cancellation This is because their contracts are clear and not misleadingThere are months left before the scheduled date I'm sure she could fill the date if she wanted toShe already gets to keep a deposit for putting my name down on a date for weeksRegardless of the event (wedding, personal, funeral, baby shower), I do not believe Rebecca should keep all monies if NO services are rendered I also have the contract and again, it is very misleadingIt states that is non-refundableIt does not state was non-refundableThe wedding coordinator for the venue who said that is wasn't misleading was the one that recommended Rebecca McCoy and it is reasonable to assume that the venue receives a portion of the fee from any services provided through the photographers on the listThis is a biased opinion We did speak once on the phone That was after I called Rebecca initially to inform her of the cancellation She did not answer and then she called me back, to which she then said she would send me an email in which she tried to offer a creditIn the last correspondence with the church wedding coordinator before this formal complaint, the wedding coordinator said she would have Rebecca McCoy call me She did not call Regards, [redacted]

Understandably, my client is terribly upset about the recent breakup with her fiancéI can only assume that this is the reason she that we have not correspondedIn fact, I still have emails and text messages with her In addition, my phone bills indicate we also talked by phone It is never a pleasant event--for the client or the photographer-- when a bride and groom breakup, or an event is canceled I do value my clients and take steps to avoid misunderstandingsI have been in business for more than yearsMy photography contract, which this person signed, states clearly, that I do not refund money but provide a credit toward photography servicesThis practice is common in the photography industryI turned down other work, which included another wedding, for this date (documented)This person did contact [redacted] and they ruled: "I do not find Rebecca's contract misleading Right above your signature is the clause regarding 'no money refunds only credits in services...I understand this is a common practice in that industry." I tried to work with my client, by agreeing to allow her to make monthly payments--which is not a common practice in the photography industryAs far as the decision to pay the contract in full; it was made by the clientI received a text message from the client on June 11, at 3: pm, stating: "was thinking about it and I think I just wanna pay in full to save money and not have to worry about paymentsCan you send me the invoice for that when u can?" Once the client began to become more aggressive, I limited my correspondence with her to writingI was in a major car accident on June 14, when I was rear-ended by a drunk driver going mph on the highwayI explained about the accident and that my doctor instructed me to avoid conversations that were not constructiveAnd, although I was on medical leave, I still corresponded with my client--even on days that my office is closed I have in my possession a signed contractThe sentence just above the client's signature (in a sentence standalone paragraph) reads: "The parties have read the above listed agreement and agree to the terms and conditionsRebecca McCoy Photography gives no money refunds only credits in services." I am terribly sorry that my client broke up with her fiancé; and regret that our once friendly relationship has deterioratedI have honored my contractI have also agreed to let her sell my credit for photography services--which is not required of me in my contract I do have, and can provide documentation for everything stated above

I am not writing this review because I want something from Rebecca I am writing this review to share with others how bad her customer service is I emailed Rebecca to get pricing and see if she would be available on the day of my upcoming wedding to take photos I told her I got off work around PM and asked if she could call me so I could ask her a few questions I was unable to answer the phone the times she called due to getting off work late and being in a school zone picking up my son I received a rude email from her stating she "hopes she never hears from me again" shortly after the second phone call I hope that others think twice before contacting her

Please see how the contract does not talk about "only credit instead of monetary refund" when explaining the cancellation policy.
Also note how the right of withdrawal section notes that Rebecca McCoy does return all fees except the deposit (I understand this is referring to her deciding to cancel, however, this alludes that in case of cancellation, the remaining fee would be returned).  
Under Payments, it again states that 1299 is the non-refundable portion.
Under reservation, it also states that only the deposit is non-refundable even when paid in full.
No where in the contract does it even list the amount that I paid her, which is 2448.00.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I do not want credits for money that I paid above and beyond what was required at booking.  No services were rendered. She can keep the deposit. I would not like a credit for services.  Who is to say that she doesn't go out of business soon? Then I would be left with a piece of paper worth absolutely nothing. I should of only paid what was required for the deposit and not tried to save any money with Rebecca.  Again, she should of informed me  when I paid in FULL that she does not give back any money when an event is cancelled.  She should clarify this on her contract and add it to her cancellation section of the policy.
My personal relationships and state has nothing to do with the situation and I have not had any disputes with any other vendor (church, catering, reception venue) in regards to my wedding cancellation.  This is because their contracts are clear and not misleading. There are 8 months left before the scheduled date.  I'm sure she could fill the date if she wanted to. She already gets to keep a 1299.00 deposit for putting my name down on a date for 6 weeks. Regardless of the event (wedding, personal, funeral, baby shower), I do not believe Rebecca should keep all monies if NO services are rendered. 
I also have the contract and again, it is very misleading. It states that 1299 is non-refundable. It does not state 2448 was non-refundable. The wedding coordinator for the venue who said that is wasn't misleading was the one that recommended Rebecca McCoy and it is reasonable to assume that the venue receives a portion of the fee from any services provided through the photographers on the list. This is a biased opinion. 
We did speak once on the phone.  That was after I called Rebecca initially to inform her of the cancellation.  She did not answer and then she called me back, to which she then said she would send me an email in which she tried to offer a credit. In the last correspondence with the church wedding coordinator before this formal complaint, the wedding coordinator said she would have Rebecca McCoy call me.  She did not call.  
Regards,
[redacted]

Understandably, my client is terribly upset about the recent
breakup with her fiancé. I can only assume that this is the reason she that we
have not corresponded. In fact, I still have emails and text messages with her.
In addition, my phone bills indicate we also talked...

by phone.  It is never a pleasant event--for the client
or the photographer-- when a bride and groom breakup, or an event is canceled.    
I do value my clients and take steps to avoid
misunderstandings. I have been in business for more than 20 years. My
photography contract, which this person signed, states clearly, that I do not
refund money but provide a credit toward photography services. This practice is
common in the photography industry. I turned down other work, which included
another wedding, for this date (documented). This person did contact [redacted] and they ruled: "I do not find Rebecca's contract misleading.
Right above your signature is the clause regarding 'no money refunds only
credits in services...I understand this is a common practice in that
industry."    
I tried to work with my client, by agreeing to allow her to
make monthly payments--which is not a common practice in the photography
industry. As far as the decision to pay the contract in full; it was made by
the client. I received a text message from the client on June 11, 2014 at 3:45
pm, stating: "was thinking about it and I think I just wanna pay in full
to save money and not have to worry about payments. Can you send me the invoice
for that when u can?"
Once the client began to become more aggressive, I limited
my correspondence with her to writing. I was in a major car accident on June
14, 2014 when I was rear-ended by a drunk driver going 95 mph on the highway. I
explained about the accident and that my doctor instructed me to avoid
conversations that were not constructive. And, although I was on medical leave,
I still corresponded with my client--even on days that my office is closed.     
I have in my possession a signed contract. The sentence just
above the client's signature (in a 2 sentence standalone paragraph) reads:
"The parties have read the above listed agreement and agree to the terms
and conditions. Rebecca McCoy Photography gives no money refunds only credits
in services."     
I am terribly sorry that my client broke up with her fiancé;
and regret that our once friendly relationship has deteriorated. I have honored
my contract. I have also agreed to let her sell my credit for photography
services--which is not required of me in my contract.       
I do have, and can provide documentation for everything
stated above.