Robert C Van Guten

Thank you for your correspondence per alleged complaint ID #[redacted]. In sum, we will not be issuing the complainant's request of a refund in the amount of $205.80, nor a future credit of said amount to be used at a later date. We respectfully disagree with the complainant's perspective; the...

decision to not provide a refund or credit is in alignment with our special event vendor policies, of which, very clearly delineate that no refunds will be issued in such circumstances as directly outlined in the complaint. Upon application to participate in any of our special events, each applicant must agree to the aforementioned terms and conditions. As a producer of special events for over 30 years, these terms and conditions have been crafted through experience. As such, we do appreciate the complainant's perspective, as well as the consideration of time by Revdex.com staff, as the DBA strives to continually improve our processes. The DBA produces 75+ days of community programming each year in the form of special events, festivals and business promotions.  Many of these productions feature areas for onsite exhibitors and vendors.  Many of the events take place outdoors. As such, in the case of inclement weather, there is no guarantee that cancelled events will be rescheduled. In 2017, the DBA hosted and worked with over 250+ vendors onsite at our event productions.  To note, complaint ID # [redacted] is the lone complaint received within recent years per this scenario, or similar, involving onsite vendors.  In this specific case, the complainant applied to be onsite at an event on May 20, 2017. However, due to a snowstorm and inclement weather, this event was cancelled. On June 7th, the DBA announced that the previously cancelled event had been rescheduled for September 23, 2017. All vendors and exhibitor applicants were notified of the date reschedule. And even though it is outside of normal vendor exhibitor policy, the DBA extended a one-time-offer to honor previous vendors' application fees from the cancelled date in May.  As a show of goodwill, any participant who applied for the original date of May 20th would be honored on the rescheduled date of September 23rd.  Upon receiving the announcement that the event had been rescheduled, the complainant contacted DBA staff and requested a refund of $205.80, citing a date conflict. At that time, DBA staff re-explained our special event refund policy, wherein no refunds would be issued from the cancelled date, but that we would honor the application fee at the new September date. Upon hearing that the DBA would not be giving the complainant a refund or future credit, the complainant then backtracked on the date conflict and said that they would make it to the newly rescheduled date and be onsite as an exhibitor on September 23rd. As the ensuing weeks passed by, DBA staff had no further correspondence with the complainant. During this time, DBA staff planned to host the complainant onsite on September 23rd. However, shortly before the re-scheduled event date, the complainant's husband called and once again said that their company had a date conflict and could not attend our event on September 23rd. The complainant's husband then repeated the complainant's original request and asked for a refund or credit. DBA staff once again explained that production policy does not encompass his request.  We had already went above and beyond in a gesture of goodwill to not only reschedule the event but also honor previously applied vendor application fees.In sum, the DBA regrets that the complainant experienced frustration through this unique circumstance but will not be offering a refund or credit.  We also appreciate the Revdex.com's communication efforts and attention-to-detail in this matter. Please write or call anytime if questions arise or if we can further assist.