What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Carolina
Hello, and thank you for reading this. I really appreciate any help you can give!
My wife and I married just a few weeks ago, and hired a photographer for the event. When we signed the contract, she required a down payment of half of the contract (about $1600), which we paid. As part of the deal, we did one engagement photosession, several months before the wedding.
About 1 month to day before our wedding, the photographer e-mailed my wife saying she had broken up with her boyfriend, whom she had been working with. Per the contract, we were to have 2 photographers, so she wanted to give us a deal since we wouldn't be getting 2 photographers for our big day. This deal, however, was never amended to the contract, even though the contract explicitly states any changes need to be amended in writing and signed. We e-mailed saying this would be fine, however we never heard back from the photographer.
Two weeks later (and exactly two weeks before the wedding), my mother-in-law e-mailed the photographer to ask where to send the final balance. This e-mail bounced back as undeliverable. Naturally we tried to call the photographer. Her phone was disconnected and she no longer lived at the address we had for her (which we had because of where we sent the first check). She also shut down her website and Facebook accounts. Naturally, this was pretty stressful. We spent the next two days (a weekend) scouring for her on the internet. After two days of searching and no luck, we decided to hire another photographer, whom we met with to discuss the arrangements for the wedding.
The next day, the old photographer finally texted us with a new number. She explained that she had dissolved her business because it reminded of her ex-boyfriend, who left her for another woman. She called my mother-in-law various names and was obviously emotionally unstable from the break-up. We tried to work with her, and we demanded a new contract. She refused and no new contract was created.
Even though we tried to work with her, we had already hired a new photographer who set our date aside. We then signed a contract with her 10 days before the wedding. We of course let the first photographer know she was fired at this time.
Now, this photographer is threatening to sue us, 3 weeks after our wedding! Even though she dissolved her business, her name was on the contract. She has already received half of the amount, which we were not going to try to get back. Hopefully someone on this forum will have some advice on how we can proceed. Please let me know if you need any more information.
- Dave
Hello, and thank you for reading this. I really appreciate any help you can give!
My wife and I married just a few weeks ago, and hired a photographer for the event. When we signed the contract, she required a down payment of half of the contract (about $1600), which we paid. As part of the deal, we did one engagement photosession, several months before the wedding.
About 1 month to day before our wedding, the photographer e-mailed my wife saying she had broken up with her boyfriend, whom she had been working with. Per the contract, we were to have 2 photographers, so she wanted to give us a deal since we wouldn't be getting 2 photographers for our big day. This deal, however, was never amended to the contract, even though the contract explicitly states any changes need to be amended in writing and signed. We e-mailed saying this would be fine, however we never heard back from the photographer.
Two weeks later (and exactly two weeks before the wedding), my mother-in-law e-mailed the photographer to ask where to send the final balance. This e-mail bounced back as undeliverable. Naturally we tried to call the photographer. Her phone was disconnected and she no longer lived at the address we had for her (which we had because of where we sent the first check). She also shut down her website and Facebook accounts. Naturally, this was pretty stressful. We spent the next two days (a weekend) scouring for her on the internet. After two days of searching and no luck, we decided to hire another photographer, whom we met with to discuss the arrangements for the wedding.
The next day, the old photographer finally texted us with a new number. She explained that she had dissolved her business because it reminded of her ex-boyfriend, who left her for another woman. She called my mother-in-law various names and was obviously emotionally unstable from the break-up. We tried to work with her, and we demanded a new contract. She refused and no new contract was created.
Even though we tried to work with her, we had already hired a new photographer who set our date aside. We then signed a contract with her 10 days before the wedding. We of course let the first photographer know she was fired at this time.
Now, this photographer is threatening to sue us, 3 weeks after our wedding! Even though she dissolved her business, her name was on the contract. She has already received half of the amount, which we were not going to try to get back. Hopefully someone on this forum will have some advice on how we can proceed. Please let me know if you need any more information.
- Dave
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