What is the name of your state? Georgia
I'll try to make this brief. I hired a lady/business to make my wedding invites. She charges a non-refundable $2500 design fee which includes but is not limited to design, labor, layout, copywriting, proofs and production mgmt. Per the contract she was suppose to design my save-the-dates, invites, program booklets, placecards, etc. etc. Unfortunately she doesn't break down the prices of each piece in my quote (2nd quote), but my invite is an extremely unique piece (wood, suede book, nice paper) and in her first quote to me, when she actually broke the cost down, it's obvious that the invite would be the bulk of the cost. My deposit (which included her design fee) was approx. 2/3 of the total cost. We paid her by check.
She made my save-the-dates without a hitch. Originally "verbally" saying it would cost about $300-400 total. Then we got into better papers and printing and she again "verbally" told me it would cost me maybe another $100-200 at the most on top of the $300-400. I'm thinking worse case scenario $600. So I verbally gave her the go ahead. Now she's claiming that it cost her $900 to do.
She also wasn't ever able to provide materials nor a sample design of my invite. Had a couple of meetings with her during the time the invites should have gone out to print to tell her I was concerned of the timelines. Bottom line, I ended up making them myself. Told her that I was going a different direction with the invite and she could just take care of the rest of the products she quoted me on. She decided to make a "sample" after I told her to not worry about it. Even then, the sample was really not a sample at all. Often asking me to "imagine" materials and functions of it.
After I told her to not worry about the invites anymore, she got kind of wierd on me. Prices on remaining items seem to magically inflate. Always saying these numbers are estimates only, but when asking her to get hard numbers the prices would continually go up. She cancelled meetings and didn't pick up necessary items as discussed with my wedding coordinator. I got so concerned with her slacking, feeling as though she'd drag her feet on these items as she did on my invitations, that I fired her. She has cancellation/kill fee in her contract. States that client will owe her 1/2 the price of the contract if items were not made. At this point she has more than 1/2 of the money. But she doesn't say in her contract what happens if she has more than 1/2 the money. Is it assumed the client gets reimbursed?
This is the thing...I sent her a restricted, certified termination letter, listing the issues. I also told her she deserves $600 for the save-the-dates, $500 for designing the save-the-dates and $65 for a prototype she made of one item. But I do not feel she deserves the whole $2500 design fee, because simply, she did not design anything and certainly didn't provide samples either, at all, on certain items, or in a timely manner on the remaining items.
I'm just curious how a court may see this case. Even though the contract reads "non-refundable" it also lists what she's suppose to do for that money. And she didn't do it but for one item. Can she really keep it all? Her contract also says client can't hold her company or any of her affiliates for any incidental of consequential damages for the failure of her company to perform any aspect of the project in a timely manner regardless if failure was caused by intentional or negligent acts or omissions by her company. But truly there has to be some sort of "cut-off" date when she's considered to of breached her end. I mean, she can really go past my wedding date, not provide me my items in my contract and still get off scotch free with all my money just cause she has this clause can she?
I'll try to make this brief. I hired a lady/business to make my wedding invites. She charges a non-refundable $2500 design fee which includes but is not limited to design, labor, layout, copywriting, proofs and production mgmt. Per the contract she was suppose to design my save-the-dates, invites, program booklets, placecards, etc. etc. Unfortunately she doesn't break down the prices of each piece in my quote (2nd quote), but my invite is an extremely unique piece (wood, suede book, nice paper) and in her first quote to me, when she actually broke the cost down, it's obvious that the invite would be the bulk of the cost. My deposit (which included her design fee) was approx. 2/3 of the total cost. We paid her by check.
She made my save-the-dates without a hitch. Originally "verbally" saying it would cost about $300-400 total. Then we got into better papers and printing and she again "verbally" told me it would cost me maybe another $100-200 at the most on top of the $300-400. I'm thinking worse case scenario $600. So I verbally gave her the go ahead. Now she's claiming that it cost her $900 to do.
She also wasn't ever able to provide materials nor a sample design of my invite. Had a couple of meetings with her during the time the invites should have gone out to print to tell her I was concerned of the timelines. Bottom line, I ended up making them myself. Told her that I was going a different direction with the invite and she could just take care of the rest of the products she quoted me on. She decided to make a "sample" after I told her to not worry about it. Even then, the sample was really not a sample at all. Often asking me to "imagine" materials and functions of it.
After I told her to not worry about the invites anymore, she got kind of wierd on me. Prices on remaining items seem to magically inflate. Always saying these numbers are estimates only, but when asking her to get hard numbers the prices would continually go up. She cancelled meetings and didn't pick up necessary items as discussed with my wedding coordinator. I got so concerned with her slacking, feeling as though she'd drag her feet on these items as she did on my invitations, that I fired her. She has cancellation/kill fee in her contract. States that client will owe her 1/2 the price of the contract if items were not made. At this point she has more than 1/2 of the money. But she doesn't say in her contract what happens if she has more than 1/2 the money. Is it assumed the client gets reimbursed?
This is the thing...I sent her a restricted, certified termination letter, listing the issues. I also told her she deserves $600 for the save-the-dates, $500 for designing the save-the-dates and $65 for a prototype she made of one item. But I do not feel she deserves the whole $2500 design fee, because simply, she did not design anything and certainly didn't provide samples either, at all, on certain items, or in a timely manner on the remaining items.
I'm just curious how a court may see this case. Even though the contract reads "non-refundable" it also lists what she's suppose to do for that money. And she didn't do it but for one item. Can she really keep it all? Her contract also says client can't hold her company or any of her affiliates for any incidental of consequential damages for the failure of her company to perform any aspect of the project in a timely manner regardless if failure was caused by intentional or negligent acts or omissions by her company. But truly there has to be some sort of "cut-off" date when she's considered to of breached her end. I mean, she can really go past my wedding date, not provide me my items in my contract and still get off scotch free with all my money just cause she has this clause can she?
