Wedding contract - getting deposit back

[skm22]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

My fiance and I signed a contract for our wedding venue in November 2011. Between then and May of this year the wedding coordinator for the venue left and everything went crazy. In short, we lost all confidence in this venue's ability to host our wedding. We emailed them telling them that because of what happened we would like to look elsewhere for our wedding. We said we knew the deposit was non-refundable according to the contract, but asked if they could give us the 2,500 dollar deposit back in light of the events which occurred. The head of the venue emailed back that they WOULD give us our money back to our credit card. A month later, no refund yet. We emailed and ask about it and he says "oops, sorry, I'm not gonna refund you".

I know that the deposit is non-refundable according to the contract, but does him agreeing in writing to give it back to us change anything? Would we have a leg to stand on in court? Thank you!

 

[swalsh411]

I would think so. Sue them in small claims court.

 

[BigMouthWino]

I know that the deposit is non-refundable according to the contract, but does him agreeing in writing to give it back to us change anything? Would we have a leg to stand on in court? Thank you!

YES, but you do not need to waste your time or money going to court. Since this charge was on a credit card you can simply contact your card issuer and initiate a dispute on the charge indicating that a promised refund was never posted to your account. You have their e-mail as proof of the promised refund. Your card company SHOULD side with you and return the funds to your credit card account.

 

[feddey26]

Can emails be used as evidence? I read on a post somewhere on here that emails are not admissible in court because they can be altered. If that is true, the email may not be evidence...or perhaps that poster was incorrect. The credit card company may accept them though.

 

[BigMouthWino]

Can emails be used as evidence? I read on a post somewhere on here that emails are not admissible in court because they can be altered. If that is true, the email may not be evidence...or perhaps that poster was incorrect. The credit card company may accept them though.

The credit card company will accept them. I have no idea whether a court of law would accept them if the venue decided to sue the OP after receiving the chargeback from the card company. That's not the issue here. The issue is restoring funds to OP as expeditiously as possible. The best way to do this is via a dispute to the card issuer.

 

[justalayman]

YES, but you do not need to waste your time or money going to court. Since this charge was on a credit card you can simply contact your card issuer and initiate a dispute on the charge indicating that a promised refund was never posted to your account. You have their e-mail as proof of the promised refund. Your card company SHOULD side with you and return the funds to your credit card account.

seriously? a charge that is 5+ months old and you suggest a chargeback?


if you think the credit card company will enforce the non-existent contract, that isn't going to work either.

I disagree with all previous posters.
The fact is; there was no contract to return the funds. At best, it was a good will gesture and that is not going to be enforceable.

 

[BigMouthWino]

seriously? a charge that is 5+ months old and you suggest a chargeback?

YES, they didn't render any services and they promised a refund in writing. This would be enough for most CC issuers to 1) do a conference call with the merchant requesting they refund the charge in accordance with the e-mail and/or 2) charge back the item to the merchant.

 

[justalayman]

BigMouthWino;3070870]YES, they didn't render any services and they promised a refund in writing. This would be enough for most CC issuers to 1) do a conference call with the merchant requesting they refund the charge in accordance with the e-mail and/or 2) charge back the item to the merchant.

ya, good luck with that.

the original transaction was closed long ago and is beyond the dispute period. There is no new transaction. That's the end of the CC company's part in this.

 

[swalsh411]

Sounds like the merchant promised you a refund and strung you along so the clock would run out on disputing the charge.

 

[justalayman]

Sounds like the merchant promised you a refund and strung you along so the clock would run out on disputing the charge.

Possibly but as posted, OP had no valid basis to reverse the charges anyway.

 

[las365]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

My fiance and I signed a contract for our wedding venue in November 2011. Between then and May of this year the wedding coordinator for the venue left and everything went crazy. In short, we lost all confidence in this venue's ability to host our wedding. We emailed them telling them that because of what happened we would like to look elsewhere for our wedding. We said we knew the deposit was non-refundable according to the contract, but asked if they could give us the 2,500 dollar deposit back in light of the events which occurred. The head of the venue emailed back that they WOULD give us our money back to our credit card. A month later, no refund yet. We emailed and ask about it and he says "oops, sorry, I'm not gonna refund you".

I know that the deposit is non-refundable according to the contract, but does him agreeing in writing to give it back to us change anything? Would we have a leg to stand on in court? Thank you!

OP is silent as to several important facts. What services was the coordinator to perform? Did the venue provide a coordinator to take the place of the one who left? Were the coordinating services performed? What is or was the date of the wedding? If the wedding has taken place, did OP have it at that venue? If it has not taken place, has she formally cancelled her booking? If the date of the booking is still pending, when is/was the remainder of the rental fee due? If she cancelled the date, does she know whether the venue has been able to re-book that date?

I am not inclined to think that the email in which the manager represents that he will refund the deposit is an enforceable contract. There is no consideration from OP.

 

[LdiJ]

OP is silent as to several important facts. What services was the coordinator to perform? Did the venue provide a coordinator to take the place of the one who left? Were the coordinating services performed? What is or was the date of the wedding? If the wedding has taken place, did OP have it at that venue? If it has not taken place, has she formally cancelled her booking? If the date of the booking is still pending, when is/was the remainder of the rental fee due? If she cancelled the date, does she know whether the venue has been able to re-book that date?

I am not inclined to think that the email in which the manager represents that he will refund the deposit is an enforceable contract. There is no consideration from OP.

While I agree with what is being stated here and in other posts, with my experience from being both a user of credit cards AND a merchant accepting credit cards, I do believe that there is a very strong chance that the credit card company will side with the OP and do a charge back. The issue would become murkier if the venue then sued the OP.

 

[BigMouthWino]

While I agree with what is being stated here and in other posts, with my experience from being both a user of credit cards AND a merchant accepting credit cards, I do believe that there is a very strong chance that the credit card company will side with the OP and do a charge back. The issue would become murkier if the venue then sued the OP.

CORRECT. The dispute period with credit cards is generally 60 days from the statement date. But I have seen credit cards do charge backs up to two years after the date of the charge if they are able to recover the funds from the merchant. The merchant of course then has the right to pursue the OP for payment. But since they agreed to refund the money in writing it would be an uphill battle.

OP: Contact your bank and dispute the charge. They will send you paperwork to sign and ask you to return a copy of the e-mail with the signed dispute. Do so. Please come back and let us know whether or not the bank sided with you. Even if they don't it costs you nothing except a little bit of your time to try.

 

[justalayman]

CORRECT. The dispute period with credit cards is generally 60 days from the statement date. But I have seen credit cards do charge backs up to two years after the date of the charge if they are able to recover the funds from the merchant. The merchant of course then has the right to pursue the OP for payment. But since they agreed to refund the money in writing it would be an uphill battle.

OP: Contact your bank and dispute the charge. They will send you paperwork to sign and ask you to return a copy of the e-mail with the signed dispute. Do so. Please come back and let us know whether or not the bank sided with you. Even if they don't it costs you nothing except a little bit of your time to try.

try reading the merchant agreement. There are rules to what the card company can do.

Beyond that, the charge is not in dispute so there would be no justification for a charge back. There is no contention the charge was not and is not valid. Additionally, we have not heard from any authorized person from "the venue". OP claims they spoke to the head person. Was it? Apparently somebody overrode that decision so I suspect not or there was some reason they changed their mind.

 

[LdiJ]

try reading the merchant agreement. There are rules to what the card company can do.

Beyond that, the charge is not in dispute so there would be no justification for a charge back. There is no contention the charge was not and is not valid. Additionally, we have not heard from any authorized person from "the venue". OP claims they spoke to the head person. Was it? Apparently somebody overrode that decision so I suspect not or there was some reason they changed their mind.

Seriously justalayman...if you do not have experience on the merchant end of credit card transactions please back off on this one. I could tell you some real horror stories from the merchant point of view from my own direct experience...and this scenario wouldn't even be close to a "horror story".