Enfocus Photography review: Not keeping their part of the agreement 5

We had an agreement with Enfocus photography to provide a glamour photo session as a fundraiser for our Girl Scout Troop. The agreement was that we would sell coupons to customers and they would provide the photo shoot. Their policy is to send them $5 per coupon sold as a deposit. Their materials state, 'you will receive the $5 back for each sitting photographed.' Our photo shoot was scheduled on June 3, 2006. I spoke with Mr. McIver on June 6, 2006 following the photo shoot to explain to him our disappointment in the services which were promised and not provided (see complaints below). He stated he would call me back 'at the end of the week'. He has not called me back or communicated with me in any way. Previously we had corresponded by email, as well as phone, so he has my contact information. I called back on June 15, 2006 and was told he was out of town. I left a message at that time. I specifically asked about the procedure to get our funds back, as agreed. I was told I would have to speak to Mr. McIver in person. He has still not contacted me. I called again today and left a voice mail. The following are a list of the problems we had in services not being rendered as agreed. This will make it very difficult in the future for our troop to raise funds, as many people were VERY disappointed in the whole process. 1. I have in writing from their website that they would provide a 'cosmetologist' in one place and in another place, it is described as a 'professional cosmetologist'. One person who came was a cosmetologist. The other said she was not a cosmetologist, and this was only her second time to do this job. It was obvious they were not professional. One customer left due to witnessing following which: they did not change makeup brushes/lip brushes, eye make up brushes, etc. between customers, they held combs in their mouths and used the same comb on various customers. One person was burned by the curling iron. When I spoke to Mr. McIver about the agreement that there was supposed to be cosmetologists, he said they only advertised, 'make up artists', which is not the information I had at the time I made the agreement with the company. 2. They said they would provide a 'professional photographer, portable digital photography studio and related equipment'. The Enfocus photograher did not know what she was doing. They started the session one hour late due to 'poor lighting'. She kept asking the sales lady to come and look at the pictures she had taken and she what she thought. We had lots of equipment problems throughout the day and they had no back up system. Several times the pictures did not save to a disc. Once the entire session had to be reshot, which you can imagine what the hair/makeup looked like an hour after it had been done, no make up touch ups were done prior to the reshoot. Once when this happened, part of the party had already left due to their work schedule, and they were unable to retake their photos. (see note below concerning the problems with the appointments) 3. They advertised for people to allow for 2- 3 hours for their sessions. Many customers did not even BEGIN their session until 3 hours after their appointment time. So, their session actually took longer than the 2-3 hours suggested. The family above could not wait any longer due to their work schedule, it was well past the 3 hour advertised amount of time. No apologies were given when this happened. One group arrived at 1 pm and left about 5:15 pm. The mother's statement to me was, 'they might have offered us a discount or something due to all the problems we had, but they didn't.' This was one of the people who had to have their photos reshot due to equipment problems. 4. As of today, June 28, 2006, Enfocus website states that 'basic prices begin at $35.' This information was on the website the day of the photo shoot. I went to look it up, since we were having so many problems. The Enfocus sales lady just said that it was old information and shouldn't be on the website. Their packages started at $159. Several customers were given the option of just buying their proofs for $100. (Several others said they were never given that option.) 5. Several people asked if their pictures would be back in time for Father's Day and they were told yes (including myself). We have still not received our photos. Only one person who had to call the company several times and paid for overnight shipping to make sure she got them in time has received her pictures. She said that the portfolio display for the proofs which she was told she would receive, is not was she received. She did get one but it is a totally different style than what they had the day of the photo shoot as an example of what you were purchasing. However, this company guarantees satisfaction, but no refunds. So, she doesn't really have much recourse. Also, she gave them as a gift and did not have time to send it back and get it corrected since they came so late. 6. Several people expressed disappointment in the rude way they were treated when they decided not to purchase any photos and only get the free one included with their coupon. The Enfocus representative complained to me about not getting enough sales that day. However, they did not provide what they said they would. People just wanted to get out of their after waiting so long. They certainly didn't want to pay a company that amount of money for poor service. This was not anything we had control over.

Your Desired Resolution:

We would like to recieve the full amount of our check back, as we do not believe this company kept their part of the agreement, therefore, we do not owe them any money. The agreement was that they would provide the glamour photo session with a professional photographer, professional cosmetologist, and wardrobe available. We were required to send $5 per sitting fee sold to the company. We were to recieve back all these funds, minus $5 for those who didn't show on the day of the photo shoot. If the company had kept their agreement, we would be happy to give them the full amount of the fee. However, they did not keep their end of the agreement, so we should not owe them anything. The minimum amount we would ask back is $165 for those who did show up the day of the photo shoot. I can't even get Enfocus to call me back to tell me when we will recieve our money back or how much they will be sending us. So, I'm worried they are once again not keeping their part of the agreement.