Help with another photographer

[kat180390]

Hi,

Not sure if anyone could help here or point me in the right direction. We had our sons first birthday photoshoot done back at the beginning of February, I won't get into the complaints I already have about the photographer but we still haven't received our photos.

We had the proofs within a week of the photoshoot and choose them within a few days, now the photographer in question (after promising to send the photos out numerous times) is ignoring our messages.

How long does everyone else usually take as a turn around? Is there another way to approach the situation? I'm not confident in my own photography skills to of done his first birthday photos myself, although now I wish I went somewhere else as she's ruined what was supposed to be a very happy memory!

Thanks in advance! X

 

[Alastair]

Maybe make your questions public on her Facebook page.. the worst she can do is block you, but Facebook complaints will worry other potential clients and should prompt a response.

 

[realspeed]

Maybe write and say you are giving her X number of days to fulfil her side of the contract, If she fails to produce the photos by that time you will take legal proceedings against her. Nothing like a little "encouragement" to get things moving. Send it recorded delivery

 

[twhite87]

Maybe write and say you are giving her X number of days to fulfil her side of the contract, If she fails to produce the photos by that time you will take legal proceedings against her. Nothing like a little "encouragement" to get things moving. Send it recorder delivery

I agree. My brother in law is a barrister, and he's always told me when it comes to money exchange matters, that using a phrase like invoicing for a 'non-providing compensation' claim can really kick them up the unmentionables.

 

[kat180390]

Thanks for the replies guys, really appreciate it! I will give her until tomorrow evening once I'm home from work to reply to my current message, if not I'll send the legal proceedings one. It seems silly considering the shoot was only £90, but since I've paid and haven't received my 'goods' then I'll go for it!

 

[boyfalldown]

I agree. My brother in law is a barrister, and he's always told me when it comes to money exchange matters, that using a phrase like invoicing for a 'non-providing compensation' claim can really kick them up the unmentionables.

no - don't send that. If it ends up in court then that sort if thing for this sort of case looks silly.More importantly if you send her an invoice for anything you'll lose.

Thanks for the replies guys, really appreciate it! I will give her until tomorrow evening once I'm home from work to reply to my current message, if not I'll send the legal proceedings one. It seems silly considering the shoot was only £90, but since I've paid and haven't received my 'goods' then I'll go for it!

send one recorded letter. Outlining the issue and the steps she has to take to resolve it. Give her 14 days to respond - if rectifying will take longer she must tell you within those 14 days. Outline what you will do if she doesn't respond. Don't send any invoices or talk about any form of compensation.

 

[realspeed]

Maybe make your questions public on her Facebook page.. the worst she can do is block you, but Facebook complaints will worry other potential clients and should prompt a response.

Be very very careful what you write on any forum which could result in a libel case against you instead , especially something like Facebook.

You can also go the small claims court route which I understand ,but don't quote me, is you send a letter to the court outlining your complaint and how much you are out of pocket - send another to the defendant- and a copy for yourself. if it goes to court they will decide on the rights or wrongs and if successful decide on suitable compensation. your local citizens advice centre should be able to guide you properly on correct procedures or ask what you have to do at a court itself in the inquiries desk.

If you win and I can't see any reason why not the defendant would then have a county court judgement against them making it harder for them to trade.

Slightly different but I held out on a car accident where the other driver was to blame, the other party via their insurance company waited until the last moment when my solicitor and the courts set a date for the hearing. It was only a few days before the hearing they relented and deposited money into the court for an out of court settlement.

It took 18 months for me to win my case which just goes to show what legal action can do. Oh his car was a right off and £9000 of damage to mine with personal injury claim thrown in for myself and my manageress including private doctors for both of us. Must have cost his insurance company a fantastic amount of money in the end instead of admitting liability in the first place

I mention this because the thought of court action usually brings results

 

[big soft moose]

good advice from Hugh there - invoicing for damages/compensation is a big no no - in the UK damages are set by a judge/court

note however that legal proceedings will probably get you your money back, but are unlikely to secure you your photo's , so if the memories captured are the really important thing it might be preferable to try and have a softer approach like a face to face chat or a phone conversation before making recourse to legal threat

 

[Peter69]

Did you pay them for taking the photos or will you pay for the photos?

Its a good leverage when a contract is broken. It doesn't have to be hard.

 

[realspeed]

Pete you are correct of course but showing other options one can take as well incase things go tail up

 

[kat180390]

Thanks for the replies, I sent her a message asking if she had been receiving my messages last night. She's replied this morning saying that the photos are on a disk and she will be sending them out asap. She's also said that she will send the pictures via email too. At least I will get the pictures, obviously this doesn't help with the other complaints I had but it will do.

Unfortunately this has completely put me off smaller photography businesses but has made me want to improve my own skills. Thanks for everyone's advice! X

 

[Alastair]

Be very very careful what you write on any forum which could result in a libel case against you instead , especially something like Facebook.

You have to be equally,if not more, careful with the wording of any legal-sounding shot across the bows in an email. But a simple message on FB, "Hi XXX, I'm wondering when the photos from the shoot in January will be finished as I've not had a reply to my messages." avoids libel whilst flagging up the issue. Knowing someone who works in this area of the market (same subjects, similar pricing, similar issues with completion) Facebook is pretty much the backbone of their marketing and they pay attention to it.

Glad to hear you've got a response Kathryn.

 

[Lindsay D]

Unfortunately this has completely put me off smaller photography businesses ....

Your experience has little to do with the size of the business Kathryn - in fact most photographers these days operate as sole traders. What matters is how experience they are, how long they've been established and how good a reputation they have. From the fee you mentioned, if this includes your pictures, you've gone with an extremely cheap photographer and I'm afraid there are usually caveats with this. Whilst I appreciate how tight budgets are these days, going with a very low cost option can mean that the photographer's experience, both photographically and in terms of customer service, might be quite limited. I'm pleased the photographer is now being a bit more responsive - you've certainly had to wait too long for these pictures!