Pandora II
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2006
- Messages
- 9,613
My mother and I went back for a meeting with my venue last Friday - what a nightmare!
The co-ordinator is as incompetent and unpleasant as they come.
Excuse the long rant to follow...
Jan 07
My parents go to see the venue and are offered a choice of 6 dates. They pick the latest one available and pay the deposit on the spot.
My father states that we will be bringing our own alcohol for the event, do not want a bar and do not want an evening buffet. She tells him that corkage will be £4 for still wine and £8 for Champagne/sparkling per bottle.
A letter follows stating that we have the venue secured - there is no reference to the corkage, but a part saying that an evening buffet will be supplied.
August 07
My mother and I go to see the co-ordinator. I tell her that I want sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and jam for canapes rather than hers. She says this is fine, but will be very similar to the evening buffet. I tell her that we aren''t having an evening buffet - she says that will make them look bad as a venue. I say no it won''t. Discussion ends on that.
I then move onto the wine - she says they don''t do corkage anymore. I tell her it was agreed with my father last year and repeat the prices to her. She agrees to honour the arrangement with my father but that we need to agree quantities. I tell her that I work on the basis of 1.5 glasses for cocktail hour, half bottle of wine with meal and 2 glasses for the evening. She agrees that this is exactly what she would suggest, and that there has been trouble in the past when people have over-estimated for the evening part and delivered more wine than they can cope with, and it''s good I know what I''m doing.
There is no follow up letter.
April 08
She arrives with no file and no notes from previous meeting. She wants to start from beginning again. She asks which wines we have chosen from the wine list. I say we are bringing our own - she says they don''t do corkage. I go through agreements from last two meetings. She says she will make a special exception.
Then we discuss meal. All okay - then she asks what time I want the evening buffet and how many extra people are coming - I say it has been stated from the beginning that we have no extra people and anyway, I''m serving cake at 10pm after a meal finishing at 8.30pm so don''t want an evening buffet. She says that if I don''t have food then I can''t serve alcohol because their Premises Licence doesn''t allow alcohol without substantial food being served. I ask to see the licence and she ignores me. Then she says I need to choose the wine for the evening as they won''t allow corkage. I tell her she agreed to it last time - she says they have never allowed it (despite the discussion had the time before.)
I then mention crap and tables in windows and she says they can''t be moved.
She then finished the meeting and left.
My father has hit the roof!
He has contemporaneous notes from the first meeting and I have the same from the second and it is obvious from both that nothing could have been changed or added.
She picked the wrong people to behave like this with. As a local Councillor for my London Borough (which she doesn''t know) I contacted the licencing department who gave me chapter and verse on the new laws and said that legally you did not have to serve substantial food with alcohol and that if I was paying corkage there was no need for a Premises Licence at all as they were not supplying wine - they were merely opening it. The Head of Licensing also got her council to email me a full copy of her licence so I could check the small print - nothing there so she''s basically lying.
We have put together a letter with the help of my brother (who is a dispute litigation lawyer) and sent it off, saying that we want corkage throughout and no buffet - as agreed with her in January 07 and that the computers need to be moved, first because they are ugly and second because the school''s insurer wouldn''t be too happy if they were damaged through someone tripping over them with/without wine.
We have no contract other than a letter stating that we have secured the venue and it''s services. Her bad, as since there are no terms and conditions she can''t so much - whereas we can. I feel bad that I didn''t check my parents had sent follow-up letters after each meeting - but they had been expecting one from her. She is super-late always in answering emails and phone messages IF she bothers at all, so by the time it would have been obvious one wasn''t coming they were busy with other things. However, there were always two of us at each meeting and we took notes whereas she didn''t!
My brother''s opinion is that we would win hands down in any court case were they too pull the event on us and damages for my ''distress and disappointment'' would be substantial.
Obviously we don''t want to end up this way, but I refuse to back down on her not honouring past agreements. My father doesn''t want her there on the day - he says she makes his skin creep (I feel the same).
He and I are also super-pissed off when this is happening when my mother is in the middle of major-surgery, has just been diagnosed with ''carcinoma in situ'' in her breast and as of yesterday is now having another attack of Multiple Sclerosis. We had all tried to make this wedding as stress-free for her as possible.
My dad rang me an hour ago to say that he has discovered that the Chair of Governors at the school has been his patient for 26 years and they get on very well. My father has also had a very close working relationship with the venue for 17 years and is highly respected in the local area, so not really someone to piss off if you''d like your venue recommended to others locally!
I have been sooooo angry since Friday that it''s only now I can even vent about it here!
Sorry - hugely long. Congrats if you got this far!
The co-ordinator is as incompetent and unpleasant as they come.
Excuse the long rant to follow...
Jan 07
My parents go to see the venue and are offered a choice of 6 dates. They pick the latest one available and pay the deposit on the spot.
My father states that we will be bringing our own alcohol for the event, do not want a bar and do not want an evening buffet. She tells him that corkage will be £4 for still wine and £8 for Champagne/sparkling per bottle.
A letter follows stating that we have the venue secured - there is no reference to the corkage, but a part saying that an evening buffet will be supplied.
August 07
My mother and I go to see the co-ordinator. I tell her that I want sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and jam for canapes rather than hers. She says this is fine, but will be very similar to the evening buffet. I tell her that we aren''t having an evening buffet - she says that will make them look bad as a venue. I say no it won''t. Discussion ends on that.
I then move onto the wine - she says they don''t do corkage anymore. I tell her it was agreed with my father last year and repeat the prices to her. She agrees to honour the arrangement with my father but that we need to agree quantities. I tell her that I work on the basis of 1.5 glasses for cocktail hour, half bottle of wine with meal and 2 glasses for the evening. She agrees that this is exactly what she would suggest, and that there has been trouble in the past when people have over-estimated for the evening part and delivered more wine than they can cope with, and it''s good I know what I''m doing.
There is no follow up letter.
April 08
She arrives with no file and no notes from previous meeting. She wants to start from beginning again. She asks which wines we have chosen from the wine list. I say we are bringing our own - she says they don''t do corkage. I go through agreements from last two meetings. She says she will make a special exception.
Then we discuss meal. All okay - then she asks what time I want the evening buffet and how many extra people are coming - I say it has been stated from the beginning that we have no extra people and anyway, I''m serving cake at 10pm after a meal finishing at 8.30pm so don''t want an evening buffet. She says that if I don''t have food then I can''t serve alcohol because their Premises Licence doesn''t allow alcohol without substantial food being served. I ask to see the licence and she ignores me. Then she says I need to choose the wine for the evening as they won''t allow corkage. I tell her she agreed to it last time - she says they have never allowed it (despite the discussion had the time before.)
I then mention crap and tables in windows and she says they can''t be moved.
She then finished the meeting and left.
My father has hit the roof!
He has contemporaneous notes from the first meeting and I have the same from the second and it is obvious from both that nothing could have been changed or added.
She picked the wrong people to behave like this with. As a local Councillor for my London Borough (which she doesn''t know) I contacted the licencing department who gave me chapter and verse on the new laws and said that legally you did not have to serve substantial food with alcohol and that if I was paying corkage there was no need for a Premises Licence at all as they were not supplying wine - they were merely opening it. The Head of Licensing also got her council to email me a full copy of her licence so I could check the small print - nothing there so she''s basically lying.
We have put together a letter with the help of my brother (who is a dispute litigation lawyer) and sent it off, saying that we want corkage throughout and no buffet - as agreed with her in January 07 and that the computers need to be moved, first because they are ugly and second because the school''s insurer wouldn''t be too happy if they were damaged through someone tripping over them with/without wine.
We have no contract other than a letter stating that we have secured the venue and it''s services. Her bad, as since there are no terms and conditions she can''t so much - whereas we can. I feel bad that I didn''t check my parents had sent follow-up letters after each meeting - but they had been expecting one from her. She is super-late always in answering emails and phone messages IF she bothers at all, so by the time it would have been obvious one wasn''t coming they were busy with other things. However, there were always two of us at each meeting and we took notes whereas she didn''t!
My brother''s opinion is that we would win hands down in any court case were they too pull the event on us and damages for my ''distress and disappointment'' would be substantial.
Obviously we don''t want to end up this way, but I refuse to back down on her not honouring past agreements. My father doesn''t want her there on the day - he says she makes his skin creep (I feel the same).
He and I are also super-pissed off when this is happening when my mother is in the middle of major-surgery, has just been diagnosed with ''carcinoma in situ'' in her breast and as of yesterday is now having another attack of Multiple Sclerosis. We had all tried to make this wedding as stress-free for her as possible.
My dad rang me an hour ago to say that he has discovered that the Chair of Governors at the school has been his patient for 26 years and they get on very well. My father has also had a very close working relationship with the venue for 17 years and is highly respected in the local area, so not really someone to piss off if you''d like your venue recommended to others locally!
I have been sooooo angry since Friday that it''s only now I can even vent about it here!
Sorry - hugely long. Congrats if you got this far!
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