Have You Been Overcharged by The Great Bridal Expo?

[kaycee605]

I was so excited to get a spot at The Great Bridal Expo in another state last spring. I paid the $2400 (I was a consultant for 3 weeks and had no clue!!) for the booth that was scheduled for November. When the event was over, the person in charge asked if I wanted to sign up for another show. She said I would get a discount on my next show based on the November booth price of $1200. I told her that I paid twice that and she was uncomfortable because there were other vendors in my booth. To make a long story shorter, when I returned home I contacted the company and told them that I was overcharged for my booth and asked for a refund. They said, "oops my mistake! We added an extra show to the end of your contract." instead of giving my money back. I have now paid this company more than $3400 for the ONE show and they expect me to pay more. This ends up being almost double what our contract stated. They also changed the contract that I had originally signed! I have an attorney that contacted them via Certified mail and they have ignored the request to sign for the mail. They are located in FL so it is very hard to do anything. My attorney and I are trying to decide what direction to take right now. Has anyone else had a bad experience with this company or do you have any advice that we can use? Thanks in advance!! I don't want them to ruin my credit and I cannot lose anymore sleep over this!

 

[Sheila]

I've never delt with the company, so I have no advice, just wanted to send you some big HUGS! It sounds like you are on the right track with a lawyer. I hope you have an original copy of the contract in hand that shows the pre-altered agreement. It will help you tremendously in your journey.

I'd also make (or have your lawyer make) a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

 

[Tig]

Did you pay by credit card? Most times CC companys will reverse the charges and conduct their on investigation

 

[vwpamperedchef]

Also, I would try contacting the BBB and see if they are a member. I am not sure how you proceed from there, but I know the BBB may be able to help.

 

[Jenni]

I'm sorry this is happening to you... stress stinks!

All the problems you are having aside $2400 is a ton of money in my book. What kinda return do you see on that? I can't begin to imagine shelling out that kinda money. Cheap cheap said the little birdie that flew over my house. lol

What is the normal going rate for a booth???

 

[ChefJWarren]

I'm sorry this is happening to you... stress stinks!

All the problems you are having aside $2400 is a ton of money in my book. What kinda return do you see on that? I can't begin to imagine shelling out that kinda money. Cheap cheap said the little birdie that flew over my house. lol

What is the normal going rate for a booth???

I never pay more than $50 for a show. Most consultants split costs/shifts if the space is expensive. I can't imagine getting enought return on a $2400 booth.

I worked the Great Bridal Expo in Dallas, TX (worked with another consultant that paid for the whole thing-didn't ask for anything in return) and didn't see anything close to that on return. LOTS of leads! But only two sales and one registry. I made my calls and made my calls, but couldn't get most brides on the phone.

I hope you get a FULL refund of everything!

 

[DebbieJ]

Yikes! Good luck recovering your costs!Bridal shows are not worth more than $100 in my experience. I've had very little success with them.

 

[merego]

The one Bridal expo here in Cincy was $100 for the booth, I wont pay over $75.00. I didn't do the bridal expo, but a gal in my cluster did.

 

[merego]

So sorry this happened to you, I hope you get some resolution, soon!!

 

[kaycee605]

We are going to file a complaint with the Florida Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau for sure. We're just unsure whether to file a claim in small claims court in SD which would almost insure a judgement by default in my favor but doesn't mean we can hold them to paying me back. I am more worried about my credit being ruined than getting the money back right now. I do have the contract and every bit of correspondence was done through e-mail once I realized how shady they were. The e-mails have them admitting wrongdoing in both overcharging me and changing the contract after I signed it. The only catch is they say if we want to file a complaint we have to do it in FL under FL law! Thanks for the support! I'll keep you updated as we go along. If anyone in your cluster(s) has dealt with this company and had a negative experience please let me know. Maybe we can band together and at least help someone else not get into the situation that I did.

 

[Nanisu]

I have a contract with them sitting on my desk as we speak...it was supposed to be FREE to me if I came in with 10 other consultants to help stuff bags, etc. I am not sure I want to do this, now anyway....I asked if I was the exclusive PC booth at the event and was told that "no, but we usually only have 1 PC vendor". So does that mean yes or no? I am getting a little leery of this.

 

[ChefJWarren]

I did this with another DS company I used to consult for. We had to come up with 10 "helpers" and our spot was free. As far as I knew, we paid nothing for our spot. I did have to reimburse my "helpers" because they weren't going to work all day for free! I had to come up with 3 myself.

 

[chefann]

I asked if I was the exclusive PC booth at the event and was told that "no, but we usually only have 1 PC vendor". So does that mean yes or no? I am getting a little leery of this.

I would take that to mean that they're aren't purposely enforcing exclusivity, but don't usually have more than one PC booth.