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Consumer rights when deposit withheld - Re GEMMA BOND
Hello,
I am looking for some advice and to see if anyone else has had dealings with Gemma Bond or the connected companies.
I recently got married and used several suppliers. One of these suppliers is refusing to return our full deposit.
The company concerned is called Gemma Bond http://www.gemmabond.com/ (Part of Pockit world Trading Ltd.)
The lady who owns it is coincidently called Gemma Bond and is also interconnected with her Husband's company Bond Marquees http://www.bondmarquees.co.uk/welcome (Simon Bond Events Limited).
All the companies are registered to Melbourne, Derbyshire.
Gemma Bond supplied candles holders, and other finishings for our wedding. Bond Marquees supplied tables. The total cost was around £1000. It was pretty expensive for what was received, but due to the circumstances and time frame we decided to go with it. Gemma also charged a deposit (which she only mentioned just as we were about to pay), this was around £170. The entire process with Gemma Bond was incredibly unprofessional (I won't go into all the details) but the closer we got to the wedding the more apparent this became. When the goods arrived to the event, many of them were dirty. We were very busy and didn't have much time before the wedding so just got on with everything and made the best of the things we had. We went away after the wedding and decided not to complain or ask for a refund from Gemma Bond. We had a lovely day and didn't want anything to mar what was a very special occasion.
On returning from our honeymoon we hadn't received our deposit yet so I emailed Gemma Bond to ask for it. She replied and said the deposit would be returned in a few days. A few days after the proposed date, no deposit had been returned. I contacted her again (now 25 days after the wedding) and she then said we would not be receiving the full deposit as there was a problem with some of the returned goods. Namely, she had to clean some. After numerous emails back and forth she returned half the deposit but refused to return the remaining amount. We felt completely ripped off!
I think she would never have contacted me if I hadn't persisted in contacting her and never intended to return the deposit (or probably ever does!). We know the goods were not any worse than when we they were delivered in the first place. We weren't given any evidence and only told after 25 days and numerous communications. It was implied in the first place that we would be receiving the full deposit, but then she decided to change her mind.
The money isn't a huge amount, so that isn't our main concern. I want to know if the are any appropriate trading standards etc. that we can report Gemma Bond to? As a small business owner, bad practice from other small businesses really annoys me. I want to ensure other people are aware of their behaviour and make sure Gemma Bond doesn't rip off any other potential clients. Brides and Grooms are often very vulnerable around the time of their wedding. I feel Gemma Bond takes complete advantage of this and is in a way a con woman!
Her strange and unprofessional behaviour throughout the process was unlike anything i have come across before, so I would also be interested to know if anyone else has had any problems with this organisation??
I am looking for some advice and to see if anyone else has had dealings with Gemma Bond or the connected companies.
I recently got married and used several suppliers. One of these suppliers is refusing to return our full deposit.
The company concerned is called Gemma Bond http://www.gemmabond.com/ (Part of Pockit world Trading Ltd.)
The lady who owns it is coincidently called Gemma Bond and is also interconnected with her Husband's company Bond Marquees http://www.bondmarquees.co.uk/welcome (Simon Bond Events Limited).
All the companies are registered to Melbourne, Derbyshire.
Gemma Bond supplied candles holders, and other finishings for our wedding. Bond Marquees supplied tables. The total cost was around £1000. It was pretty expensive for what was received, but due to the circumstances and time frame we decided to go with it. Gemma also charged a deposit (which she only mentioned just as we were about to pay), this was around £170. The entire process with Gemma Bond was incredibly unprofessional (I won't go into all the details) but the closer we got to the wedding the more apparent this became. When the goods arrived to the event, many of them were dirty. We were very busy and didn't have much time before the wedding so just got on with everything and made the best of the things we had. We went away after the wedding and decided not to complain or ask for a refund from Gemma Bond. We had a lovely day and didn't want anything to mar what was a very special occasion.
On returning from our honeymoon we hadn't received our deposit yet so I emailed Gemma Bond to ask for it. She replied and said the deposit would be returned in a few days. A few days after the proposed date, no deposit had been returned. I contacted her again (now 25 days after the wedding) and she then said we would not be receiving the full deposit as there was a problem with some of the returned goods. Namely, she had to clean some. After numerous emails back and forth she returned half the deposit but refused to return the remaining amount. We felt completely ripped off!
I think she would never have contacted me if I hadn't persisted in contacting her and never intended to return the deposit (or probably ever does!). We know the goods were not any worse than when we they were delivered in the first place. We weren't given any evidence and only told after 25 days and numerous communications. It was implied in the first place that we would be receiving the full deposit, but then she decided to change her mind.
The money isn't a huge amount, so that isn't our main concern. I want to know if the are any appropriate trading standards etc. that we can report Gemma Bond to? As a small business owner, bad practice from other small businesses really annoys me. I want to ensure other people are aware of their behaviour and make sure Gemma Bond doesn't rip off any other potential clients. Brides and Grooms are often very vulnerable around the time of their wedding. I feel Gemma Bond takes complete advantage of this and is in a way a con woman!
Her strange and unprofessional behaviour throughout the process was unlike anything i have come across before, so I would also be interested to know if anyone else has had any problems with this organisation??
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