Cancelling dj

If your mother didn't sign a contract then you are 100% right. You could ask him again a little bit more firm then if he still says no, mention you will contact the better business bureau and report him. Your paying for a service that you no longer want, nor need and he will no longer be conducting so you deserve your money back! Once he sees your serious and will do what it takes I'm sure he'll be over the arguing. You could also threaten to sue if he continues to be difficult.

He should've had a contract in place if he wanted to have those rules.

If he refuses I would contact the police department too and they can give you more direction, it may seem dramatic but if he's not willing to be professional that is his fault. 600$ is a lot of money that can be sued for something else

Thank you for your response! The thing is she told me she signed a contract and I asked her to send it to me, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet. I'm really worried she doesn't have a copy and that if I ask him for it he will just change it. I'm just so upset and antsy about it I wanted to see what I could find out while I waited for her to get back to me.

Hmmm. Unfortunately, depending on what the contract says, it may very well be non-refundable. That's what deposits generally are for. I think your mom bears at least some responsiblity here, assuming that you were really clear when you said " help look for DJs for my wedding, but to not book anything without asking me." Why exactly did she book anyway?

Another reason to be the person doing the planning here. I wouldn't ask her for any more help. Who knows what kind of agreements she might make!

I would agree that perhaps we would lose the deposit amount, but it seems pretty standard for any service to allow cancellations within a certain amount of time.

And yes I was very clear about not booking anything without asking first, so I know she is to blame which is part of the reason I'm so angry about it. I'm not sure why she did it, she was trying to help but I'm still very not happy about it. I also feel any decent person would refund us since it's only been a few days and so far from the event.

If no contract was signed and he refuses a refund she can actually file a fraud claim with her bank. If you request a refund from a merchant/vendor and they refuse you can file with your bank. The bank investigates and said vendor can't come up with anything showing they rightfully should keep it the funds it usually get charged back or credited to your account from the bank.

I'm in banking.

Thank you Haley that was really helpful!

If she signed a contract you may be stuck. Two months prior to the wedding isn’t a lot of time and as hard as it may be to believe he really may have turned down events because if couples do not have a DJ by then they may be in panic mode looking to book. You just need to read exactly what your mom signed.

I'm not a contact expert. But If SHE signed something and gave $. SHE may be stuck based on what the contract says. She should contact him to discuss the cancelation policy. Maybe she can follow up and see if he's able to book someone that day he can give her partial payment. You didn't sign the contract or pay so really it's your mom who needs to figure it out what the repayment is. You shouldn't be able to call the police, file a complaint, call the bank and claim fraud because you and your mom had a miscommunication. Maybe he should be nice and work something out with you. But if your mom signed a contract and paid, he's not obligated to give a refund outside of the contract requirements. (read your contracts ladies.)

Also most DJs are booked long before 2 months before. . Your mom might have done some research and realized he might be the only option. Do you have a plan B yet?

Unfortunately, depending on the contract you may be out of luck. If she DIDN'T sign a contract, she shouldn't have given him any money without a written agreement. Try to get more information about what was signed, but at the end of the day it is not a vendor's problem that there was poor communication between you and your mother.

I wasn't really looking for any rude comments about this being my fault/my mom's fault - I'm already aware of that. I just wanted some helpful advice on common cancellation practices of vendors and what I could do from here.

Nobody was rude here. We really were just trying to help.

I am so sorry that happened! I agree, do a chargeback with your bank if there's no proof of contract. If she did in fact sign a contract you may be out of luck, but $600 seems a bit high unless this was the total paid in full? My DJ charged a $200 deposit and then the rest is not due until 10 days before the wedding. Definitely let the BBB know also if he is not budging--I have used them in the past to dispute other things and it usually kicks them in the butt to do the right thing. Good luck!

In many states there is a consumer law giving everyone 2,3, or even sometimes 8 business days for the buyer to pull out of any signed contract with very little loss of a deposit. Check your state consumer division online, may be under attorney general if state, but usually accessible as consumer protection laws. Many states you are already stuck. You obviously do not want to argue that mom made an unauthorized contract for services at a venue, date and time you not she control, so she personally may be out the money if you are outside the window for buyer's remorse laws. Check quickly. And get a copy of the actual contract from mom.