Caterer Cancelled, and kept the deposit.

Congrats on finding a new caterer! I hope everything is smooth sailing from here on out.

Lol @Matt

I'm a lawyer and used to do bankruptcy. They aren't supposed to pay back creditors (which includes you) within a certain window before filing bankruptcy as well as after filing. If you want to make a claim for your $400 in their bankruptcy case then you have to go to the meeting of the creditors, but you'll be at the end of what I'm sure is a long list. It will not be worth your $400.

Sincethey went out of business it might be very hard to get the money back. It would probably cost more than you stand to make to hire a lawyer. Try calling the local government to see if they have ny guidance on related business laws.

Also a lawyer here. To effectively get your money back, you will need a lawyer. Unfortunately, that legal fee is going to be more than your deposit.

And by the way, when someone files bankruptcy and you are listed as a creditor, the notice will be a generic notice from the court. Don't think it's not legitimate just because it's generic. If you're in doubt, make sure there's a case number and call up the court to see if the case number matches the company's/caterer's name.

I'm glad you found a new caterer! Do you have wedding insurance? Is this something it would cover?

Unfortunately this happens a lot. I had businesses close and file bankruptcy even though I had services prepaid and I never got that money back even with face-to-face confrontation and legal issues. It stinks that it happened so close to your wedding. I think the other way around it, if I remember correctly from Business Law class was that if you go to court and the judge orders them to pay, if you have their first name, you can go from bank to bank with the order, and find out where their account is and have that money given to you. I was never aware I could do that until it was too late.

This actually happened to a friend but with the limo company. She paid for a hummer limo 6 months ahead of time and 7 days before the wedding got an email that they went under and could no longer provide her with the limo....offered no refund. She was able to find another company that had the hummer limo and they did the job for free because of what the first company did..she had to file a small claim to get the money back...

@Think, it might vary from state to state. But I remember from law class in my state, that the order has to be issued by the judge for the person to collect.

That sucks... you can try to get some money back, but like others have said with them going out of business there might be a loophole. I would maybe try to call other businesses and explain your situation

Small claims court? But it would probably be more money and stress to try to get it back vs cutting your losses and moving on.

Matt b ....it was partly due Rio a autocorrect, but you're welcome.

How did you paid? Check? Credit Card? Call the bank immediately, they might help you because that is fraud!

I'm sorry this is happening to you, but things work in mysterious ways. I'm glad you found a solution. Perhaps, you can pursue getting your deposit back after the wedding is over or look into it now and see if it's worth the headache and hassle.

U are lucky u only lost $400 my caterer closed down an i lost $1300.??which i am out an i know i cant win it back or even get it back crying now my wedding is in 10mths