Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/19/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On June 19, 2022 I contacted a photographer for a maternity and newborn photoshoot. We had a 15 minutes quick zoom call, where she informed me that the two shoot together would cost me $700, which would include both shoots, props for the shoot etc. She also mentioned that if I want the hair and make up appointment then she could book that for me and that would cost me an additional $100-$200 on that day at the salon. I then sent the $700 via Zelle to reserve our appointment. Then on June 24th I received an e-mail asking me to sing a contact and to my biggest surprise I also received an attachment with all the additional prices of the printed and digital photos. Up until that point I believed that digital copies would be included in the $700. I even sent her an e-mail asking about this and she gave me a vague answer. She was never clear. She e-mailed me that if by any chance I am late from the hair appointment the place would cancel and we would have to reschedule the photoshoot. I did cancel the last day, and now she is asking me to pay an additional $145 for the cancelled hair appointment, which was never ever mentioned that I would have to pay a cancellation fee, especially this much. That is almost the price she told me the whole thing would cost. She never mentioned that there would be a cancellation fee, and now she is harassing me for it. I never received my $700 back and now she wants more money. She is not clear and I find this as being a trap. She is not clear on prices and consequences and just request money she decides to come up with.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/21/2022

  I received a letter from BBB with a complaint, which I would like to address and request for a full removal/dismissal, as it is totally unacceptable and fully untruthful. It is unlawful to lie and file not false complaints about a business like that.  From the attached document you can see the full communication trail. To summarize:

  - June 24th, a client was given a fully detailed 15 minutes zoom consultation, where all the details of the process, including the fees and what is included and not was disclosed. A client sent a session fee to lock the date and immediately received a booking email with a full disclosed contract and pricing menu attached. A client sent a signed contract the same day back. A contract clearly says that digitals are not included in a session fee. 

  -June 28th, a client reached out with excitement about the shoot and asked for some clarity on the pricing list she received on June 24th. The same day June 28th, a client received a detailed response highlighting again that digitals are not included in the fee and that it will have to be purchased separately. 

  July 6th a client received a prep guide with clear salon policy outlining if the client is late more than 15 min or does not show up, a salon reserves a right to charge a full price and deny service. It shows clearly that the client was very well aware of the salon policy and no surprises should be there. 

  After that the next time a client reached out was the night before the shoot July 14th around ****pm in the evening saying that the husband cannot make it to the shoot due to work and she won't be coming. A client was suggested to still come alone as it would be a wonderful moment for her to capture since her body is going through such transformation. No response was received.
  July 15th the morning of the scheduled shoot, a client received an email reminder to pay to salon for no show and not cancelling an appointment within 24 hours in advance, a client never reached out to pay it nor communicate anything. 

  
  Everything is documented in a document attached, please take action immediately. As this client and BBB can be taken to court for an untruthful complaint listed against Stelmahphoto.