ComplaintsforPreble County Pork Festival

• Initial Complaint

  09/24/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Failure to return full refund for cancelled event paid $330 to Preble Co. Pork Festival in 1/2020 for 9/2020 festival. Cancelled 7/2020. Told we could request refund or roll over to 2021. No deadline given for option. Told on 6/23/21 festival was a "go." We did not apply and asked for a refund on 7/14/21. Full refund denied. Told board decided in August no full refund after April, 2 months before festival was announced. Emails enclosed. See Attachments

  Business response

  11/03/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2021/10/18) */ Dear BBB Dispute Resolution Resource Team, Mr. & Mrs. ******* ***** applied for a booth at the Preble County Pork Festival on January 25, 2020. By applying and signing the application, Mrs. **** ***** agrees to the rules and regulations set forth by the Preble County Pork Festival Board of Directors. Rule #25 of the rules and regulations states that 80 % of the booth rental will be returned if requested by August 1st. In July of 2020 an email response was not received from the *****'s therefore indicating that a refund was not requested but a booth space for 2021 requested. By not responding to the email, the Preble County Pork Festival rolled over the money and reserved a booth space for the 2021 festival. The 2021 festival was never canceled or indicated that it may be canceled. On July 14,2021 Mr. ***** left a voicemail stating that they did not request a refund for 2021" but would now like to cancel, as per our rules and regulations that were agreed upon by signing the application, Mr. ***** was returned 80% of the initial application fee. (The voicemail is attached to the email) Mr. ***** has slandered our name on social media (see attached). Mr. ***** has reached out to the Pork Festival sponsors (see attached) and complained about only receiving 80%. Mr. ***** has attempted to slander the good name of a non-profit organization. The Preble County Pork Festival has a major economic impact on our agriculturally based county. We believe that Mr. ***** is ruining the reputation and future business of our non-profit Always the Third Full Weekend in September organization. Our festival is held at the Preble County Fairgrounds which greatly benefits from the profits of our festival: The fairgrounds are owned and overseen by the county commissioners. The Preble County Pork Festival has for 50 years supported the local community and economy and would be adversely affected by wrongful complaints and harassment. The Preble County Pork Festival Board of Directors is requesting that the complaint be removed from the record. The Preble County Pork Festival Board of Directors also requests that no more insult, slander or complaint be made toward the festival, in that, the festival was within the guidelines to only return 80%. The Preble County Pork Festival Board of Directors is willing to pursue legal action against Mr. & Mrs. ******* ***** for slander, irreversible damage done to the name of an upstanding non-profit organization known wide and far and compensation for loss of sponsorship funds. Sincerely, Preble County Pork Festival Board of Directors Consumer Response /* (3000, 11, 2021/10/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) My wife **** and I have exhibited her fine art work for over 40 years at some of the top art shows in the mid west. She has been featured on regional TV and has received numerous awards. Never before have we had a problem receiving a full refund for a cancelled show. We have exhibited at the Pork Festival for over 30 years without incident.The response to our complaint of not receiving a full refund when the Festival was cancelled is outrageous, filled with falsehoods, and attempts to quash our complaint with bully tactics and threats of legal action. We will not be intimidated, and if necessary will pursue this further with the Office of the Ohio Attorney General. Fact: Rule 25 quoted by the Festival as pertaining to refunds was taken from the 2020 Festival contract, which was breached by the Festival when they cancelled the event (July 22, 2020 email). It is outrageous for the Festival to break a contract, then attempt to use a rule from a contract they broke to limit a refund !! Fact: No deadline was ever given for requesting a refund for the cancelled 2020 Festival. The Festival Board claims the 2021 Festival was never cancelled, but it was never announced as a "GO" until June 23, 2021 (email). I did ask for a refund about 3 weeks after the 2021 Festival was announced via voice mail on July 14, 2021, and did not request a refund for 2021 because we never made a commitment for 2021, i.e., no statement of interest, no application request, and of course no signed contract for 2021. I did state we wanted our 2020 booth fee back and stated health reasons. Fact: We received an email Aug.16, 2021 from the Exhibitor Chair stating the Board decided on Aug. 12 that there would be no full refunds after April, which of course was almost 2 months before the Festival was announced as a "GO". Again, no deadline was ever given for requesting a full refund. This also contradicts the Rule 25 refund policy the Festival submitted to defend their action of not giving a full refund. Again, Rule 25 was also taken from the 2020 contract which was breached when the Festival was cancelled. To Summarize:In 2020 the Preble County Pork Festival breached a contract with us and 100's of other exhibitors when they cancelled the Festival. In June of 2021 the Festival was reinstated. We never committed verbally or by contract to the 2021 Festival, and requested a return of our $330 booth fee for 2020 about 3 weeks after the 2021 Festival was announced. We received $66 less than the full amount paid. The initial response stated the Board met in August and declared only 80% of the amount paid would be returned after April, almost 2 months before the 2021 Festival was declared a "GO". In response to my complaint to the BBB the Festival referred to Rule 25 from the 2020 contract which they breached. No deadline for requesting a refund was ever given. If we do not receive the remainder of our booth fee we will send the complete complaint BBB file including this reply to all of the Festival sponsors. They can then decide if they wish to continue as Festival sponsors. We will then contact the Office of the Ohio Attorney General. All of the public statements I made are factual and are not slanderous. We will not be bullied or threatened by unfounded legal action. ******* and **** *****

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