ComplaintsforLoma Cakes & Catering

• Initial Complaint

  10/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was never able to have my wedding because of COVID. I contacted Loma for a refund and she kept ignoring me. We finally agreed upon a number and she said she would start paying me. Well, months had gone by and no payment. I contacted her multiple times and she didn’t respond. She sent two small payments (around $300) for a $4,000 refund that I’m requesting. She told me that she wasn’t paying me $4,000. I was never able to retrieve my decorations because she would ignore my texts and tell me that she was out of work, had COVID, had surgery, or had to clean out her storage unit to be able to get my belongings. She has now blocked my phone number and blocked me on social media so I can’t contact her. If BBB can’t help, then I will need to file a claim in court, which I don’t want to do for her sake and mine.

  Business response

  10/24/2022

  Response to customer complaint:

  
  

  In The fall of 2019, I had signed a service agreement with this customer to provide an all inclusive package providing everything for her wedding. Catering, flowers, decorations, everything she needed. The wedding was supposed to take place of May 2020. Due to Covid, her immediate family members were refusing to attend the wedding, even if everyone wore a mask. The bride was very upset. We then changed the date and she wanted me to remain available for a couple of dates after May.  Suddenly, she eloped and moved to ******** Ohio. At that point, she had asked me to still do a wedding for her in August. Even though that is a 3 Hour Dr. from where the original wedding was supposed to take place, I agreed to help her in August. I was trying to help her get the wedding of her dreams. Even though it was gonna cost me a lot of money to bring my stuff, equipment, and everything we needed to ******** Ohio.

  
  

  She never gave me an exact date in August and I was texting her explaining that I needed a date to ensure availability. All these canceled wedding dates were hurting my business because I could have taken other catering events. Soon after that conversation, she explained that they were having marital issues. She didn’t think a wedding was going to take place. She then started asking for a full refund because her car broke down, and she was trying to move to Texas to be with her family. 

  
  

  I had great compassion for her. I considered her a friend and I was trying to help. However, a full refund was a ridiculous request. I explained to her that I had already purchased things for her wedding with her deposit. Like: a custom made 8ft hexagon wood arch (Labor and supplies totaling $500), A shopping trip with her and her mother to Hobby lobby totaling $252, $300 for the florist, plus the cost of flowers, three different meetings with me, the wedding coordinator, her, and her fiancé (appt time cost ), etc.. I also explained to her that all of the different wedding dates that she canceled, the deposit was used to help cover the cost of the  loss of business for me.

  
  

  She was becoming very upset, still wanting the total $4000 refunded. I totally understand that getting married, divorced a couple of months later, moving to ******** initially, then trying to move to ****** was very rough on her. I was trying to be as generous as I could without hurting my family. She then told me she wanted her stuff that I had purchased so that she could resell it. I told her that was fine. She would have to come get her things. And I would clean out my storage unit and find all of the items. Finally, after a lot of discussion, we agreed on a $2500 refund and she would come get her things and resell it and try to recoup some of the money for herself. I feel that the $2500 refund was incredibly generous on my part. Most catering vendors would not have refunded anything. 

  
  

  At that point, I started sending payments to her mother , per her request, through ******. The first payment was $500. The customer stated in the complaint that they received a little less than that. It went through ******, so ****** probably charged a fee.

  
  

  I reached out to her and asked her to come get the 8 foot custom made hexagon arch. The person who made the arch for me had it in his garage and he and his family was moving so they needed it removed. I got no response from her about coming to **** ******** to get the arch. 

  
  

  I was actually attempting to get a small business loan so I could get the entire amount refunded to her. I had tried since June 13, 2022, but I found out recently that the company went out of business. I am working with another small business loan company at this point.

  
  

  Please keep in mind, there was no structured refund payment plan. I told her that I would get the $2500 paid back to her as soon as I can. I went through surgery, wasn’t able to work, so that delayed things.

  
  

  I did send another $300 payment. That was the day that she sent me a very threatening text message. At that point, I did block her from communicating with me due to the threatening text.

  
  

  Since the customer was accepting payments from me, that is acknowledgment that the $2500 refund was acceptable to her. 

  
  

  I am doing my very best to get the balance of $1700 refunded to her as soon as I can.

  Customer response

  11/09/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** *****

*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. ↩