I am writing to you to inform you of an unfortunate experience my family faced with a wedding decorations vendor based in Concord, Ca. Around Spring time last year my sister was making arrangements to celebrate the most important day of her life, her wedding. She had made all the arrangements including selecting the wedding hall and selecting vendors such as: photographers, bakers, decorations and mandap (this is a gazebo like structure that is used in traditional Indian weddings). She decided to select the mandap from Dulhan Weddings which cost $3000 and on 4/30/07 they received a $1500 deposit. Since the wedding location was outdoors and going to be in August we asked Tarak Patel from Dulhan Weddings if it would be possible to add a shade so that direct sunlight would not hit the bride and groom during the ceremony which typically lasts 4 hours. Tarak said that it would be possible however he would have to custom build it. At that point we just wanted to know if it was possible and never committed to move forward. On his final contract he explicitly states: Triangular Roof Cover on both sides of mandap (Triangle will be (10ft x 10 x 12ft)*
*No Charge for this item
On the first week of June an unfortunate tragedy occurred. My sister's father in law to be (based in LA) had three consecutive strokes. This was shocking, unexpected and devastating to our families. Quickly, it became a life or death situation and as a family we decided to hold off on the wedding. Immediately we informed our guests and vendors which included Marriot hotel, professional photographer who had spent a half day of photo shoot with the couple a few weeks prior, cake and our wedding decorators which included Dulhan Weddings. With the exception of Dulhan weddings all vendors understood the situation, expressed their sympathy and put aside their contracts in this unfortunate and unexpected event. Dulhan weddings expressed their sympathy and told us to let them know when the wedding plans would prevail.
It took several months for my sister's father in law to recover. The recovery process was very slow. Currently he can't walk and is wheelchair bound, unable to feed himself without help and can only utter a few words. He is going through rehab and by the grace of God he is making some good progress.
The couple decided to move forward with the wedding in May however it would take place in an indoor location in LA where her father in law resides. We told our vendors in the Bay Area about our plans and even decided to fly out some of the vendors that had understood our situation. This is when we began to see some problems with Dulhan Weddings. We told Dulhan Weddings about the change in venue and no need for a shade and extra outdoor decorations since the ceremony was going to take place indoors. Tarak responded by informing us that the cost of the an indoor mandap would be $2500 transportation costs from Bay Area to LA and that he could only apply $400 courtesy credit from the $1500 deposit that we had provided in April 07.
He justified this in an email:
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 19:30: 34 -0800 (PST)
From: "dulhan weddings"
Subject: Re: Details for XXXX Wedding
"That was a non-refundable deposit not transferable by any means as stated in the contract. It was unfortunate that the father-in-law was sick but I think I'm not responsible for that. I am offering to transfer a partial amount. I incurred $500 cost of producing 2 triangular roof tops at the request of your father who wanted this to prevent sunlight from hitting the mandap area, I can give those back to you because they are no use to me. If you want a receipt I can get you that as well. I am also deducting another $600 for loss of business income for turning down another order for the same day, same mandap in the San Jose area. I can also forward that email to you showing this. The loss was much more, but I am once again trying to help and be reasonable.
Here's the new amount that can be transferred $1500 paid for Aug wedding - $500 cost incurred - $600 loss of business = $400 can be applied as a courtesy credit."
This means he absorbed $1100 out of the $1500 deposit and our out of pocket expense would be $1500 $2500-$400 (courtesy credit)=$3600. Referring to his email above he mentions $500 for producing a shade which we were never told would cost $500 and contradicts what he wrote in the contract. After several requests for receipts for proof we never received them in the mail which reflects Tarak's shadiness. I believe as a customer I should at least have the right to see a receipt of the alleged "triangular shades" that cost $500 to construct and if as he mentions in his email, cannot be used anywhere else - then I deserve to have those mailed to my house. This has also not occurred.
$600 for loss of business. On 1/27/08 Tarak informs us that he had another client lined up for services on the same day as my sister's function and therefore would like to penalize us for a tragedy that was completely out of our hands. Note: there is no mention of loss of business on his contract; this is something he sprung onto us. On 1/28/08 I asked Tarak on the phone if he considered capitalizing on an extreme life and death situation to be an ethical business practice. I also pointed out that all the other vendors put down their contracts and cancellation penalties since they understood this was an extreme situation and would be unethical & not common sense to penalize. He refused to answer these questions and insisted on his firm position about non refundable deposit. He abruptly ended the phone call so I asked if we could conclude our discussion the next day at 7PM since I needed to clarify the discrepancy on the $500 shade and what he wrote in the contract. He agreed to call me, the next day (01/29/08) I waited for his call. After 30 minutes I tried calling back but would only get to his voicemail. That night I received the following harsh and insensitive email:
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 22:19: 20 -0800 (PST)
From: "dulhan weddings" Add Mobile Alert
Subject: Re: Details for XXXX Wedding
FINAL LETTER TO XXXX & XXXX
RE: DISPUTE FOR NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT
EMAIL DATE: JAN. 29
Dev: Stop wasting my time since you are displaying any interest in my services. If want to challenge or question my contract, ethics or my business methods, then go to your local courthouse & file a case. This would be appropriate or fun-spirited leading up the wedding?
I will no longer entertain your questions as my position is firm. Please do not email or call me again regarding this matter or any other matter.
Best,
Tarak Patel
Since then I have not heard back from Tarak. I filed a report with BBB and vendor has still not replied. It's been very difficult for our family to cope with this tragedy and it is unfortunate that Tarak's actions have exacerbated the situation. As a result we are left with no other choice but to select another vendor and assume $1500 loss. As a customer we feel violated and have come to the conclusion that Dulhan Weddings runs a business based on unethical principles and cannot be trusted. Thank you for your time, understanding and commitment to improving business ethics in our community.
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