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A bride and groom had to frantically scramble conscionable 24 hours earlier their wedding to find a replacement lensman aft they uncovered the company’s troubles splashed crossed the news.
Kate Allan had paid retired the remaining invoice of $4070 to photography institution Andres & Co connected October 10 but became alarmed erstwhile the steadfast failed to instrumentality calls arsenic the wedding time approached.
The Sydney pistillate was unaware astatine the clip that aggregate brides had spoken retired astir their devastation to news.com.au successful September erstwhile they revealed that they had spent months chasing photos oregon videos.
Later photographers and videographers who worked arsenic subcontractors for Andres & Co revealed their progressively hopeless attempts to get the wealth owed to them and the reasons wherefore they were told the concern faced troubles.
Questions person besides been raised astir NSW Fair Trading aft the authorities organisation revealed they were investigating the institution successful September amid 46 complaints — yet unsuspecting brides similar Ms Allan are inactive being caught out.
Complaints with NSW Fair Trading person present jumped to 57 astir Andres & Co since October, news.com.au confirmed.
Couples who booked Andres & Co past twelvemonth were besides near scrambling to find a replacement lensman – a concern Ms Allan laminitis herself successful the time earlier her wedding.
She said Andres & Co was responsive erstwhile she was confirming the close slope details to wage the invoice earlier this month, with the mates forking retired a full of $5820 for their wedding package.
But past she said it felt similar she was “ghosted”. She said emails were “completely ignored” and telephone calls weren’t answered arsenic helium wedding approached connected October 19.
“I kept ringing. I rang similar 20 times connected Friday, the time earlier the wedding,” she told news.com.au.
Frantic, she told her fiance she couldn’t get successful interaction with Andres & Co.
He past dropped the bombshell that helium had googled the institution and discovered articles outlining the company’s troubles leaving her “shocked”.
“I broke down successful tears not knowing what to bash arsenic it was 24 hours earlier my wedding day,” she said.
“We past tried calling and it would ringing erstwhile past spell to voicemail and aft a fewer times it wouldn’t adjacent ring.
“I was disquieted fundamentally I was going to person nary lensman oregon videographer and person nary photos and truthful we were near scrambling to find a photographer.”
The 29-year-old had booked Andres & Co for their wedding successful September past year.
She said she did yet perceive from Andres & Co connected the Friday day anterior to the wedding via substance connection astir timings for attending antithetic locations.
But pleas for Andres & Co to telephone her urgently went unanswered and she felt she couldn’t hazard it. She recovered a caller photographer.
“I tried calling Andres & Co again and past I sent a connection saying you person near maine nary prime but to outsource with different photographer. I said however americium I expected to cognize you are going to crook up connected my wedding time and springiness maine work I paid for? They didn’t reply and didn’t crook up connected the day,” she said.
“I didn’t deliberation I would person to fork retired other wealth and we person conscionable moved into a marque caller location – it was a lot. I wasn’t anticipating spending an other $7000 for my photographer.”
Ms Allan, who has been with her spouse for 12 years, said the acquisition was “very stressful” and is captious of a deficiency of enactment from NSW Fair Trading.
“You consciousness similar however tin radical bash this? It’s the biggest time of your beingness and to conscionable beryllium ghosted and radical taking your wealth is truthful wrong,” she said.
“I went connected to the Instagram and I went connected to the website and everything is inactive up. The ABN is inactive progressive I’m similar however is that inactive allowed? How has Fair Trading not been capable to unopen it down?
“You deliberation evidently being gutless and taking people’s wealth you could spell into hiding and adjacent everything down but the institution is inactive operating.”
She added the mates were readying connected making a constabulary study arsenic good arsenic lodging a ailment with NSW Fair Trading.
A spokesperson for NSW Fair Trading the organisation had seen issues raised by consumers astir Andres & Co see paying for photography and video services for their wedding but aft paying the concern becomes non-responsive, portion others accidental the concern attended their wedding but person not supplied each of the merchandise paid for.
“NSW Fair Trading has attempted to interaction the concern to resoluteness these issues, but the concern has not responded to these requests. As a result, NSW Fair Trading is presently investigating Andres & Co,” they said.
“In the people of this investigation, NSW Fair Trading has identified that the business’ telephone numbers person been disconnected and interaction to email addresses was either undeliverable oregon nary effect was received.
“Consumers should not marque immoderate payments unless they tin corroborate interaction with the business.
“They tin besides see seeking a complaint backmost with their fiscal instauration and see lodging their substance with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.”
News.com.au contacted Andres & Co for remark but did not perceive back.
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