Complaint Review: Dezember Photography and Randy Despain

 RIPOFF REPORT VERSION WARNING !!! FOR DEZEMBER PHOTOGRAPHY CUSTOMERS !!! DECEPTIVE PRACTICES BY DEZEMBER PHOTOGRAPHY AND OWNER RANDY DESPAIN We found Dezember at a wedding expo. We had a great meeting with Randy Despain (who is also the owner). His photography impressed us and although there are better options for videography the quality was sufficient. The only issue was price. As much as we wanted to book Dezember, we couldn't justify $4,800. We told Randy we were going to have to pass. He said he would try to work with us. We determined we could only afford $2,500 and accepted Dezember was not an option. Imagine our surprise when Randy texted saying he would do it. Even better, he just returned from Puerto Vallarta (our honeymoon destination) and had lots of tips. We were thrilled! We texted back, "You are amazing!! I will talk to Kyler [groom] tonight and get in touch with you this week to finalize booking everything". He replied, "Sounds great. We're happy to do it for you :)" If a wedding isn't enough, we have a 1 year old and are in the midst of a top to bottom home renovation. Spare time is nonexistent in our lives. With everything set and only formalities remaining, we turned attention to the other 235,171 things on our to-do list. We texted Sunday (5 days after expressing we would be coming in to finalize) asking when we could pay. We followed up again Tuesday morning. It turns out they close Sunday and Monday. It was mid-afternoon Tuesday when we were told Randy was no longer available but we could book a staff photographer FOR THE SAME PRICE with a $500 deposit RIGHT NOW. HA! We wanted to meet the new photographer before committing. The person calling, Office Manager Daysia(?), acted as if that was ridiculous and said she wouldn't be available until Friday, all the while emphasizing how important it was that we pay them the deposit. We were upset, but since we are reasonable people, understanding. Despite the solid verbal commitment we had not paid a deposit, so it made sense. Even though we are in a state where verbal contracts are binding and Dezember (and more specifically Randy) had committed to covering our wedding, we decided to cut our losses and accept responsibility. What did not make sense was not being informed that our date had been filled. Little did we know it was just beginning. We decided not to work with Dezember and told them we would not be coming in. The response? "Well okay then.... what a dummy. No WAY she found photo AND video for the price we offered her." followed quickly by "So sorry to hear that Brooke! We offered a screamin deal and would love to still get you booked" Needless to say customers should never be conversed about in this way. We were floored. Brooke [bride] posted the story in a Facebook group. A friend of Randy saw the post and informed him of what was going on. His first course of action was to ask the group admin to delete our post. The admin refused, so he called us instead. He clearly found this rather amusing, as he opened the conversation with a laugh saying he had heard about the "situation". He gave his side of the story: his mother was diagnosed with cancer and his family was going to Lake Powell the day of the wedding. He, being the great guy he is, decided not to go if we placed a deposit by Friday. If not, he would go to Lake Powell. None of this was communicated to us, so we had no idea this decision had been made. Randy was quite adamant the miscommunication wasn't his fault. He expressed repeatedly policy requires a deposit to hold a date. Had he listened he would have realized our question wasn't about policy but why we had not been told his offer expired on Friday, as we would have paid the deposit right then and there. Still no explanation as to why none of this was communicated. We hung up to a screenshot of his comments to the admin of the Facebook group: "And if you knew the entire story you'd agree that she's a dummy." Well, Randy, it's all right here. Even have screenshots and recordings so you don't have to worry about anyone being misinformed. You can try to talk circles and patronize your way out of this all you want, but the world has seen what you are truly made of. Randy Despain is using deceptive practices to scam unsuspecting couples who he thinks do not know any better into paying his staff salaries and generating passive income for himself while he travels the world. Too see such a brazen bait and switch in this modern era is astounding, but in a state where the local community is very trusting it makes sense that such practices have been allowed to carry on uncontested. It's time for Dezember Photography to be held accountable.