Island Boys Band Breeched contract, purposely uses pseudonym to avoid litigation. Frauds, liars, theives, cheats and extremely unprofessional. New York New York and Florida
Island Boys Band
islandboysband.com
Willy Cruz
Willy The Pan Man
islandboys@islandboysband.com
willycruz@mac.com
Island Boys Steel Drum Band
Island Boys Caribbean Band
Island Boys Calypso Band
Willy Cruz & The Big Dub Style Sound
Entered a contract with the aforementioned entities (I got their information from Gigmasters.com) to perform at my party wherein it was stated that there would be a 3-piece band with VOCALS for $1,500 for 3, 50 minute sets. The band showed up 45 minutes late. Once they arrived and set up, the band was not providing vocals, so I asked Ceaser, the band leader, on 3 occasions, "Where are my vocals?" Ceaser replied "there are no vocals" and laughed. One of the other members stated he needed to warm up first before he performed his vocals. After several attempts to get them to sing, the band wrapped up the last of its 3, 50 minute sets, never singing one song. Persuant to the band's policy, I had already paid them in full. Again, the contract stated I was to be provided with vocals and I did not receive vocals. I would never have agreed to pay a band $1,500 for background music (no vocals) which I could have provided with a CD for free.
Two days later I requested a partial refund of $500 due to no vocals. The band's Manager, Willy Cruz, wasn't aware that there were no vocals and kept putting me off saying he needed to check with Ceaser why there were no vocals. He further rationalized that no vocals were provided and that I should not complain about it due to the increased gas prices. For this consumer, this is an unacceptable rationalization that I did not get vocals (that were guaranteed in my contract) because gas prices did go up.
He further replied via e-mail, "Lisa, As I reiterated before. The Band fulfilled their contractual agreement to the fullest. There are no grounds for any lawsuite. Not to mention you dont know my address and i use a pseudonym name as well.. " (This is a direct quote from his e-mail, forgive the misspellings) It is woefully apparent that Willy Cruz aka Willy The Pan Man attempts to avoid liability and litigation by not providing the consumer with his full identity.
CONSUMER WARNING: This band does not fulfill its contractual obligations. Willy Cruz aka Willy the Pan Man, purposely provides limited information in his contracts so that the consumer can not seek legal recourse when he does not fulfill his legal obligations.
However, this consumer IS seeking legal recourse for this fraudulent act/contract violation regarding the above situation.
I shall post my results from my attorney once received. Please do not use any of the aforementioned entities unless you wish to be ripped off. I hope this helps protect any potential consumers.
Lisa
Greeley, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Lisa
Milford,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
So sorry Brian!
#5Author of original report
Tue, November 30, 2010
Hi Brian,
I'm so sorry to hear that the Island Boys Band did not show up for your wedding. I too wish that you had seen my post prior to hiring them. I like to think that some people have seen my warning and haven't hired them because of it. Now they will read yours too and hopefully will make the decision to go with a different band.
I never went after them because frankly it wasn't worth my energy (plus Willy The Pan Man threatened Voodoo on my family - I'm not kidding he did...but that's not why we didn't go after him.) I just decided I didn't need the negative energy in my life and that eventually he would get his payback so I let it go.
I wish you all the best and would like to thank you for posting your comment. Again, I'm so sorry that they took advantage of you. You lost far more than I did so I would encourage you to proceed with legal action. If you need a character witness - you know who to contact. I would be more than happy to testify against these thieves.
Congratulations on your wedding!
Anonymous
Pennington,New Jersey,
United States of America
Island Boys did not show up for our Wedding.
#5Consumer Comment
Mon, October 18, 2010
Lisa,
Mr. Willie did not show up for our wedding. Just like you said he wrote a predatory contract and now is claiming the reason he did not show up was that no directions were provided. We provided him with an address and location. Anyone with a map or access to the internet could have located our wedding ceremony. All our attempts to communicate via phone and email with Willie were ignored two weeks prior to our event. He responded to us only after the event when we asked what happened and threatened to pursue legal action.
I wish I had stumbled on this report before hand because all of his reviews on gigmaster.com and gigsalad.com were excellent. I think he is a very good con artist or an actual musician that selectively tries to take advantage of people. Probably a mixture of both.
I was curious if there was any result from your legal proceedings and if it would make sense to coordinate/cooperate together. I know pursuing something in small claims court might be hard but I feel like this guy should be brought to justice. Respond with your email address and I would be glad to speak with you about this.
Anybody that reads any of these reports don't listen to Willie's response or his reviews. At the very least pay him only after the event is finished. In my opinion, hire someone else for your piece of mind.
Brian
Islandboys Steelpan Calypso Band
Tampa,Florida,
U.S.A.
Islandboys Band Fulfilled All Contractual Obligations with Client.
#5REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, June 19, 2008
The Band did not arrive 45 minutes late. I called the site and was informed that the Band arrived 15 minutes late due to her Bad directions. The Client Lisa Gamerikian, aka Lisa Mc Ateer, Lisa Greely contracted a 3 piece Band for 4 hours. In fact the band was expecting to do vocals, however the weather condtions did not permit the band to set up a vocal mic. During inclement weather , heavy downpours using a vocal mic with wet terrian could expose the Band member using the mic to electrocusion. Ms Mc Ateer apparently did not care about this issue .
She was not at all hospitable to the band members who travelled all the way from NYC to PA for this event. I offered the client a professional Authentic Caribbean Band who has had rave reviews from all my Clients. You can navigate to Gigmasters.com and look at all of our Client Reviews , one specifically for Caesar and his Band. The client was very pleased.
Obviously anyone can write a bad report about anyone on this site. The truth of the matter is all Contractual Obligations were fulfilled and there is nothing that can substantiate her accusations.
If anyone seeking out my Band wishes to have proof of our credibility please do not hesitate to call any of our clients, caterers or agents. We have been serving the TriState area for nearly 15 years and this is the first time I have had such a complaint from obvoiusly a very miserable individual.
Lisa
Milford,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Band's Website states that they were at another location on the date of my event.
#5Author of original report
Thu, June 19, 2008
According to islandboysband.com, the Island Boys Band was performing at Old Westbury Gardens, NY the same date they were allegedly performing at my home. Please visit their link
http://www.islandboysband.com/index1.php. This may explain why there were no vocals at my event. The band wasn't even there...they picked up homeless people in NYC, brought them to my house and billed them as the Island Boys Band. I'm thinking I'm entitled to a $1,500 refund. I did not enter a contractual agreement with NYC homeless people.