Revolution Pastry Benjamin Estep or Chef Ben fraud, theif, sold business, uses hall location as address, no wedding cake?, told me NO REFUNDS, doesn't want to give full amount back, hung up the phone on me Westampton, New Jersey
I contracted wedding services with Chef Benjamin Estep (Chef Ben) of Revolution Pastry in December 2011 for my upcoming wedding that is in Sept 2012. I received his information from my reception hall venue as he came highly recommended. He also uses the reception hall to conduct all his business. Our cake tasting was done at the reception hall as well. Since we were pleased with the recommendation and his baking, we decided to have him create our wedding cake, a groomsmen cake and also a Viennese table for our upcoming wedding. We agreed to a total amount of $850. In order to show good faith, a deposit of $300 via check was given when the contract was signed.
As a routine check up, I sent an email to Chef Ben on Thurs, May 17, 2012 asking to confirm the balance due in order to pay the remainder balance due. I did not hear back. About two weeks later, I tried to access the company website {www.revolutionpastry.com} and the site no longer existed. On June 9th, 2012 - I then decided to give Chef Ben a call. It was then that I was informed from Benjamin Estep himself that he has sold his business [Revolution Pastry] and that he would not be able to honor my contract.
I was shocked, because I was mostly calling to confirm the amount due. I then explained that I needed my deposit refunded asap in order to pay a deposit to a new pastry chef, since he was unable to honor our agreement. He said that he needed my address in order to return my deposit, which I provided. I then asked for a timeframe for when my initial deposit would be returned to me, and he said "I'm not going to run to the post office today. I need to check the books, and I'll get back to you when I can". I then said thank you, and that I will call back within a week's time.
I called again on Saturday June 16th, 2012 and as soon as I introduced myself, Benjamin Estep disconnected our call. I called back again, and left a message explaining that I needed the deposit to be able to set up a new contract with another vendor, and his urgency on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
Today - June 18th, 2012 - I received an email from him at (pastrypimp7@gmail.com) which states the following:
Hello Bola, After reviewing our contract, I have decided to send out a check for
200. According to our contract that you signed and had verbally explained to
you, it clearly says at the bottom all deposits are non refundable. I feel this
is the most reasonable way to resolve the situation. I now consider this matter
closed. -Chef Ben
And I replied back:
Chef Ben,
This matter is not closed. A no refund policy is null and void in the event that the provider cancels the services. Otherwise, this is considered FRAUD. I did not cancel our contract, you did. According to our conversation on June 9th, 2012, you sold your business and therefore are unable to honor the agreements to our contract. As a result, a full refund is due, since you are unable to honor our agreement. If not, I may need to seek legal actions.
Your assistance is needed, because I should not be penalized when I did not cancel the contract. I have enough to deal with when planning a wedding, not to mention the fact that I still need to find a new cake vendor. A refund of a service that was never provided to me, nor cancelled by me should not be an issue.