Trojan
21-Aug-09, 09:58
This article was printed in The Sunday Post on Sunday 11/1/09. Does anyone else have a story like this to share?
Chocolate fountain let-down left only a £300 bitter taste
LIKE every bride Cheryl Williamson, from Elgin , wanted her wedding and reception to be perfect.
After her husband Barry proposed in 2007 they planned a wedding in sun-kissed Barbados with close friends and family for October last year.
But they also wanted all their friends and both families to share in their joy at an evening reception soon after their return from honeymoon.
The wedding in Barbados was arranged and Cheryl found a beautiful wedding dress. They also booked a perfect venue for their homecoming reception, The Laichmoray Hotel in Elgin .
That just left some final but important decisions - including what to provide as the celebratory centrepiece for the meal.
As they planned to cut a traditional wedding cake in Barbados it didn't seem right to have a second wedding cake. But what to have instead?
At a wedding exhibition in Elgin in September 2007 they spotted the ideal answer bubbling away in a corner - a large chocolate fountain. This provides a stream of liquid chocolate for guests to dip food into, fondue style.
They knew immediately it was just what they were looking for and asked the firm with the fountain, Chocolate Indulgence Ltd, from Wick, if it was available on the date of their reception. It was! They were asked to pay a £50 deposit to guarantee the reservation and told a balance of £250 had to be paid at least one month before the reception.
No problem. They paid £50 there and then and were given a handwritten receipt. Written confirmation of the deposit and booking arrived by post a few days later.
Now everything was set. In August, as promised, the invoice for the final £250 payment arrived and Cheryl, by now in the thick of final plans and arrangements and anxious to ensure all was in order, immediately sent full payment to Chocolate Indulgence Ltd.
With everything set, their great occasion began when they jetted off to the West Indies in October.
The wedding was a great success and the new Mr and Mrs Williamson returned to Elgin raring to go to their reception.
But as she was going through her final checklist just 48 hours before the reception Cheryl realised she hadn't received her list from Chocolate Indulgence Ltd to select the five foods for her guests to dip in the fountain.
She got straight on the phone - and to her horror learned the owners had sold the business and the chocolate fountain service was no longer available.
Despite frantic efforts Cheryl and Barry couldn't reach the new owners or find a last-minute replacement and instead of the delicious flavours of melting chocolate they and their guests were left with just a bitter taste.
Everyone at the reception was very understanding and it was a great night. But the next day Cheryl and Barry wanted some answers - and the return of their £300.
They contacted the former owner of the company, Adelle Shaw, but despite several conversations that were as heated as the chocolate was supposed to be - they didn't recover the £300.
Unwilling to leave things at that Cheryl contacted Trading Standards who wrote to the former owner twice.
When there was still no progress Cheryl turned to Raw Deal.
We tried a mobile number Cheryl gave us for Adelle Shaw, the company's former owner. This was out of service.
We also left messages on an answering machine at her landline number and emailed.
Shortly afterwards we were contacted by Adelle Shaw with good news for Cheryl and Barry.
Mrs Shaw told us she had sold the company. As part of the deal the new owners had been expected to fulfil all outstanding contracts.
However they had failed to do so, leaving Mrs Shaw with some angry customers.
She told us she would be refunding the couple's money while she tried to resolve the issue with the new owners.
A delighted Cheryl said, "Thank you so much Raw Deal, we can't have our wedding reception over again but we're both delighted that with your help we should soon be getting our money back."
Chocolate fountain let-down left only a £300 bitter taste
LIKE every bride Cheryl Williamson, from Elgin , wanted her wedding and reception to be perfect.
After her husband Barry proposed in 2007 they planned a wedding in sun-kissed Barbados with close friends and family for October last year.
But they also wanted all their friends and both families to share in their joy at an evening reception soon after their return from honeymoon.
The wedding in Barbados was arranged and Cheryl found a beautiful wedding dress. They also booked a perfect venue for their homecoming reception, The Laichmoray Hotel in Elgin .
That just left some final but important decisions - including what to provide as the celebratory centrepiece for the meal.
As they planned to cut a traditional wedding cake in Barbados it didn't seem right to have a second wedding cake. But what to have instead?
At a wedding exhibition in Elgin in September 2007 they spotted the ideal answer bubbling away in a corner - a large chocolate fountain. This provides a stream of liquid chocolate for guests to dip food into, fondue style.
They knew immediately it was just what they were looking for and asked the firm with the fountain, Chocolate Indulgence Ltd, from Wick, if it was available on the date of their reception. It was! They were asked to pay a £50 deposit to guarantee the reservation and told a balance of £250 had to be paid at least one month before the reception.
No problem. They paid £50 there and then and were given a handwritten receipt. Written confirmation of the deposit and booking arrived by post a few days later.
Now everything was set. In August, as promised, the invoice for the final £250 payment arrived and Cheryl, by now in the thick of final plans and arrangements and anxious to ensure all was in order, immediately sent full payment to Chocolate Indulgence Ltd.
With everything set, their great occasion began when they jetted off to the West Indies in October.
The wedding was a great success and the new Mr and Mrs Williamson returned to Elgin raring to go to their reception.
But as she was going through her final checklist just 48 hours before the reception Cheryl realised she hadn't received her list from Chocolate Indulgence Ltd to select the five foods for her guests to dip in the fountain.
She got straight on the phone - and to her horror learned the owners had sold the business and the chocolate fountain service was no longer available.
Despite frantic efforts Cheryl and Barry couldn't reach the new owners or find a last-minute replacement and instead of the delicious flavours of melting chocolate they and their guests were left with just a bitter taste.
Everyone at the reception was very understanding and it was a great night. But the next day Cheryl and Barry wanted some answers - and the return of their £300.
They contacted the former owner of the company, Adelle Shaw, but despite several conversations that were as heated as the chocolate was supposed to be - they didn't recover the £300.
Unwilling to leave things at that Cheryl contacted Trading Standards who wrote to the former owner twice.
When there was still no progress Cheryl turned to Raw Deal.
We tried a mobile number Cheryl gave us for Adelle Shaw, the company's former owner. This was out of service.
We also left messages on an answering machine at her landline number and emailed.
Shortly afterwards we were contacted by Adelle Shaw with good news for Cheryl and Barry.
Mrs Shaw told us she had sold the company. As part of the deal the new owners had been expected to fulfil all outstanding contracts.
However they had failed to do so, leaving Mrs Shaw with some angry customers.
She told us she would be refunding the couple's money while she tried to resolve the issue with the new owners.
A delighted Cheryl said, "Thank you so much Raw Deal, we can't have our wedding reception over again but we're both delighted that with your help we should soon be getting our money back."