court papers from wedding venue/Counterclaim Made & Won!

[GuidoT]

I cannot attach anything either to this thread.

 

I will find out why this is and see what we can do.

[legalpickle]

I cannot attach anything either to this thread.

 

I will find out why this is and see what we can do.

 

Ta, GuidoT. I PM'd jonni2bad.

[sparkycpu]

Any news on posting an attachment yet anyone.

[ForestChav]

What format is the attachment: you can always host images somewhere like imageshack or tinypic and post a link to them in this thread.

[legalpickle]

What format is the attachment: you can always host images somewhere like imageshack or tinypic and post a link to them in this thread.

 

ForestChav: Welcome to this thread. If you read it you will see that the attachment is an Excel spreadsheet.

[GuidoT]

Still looking into it.

[GuidoT]

It is okay for me now.

[sparkycpu]

Hi legalpickle attached is the excel sheet you asked for.

 

If more info is needed please let me know.

 

Many thanks sparkycpu.

CAG.xls

Edited September 15, 2008 by sparkycpu

[legalpickle]

Hi legalpickle attached is the excel sheet you asked for.

 

If more info is needed please let me know.

 

Many thanks sparkycpu.

 

Hi Sparky,

 

Firstly: Quick question 1: It's unclear from the spreadsheet whether the Pimms were on the Quotation and you refused them, or were not on the Quotation and were only provided at the ceremony, without even being on the Quotation.

 

Secondly: Quick question 2: Sorry if we've covered this already, how much exactly were they claiming. Is it £298 including the £30 court fee or plus the £30 court fee?

According to my calculations they overcharged you by £230.40. This is based on the following:

 

1. Pimms: £210.

2. Red Wine: £5.20. [Overcharged 40p/bottle x 13 bottles]

3. White Wine: £5.60. [Overcharged 40p/bottle x 14 bottles]

4. Toasting Wine: £9.60. [Overcharged 80p/bottle x 12 bottles]

 

If this is correct then this is Part 1 of your defence, which we will have to articulate soon.

 

Now on to the next part. Without the details of numbers 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 in your spreadsheet I cannot assist with those bits. It would be best to have as much information as possible, even if removing personal details, as it would help me - and anybody else - assist you to the best of our abilities.

 

I must make the disclaimer that if it transpires that something you haven't told was extremely pertinent to the situation, it is likely that your chances of success may be substantially reduced.

 

What has to be done now:

1. We need to verbalize Part 1 above in the form of a defence.

2. Explanation and answer to issues above, below Part 1.

3. Question: Who is marked as the Defendant? You, your wife or both of you? If it is you or your wife then the other one of you will have to prepare a witness statement. If both of you then the statements within the defence will be sufficient. Part 3: If you are named as the Defendant then you will need to deal with this. If your wife is named as the Defendant then she will need to deal with this. If both of you are named as Defendant's then you should work together and frame an agreed statement here. Statement clearly in the Defendant's words [though I will happily proof it] of the damage caused to your wedding day. How you felt. Go into detail, but not into too much detail. Clear and succinct. Numbered points with no more than 5 lines, preferably not more than 4, if possible not more than 3 lines.

If you or your wife are named as Defendant, but not Co-Defendant's then the other should follow the same rule - do not work together over this, we don't want too much repetition, though a little bit - but not too obvious - is fine. This is for a separate witness statement so will not be part of the defence.

4. Witness Statements: In addition to the above, it will assist your case a lot if you can find 2-4 people who are willing to write witness statements in their own words about the event, that would be beneficial to your case. The Claimant may wish to write questions to them, which they will have to answer clearly, succinctly [one of my favourite words that, so you'll see a lot of it !] and you must be confident that they will be cooperative with you. One witness statement from one of your parents may be good, but we're looking for friends rather than relatives here as I feel it carries more weight. These should follow the same rules as in 3 above. Again, it would be best if they were proofed by somebody else that is not involved in the case - that can be us on CAG or somebody else, but this is always recommended. They will need to sign these statements and may need to supply their addresses, though don't do this first time round. Sometimes the court insists on this, in which case they can be resubmitted with the addresses on them, but try to avoid this for obvious reasons.

 

Once we have completed Part 3, I can realistically look at this and say from a bystanders viewpoint if I think you should be entitled to more compensation. Right now I am inclined to say yes, but I have to look at it in more detail with the rest of the materials.

 

Interjection here for other people in CAG: Your help is always much appreciated. It is through the communal spirit that CAG is what it is today. However, there are some people in CAG - as with any community - that do not exhibit the understanding and empathy needed for sensitive issues such as this. The help of everybody is much appreciated, but PLEASE exhibit your views in as neutral and sympathetic way as possible. If you can't, please don't exhibit your views at all. There are enough other places on the internet to flame. Thanks for your understanding.

 

Now that I have made that statement, I should say that those people who can help, your help on this issue is appreciated. I, like most others on CAG, have other things on in my life and like everybody else am not getting paid for this. I therefore won't spend 24/7 looking at this and thinking about it, so may overlook things. We are all human, so this could well happen. So if you have anything to add or comment on, in a constructive manner, please do so.

 

Tomorrow I will work on Part 1 of the defence. If you have any questions in the meanwhile, please don't hesitate to ask.

 

Apologies for the extremely long post, but I think it was necessary.

Edited September 8, 2008 by legalpickle
important additions

[sparkycpu]

Hi legalpickle,

 

many thanks again,

 

The pimms was on the quotation but i asked for it not to be served, after the photos had been taken, i saw it on the table being served and asked them not to serve anymore as i had not asked for it.

 

They are claiming £298 plus £30 court fees total £328.

 

No. 7,8,9,11 are all f.o.c.

 

No. 10 This was the evening buffet it was a minimum charge of £1500 for upto 150 people, after they served the completely wrong food i complained about this and they reduced the price to £1200.

 

I am the only named defendant on the papers.

 

I will speak to some people and ask if they will write a witness statement, my wife will of course be writing one! and i shall work on mine.

[legalpickle]

Hi legalpickle,

 

many thanks again,

 

The pimms was on the quotation but i asked for it not to be served, after the photos had been taken, i saw it on the table being served and asked them not to serve anymore as i had not asked for it.

 

They are claiming £298 plus £30 court fees total £328.

 

No. 7,8,9,11 are all f.o.c.

 

No. 10 This was the evening buffet it was a minimum charge of £1500 for upto 150 people, after they served the completely wrong food i complained about this and they reduced the price to £1200.

 

I am the only named defendant on the papers.

 

I will speak to some people and ask if they will write a witness statement, my wife will of course be writing one! and i shall work on mine.

 

 

Sorry for my ignorance on this issue, but what do you mean by 'f.o.c.'?

 

Did you accept the reduction of £300 on the evening buffet for that amount? What I mean is did you agree to pay £1,200 for the evening buffet? If yes, unfortunately you can't ask for a reduction on the price for not providing what was promised, though this wouldn't affect the compensation claim.

[sparkycpu]

Hi, sorry for that f.o.c. means 'free of charge'

 

No. 7 & 8 were free of charge

 

No. 9 & 11 were supplied by ourselves, our flower arranger and our disco, these items had nothing to do with the venue, it was just on the quote sayiny that we were suppling them.

 

also is there any specific words that need putting in the witness statements, ie. This is my statement of ???????,

Or should they just be written in a standard letter format, addressed on the letter to me, and signed and dated

 

sparky.

[legalpickle]

Hi, sorry for that f.o.c. means 'free of charge'

 

No. 7 & 8 were free of charge

 

No. 9 & 11 were supplied by ourselves, our flower arranger and our disco, these items had nothing to do with the venue, it was just on the quote sayiny that we were suppling them.

 

also is there any specific words that need putting in the witness statements, ie. This is my statement of ???????,

Or should they just be written in a standard letter format, addressed on the letter to me, and signed and dated

 

sparky.

 

Ok, I'm very bad with short terms unfortunately. It's one of my many shortfalls

 

They should be numbered, as in the defence and for your wife's statement [which will be a witness statement, not part of the defence]. Each paragraph should be no longer than 5 lines, pref 4 lines.

 

I'll prepare a header for you and post it either later tonight or tomorrow. It would state the case details and then 'WITNESS STATEMENT OF ... IN SUPPORT OF THE DEFENDANT'. As far as posting here, just post the initials and remove any personal details or initial them.

 

At the end of each and every witness statement there should be non-numbered section entitled 'Statement of Truth' with the statement "I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement dated __ September 2008 are true" [dates in court action should always be in full format as opposed to short format].

 

In the top right hand corner, below the header I'll supply, should be the date again in full format like 9th September 2008.

 

I've currently got a 24hr blood pressure monitor on me which is extremely annoying and making it very difficult to do any work. I've also had a very difficult day. So, I can't promise to get back to you today, but will do my utmost to do it tomorrow late afternoon / early evening.

Edited September 10, 2008 by legalpickle

[legalpickle]

I would have liked to post these two attachments as an edit to my previous post, but for some reason can't, so am posting another post here.

 

Attachment 1: courtdocsheader.doc - header for Witness Statements & Defence. [Though depends how long the defence ends up being, I have a few other forms for defences and counterclaims, so those may be relevant].

 

Attachment 2: sparkycpu-defencepart1.doc - proposed first part of the defence.

 

Feel free to recommend changes. We're all human and miss things, so any help would always be appreciated and is one of the best parts of the CAG community .

 

Please can a mod approve the attachments?

courtdocsheader.doc

sparkycpu-defencepart1.doc

[sparkycpu]

Hi legalpickle,

 

Didnt know if you wanted me to fill in the second part of the defence regarding the evening, ive had ago but please anyone feel free to post ammendments as im not great at writing this sort of thing.

 

My wife is working her witness statement and i have a couple of others coming to me shortly from friends, will post my wifes one when it is done, if anyone would like a proof read and suggest any alterations your comments will be noted.

 

many thanks, sparky.

sparkycpu-defencepart1.doc

[legalpickle]

Hi legalpickle,

 

Didnt know if you wanted me to fill in the second part of the defence regarding the evening, ive had ago but please anyone feel free to post ammendments as im not great at writing this sort of thing.

 

My wife is working her witness statement and i have a couple of others coming to me shortly from friends, will post my wifes one when it is done, if anyone would like a proof read and suggest any alterations your comments will be noted.

 

many thanks, sparky.

 

Sparky:

 

This is what I was asking for, sorry if I wasn't to clear:

1. Any comments on the Part 1 of the Defence as I framed it.

2. You to write a statement, in the same form as your wife, which will be made part of the Defence after it's been proofed. Till we've all gone through this, please post it on the thread rather than as an attachment.

 

So far so good, but not enough detail of what went wrong. Also, at this stage don't word the defending part, only the summary bit. We'll work on the actual defence bit to the rest of the claim once you & your wife have completed your statements.

 

Ideally a witness statement from somebody who went and bought their own food would be good. It should include something like "It was rather embarrassing and we didn't want to admit it to the Defendant but were confronted after somebody else told him and his wife. We then admitted that the food was no good - and a Hot Finger Buffet sounded amazing - so we went and bought a take-away. The Defendant asked us if we would be willing to assist him in defending this frivolous claim that he has shown us, and we volunteered in happiness as the "wedding meal" was certainly not a meal fit for a wedding and the aggravation that the Claimant has caused all involved is impossible to calculate in full." [don't take it word for word, coz that's off the top of my head!].

 

Once we have your & your wife's statements we'll finish the defence [and counterclaim - if we go that way], touch it up and leave it to you to file.

 

It would be ideal if witness statements of others were available at this time but not to worry if not. The court will most likely give another stage to file any witness statements, which I normally use to file updated witness statements in response to the other parties further responses, but can be used for any witness statements. However, it is always best to include witness statements that establish the bulk of the claim with the Particulars of Claim as opposed to later.

[sparkycpu]

Hi all,

 

I have altered a couple of bits in the top section, and hopefully this is what you wanted for the summary of the night

 

 

 

Part 1: Breach of contract:

 

1. The Defendant objected to the provision of “Pimms” at his wedding ceremony. Nonetheless, despite having been told twice at two separate meetings and objections at the time, the Claimant refused to remove the “Pimms” from the Invoice. Neither the Defendant nor his wife at any time accepted the “Pimms” at the ceremony. On this basis the “Pimms” which were charged at a total of £210 cannot be claimed by the Claimant.

 

2. On the Quotation to the Defendant, the Claimant agreed to provide 40 wine bottles at £11.50 each. These would be charged as they were taken. In reality the Claimant provided 13 bottles of Red Wine and 14 bottles of White Wine at £11.90 each. The Claimant overcharged the Defendant in their invoice by £0.40p per bottle coming to a total overcharge of £10.80 [£5.20 for the Red Wine and £5.60 for the White Wine].

 

3. On the Quotation to the Defendant the Claimant agreed to provide 16 bottles of Sparkling Wine [or Toasting Wine] at £18.80 each. These would be charged as they were taken. In reality the Claimant provided 12 bottles at £19.60 each. The Claimant overcharged the Defendant in their invoice by £0.80p per bottle coming to a total overcharge of £9.60.

 

In summary of the above paragraphs, the Defendant disputes that the Claimant can charge the above amounts which total £230.40. Thus far the Claimant’s claim has been reduced to £67.60 plus court fees.

 

Part 2: Summary of night:

 

When the evening reception was underway, an announcement was made over the microphone that the evening buffet was being served, at this time I was walking round still talking to guests. On approaching three of my guests I noticed that they were eating plates of chicken curry and rice, when I asked them about this they said there was a choice of chicken curry or meat in gravy, this was later found to be beef bourguignonne , or pasta salad, they commented that it was a strange thing to have on offer. I gave my apologies and told them it was meant to be a hot finger buffet consisting of hot sausages, chicken wings, potatoe skins garlic bread etc. This mistake was upsetting and distressing as when I went to see some more guests, the same reaction was given by them to what was served, I found myself apologising more and more as I went around the room.

 

When I spoke to my wife she had been doing the same thing as I and we were both shocked and upset about what had happened, at no time had we been told our hot finger buffet was to be replaced by chicken curry and felt very dissapointed that the venue had thought this would be appropriate food to serve. Being faced with the choice of asking them to stop serving the food, in which case none of our guests would eat, or let them continue serving, so at least some people would eat, we decided to let them carry on serving the food.

 

In my opinion the food served was not adequate and certainly not fit for a wedding, neither of my own children would eat anything, and as has come to light since, guests were leaving early to get to the chip shop or take away for themselves or there children. To find this out after the occasion has left us feeling as though we provided a cheap, token gesture of food for all our guests, not the wonderfully described hot finger buffet we had ordered and were expecting. Also the numerous vegetarians that had been to the wedding, and the ones that turned up for the reception, had a choice of a pasta dish or plain rice, this is also not as we were expecting and was considered to be a poor substitute for a vegetarian option to the hot finger buffet .

 

This, along with rude staff, being overcharged for drinks compared to our quotation, being supplied with drinks we did not ask for, and the general attitude from the venue that we had a good day, and they are sorry, but can we still have our money, all of this, along with this frivolous, claim has deeply upset and distressed my wife and I and we find it hard to look back now with any happiness at what should have been our special day. The planning that had gone into our special day should have assured us that the day would be perfect for us.

Edited September 14, 2008 by sparkycpu
Edit after comments

[legalpickle]

Almost there. Whilst I agree and understand that the main meal had a big affect on you, playing devils advocate, there is a chance that the court will disagree.

 

For your benefit I'd therefore like to have this statement of yours as negative as possible. Please accentuate the problems with the meal and how ridiculous it was, the difference between the buffet [you haven't described what this included] agreed and what was offered.

 

Also, focus on the other problems they caused. I want to make this as strong as possible for your benefit, so tone it up a bit.

[sparkycpu]

have edited the above, hope this ones better:)

[legalpickle]

Part 2: Summary of night:

 

 

When the evening reception was underway, an announcement was made over the microphone that the evening buffet was being served, at this time I was walking round still talking to guests. On approaching three of my guests I noticed that they were eating plates of chicken curry and rice, when I asked them about this they said there was a choice of chicken curry or meat in gravy, this was later found to be beef bourguignonne , or pasta salad, they commented that it was a strange thing to have on offer. I gave my apologies and told them it was meant to be a hot finger buffet consisting of hot sausages, chicken wings, potatoe skins garlic bread etc. This mistake was upsetting and distressing as when I went to see some more guests, the same reaction was given by them to what was served, I found myself apologising more and more as I went around the room.

 

When I spoke to my wife she had been doing the same thing as I and we were both shocked and upset about what had happened, as at no time had we been told our hot finger buffet was to be replaced by chicken curry and felt very disappointed that the venue had thought this would be appropriate food to serve. Being faced with the choice of asking them to stop serving the food, in which case none of our guests would eat, or let them continue serving, so at least some people would eat, we decided to let them carry on serving the food.

 

In my opinion the food served was far from adequate and certainly not fit for a wedding. Neither of my own children would eat anything, and as has come to light since, some guests were leaving early to get to the chip shop or take away for themselves or there children. To find this out after the occasion has left us feeling as though we provided a cheap, token gesture of food for all our guests, not the wonderfully described hot finger buffet we had ordered and were expecting.

 

In addition the numerous vegetarians that had been to the wedding, and the ones that turned up for the reception, had a choice of a pasta dish or plain rice, also not as we were expecting and was considered to be a poor substitute for a vegetarian option to the hot finger buffet .

 

This, along with rude staff, being overcharged for drinks compared to the quotation, being supplied with drinks we did not ask for, and the general attitude from the venue that we had a good day, and they are sorry, but can we still have our money, all of this, along with this frivolous claim has deeply upset and distressed my wife and I and we find it hard to look back now with any happiness at what should have been our special day. The planning that had gone into our special day should have assured us that the day would be perfect for us.

 

Underline 1: Is this spelt right?

Underline 2: "etc." No good. Detail in full with no "etc."

Underline 3: Nope. The court won't like that. Either "what we see as .." or preferably not as radical terminology.

 

I have bolded a few bits with small changes that I think are right. I have also made it into another paragraph.

 

What I need you to do now is to separate them into numbered sections of an absolute maximum 5 lines, though preferably 4.

 

You claim "rude staff" and "general attitude from the venue that we had a good day". Express yourself. Separate this into another paragraph. Were the staff rude to any of your guests? Give some examples of how they were rude?

 

I also want you to take the last sentence and make it even stronger and into several sentences - turn it into it's own paragraph.

 

I want to turn this into such a work of art that they will settle the second they receive it, or worst case scenario the judge will tell them off and give you everything you ask for if they're too conceited to settle.

 

Please don't edit the editions, I want to compare them.

[sparkycpu]

Hi, below is my wifes witness statement, it has not came out as i wrote it in the word doc, it is actually seperated alot more than it looks.

 

 

It is with great disappointment that I find myself having to state the points below, which have all added up to causing great distress and unhappiness since my wedding day. I should have lovely memories but these have been tarnished by lack of care, communication and sympathy caused by the venue.

 

1. At a meeting with J prior to our wedding my husband and I discussed food for our evening reception, we chose the hot finger buffet. As it was explained it would consist of hot sausages, chicken wings and potato skins, these were mentioned by J as some of the items it would contain, which would have suited all of our guests.

Instead on the wedding day I noticed 3 old pots which contained chicken curry, beef bourguignon and rice, also there was a pasta salad for the vegetarians. I was so disappointed as most of my family would not eat curry and my poor children had nothing to eat, which I felt was disgraceful

I had to constantly give my apologies to guests for weeks later, especially those who came only to the evening reception, and this was very embarrassing for all parties. I also found out that guests had even left early to get themselves, or their children, a take away from the chip shop. This should never have happened.

 

2. During the same meeting with J the drinks to be served after the ceremony were also discussed. We chose the sparkling wine with half a glass top up, for those not drinking and the children we chose orange juice, as this could also be used to make bucks fizz if wanted by our guests.

We were very shocked to find, after having had our photos taken outside, that our guests had also been served Pimms, this had been mentioned at the meeting but we decided against having it, it was also put on the quotation and my husband had told J at a further meeting, finalising numbers of guests, that it was not wanted. My husband went and told them to stop serving the Pimms as we had not asked for it. Once again a lack of communication through staff.

 

 

 

 

3. After having been served our wedding breakfast I noticed our two year old daughter had not been given any food, I told my husband who informed a waitress, her response was very rude and snapped at him that the babies were not being fed, and that my husband would have to sort it out with J himself. My poor husband then had to leave all our guests and traipse around looking for Jennifer to sort out this matter. Finally my daughter and the other young children were fed.

This should never have occurred as, during our meeting with J, we were assured that children in high chairs would be fed free of charge, not that they wouldn’t be fed. Yet again more lack of communication between the staff.

 

4. The invoice then arrived within a week of the wedding and my husband and I were quite shocked, to say the least, that we had been charged for the Pimms, this being their mistake, we had also been charged for chair covers, which at £200 we had decided against, which they had left on. The table wine and the pink toasting wine had been grossly overcharged compared to the quotation we had prior to our wedding.

The so called hot finger buffet had also still been charged at £1500 which was simply unbelievable, I was absolutely shocked that they could expect us to pay this amount for such a poor amount of food, and something which was not what we were told we would get or that we had asked for.

I was getting very disheartened with J at this point and felt that she was being greedy and trying to take advantage of our special day, hoping we would pay the final invoice without query.

My husband then went into the venue to discuss these matters with J, who was not available, so he spoke to the secretary who said that she will notify J of all matters of concern, and how nice and calm my husband had been, and I have no doubts on this.

J never met with my husband or I, face to face In a civilized way, to discuss the points raised but sent a letter with an apology for her failures and that of her staff on the day. J stated that it was entirely her fault as she had mis-worded directions to the chef. A revised invoice was sent out deducting the cost of the chair covers and reducing the amount of the evening buffet by £300. This in my mind and my husbands was not a sufficient amount, I then enclosed a cheque with a letter from my husband, stating that the amount enclosed was all we were willing to pay considering the mistakes and distress that had been caused. This cheque was banked straight away and we had heard nothing else from J, until three weeks later when we received a letter from her asking for the balance of payment, this has led to the position we are in now.

 

I cannot believe the venue has taken this to court. Through their own incompetence they have managed to ruin our memories of what my husband and I had worked so hard for, planning the wedding of our dreams. This has left my husband and I with so much distress and upset in the onset of our marriage, which I believe no one should have to endure.

 

 

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement dated 14th September 2008 are true.

Edited September 14, 2008 by sparkycpu

[legalpickle]

 

It is with great disappointment that I find myself having to state the points below, which have all added up to causing great distress and unhappiness since my wedding day. I should have lovely memories but these have been tarnished by lack of care, communication and sympathy caused by the venue.

 

1. At a meeting with J [from the Claimant] prior to our wedding my husband and I discussed food for our evening reception and we chose the hot finger buffet. It was mentioned by J that some of the things this would include would be hot sausages, chicken wings and potato skins, which would have suited all of our guests.

 

2. Instead on the wedding day I noticed 3 old pots which contained chicken curry, beef bourguignon and rice, also there was a pasta salad for the vegetarians. I was so disappointed as most of my family would not eat curry and my poor children had nothing to eat, which I felt was disgraceful.

 

3. I felt it necessary to constantly give my apologies to guests for weeks beyond my wedding day, especially to those who came only to the evening reception, which was very embarrassing for all involved. I also found out that guests had even left early to get themselves, or their children, a take away from the chip shop. This should never have happened and just adds to the embarrassment and disappointment that me and my husband [the Defendant] have felt and still feel.

 

2. During the same meeting with J the drinks to be served after the ceremony were also discussed. We chose the sparkling wine with half a glass top up, for those not drinking and for the children we chose orange juice, as this could also be used to make bucks fizz if wanted by our guests.

 

3. We were very shocked to find, after having had our photos taken outside, that our guests had also been served Pimms. This had been mentioned at the meeting but we decided against having it, it was also put on the quotation and my husband had told J at a further meeting, when finalising numbers of guests, that it was not wanted. My husband went and told them to stop serving the Pimms as we had not asked for it. Once again a lack of communication through staff was clearly demonstrated.

 

4. After having been served our wedding breakfast I noticed our two year old daughter had not been given any food, I told my husband who informed a waitress, her response was very rude and snapped at him that the babies were not being fed, and that my husband would have to sort it out with J himself. My poor husband then had to leave all our guests and traipse around looking for J to sort out this matter. Finally, after this aggravation, my daughter and the other young children were fed. This should never have occurred as, during our meeting with J, we were assured that children in high chairs would be fed free of charge, not that they wouldn’t be fed. Yet again more lack of communication between the staff was evident.

 

5. The invoice then arrived within a week of the wedding and my husband and I were quite shocked, to say the least, that we had been charged for the Pimms, this being their mistake, we had also been charged for chair covers, which at £200 we had decided against, which they had left on. The table wine and the pink toasting wine had been grossly overcharged compared to the quotation we had prior to our wedding.

The so called hot finger buffet had also still been charged at £1500 which was simply unbelievable, I was absolutely shocked that they could expect us to pay this amount for such a poor amount of food, and something which was not what we were told we would get or that we had asked for.

6. I was getting very disheartened with J at this point and felt that she was being greedy and trying to take advantage of our special day, hoping we would pay the final invoice without query. My husband then went into the venue to discuss these matters with J, who was not available, so he spoke to the secretary who said that she will notify J of all matters of concern, and how nice and calm my husband had been, and I have no doubts on this.

7. J never met with my husband or I, face to face In a civilized way, to discuss the points raised but sent a letter with an apology for her failures and that of her staff on the day. J stated that it was entirely her fault as she had mis-worded directions to the chef. A revised invoice was sent out deducting the cost of the chair covers and reducing the amount of the evening buffet by £300. This in my mind and my husbands was not a sufficient amount, I then enclosed a cheque with a letter from my husband, stating that the amount enclosed was the maximum we were willing to pay considering the mistakes and distress that had been caused. This cheque was banked straight away and we had heard nothing else from J, until three weeks later when we received a letter from her asking for the balance of payment. This has led to the position we are in now.

 

I cannot believe the venue has taken this to court. Through their own incompetence they have managed to ruin our memories of what my husband and I had worked so hard for, planning the wedding of our dreams. This has left my husband and I with so much distress and upset in the onset of our marriage, which I believe no one should have to endure.

 

Statement of Truth:

 

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement dated 15th September 2008 are true.

 

 

________________________

 

 

Mrs. ....

 

 

Excellent. I've changed it a bit. Please have your wife look at it and agree to the changes. Then put it in the letterhead I provided to you - preferably in the same font and size - and have your wife sign it. [Make sure all of it is back in black, as I have put in blue my amendments. Also make sure the J is amended to what it should be.]

 

Also check that that beef b.... stuff is spelt correctly!

 

Send my best to your wife, she is a very talented woman, you have done well !

 

That's the type of work of art we need of your statement, just it can't be the same.

[sparkycpu]

Hi lp, my altered summary,

 

When the evening reception was underway, an announcement was made over the microphone that the evening buffet was being served, at this time I was walking round still talking to guests.

1. On approaching three of my guests I noticed that they were eating plates of chicken curry and rice, when I asked them about this they said there was a choice of chicken curry or meat in gravy. This was later found to be beef bourguignon or pasta salad, they commented that it was a strange thing to have on offer. I gave my apologies and told them it was meant to be a hot finger buffet consisting of hot sausages, chicken wings, potatoe skins garlic bread.

This mistake was upsetting and distressing as when I went to see some more guests, the same reaction was given by them to what was served, I found myself apologising more and more as I went around the room.

 

2. When I spoke to my wife she had been doing the same thing as I and we were both shocked and upset about what had happened, as at no time had we been told our hot finger buffet was to be replaced by chicken curry and felt very disappointed that the venue had thought this would be appropriate food to serve.

Being faced with the choice of asking them to stop serving the food, in which case none of our guests would eat, or let them continue serving, so at least some people would eat, we decided to let them carry on serving the food.

 

4. In my opinion the food served was far from adequate and certainly not fit for a wedding. Neither of my own children would eat anything, and as has come to light since, some guests were leaving early to get to the chip shop or take away for themselves or there children.

To find this out after the occasion has left us feeling as though we provided a cheap, token gesture of food for all our guests, not the wonderfully described hot finger buffet we had ordered and were expecting.

 

In addition the numerous vegetarians that had been to the wedding, and the ones that turned up for the reception, had a choice of a pasta dish or plain rice, also not as we were expecting and was considered to be a poor substitute for a vegetarian option to the hot finger buffet .

 

7. Also how rude the staff member was when I asked where one of my children’s main meals was, I was faced with an attitude of not my problem, sort it out yourself and was left to find J to find out what was going on. I pointed out one of the guests had seen staff taking food from the buffet, and was told my comments on this were unnecessary and completely wrong.

8. I pointed out on the invoice that we had been overcharged for the table wine and toasting wine, firstly I was told that the wine supply is changed in October and my quote was subject to change according to this. I pointed out that this is not stated anywhere, and my quote was sent in February which by this time the prices should already be known.

The next response I got concerning the overcharging of wine was that it was due to a tax rise.

9. The general attitude that I got from the venue was that, according to them, we had a good day. They are sorry for the mistakes that they had made during the day, but can we still have our money. This I find very hard to believe considering they are a professional wedding venue and their mistakes, and how they are handled after, should be of great importance.

The months of planning and the time that had gone into getting everything right for our special day should have assured us that the day would be perfect for us. My wife and I feel that the venues incompetence to get basic pre arranged matters correct has left us with nothing but bad memories of the day. Along with this court claim this has deeply upset and distressed my wife and I and we find it hard to look back now with any happiness at what should have been our special day.

 

[sparkycpu]

Hi lp, the wife read your comments on her statement and her head just managed to squeeze between the door frame.

[legalpickle]

Hi lp, my altered summary,

 

When the evening reception was underway, an announcement was made over the microphone that the evening buffet was being served, at this time I was walking round still talking to guests.

 

1. On approaching three of my guests I noticed that they were eating plates of chicken curry and rice, when I asked them about this they said there was a choice of chicken curry or meat in gravy. This was later found to be beefbourguignon. There was also pasta salad. They commented that these were strange things to have on offer. I gave my apologies and told them it was meant to be a hot finger buffet consisting of hot sausages, chicken wings, potatoe skins & garlic bread.

 

This mistake was even more upsetting and distressing as when I went to see some more guests, the same reaction was given by them to what was served, I found myself apologising more and more as I went around the room.

 

2. When I spoke to my wife she had been doing the same thing as I and we were both shocked and upset about what had happened, as at no time had we been told our hot finger buffet was to be replaced by what was now on offer and felt very disappointed that the venue had thought this would be appropriate food to serve. We would have definitely rejected such a menu.

 

3. Being faced with the choice of asking them to stop serving the food, in which case none of our guests would eat, or let them continue serving, so at least some people would eat, we decided to let them carry on serving the food.

 

4. In my opinion the food served was far from adequate and certainly not fit for a wedding. Neither of my own children would eat anything, and as has come to light since, someguests were leaving early to get to the chip shop or take away for themselves or there children.

 

5. To find this out after the occasion has left us feeling as though we provided a cheap, token gesture of food for all our guests, not the wonderfully described hot finger buffet we had ordered and were expecting.

 

6. In addition, the numerous vegetarians that had been to the wedding, and the ones that turned up for the reception, had a choice of a pasta dish or plain rice, also not as we were expecting and was considered to be a poor substitute for a vegetarian option in the hot finger buffet .

 

7. The event was made even worse by the rudeness of the staff. One example was how rude the staff member was when I asked where one of my children’s and my wife's child's main meals were. I was faced with an attitude of not my problem, sort it out yourself and was left to find J to find out what was going on. I pointed out one of the guests had seen staff taking food from the buffet, and was told my comments on this were unnecessary and completely wrong.

 

8. When I pointed out on the invoice that we had been overcharged for the table wine and toasting wine, I was firstly I was told that the wine supply is changed in October and my quote was subject to change according to this. I pointed out that this is not stated anywhere, and was not told to either my wife or I. I also mentioned that my quote was sent in February which by this time the prices should already be known. The next response I got concerning the overcharging of wine was that it was due to a tax rise which I contend should also have been known about when the quote was provided, especially for a venue that is likely to provide quotes to include wine that far in advance.

 

9. The general attitude that I got from the venue was that, according to them, we had a good day. They claim to be sorry for the mistakes that they had made during the day, but still want the money for ruining our wedding day. I find this behaviour hard to comprehend considering they are meant to be are a professional wedding venue and their mistakes, and how they are handled after, should be of great importance.

 

10. The months of planning and the time that had gone into getting everything right for our special day should have assured us that the day would be perfect for us. My wife and I feel that the venues incompetence to get basic pre-arranged matters correct has left us with nothing but bad memories of the day.

 

11. Instead of a day of which only good and special memories should exist, only negative memories remain. This court claim by the venue has been the icing on the cake of something that has deeply upset, aggravated and distressed my wife and I. We now find it impossible to look back with any happiness at what should have been our very special day.

 

 

I've made some changes to what you wrote, in blue. What do you think? Go through it again and see if there is anything else you can add to make it top notch perfect. Once we've completed that task, I'll put it into a defence document and prepare the next few paragraphs, hopefully within the next few days and get back to you.

 

Discuss with your wife how much compensation you think you should be entitled to. Take into consideration;

1. The fact that there would have been a lot left over.

2. The miserable behaviour of the staff.

3. The theft of the staff picking from this "buffet".

4. The difference in value between the items served and what was meant to be served.

5. The embarrassment that you suffered.

6. The bad memories.

Anything else relevant. Explain how you reach that figure, point by point [i.e. what each point is worth - as best as possible].

 

Remind me when you sent the Acknowledgement of Service please?

 

Hi lp, the wife read your comments on her statement and her head just managed to squeeze between the door frame.

 

Hahaha