Cancellation and early termination policy and penalties

Carmel-by-the-sea weddings

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need to cancel - here is our cancellation policy

Should you need to cancel your order for professional photography services, enlargements, albums, or other tangible goods, we'll do our best to accommodate your wishes. However, please keep in mind the following:

 

Professional Services

We realize life takes twists and turns that are unpredictable and often out of your control; thus, you may have to cancel our services for one reason or another. On the other hand, simply re-booking your event may be the appropriate route to take (see our re-booking policy here).

Just so that you understand the purpose of this policy, we must remind you that our professional photography services are quite unique and pre-planning client events takes place typically 12-18 months in advance. With that said, cancellations result in a very poor situation for us because: (a) we inevitably turned away other prospective clients who were interested in commissioning our services at the same date/time as your event, and (b) finding new clients is exponentially more challenging & the likelihood of securing a substitute client is progressively less likely as the number of days we have to re-advertise the opening in our event calendar shrinks (hence the reason we have a sliding scale for liquidated damages).

Regardless, the fiscal impact of a decision to cancel depends on how far in advance you notify us (in writing) of this cancellation request.  Of course, any surplus funds submitted to us will be promptly refunded within 30-business days from the date we receive written notice of cancellation (e.g., you paid $500 yet only $250 liquidated damages applied . . . in such a situation, we'll remit a $250 refund back to you within 30-business days).  As noted below, liquidated damages (a "cancellation fee" of sorts) is imposed as follows (based on the number of days from the time we receive written notice of cancellation and the date of your event):

     > 365-days or more before your event: $250 liquidated damages.

     > Between 364 and 180-days before your event: $450 liquidated damages.

     > Between 179 and 90-days before your event: $900 liquidated damages.

     > Between 89 and zero-days before your event: $1,350 liquidated damages.

 

Tangible Goods

Orders of tangible goods (e.g., enlargements, albums, framed portraits, etc.) are processed virtually instantly & canceling such requires extremely prompt action. As outlined below, our ability to cancel your order is directly related to how fast you contact us. Liquidated damages (aka "cancellation fee") is imposed according to the following schedule, based on the time from when you clicked the "order" button and when you provided notice of cancellation . . .

     > Between 0-24 hours: No fee.

     > Between 24-48 hours:25% fee ($20 minimum).

     > After 48 hours: cancellations Not Permitted.

 

Written Notice Required (for both Services & Goods)

Although electronic communication, be it voice/fax/e-mail, can be quite handy and tremendously useful most of the time, when it comes to something that has rather sizeable implications such as the outright canceling our photography services, we've found good old fashion written notice to be the most reliable method of communicating these intentions.

Even if you've discussed cancellation with us via telephone/facsimile/e-mail, to begin processing your cancellation (per our Agreement to Provide Professional Photography Services), we require that you formally submit this unambiguous termination request to us in writing and signed by the original party/parties contracting with us (e.g., the individual submitting the deposit to commission our professional photography services).  This written notice must be sent to us via the United States Postal Service using Certified or Registered Mail (Amie Morgan Photography, 798 Lighthouse Ave. # 310, Monterey, CA 93940-1010).  Such requests are deemed effective no earlier than the date your request is delivered at the aforementioned address.

To avoid any ambiguity or confusion, we recommend (not required however) you include with your written request (1) a copy of of the payment confirmation page available from Google Checkout when you submitted your deposit, (2) the full names & telephone numbers of individuals listed as the Primary & Secondary event contacts, and (3) the specific date(s) of your main event & any secondary event (if applicable).  This information will help ensure that we are both 100% on the same page and that things run as smoothly as possible!

 

Special Note: CA Sales Tax Deposits (for both Services & Goods)

For those who paid California Sales tax on tangible goods or professional photography services (paid up front in the form of a "Sales Tax Deposit"), assuming we never shipped any tangible item (e.g., proof prints, enlargements, high-resolution images on DVD, etc.), we will promptly refund 100% of any sales tax paid. Refunds are issued within 30-days of cancellation.

However, if any goods are shipped, we are nevertheless required to impose a sales tax.

No advance notice restrictions are imposed in regards to the sales tax refund.  For example, assuming once again we never shipped you a tangible item yet, we will refund 100% of your Sales Tax Deposit if you provide us 1-year, or 1-day for that matter, advance notice of the cancellation.  Short and to the point, sales tax is never imposed if we never ship you anything.

 

faq index and info about your upcoming carmel wedding Return to the F.A.Q. INDEX