Wedding anniversary an unhappy milestone
Mom spends R37 000 on pictures and film but still has little to show
AFTER waiting a year for the delivery of her daughter’s wedding video, Shanaaz Rawoot’s patience finally ran out.
The mother of two had trusted that the media production company she’d arranged to handle her daughter’s 13-hour nuptials in Cape Town in March last year would finally deliver the R37 000 wedding package she’d ordered.
Rawoot had given Photofuzion second — and third — chances to redeem itself. And when that failed, she’d unsuccessfully tried to get help from her provincial consumer authority.
So last month, exactly a day after the first wedding anniversary of daughter Rushda Motala and son-in-law Mikhail, a desperate Rawoot approached me. Surely, she thought, the threat of public exposure would force the supplier to see the light and hand over the goods.
The family had unfortunately paid upfront for the package, whose delivery was promised eight weeks after the ceremony.
I find negative publicity is usually enough to bring the most stubborn suppliers to the negotiating table. Even those who refuse to admit guilt want their side of the story told.
Not this supplier. Despite several e-mails and phone messages to the company’s two coowners over several weeks, I’ve also been ignored.
It is bizarre, considering that — if Photofuzion’s impressive website is to be believed — it boasts clients such as Nedbank, Sun International, Protea Hotels, Deloitte and the City of Cape Town.
Indeed, the quality of the company’s work seems high.
It had shot the couple’s engagement party and, according to Rawoot, did a good job. It had also made an excellent 30-page “designer storybook” album for R7 200 — the only part of the wedding package delivered so far, albeit five months late.
The rest of the package, including a high-definition Blu-ray disc and a DVD containing 300 images, is still missing.
In May last year, Photofuzion co-owner Francois Willemburg — who had filmed the wedding — contacted Rawoot asking for music for the video and promised her a preview she’d “love”.
Then there was nothing until November, when Rawoot managed to get hold of Willemburg.
“When I reached him on his cell and asked him about the delay, he said he’d been overwhelmed with work and had been in and out of the country.”
He promised delivery in two weeks, along with a free canvas enlargement as compensation for the delay.
The enlargement was delivered shortly afterwards — but not the outstanding goods.
About a month later, Rawoot reached the other co-owner, photographer Lesley Marks, and
We really cannot believe it is continuing with business as normal after conning people
threatened legal action.
Marks promised to speak to Willemburg.
He SMSed her the pair’s home addresses, but they were dead ends: Willemburg was no longer at the Gordon’s Bay house where he supposedly lived, and she couldn’t even find the Bracken- fell address linked to Marks.
Making tracking them down even harder is the fact that the company’s office address on the internet is wrong. There appears to be no Photofuzion presence at 1 Adderley Street, Cape Town.
This inability to trace the two men has scuppered an investigation by the office of the consumer protector in the Western Cape.
A security guard at the Adderley Street address told investigators he knew nothing of Photofuzion.
E-mails and calls to the two men were also ignored, after which investigators left a bogus message requesting a quote. The call was never returned.
When Rawoot came to me, she was in “dire straits, not knowing where to turn”.
“Photofuzion claims to be professional. However, we are convinced it is professional in robbing clients. Taking clients’ money in full and not delivering is definitely an act of fraud.”
On the advice of the office of the consumer protector, Rawoot’s daughter has reported the matter to the police. This week, she also filed a complaint with the National Consumer Commission.
“We really cannot believe that Photofuzion is continuing with business as normal after conning people . . . we are afraid there will be other victims,” said Rawoot.
I managed to reach Marks on his cellphone last week, but he referred me to Willemburg, who again failed to respond.
The men’s behaviour is at odds with their website boast: “At Photofuzion we take pride in providing a service of excellence coupled with high standards of professionalism. We only uses [sic] the best and latest in technology, which put [sic] us a step ahead of our competitors.”
Photofuzion has a “passion” for weddings, of which it does only a “limited” number each year.
If this is the way it treats customers, I bet it’ll be doing considerably fewer in future.