KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A young couple claims a wedding venue in south Kansas City is refusing to give them a refund, even after failing to honor the contract it provided.
Roosevelt Gipson and his fiancé, Tabitha Harris, reserved Venue 508 for their June 20, 2020, wedding in January 2019.
They signed a contract, paid a $250 non-refundable deposit up front, and over the course of the year, an additional $1,900 to the business, according to receipts given to FOX4.
“That’s the whole reason why we had a two-year engagement, so we were able to break up costs over time and not pay a lump sum,” Gipson said.
In March, when COVID-19 hit, the couple called Venue 508 to reschedule their wedding to June 2021, but the event manager told them they weren’t scheduling that far out.
“They advised us to go and sell our date to find another couple,” Harris said.
“So, go and prey on somebody else so that they can screw them over, too,” Gipson added.
Since there didn’t appear to be a cancellation policy, of any kind, listed in the contract, the couple asked for their $1,900 back.
“[The event manager] said some term like basically it’s stated without being stated. She said something like that, and I was like that’s not a real thing,” Gipson recalled.
They had their lawyer send the owner of Venue 508 a letter, claiming a breach of contract for failing to render service, according to documents given to FOX4.
The couple said Venue 508 would not budge.
“We’re both teachers. We don’t have just $1,900 sitting around, and we wanted to do the responsible thing. That’s why we paid them earlier, and it’s just unfortunate that now we don’t have that money,” Harris said.
In an email response to FOX4 on Thursday, the event manager, Julie Homes, said Venue 508’s policy goes along with “99% or more of other wedding venues,” adding that “nobody asked for COVID-19.”
While the business originally was only willing to reschedule the couple’s wedding through March 31, 2021, on Thursday, Holmes said they would make an exception and offer the June 2021 date the couple requested.
Harris and Gipson said the offer is three months too late.
“I feel like at this point they are still reaching for other people to pay them and not securing the fact that their business will even be here in the future,” Harris said.
The couple has since booked a smaller venue, for a fraction of the cost, and plan to tie the knot next Saturday.
“I really just want them to do the right thing and just give us our money back,” Harris said.
The couple plans to fight for their refund in small claims court if left with no other option.
