The Carriage House of Galloway

VENUE NOT REFUNDING DEPOSIT

We contracted The Carriage House, in Galloway NJ, in good faith for a wedding ceremony and reception in January 2021. We gave a $2000.00 deposit to hold the date. Almost right after that, the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic began. We never heard from our sales associate again; but reached out to both Kristin Neafsey, VP of Sales &;;;;;;;;; Catering and Megan McNulty, VP/Chief Operating Officer. As new laws and restrictions were imposed limiting the capabilities of having the wedding at all, we contacted them, multiple times, to see if we could postpone. We knew then, and it is even more apparent now, that with the ongoing worldwide pandemic, CDC guidelines, over 200,000 deaths in the United States, the upcoming flu season, no vaccinations, limited indoor dining, mask requirements, social distancing restrictions, social gathering constraints, travel bans and the laws specifically governing New Jersey, this would not be conducive to a wedding or any event. They had no answers. Their standard response was that they had to confer with their executive team, when in reality, THEY are the executive team. We knew they would never be able to fulfill their contractual obligation to host our event in January. We asked to postpone and schedule to a future date; but the only options provided to us were not comparable dates. We contracted for a Saturday night affair. They only offered random Friday or Sundays for the entire 2021 year. They refused to look at the 2022 calendar. We even suggested having just a ceremony there and/or the bridal shower; each suggestion was dismissed immediately. They left us no choice. We couldnt continue to give them more monies knowing in the end they wouldnt be able to fulfill their end of the contract. Devastatingly, we had to cancel our dream wedding, All the initial deposit did what hold the date; a date that they wouldnt be legally allowed to fulfill. We assumed their company would be honest enough to return all of our deposit monies. Sadly, we were shocked and dismayed when they said their executive team would NOT refund the initial deposit of $2000.00. They completely acted in bad faith. In the current state of the world, and with no end in sight, for them to keep the initial deposit when they did nothing for us is reprehensible and equivalent to outright theft. How in good conscience they can keep it is beyond comprehension. Our family has already lost members due to this deadly virus and then to have to cancel this event is beyond more tragedy. Instead of helping us create this magical day; theyve in turn taken advantage of us during this unforeseen natural disaster. Moreover, keeping that money is now keeping a young couple from starting their future. We sent letters and emailed their entire team: Michael Charlton President/CEO, Taylor Bruno, Megan McNulty, Kristina Bannon, Deena Moran, Taylor Doria, and Kristin Neafsey to respectfully ask for the $2000.00 initial deposit back. We never heard any response, FROM ANYONE!! They did not do the decent and honest thing that any business with integrity does in unprecedented circumstances. Shame on them!! Obviously their vision and mission statement are a big lie! One last note: The only response I've seen was their indirect responses to my social media posts. I was forced to do that because of their purposeful ignoring of the situation. They are now telling half truth and lies to try to save face; partial emails etc. Yes, we were glad to have some of our money returned but they had no cause to keep one single cent. We didn't choose this! Who would want to cancel their daughters wedding...it is beyond sad. We tried, they wouldn't accommodate. They wanted more money and we wouldnt in good conscience keep giving them money for an event we knew they would be unable to fulfill. They basically stole our money. That shameful business practices people should be well aware of.