Wedding photographer snapped with fine

A wedding photographer and videographer has been forced to pay compensation to three clients after failing to deliver footage of their happy days.

The Perth Magistrates Court has ordered a a wedding photographer and videographer to pay more than $10,000 in fines and compensation to three consumers after he failed to deliver photo and video packages on time. In some cases clients did not receive their ordered materials at all.

Mohammad Amir, formerly trading as Enchanted Films and Dyno Media, was also ordered to pay costs of $5,000 when he pleaded guilty in the Perth Magistrates Court last week to four charges of breaching the Australian Consumer Law by accepting payment but failing to supply within the agreed time of three months or within a reasonable time.

Mr Amir had:

·       Charged $1,100 to cover a wedding in December 2014 but didn’t supply the edited video until eight months later;

·       Charged $4,700 to cover a wedding in August 2015 but didn’t supply the photo album as agreed and supplied the wedding video one year later and the raw photos and video ten months later (partial compensation of $650 awarded to consumer);

·       Charged $2,500 to cover a wedding in November 2015 but has not supplied the edited or raw video almost three years later (full compensation of $2,500 awarded to consumer); and

·       Charged $2,500 to cover a wedding in December 2015 but the edited video has not been supplied, only the raw video (full compensation of $2,500 awarded to consumer).

Magistrate Hawkins said the consumers were not “buying a fridge or vacuum cleaner” but were spending lots of time and money on an important one-off event and Mr Amir had learned first-hand how emotional people are about their weddings.

Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said the newlyweds’ unfortunate experience with regard to getting their wedding photos and videos from Mr Amir has been a source of anxiety.

“The fear of not receiving the images of their special day has produced some stress for these consumers at a time when they should be celebrating their new life together,” Mr Hillyard said.

“The couples were promised their photos and videos within three months so it’s totally unacceptable for them to have to wait much longer and, in one case, still waiting after three years.

“It’s important when engaging a photographer or videographer to agree on set timeframes before entering into a contract and don’t pay too much upfront – pay in instalments as work is done and the promised packages are supplied.

“Also consider paying by credit card as there may be an option of requesting a charge back if goods are not delivered.”