ComplaintsforMy Party Bus

• Initial Complaint

  06/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On June 11th 2022 I rented a bus from this company to drive my wedding party for my wedding. During the drive the driver from this company was very wreckless and at one point when she braked at a light she knock my wife onto the floor of the bus from the seat. The owner was contacted was contacted on June 13th and he told me he would be in contact with the driver to talk to them then would call me back and has not called me back. After numerous calls to him asking for a call back he has stopped all communication. About the complaint with his company

  Business response

  06/20/2022

  This couple has been on a crusade to get a refund starting two days after their event.  They rented a bus for their wedding transportation for 6 hours.  ***** called to tell me that our driver seemed to stop abrubtly at a traffic light. At the beginning of the conversation, he just said it caught them off guard and downplayed it a bit, I really thought he was just providing some good feedback.  He claimes he drives a fire truck and offered advice that she needed to start braking a bit earlier.  I thanked him for the feedback and told him I would personally have the conversation with their driver and do a drive along with her to assess if she was performing her duties as rigorously trained.  I thanked him for the feedback and I thought the conversation was over.  

   

  After a moment or two of awkward silence, he began to ask me what our refund policy was.  I asked for some clarification, and reminded him that all 6 hours were successfully executed and I am hearing of their concerns two days after their service with us.  He felt that there should be some monetary consideration for their service.  I explained to him that I needed to investigate with my driver before continuing with that conversation.

   

  He claims that I never called him back, but I kept him updated through texts every day so that I would have a paper trail.  The longer it went on the bigger his stories got.  From one abrubt stop he originally claimed, it blossomed in to his wife being thrown to the floor. This was emphatically disputed from the driver.  We have mirrors for every view imaginable and she said no passengers fell at any point of the day.  If it did happen, she would have had to fill out an incident report that evening. And hearing from these folks as much as I have this past week, they would have certainly cried foul had that minute it happened. They have progressed to this version because I refused to pay the $500 he was demanding. I told him out of good will, I would send him $100 and he scoffed at the offer.  I was clear to him that a hefty refund was simply not an option.

   

  Once I drew the line in the sand and told them we would not be paying him $500, within 5 minutes, they went to every social media platform  that we are on and left scathing reviews.  It's a classic case that once their wedding was over, they had remorse for how much the spent on their event.  Their allegations are unsubstantiated and just because they say iot happened, does not mean it did.  We have been in business for 14 years and have never had a customer like this.  Our reviews are amazing (until now) and it is inconceivable to think we would fall victim to their extortion and threats that if we didn;t pay that we would regret it.

   

  We will be hiring an attorney to assist in this matter as they seeme to have an axe to grind and they are attempting to hold us hostage unless we pay their ransom.  I would expect the BBB to see through their shakedown tactics for what it truley is.  Facts of the matter are

   

  Complaint: ***** called on 5-13 to share some feedback about his experience.

   

  Resolution Attempt 1:

  Told we would interview the driver and do a ride along with them to see first hand if she is following driving procudures.  He then asked for a refund.

   

  Resolution 2:

  After learning of his false claims that his wife now fell to the floor, we knew we needed to end communication with him.  A $100 refund (10% of his booking total) was offered and rejected.

   

  He demanded $500 or he would move to litigation.  I told him we would not succum to his ransom and within minutes he left 3 disparaging reviews on The Knot, Wedding Wire, and Facebook. and now it seems he is wanting to keep drawing blood further by including your agency. 

   

   

   

   

   

  Customer response

  06/30/2022

  I don't accept his response due to that some of his response is not true
  
  We contacted him the next business day. My wedding was on a Saturday and I called him on Monday trying to be courteous to call the business on the next business day. He then called me back and I issued the complaint to him and he told me that he would have to talk to his driver and call me back. I never received a call. Then I tried calling him back and he didn't answer then we got a automatic text message that he has set up and said we would call back and never did. I called him to the next day and no response just another automated text. Then called him on Wednesday then he said he was dealing with a family emergency and would call me the next morning he was in office I never received a call that day when I called him that night I got an text stating that he doesn't want me to have ill feelings on his company and would send $100 dollars to "make this go away". I responded asking if he could do anything else cause I feel that with the way my driver drove that day including knocking wife to the floor from a seated position during one of her brakings at a traffic light, that something better could be done. I didn't ask anyone else on the bus for a statement because I thought we could handle this but there are witnesses to this event and his driver apparently told him that this claim did not happen which it very well did. 
  
  I do have the automated texts and other call logs showing his lack of response then when his driver denied the whole thing and he would not be doing anything else besides talking with his driver. I told him that bad reviews would be made on his review sites.  He then proceeded to dispute those reviews with the sites and had them taken off so they could not be viewed. Then proceeded to attack me and my wife calling us "pirates" on a social media post. 
  
  I am not sure what else you can do but his professionalism with the way he would not respond was why I made the complaint to your agency. 
  
  Thank You
  

  Business response

  06/30/2022

  This nonesense just just needs to stop.  As ***** pointed out, I was in the hospital with aparent that had a stroke and I communicated with him via text, as it was not suitable during the times he called to personally take the call.  My focus was on my family emergence, but I did want hime to know I'm not ignoring him, but I was in the middle of something very pressing.  They were on their honeymoon, so I figured wrong that that would take priority in their life, no shaking us down for a refund.  

   

  As a courtesy, I tried to soften his angst with a 10% refund to soothe his plight to extort more out of us, but he insisted it would not be accepted.  As tension grew in the hospital with my family memeber, he kept coming at me with his demands, so I just shut it down.  This was not my immediate priority as it was his during his honeymoon for some reason.  

   

  Legally, he consented to our waiver.  Although his wife being flung to the ground was only announced after I refused to pay his ransom, they aggreed to our contract upon booking their event, that we are a moving vehicle and bumps and stops can happen and they are releasing any liability on our part.  I will attach a copy of the contract.  Line item 17 and 18 would be applicable to them.

   

  17. Enter at your own risk. Our number one focus is safety. All modes of transportation including bus
  transport involve an inherent risk of injury or property damage. By accepting this contract, you and your
  entire party voluntarily accept and assume all risks of injury, loss of property or property damage that may
  result from this trip.

  
  18. As a condition of being permitted on the bus and the use of this charter, the contract holder and its
  ENTIRE PARTY, AGREES TO HOLD HARMLESS, RELEASE, INDEMNIFY, AND PROMISE NOT TO
  BRING A CLAIM AGAINST OR SUE My Party Bus LLC, or its employees, agents, officers or affiliates
  from any and all liabilities on account of, in any way NEGLIGENCE or by any other reason.

   

  They will be sent a cease and disist letter to help them get over this frivolous claim.  This is our final statement regarding this attempt to extort money.  I already received a closing letter regarding this very claim from BBB a few days ago.  Fo me, that was the end of it.

  Customer response

  07/01/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  I understand that he had a family emergency that popped up but I called him Monday June 13th and issued the entire complaint including the fact that my wife was tossed to the ground. Then he told me that he would talk to his driver and call me back. Then I called him Tuesday with no response. His emergency wasn't relayed until Wednesday evening. All other communication was friday afternoon that is when actual money and refund was asked by me not beforehand as the business is stating. I can see that no resolution will be made with him and I wish him the best of luck. Just wanted him to realize what one of his drivers was doing and could have seriously caused injury to my wife and to the fact that his driver denies the incident is astonishing. 
  Regards,
  
  ***** *************
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩