MIAMI VALLEY — Ashley Rank got married last week, but not before she and her now-husband had to shell out $1,100 for a last-minute photographer after the one they had hired did not show up.
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She hired Alexis Shelton with New Carlisle-based Patty Ann Photography.
So did Alexys Emerson.
“I went through the contract that both of us signed, and we went over and knowing that she double-booked our wedding day, that was an instant breach. And she agreed to giving me the full refund back. So I wanna get that full refund,” Emerson said.
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Rank and Emerson filed two of the so far 12 consumer complaints against Patty Ann Photography with the Ohio Attorney General’s office.
They’re seeking a combined more than $10,000 in refunds.
Nearly everyone says they paid Shelton for pictures she didn’t deliver, or even show up to shoot, and they’ve stopped hearing back from her.
“It made me feel incredibly stressed out, and I was very disappointed,” Lindsey Szczesniak said.
Szczesniak says Shelton no-showed at her wedding in Akron last week.
So far, she’s the only bride News Center 7 has talked to who has gotten her money back.
“I took my story and my information to my local police department,” Szczesniak said. “The detective had reached out to her one last time just saying, ‘Hey, you’re gonna get felony charges.’ And that’s when I ended up getting paid. They basically paid me that night so that I wouldn’t sign charges the next morning.”
News Center 7’s John Bedell spoke to Shelton on the phone Thursday.
She said a personal situation at home is why she couldn’t fulfill wedding-related duties for brides.
“I’ve explained to a lot of ‘em what that situation was,” Shelton said.
She also said she’s stopped the business and has processed all refunds on her end.
“I’ve been working on that each day throughout this week. Like I said, it’s one by one at this point,” Shelton said.
Several brides, including rank, said their refunds were shown as pending but then canceled, which is why they’ve turned to the AG’s office.
“I definitely want my money back, and I definitely don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” Rank said.
One other bride and her husband in the Cleveland area filed this claim in small claims court against Patty Ann Photography.
The Ohio AG’s office told the I-Team, “We can neither confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.”
But we know they’re involved because several brides have told the I-Team that, after filing their consumer complaints, the AG’s office has reached out to them asking for more information.
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