There’s no story more tragic than about a man, days away from his wedding, losing his bride-to-be in a fatal car crash. But instead of grieving with their client, the owner of the hired videography company rejected his refund request and even went so far as to “mock” him for what happened.
Source: Facebook
The groom, Justin Montney, told PEOPLE.com that Copper Stallion Media, a Texas-based videography and photography company, refused to pay him back USD 1,800 (~PHP 91,000) after his 22-year-old fiancée Alexis-Athena Wyatt was killed in a car collision last February. They were supposed to get married on May 23.
The company clarified that the service was non-refundable under the terms of their contract. A friend then shared the story publicly on Facebook which led to many of Justin’s peers to leave negative reviews for the company on the popular wedding-planning website, The Knot.
But instead of conceding to the refund request, Copper Stallion Media decided to retaliate by threatening a lawsuit for defamation and posting a rather insensitive message on what could have been Justin and Alexis’ special day.
“Today would have been the day where we would have filmed Justin and Alexis’ wedding in Colorado Springs,” the company wrote in a now-deleted post. “After what Justin pulled with the media stunt to try and shake us down for a refund, we hope you sob and cry all day for what would have been your wedding day. Sorry, not sorry.”
Source: Facebook
Copper Stallion Media even created two websites registered under Justin’s name, JustinMontney.com and JustinMontneyWedding.com, in which they accused him of initiating a “smear campaign.”
“He admits that the contract was non-refundable but says we should give the money back due to the circumstance. Life is a b***h, Justin,” the company wrote on the website.
“We understand a death occurred, but it’s not right for people to turn to the internet and sodomize the reputation of a company,” they added. “He could have quietly filed a small claim to ‘try’ to recoup the non-refundable deposit. Instead, he chose the internet to shake us down.”
Netizens have since taken to social media to call out Copper Stallion Media for their “heartless” actions.
(ALSO READ: Zoom weddings are now legit in this city)
Justin, however, admitted that he’s no longer expecting to get his USD 1,800 back.
“They sure did personally attack and they sure did hurt me,” he told PEOPLE. “But I’m not a vengeful person. The way I look at it, I’m just like, I don’t know why they’re doing this. I just don’t.”
In a separate interview with Buzzfeed, he added: “[The company’s owner] is trying to stir up a ruckus and defame my name, but obviously he doesn’t have any ground to stand on. He kind of made his own smear campaign.”
Instead, Justin is focusing now on healing from the trauma of losing the love of his life.
(ALSO READ: Please Postpone Your Weddings, Says PH Government Amid COVID-19 Concerns)
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