Over 400 couples were duped out of thousands of dollars after hiring a Phoenix production company to produce heartfelt wedding videos only to be left empty handed.
WedReel, LLC, was in business from November 2016 to October 2017 and scammed at least 427 customers out of $170,000.
The company advertised video collage packages ranging in price from $390 to $590 on Facebook and The Knot. But after accepting payment, WedReel eventually ghosted customers, disconnecting their phone number and ignoring customer emails, failing to deliver the final product.
On Monday Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a $190,000 settlement with WedReel owners Michael Daniels and Brandon Garland.
WedReel was a Phoenix wedding production company that scammed 427 couples out of $170,000 from November 2016 to October 2017. On Monday Arizona Attorney General announced a $190,000 settlement with WedReel owners Michael Daniels and Brandon Garland
The company advertised video collage packages ranging in price from $390 to $590 on Facebook and The Knot
WedReel owners were ordered to complete all the unfulfilled video orders within a year or give their customers a refund. A Facebook page called ‘Scammed by WedReel’ (above) was made where scammed customers came together to share their stories
Above is a screenshot of the WedReel ‘about’ page that was posted to the scammed customers Facebook group
The owners promised to pay a $20,000 fine and provide videos to all their customers within a year or refund each person fully. The unfulfilled orders was nearly worth $170,000, the Attorney General’s Office said, as per AZ Central.
If customers aren’t satisfied with the videos, they’re entitled to a refund.
The defendants will have to provide progress reports every 30 days or be considered in default, according to KTAR.
‘Your wedding day should be one of the best days of your life,’ Attorney General Mark Brnovich said. ‘You shouldn’t have to worry about your vendor disappearing with your money.’
WedReel stopped doing business in 2017 and suddenly took its web page offline and failed to respond to customers’ inquiries, fulfill their video orders, or provide any refund.
Marlene Swift, 53, was one of the duped customers who hired WedReel to capture her Georgia clubhouse wedding.
Marlene Swift, 53, was one of the duped customers who hired WedReel to capture her Georgia clubhouse wedding. She said that she paid the company close to $400 for a video but after a couple of weeks the company stopped returning her e-mails and the office phone disconnected
‘We got nothing. You don’t have that memento. It wasn’t captured. … It’s like you really did lose a big piece of your wedding,’ Swift said. Pictured above with husband Quinton Swift
She said that she paid the company close to $400 for a video, which the company promised would compile photo and video shot by wedding guests and be stitched together with music and touch-ups.
‘The beauty of it was they would also include pictures of your honeymoon,’ Swift said. ‘I felt like it was reputable. I saw (online reviews) where people said, “I received mine. It was beautiful.” And I read where it took them two weeks longer, but (the customers) said, “It was well worth it.”‘
Swift said that she was able to correspond with the company before the wedding ceremony and afterwards and her guests uploaded their pictures to WedReel’s website. She flew to her Puerto Rico honeymoon and returned and asked the company when the video would be finished.
‘Your wedding day should be one of the best days of your life,’ Attorney General Mark Brnovich said. ‘You shouldn’t have to worry about your vendor disappearing with your money’
Attorney General Mark Brnovich tweeted about the $190,000 agreement this week
The settlement documents pictured above
‘They said, “Oh, we’re still working on your video.” So it popped in my mind, “Oh OK, I remember reading where it took them a while.”‘
But after a couple of weeks the company suddenly stopped returning her emails and the office phone number disconnected.
Then it dawned on Swift that she had been scammed.
‘We got nothing. You don’t have that memento. It wasn’t captured. … It’s like you really did lose a big piece of your wedding,’ Swift said.
Following the WedReel fiasco, duped customers made a Facebook group called Scammed by WedReel where customers warned others of their experience.