I received an email from Tanya stating that she sold her house and would be moving out of state. Therefore, she would no longer be available for our wedding. She provided a recommendation of another stylist that was willing to do everything at ...the same costs (which I appreciated).
However, Tanya stated that my deposit would not transfer, nor would she refund the money. She said that the deposit went toward time and overhead. Given that no services had been provided to-date, I am not sure how she could justify this statement. Tanya did say that the deposit would apply if I wanted to pay to fly her in for the wedding though, which she even acknowledged was not cost effective.
When I questioned her not returning the deposit, she said that the contract states that the deposit is non-refundable. It is my own fault for not asking for clarity on this statement, but I had interpreted the non-refundable wording to mean if I (the client) cancelled on her (the vendor), not the other way around. It does not seem right (or legal) for Tanya not to refund the deposit when no services were actually provided. What's to stop her from taking deposits from other clients to then turn around and cancel on them just so she can keep the money?
This past year has been difficult for many and I understand circumstances change, but this is extremely unprofessional. I pointed out the above facts to Tanya and I was hopeful that she would do the right thing, but I have never heard back from her.