ComplaintsforPen Ryn Mansion on the Delaware

• Initial Complaint

  05/18/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Pen Ryn's Event Team representative Shauna verbally told me on a 4/16/2021 call that they'd be able to put up a tent to accommodate 5-6 tables of 12 on a cocktail patio which would allow us to have more than 150 guests for our daughter's postponed wedding (due to Covid). I was verbally told the tent was approximately $4,370 in price which I verbally agreed to. I also asked for a copy of an invoice from the tent vendor they use so I could be assured that Pen Ryn had indeed ordered a tent and I wanted to confirm the price. Pen Ryn never produced a copy of the invoice and I was unaware that Shauna was on vacation during the days leading up to our wedding. Another woman took over the week of the wedding and sent me a contract on Thursday night 5/13/2021 incorrectly adding $5,342 to our contract for a tent. I had to tell her the price I agreed to and I paid it but never saw an invoice. I wonder if there ever was an invoice or a tent vendor.

  Business response

  05/25/2021

  Dear *** *******, 

  Thank you for taking the time to provide documentation on **** ****** - Complaint ID ********. Attached below is **** ******’s original signed contract, noting that all deposits are non-refundable [Exhibit 1]. This was signed on May 6th 2020 by her daughter ******* ******. 
  At time of signing, ******* ****** was postponing what was originally their May 30th, 2020 date to May 15th, 2021. In what has now become over 350 postponements, Pen Ryn Estate has dedicated the last year and a half to working diligently with thousands of people to provide the dream day for all our couples. However, our contract and menu cannot be ignored as it’s imperative we abide to keep our financial viability and remain in business for all those couples who have postponed/seek to have their dream day with us. 
  

  As noted in our menu, pricing available upon request includes Outdoor Tents, and that all rentals displays and decorations must be coordinated through Pen Ryn Estate, Inc. Therefore, ****** knew at time of booking that tents would be an additional cost and must be pre-approved by Pen Ryn Estate directly [Exhibit 2]. 
  

  Once Gov. **** limited indoor gatherings, yet again in May 2021, Pen Ryn quickly provided **** ****** with the options; 1. Postpone again, 2. Tent a patio adjacent to the venue to permit their desired guest count. 
  

  In being financially crushed the last year and a half, Pen Ryn Estate could not provide the tent for free, as we had provided the free option of postponing, either to just 7 days later in our venue River’s Edge at a higher capacity being an outdoor venue or a date up to December 2021, which was a desired option by ******* ****** but later rejected. ****** chose to rent the additional tent on their May 15th 2021 date. 
  In April 2021, **** ****** did have a conversation with Shauna, Supervisor of Pen Ryn Estate, and was provided a tent quote. On May 13th 2021, **** ****** asked for an updated contract to which Debbie (Event Manager) provided the tent pricing. **** ****** mentioned this was not the pricing originally provided by Shauna [Exhibit 3]. 
  

  Within the hour of sending the incorrect tent quote, Debbie adjusted to the pricing, mentioning that we had provided a quote with additional rectangle tables and not the tent only [Exhibit 3]. We apologized for the error, corrected the simple human error, and sent an adjusted contract on Thursday, May 13th 2021 at 9:04pm with the pricing provided by Shauna in April [Exhibit 3].
  

  On the eve of their wedding, and less than 24 hours after receiving the updated tent quote, **** ****** tried rejecting the tent, citing the CDC’s mask recommendation translated to no longer needing the rented tent [Exhibit 4]. Pen Ryn Estate responded that Gov. **** migration order was still in effect, and we were not at 100% indoor capacity until May 31st, and thus the tent was still required to host their event and already ordered and paid for. The CDC rather made the adjustment that fully vaccinated guests did not have to wear masks [Exhibit 4]. 
  ****** responded that her husband would be over within 2 hours to drop off the tent check [Exhibit 5]. Therefore, the tent was agreed upon again when ****** agreed to pay for the tent after we adjusted the contract. Her husband did stop by and provided the below check [Exhibit 6]. 
  

  As we have for 27 years in business, Pen Ryn Estate strives to accommodate each and every host in a professional, courteous manner. Even in these unprecedented, historically trying times, Pen Ryn Estate has successfully assisted and accommodated over 350 brides affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. 
  

  We answered every email and phone call, from not only the host but their private event planner, within a more than reasonable time. We swiftly accommodated every changing detail from the host and planner, some even within hours of their event. Over 200 emails were exchanged between May 2020 and May 2021 alone as we were in the midst of the pandemic, therefore it’s inaccurate to state Pen Ryn Estate did not answer any emails or phone calls until the week of. 
  

  In no way did we provide inaccurate information, or information the host did not agree to, via their signed contract and providing the $4,370 tent check, which they agreed upon in multiple emails and by signing their contract. We provided ****** with the tent pricing and that was agreed upon. Therefore, Pen Ryn Estate stands that we provided the agreed upon service and all deposits will remain non-refundable. 
  

  Pen Ryn Estate

  Business response

  06/08/2021

  We reject the complaint mailed June 3rd, 2021 for #********. 
  **** ****** agreed to pay for the tent at $4,370, we received the payment, and the tent was provided. The pricing was added into their contract and again the deposit was paid in full. When Shauna said she would send the invoice, it was sending the contract. Not once between April or May did **** ****** alluded to the tent pricing being incorrect, it was only until after the event as to why we are shocked by these complaints. 
  To insinuate we are lying about the price of the tent saddens our entire operation after the hard work and dedication we placed into their event. The past 15 months have been the hardest months in our entire 27 years in service. We are working day in and day out to provide for all our affected hosts. 
  

  Shauna 
  Banquet Supervisor

  Customer response

  06/08/2021

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I'd like to respond to Shauna's letter that I read today, 6/8/2021:

  
  

                       On 4/16/2021 Shauna called me to say we could add a tent to the back of ***** **** ******* to accommodate more guests for our 5/15/21 wedding.  (We originally had over 300 guests, but were limited to 150, including our vendors, due to PA Covid restrictions). She verbally gave me a price and I agreed on the phone that I'd be willing to pay to have more people.  Shauna told me she'd sent me via email a copy of the invoice so I could look it over.  I asked through email again a few times if we could see a copy of the invoice.  It was never provided.  I'm going to state again that the reason for me to see this invoice was to assure myself that Shauna had indeed ordered a tent for our 5/15/2021 wedding and that lights and sidewalls were part of the order.  I never got a copy of the invoice, nor were we informed by Pen Ryn or Shauna that she'd be away the week of our event either.  Imagine our panic when a new person stepped in and there was still no price or invoice for the tent as of Wednesday evening, 5/12/2021, when my husband and myself and our wedding planner dropped off the final amount due ( excluding a price for the tent).

                       I received an email from Pen Ryn the afternoon/evening of 5/13/2021 and read it during our rehersal dinner.  Our new Pen Ryn coordinator for our wedding mistakenly put the wrong dollar amount on our contract - a full $1,000 higher that the verbal amount I was given on 4/16/2021.  I emailed her back, she apologized, then put the amount I told her I thought it was on the contract.  She screen shot me a picture of the new amount.  At this point, my husband and I were pretty anxious - was the tent really ordered?  Would a tent vendor have the right tent?  Would it look nice?  Rather than ruin the reception at this late date, we paid Pen Ryn based on the verbal amount we were told on 4/16/2021, as Shauna was now unavailable.  It's been our experience that calls to Pen Ryn for the most part go unanswered.  Emails generate an auto response.  My husband actually went to Pen Ryn earlier in the day on 4/16/2021 hoping to go into their office and see if we could get an answer about if the tent was a yes or no. We wanted to evite more people but were afraid to without knowing if the tent was a "go".  He was not allowed into the ***** ****.  He was told through an intercom to call Shauna, which we had been doing.  It was later that evening that she actually did call us.  Maybe his visit to the property finally generated the call?  It's not easy to deal with calls not being returned in a timely fashion, emails not being answered in a timely fashion, and personnel being switched (Shauna away, new person now in charge).  This was now only 1 month before our wedding.  Besides being worried sick, it was embarrassing to tell family, co-workers, neighbors, that no one ever really confirmed that we'd have a tent because we were never given a price to pay or an invoice to look over up until the evening of 5/13/2021.   All of this confusion and last-minute sloppiness took a toll on us.

                    If the pandemic made Pen Ryn work harder than ever to have events, I get that.  But, know that we postponed our event and never gave Pen Ryn a hard time about the dates they said were available for us to reschedule the wedding to, or the down payments we made pre-pandemic that were non-refundable (over $19,000). We  paid our installments in a timely fashion.  During the Pandemic, my mother died 11/13/2020, I had Covid, and our 45 year old niece died in childbirth the week before the wedding, etc.  We've all been through tough situations with Covid and the ensuing shutdown.  I will look over the invoice from the tent vendor once I get it.  If it's the correct amount after I speak to them, I'll let this tent situation be.  I'd like an apology for the anxiety - it would go a long way.  

  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ******
  

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