David Whitt Photography Scam
Brad Curfman
I have heard that he has moved on to Chattanooga.
His website is http://davidwhittphotography.com
He was recommended by Atlanta Bridal, but has gone AWOL with our deposit.
Other brides had posted on Atlanta Bridal's website recently saying they
can't get in touch with him either. We only know of one bride who paid
for the wedding shoot and didn't get her wedding pictures back.
Send email to phot...@bellsouth.net if you have any info on
this photographer or if you have recently made contact with him.
Thanks
Mendozaphoto
find him through there, and you can notify them of your problem.
<A HREF="http://www.ppa.com/">PPA.com, The Web Site for Imaging
Professionals</A>
RICK5347
probably
find him through there, and you can notify them of your problem.
PPA.com, The Web Site for Imaging
Professionals >>
That was the first place I looked but he is not listed. Apparently he is not a
member.
Best regards,
Rick Rosen
Newport Beach, CA
www.rickrosen.com
JH
Brad Curfman wrote:
> We were scammed by a photographer named David Whitt in Atlanta.
> He was recommended by Atlanta Bridal, but has gone AWOL with our deposit.
> Other brides had posted on Atlanta Bridal's website recently saying they
> can't get in touch with him either. We only know of one bride who paid
> for the wedding shoot and didn't get her wedding pictures back.
Must be something in the water in Atlanta that makes so many photographers
turn to the dark side.
Les Holder
I checked out his site & I think there is a lesson to be learned.
There is no address or phone number to "link" him to a specific location I
think that spells trouble.
Les Holder
"JH" <bas...@thinds.com> wrote in message
news:3E9E8495...@thinds.com...
The Weasel
Must be all of that mercury that leached into their water table when
it burned in the Civil War (1861-1865 for you government school
educated types). . .
The Weasel - The Official "Weasel" of UseNet! Accept no substitutes!!
--
"Now, how would you feel if the same thing was done to you on an
internet wedding site read by many prospective clients? It makes all
photographers look bad." - Rick Rosen on rec.photo.technique.people
about a post made on the wedding newsgroups about a photographer.
The Weasel
> << If you check with the Professional Photographers Association you can
> probably find him through there, and you can notify them of your problem.
>
> PPA.com, The Web Site for Imaging
> Professionals >>
> That was the first place I looked but he is not listed. Apparently he is not a member.
And I wonder how much PPA wishes you weren't. . .or did you become
their "unofficial" spokesman here "for the good of the industry". .
.and we all know just how much help the wedding industry needs, don't
we Dick?
You should have just kept your mouth shut a couple of weeks ago. .
.but you just couldn't resist watching your lips flap in the wind
again, could you?
Brad Curfman
> it burned in the Civil War (1861-1865 for you government school
> educated types). . .
>
> The Weasel - The Official "Weasel" of UseNet! Accept no substitutes!!
Funny. Nothing like a little humor regarding "The War of Northern Aggression"...
Unfortunately, he isn't listed with the PPA or the Georgia PPA.
http://www.gppa.com
My fiance happens to be a very trusting person and didn't check out
the gppa site. He told her that he was a member. She met with him
and loved the stuff he had done.
His website doesn't have a phone number, but he gave us his cell phone.
We also have his address and home number, which has been disconnected.
The week we found out that he had flaked out on a few other brides
happened to be the week we tried to get in touch with him for
having our engagement shoot done. Fortunately, we hadn't done the engagement
pictures, otherwise we would've waited until a few weeks before the wedding
to contact him. My fiance was stressed out enough trying to get
a replacement 10 weeks before a wedding. I can't imagine her trying
with 3-4 weeks left...
Lily
photographer. The website showed really great photos. But he had no address
and would meet potential clients in a nearby coffee house. And his website
says he's a PPA member; however, he is not listed on their website. When I
emailed the PPA, they wrote back saying the organization had no record of
this guy.
Then there was the photographer who said she was free on our date but then
took 2 weeks to have time for an initial appt with us. A week after the
appt, instead of mailing the promised contracted, she emailed saying she was
busy on that day. Hah! She just got a more remunerative job for that day.
I'm glad she cancelled: anyone that unprofessional hasn't earned the honor
of attending my wedding.
"Brad Curfman" <phot...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:3afd8747.03041...@posting.google.com...
Ron Ng
>of attending my wedding.
The photographer isn't ATTENDING your stupid wedding. The photographer is
WORKING at your stupid wedding.
Ron Ng Knows!
The Weasel
> > Must be all of that mercury that leached into their water table when
> > it burned in the Civil War (1861-1865 for you government school
> > educated types). . .
> >
> > The Weasel - The Official "Weasel" of UseNet! Accept no substitutes!!
>
> Funny. Nothing like a little humor regarding "The War of Northern Aggression"...
Unless you do a search in Goggle newsgroups
(http://groups.google.com/) and type the words, "Karen Simmons" and
"alt.wedding", you won't understand why this came up.
You also might want to view these websites:
http://www.thinds.com/advocate/simmons/timeline.htm (Karen Simmons)
and http://www.thinds.com/advocate/rosen/timeline.htm (Rick Rosen) for
more information on how this all came about.
> Unfortunately, he isn't listed with the PPA or the Georgia PPA.
> http://www.gppa.com
>
> My fiance happens to be a very trusting person
Just the way the wedding industry likes them. . .the *last* thing you
should do with the wedding industry. . ."trust". . .they'll take
advantage of that "trust" for everything you have. . .
> and didn't check out the gppa site. He told her that he was a member. She met with him and loved the stuff he had done.
Are you sure it was his "stuff"? People have been known to hire other
people to do the work and then claim that it's "their" work. I'm not
saying that was the case here, but if a person isn't upfront with some
stuff, other stuff is suspect also. . .
Besides. . .there's nothing original about the wedding industry. .
.it's all standard grade recycled garbage repackaged to look like it's
an one-of-a-kind made especially just for little ole you and your
"special day". . .
> His website doesn't have a phone number, but he gave us his cell phone.
> We also have his address and home number, which has been disconnected.
> The week we found out that he had flaked out on a few other brides
> happened to be the week we tried to get in touch with him for
> having our engagement shoot done. Fortunately, we hadn't done the engagement
> pictures, otherwise we would've waited until a few weeks before the wedding
> to contact him. My fiance was stressed out enough trying to get
> a replacement 10 weeks before a wedding. I can't imagine her trying
> with 3-4 weeks left...
Have you ever thought about just bypassing the wedding industry's
version of a "wedding" and just eloping? You'll be just as "married"
than if the wedding industry stuck their two cents (which is what
their vends are really worth) in. . .
The Weasel - The Official "Weasel" of UseNet! Accept no substitutes!!
--
The Weasel
> I almost went ahead with a photographer who sounds similar to your problem
> photographer. The website showed really great photos. But he had no address
> and would meet potential clients in a nearby coffee house. And his website
> says he's a PPA member; however, he is not listed on their website. When I
> emailed the PPA, they wrote back saying the organization had no record of
> this guy.
Have you contacted the PPA about this fraud (which is what it is)?
Not that I think they care but the "resident wedding industry
apologist" Dick Rosen has said that any photographer that you hire
should be a part of an "association" and this guy is saying he is but
in reality he isn't. . .one would gather that Rosen would think that
it makes PPA look bad. . .
> Then there was the photographer who said she was free on our date but then
> took 2 weeks to have time for an initial appt with us. A week after the
> appt, instead of mailing the promised contracted, she emailed saying she was
> busy on that day. Hah! She just got a more remunerative job for that day.
That happens a lot more in the wedding industry than people think. . .
Since smaller operations can only take on one wedding on a particular
day, they need to make that one "count" financially. . .a lot of these
"one horse operations" don't want to take on "dime" jobs unless it's
within a few weeks of the date and there's no other "takers" off in
the horizon -- then they lower their already low standards and
"accept" it, knowing that "something is better than nothing" -- or in
wedding industry parlay, "something is better than sitting on my fanny
as my spouse whines about something that needs to be done (that of
course costs money) while I'm watching television and having to go
take something out of the freezer and make my own meal at my expense".
. .
The larger operations would have just sent out a "stringer" to your
wedding because people in charge don't go to "ham sandwich" weddings
when they can "work" a "prime rib" one instead. . .
The Weasel - The Official "Weasel" of UseNet! Accept no substitutes!!
--
JH
The Weasel wrote:
>
>
> Unless you do a search in Goggle newsgroups
> (http://groups.google.com/) and type the words, "Karen Simmons" and
> "alt.wedding", you won't understand why this came up.
>
> You also might want to view these websites:
>
> http://www.thinds.com/advocate/simmons/timeline.htm (Karen Simmons)
> and http://www.thinds.com/advocate/rosen/timeline.htm (Rick Rosen) for
> more information on how this all came about.
These are very outdated pages. It would be more relevent to direct people to www.bbb.org and type in Simmons' name for the
state of Georgia. She's up to 11 filed complaints as of today.
The Weasel
Nice to hear from you again nice lady! Hope everything is going well
for you. . .
> The Weasel wrote:
> > Unless you do a search in Goggle newsgroups http://groups.google.com/) and type the words, "Karen Simmons" and "alt.wedding", you won't understand why this came up.
> > You also might want to view these websites:
> > http://www.thinds.com/advocate/simmons/timeline.htm (Karen Simmons)
> > and http://www.thinds.com/advocate/rosen/timeline.htm (Rick Rosen) for
> > more information on how this all came about.
> These are very outdated pages.
While that may be true, I subscribe to the belief that an "outdated"
history book still has some value if you don't know any history from
before (in fact, a twenty year old "outdated" book is better than a
"current" one because you don't have to wade through the "political
correctness" that those "revisionism thought police" subject the
government school kids to think). I view these pages as basically a
"primer" of where this started, not as a "final word". . .
> It would be more relevent to direct people to www.bbb.org and type in Simmons' name for the state of Georgia. She's up to 11 filed complaints as of today.
It would be interesting to find out just how many of those complaints
were generated by alt.wedding/soc.couples.wedding (or as Rick Rosen
refers to these groups, "alt.many prospective clients.wedding")
people?
I've been trying to do some "catch up" here to see what has happened
during my two year absence. . .I see a lot of those windbags left
shortly after I did. . .I'm sure glad Rick Rosen invited me to sit and
stay a spell here. . .I had planned on just peeking in and seeing what
was happening here after my long absence but when I saw Rick cry,
kick, scream and pout if I left again (personally, I usually "fix" the
problem when a defiant child pulls that kind of stunt on me, but I
understand that "Baby Rosen" can't help himself -- him being a
56-year-old wedding vendor and all. . .you can't always expect
miracles. . .), so I'll be watching and pontifying as needed to help
the couples have a nice wedding. . .
Thanks Rick Rosen for welcoming me back!
JH
The Weasel wrote:
> J> It would be more relevent to direct people to www.bbb.org and type in Simmons' name for the state of Georgia. She's up to 11 filed complaints as of today.
>
> It would be interesting to find out just how many of those complaints
> were generated by alt.wedding/soc.couples.wedding
I know of at least six by name.
> I've been trying to do some "catch up" here to see what has happened
> during my two year absence. . .
I guess you missed the posts regarding Nathan Shafer's turning to the Dark Side of wedding photography. He has three complaints filed with the BBB, at least one of which
is considered unpursuable, and was the subject of a national syndicated radio consumer advocacy show called The Troubleshooter in December 2001 when a client complained of
paying $4,500.00 and still had no photographs of his wedding day. He was so "helpful" to the brides on alt.wedding back then, wasn't he?
The Weasel
> The Weasel wrote:
>
> > J> It would be more relevent to direct people to www.bbb.org and type in Simmons' name for the state of Georgia. She's up to 11 filed complaints as of today.
> >
> > It would be interesting to find out just how many of those complaints
> > were generated by alt.wedding/soc.couples.wedding
>
> I know of at least six by name.
And where are all those "helpful" vendors who were standing behind her
when she used to post here? I guess they are still standing behind
her, it just is *very* far behind her. . .
> > I've been trying to do some "catch up" here to see what has happened
> > during my two year absence. . .
>
> I guess you missed the posts regarding Nathan Shafer's turning to the Dark Side of wedding photography.
Yes I did.
> He has three complaints filed with the BBB, at least one of which is considered unpursuable, and was the subject of a national syndicated radio consumer advocacy show called The Troubleshooter in December 2001 when a client complained of paying $4,500.00 and still had no photographs of his wedding day. He was so "helpful" to the brides on alt.wedding back then, wasn't he?
I guess it was more like "helping himself". . .I wonder if he would've
paid more attention to his paying clients instead of killing time on
the newsgroups "for the good of the industry" if it would have been
different?
It's refreshing to see the lack of vendors here telling couples how
they simply *need* to have the vend they peddle at their wedding for
it (and the couples' marriage) to be a success.
Brad Curfman
I have been contacted by 4 brides that had David as their wedding photographer.
One of them went by his apartment complex and found out he moved apartments.
She went to the door, and he was there ! So she set up a meeting with him
later in the week, and she and another bride had David sign another contract
to deliver whatever albums/pictures he hadn't already given them.
I haven't had any progress in getting back our deposit, but mainly because
it's a low priority. We get married in 2 weeks and have other things taking
up our time.
The Weasel
If you didn't pay by credit card (which I gather you didn't), you can
probably kiss that "deposit" good-bye.
First of all, he probably called it a "retainer" vs. a "deposit".
"Deposit" infers that you can get your money back at a later time
(like a "deposit" on a soda bottle in states where the practice still
is in effect). "Retainer" on the other hand, is what lawyers insist
on as you're buying their "availablity" and if you don't use it,
you're out the money as you "paid" for their "availablity". The
wedding industry has gotten burned by the legal system in the past few
years as judges (who are really lawyers, abeit "impartial" ones) one
by one have required the return of "deposits" as they (when they were
lawyers) accepted "retainers" because they're non-refundable and that
a "deposit" is.
Remember, the wedding industry is *not* your friend. . .they only
pretend to be one as they want people to spend more of their
hard-earned money on the wedding industry machine than if the couples
know what the wedding industry is *really* all about. . .
bryang
Brad,
I own a videography company in Marietta that does weddings. We've
worked with dozens of reputable wedding photographers in Atlanta and
I'm sorry you found one bad apple. I can offer some measure of
revenge, even though I saw you on 11 alive news their is one other way
to keep David Whitt from scamming people. Myself and 5 other
professionals have been creating a website that will be live to the
public in August. The site allows consumers to list products, services
and even contracters that have been problems, rip offs or products that
perform poorly. The site is functional and we are in dry run while we
finish the page content. The site is www.businessproductreport.com and
if you will put your story in the database then others can search for
his name and avoid this problem in the future. Some of the
instructions have yet to be posted, so if you have any problems just
email us from the site and we will be glad to help.
'www.businessproductreport.com' (http://tinyurl.com/c5zw)
--
bryang
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bryang
If you knew anything about business you'd know that the Better Business
Bureau is mostly irrelevant and has little power. As a business owner
I can get out of posted complaints if I'm a member of the BBB. Go to
the BBB site and search for Microsoft or Wal-Mart. "Nothing", I'm not
making any comments about either company but someone has certainly
complained about them in the past but you won't find it. They even
called me with that in their pitch to get me to become a paying member.
www.businessproductreport.com has no company affiliations nor can a
company or individual change a report or delete one. They can only
contact the person posting and try to satisfy the complaint.
Definitely search the BBB site but if you don't find something or
someone don't be so sure that it means all is good with whom you were
checking for.
--
bryang
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useall88keys
We were also scammed by Whitt. We were married in 9/02, he shot the
wedding. After literally 50 attempts to contact him, we have only
received 1/5th of our order. He has left Atlanta, we think.
I have information about a mailbox he rents in Roswell Georgia. In the
past the only way I have been able to get him to return my call is to
constantly call his mother. She in in Knoxville, her name is Ann
Whitt, her number is 865-471-0386. There are other people who he has
ripped off that call her regularly also. The 2 times that I have been
able to get him to call me has been after repeatedly calling his
mother. He would call me and tell me to stop harrassing his mother. I
would explain that I would, if he lets me know what is happening and
returns my calls
Now that his cell phone is disconnected, and he has moved from his
place of business in Roswell GA (apartment), I will continue to call
his mother. She obviously communicates with him still.
I would encourage any and all others to call her. Eventually, I would
think she would encourage him to reply to us.
I have more info on him. We need to unite to find him.
--
useall88keys
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KG
"useall88keys" <useall88k...@timelimit.yourserver.com> wrote in
message news:useall88k...@timelimit.yourserver.com...
>
> We were also scammed by Whitt. We were married in 9/02, he shot the
> wedding. After literally 50 attempts to contact him, we have only
> received 1/5th of our order. He has left Atlanta, we think.
>
> I have information about a mailbox he rents in Roswell Georgia. In the
> past the only way I have been able to get him to return my call is to
> constantly call his mother. She in in Knoxville, her name is Ann
> Whitt, her number is 865-471-0386. There are other people who he has
> ripped off that call her regularly also. The 2 times that I have been
> able to get him to call me has been after repeatedly calling his
> mother. He would call me and tell me to stop harrassing his mother. I
> would explain that I would, if he lets me know what is happening and
> returns my calls
>
> Now that his cell phone is disconnected, and he has moved from his
> place of business in Roswell GA (apartment), I will continue to call
> his mother. She obviously communicates with him still.
>
> I would encourage any and all others to call her. Eventually, I would
> think she would encourage him to reply to us.
>
>
> I have more info on him. We need to unite to find him.
>
>
Seems to me that you "all" need to start calling the state's attorney
general's office, too. They are the ones who can ultimately help you
resolve the issue legally.
KG
