Photographers, what’s your refund policy?
While there’s no Canadian law that requires a business to refund a customer’s money or to make an exchange, except if a product is defective or a service is not delivered, it’s probably a good idea for a photographer to have some sort of refund policy.
The easiest refund policy is: “No refunds!” But that won’t inspire consumer confidence.
Note that “Future Performance Agreements” in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario allow a customer to cancel a contract and get a refund if the photographer fails to give the customer a written contract.
Plus, where the contract is agreed upon – in person, over the phone, over the Internet, etc – affects the customer’s right to cancel a contract and get a refund.
Consumer laws vary from province to province but generally a contract must be properly written or else the customer can cancel and get a refund.
Many commercial photographers require advance payment to cover larger expense items that need to be purchased for an assignment. Once these expenses have been incurred, they might be impossible to refund if a customer later cancels the photography. A photographer’s contract should cover this type of situation with something like:
Where the Client postpones or cancels an assignment, the Client will be responsible for payment of any and all expenses up to the time of postponement or cancellation…
When it comes to the photography fee, some photographers require a non-refundable deposit upon booking. Non-refundable deposits protect the photographer against undecided or disorganized clients. On the other hand, refundable deposits make customers happy. It’s up to each photographer to decide which works best for them.
(Here’s a secret: thanks to human behaviour, people who pay a deposit tend to be happier with the work than those who don’t. Customers who pay a deposit (the larger, the better) are more emotionally invested. It’s a form of confirmation bias.)
What about refunds after the photography has been completed?
In the old days, a commercial client would sign off on a Polaroid proof to confirm their approval and the final photography would then be completed. With digital photography, customers can see the pictures as they’re being shot. This means that client approval, or disapproval, should be known immediately.
But what if the client was not present at the assignment and/or later voices disapproval of the photos? Should they get a refund or not have to pay?
If the problem was caused by the photographer then yes, a refund or reshoot is in order. But what if the issue is that the customer has simply changed their mind about what they want?
A photographer should have a clause in their contract saying something to the effect of:
The Client is responsible for sending an authorized representative to the photo shoot. If no representative is present, the Client must accept the photographer’s judgment as to the execution of the work…
Having said that, a photographer should try to balance their refund policy with customer satisfaction. A contractual relationship is not as good as a customer relationship.
