I'm a photographer who recently placed an ad in an annual wedding publication. It is supposed to be a glossy magazine type of publication, however in my add the the colors came out all green, especially the bride's dress in one of the photos. They also put question marks in my address for some reason.
The edit admitted that they made a mistake, but that the ad still has value since my name is still getting out there. They refused to refund my money, but did offer to run a free ad in the local newspaper. The wedding planner is a state-wide publication. I explained that not only did the ad no longer have any value, but having a green bride in a ad for a photographer actually is negative advertising.
My question is this: I'm pretty sure if I go to small claims court I could recover the cost of my ad, about $1,300, but can I recover additional monies for the resulting loss of business? Do I have to prove an exact dollar amount lost, or just show the potential to lose business? I make about $3000 per wedding so a single lost client can mean big bucks. I also wonder if this could be a liable suit since the way they ran the ad makes me look incompetent?
The edit admitted that they made a mistake, but that the ad still has value since my name is still getting out there. They refused to refund my money, but did offer to run a free ad in the local newspaper. The wedding planner is a state-wide publication. I explained that not only did the ad no longer have any value, but having a green bride in a ad for a photographer actually is negative advertising.
My question is this: I'm pretty sure if I go to small claims court I could recover the cost of my ad, about $1,300, but can I recover additional monies for the resulting loss of business? Do I have to prove an exact dollar amount lost, or just show the potential to lose business? I make about $3000 per wedding so a single lost client can mean big bucks. I also wonder if this could be a liable suit since the way they ran the ad makes me look incompetent?
