Sorry in advance for this long post, but I need some advice
My fiancé and I signed a contract with a well-known photography company and were excited to work with them. This particular company requires you to purchase an album from them at an additional cost (the album is not included in the packages).
We had consultations with a representative who went over "pre-package purchase options" for the album and sent us everything we spoke about in a pdf. There was very little mention of a particular album which was in the pdf, and listed with the other albums talking about their differences. This album, which is their lowest priced option at around $600 and only contains 30 pictures with no personalization of the album cover and made with faux leather. Other options are in the $1,000s and up range.
We wrote to the consultant we spoke with and chose the $600 option. The consultant followed up with emails stating she, "Didn't want us to settle on an album," and asked "If money wasn't an issue which would we choose." She also had customer service contact us saying they would give us a 20% discount off of their other albums to try and change our mind. In addition to this, she also mentioned in a few of her emails before we decided saying she wanted to work with us on an particular album which, again, was more expensive and when we never mentioned wanting that album prior to deciding.
We still said we wanted the $600 option and were then told we were unable to pre-purchase this album, while also telling us that the prices were also set to increase some time in 2023 and if they increased before our wedding that would be the price we would pay.
We sent numerous emails confused because it was included in the pre-purchase pdf she sent even though she didn't talk too much about it, and asked why it couldn't be pre-purchased and lock in the price. Her response was that this album was an exemption and not able to be pre-purchased - which she never once mentioned during the consultation or through previous emails. She then went on to say that she would be able to set up pre-purchase for us for the $600 album, but that if the price increased before the wedding we would need to pay the difference, and that the increases are due to, "necessity ."
At the end of all this, she won't budge. Our signed contract, we did before this, says prices during the consultations are locked in but can be changed without notice. The increases haven't happened and we're being told by her that, "the prices should stay close to the price it is now," but we're not being told what it will increase to or when. I very much feel as though they are just trying to get more money out of us and am lost on what to do.
Should we try and contact customer service or someone else, or should we just accept that we might end up paying more than intended for an album with only 30 pictures?
