SouthWest Photo and Film customers 'stressed' after bankruptcy

Jess got married on Saturday, while her sister, Eliza, is getting married in October

Two sisters who lost £3,000 when a wedding photography firm went bust said the experience has caused them "a lot of stress"

Eliza and Jess Squire were among hundreds of couples hit when SouthWest Photo and Film went bankrupt.

The man who ran the company has apologised but many couples have been left frustrated with how the situation has been handled.

Another couple, from Bath, said they had been "naïve" to pay up front.

Eliza Squire, who is getting married in October, and her sister, Jess, 32, who was married on Saturday, said they paid £3,000 to SouthWest Photo and Film, based in Torquay.

They said Lee Brewer, who ran the company, had offered them a "sibling discount" and they paid in full up front.

Eliza (left) and her sister paid £3,000 to SouthWest Photo and Film

"We both paid the full amount, and then found out, three days before my sister's wedding, that he's [Mr Brewer] gone bust," Eliza, who grew up in Hatherleigh, Devon, said.

"We are doing everything on a budget.

"The photographer is one of the main big ticket items...so to feel like we are not going to get that money back and to now have to pay for another one is soul-destroying."

Eliza said that a support group was set up on Facebook for couples affected and that within 24 hours it had more than 1,000 members.

"It's just a scrolling catalogue of people saying 'this has happened to me, I also paid up front'," she added.

Courtney-Jade and her partner Adam Mather paid £500 to have their wedding covered

Courtney-Jade, 24, and her partner Adam Mather, 24, from near Bath, first came across the company in 2020, when it was still Lee Brewer Photography and Film, and paid £500.

"They had a lockdown deal and it seemed like a good deal," Courtney-Jade said.

"We were a bit naïve. We paid about four weeks after booking, so we paid the full balance then.

"Then [last week] I had an email, saying urgent attention, unfortunately we won't be able to come to your wedding.

"I did reply, and I got a bounce back. I went online and the website had disappeared... social media had gone, it was like he had just disappeared."

Courtney-Jade Herrington said it was "a bit of a panic" when they found out the company had gone bankrupt

Having found out Mr Brewer had actually sub-contracted out their wedding to another photographer, the couple were then left trying to find out who had been booked.

"It was a bit of a panic, as we only had two weeks," Courtney-Jade added.

"Luckily we've now confirmed a new [photographer], but we've lost the money from Lee Brewer and we've had to pay again.

"Having to pay another £700 and losing £500 to capture quite an important day, it is a lot of added stress, when money is quite tight at the moment anyway."

Adam said the experience had been "overwhelming".

"I'm annoyed. I just feel a bit played to be honest. It's always in the back of your mind, is this going to happen again?"

Southwest Photo and Film employed and sub-contracted a number of different photographers and videographers to cover the weddings.

Some of them are now also out of pocket.

Sam Richardson said he had contacted Mr Brewer repeatedly about the overdue invoices

Sam Richardson, 28, a videographer from Taunton, worked with Mr Brewer and said he was struggling to get paid.

"Within the last six weeks payments had slowed to a point, not just for me but for all the shooters, where the overdue invoices were building up in the thousands," he said.

Mr Richardson said that he had contacted Mr Brewer repeatedly about the overdue invoices.

"He finally phoned me and acknowledged that there was money owed," he said.

But on Wednesday Mr Richardson heard from another photographer on the team who said "it was all over" and "none of us were getting paid".

When contacted by the BBC, Mr Brewer declined to be interviewed.

An automated email response from Southwest Photo and Film said: "It is with the utmost sadness we would like to inform you that Southwest Photo and Film (formally Lee Brewer Photography) has ceased trading.

"I have been left with no choice but to cease trading and declare bankruptcy. An official receiver will be in touch with further information."

Following angry messages to the company from out-of-pocket couples, Mr Brewer also posted a lengthy statement on Facebook, which he later removed.

'Lost everything'

Within it he said he will be sending all clients whose weddings he had attended in the past three months fully edited photos once he has "finalised everything I am dealing with at present".

He added: "I will also be contacting clients whose weddings our associate photographers and videographers have captured.

"I have set up automated responses on all our email accounts to update you with our present situation. This isn't a cowardly act as you all probably think and I'm not hiding but I simply can't cope with the vast amount of people trying to contact me.

"I have spent years trying to build this business and now lost everything.

"In hindsight I should have admitted defeat during the pandemic but being one not to quit I kept trying to fight, rebuild and grow, with having to refund over £200,000 in the last two years because of the financial burden following the pandemic my business has failed as the result.

"I completely get it people have lost their money and are severely angry but I absolutely had no other option."

Devon and Somerset Trading Standards said it is not something that it had powers to investigate since the business had ceased trading.