Bo Peep Limousine

Liars. Frauds. Thieves.

Sadly, these are the most relevant descriptions I can give for the folks at "Bo Peep Limousine" based in Orland Park, IL. You can already tell that this will not be a glowing review. However, it will not be a flaming review either. I will give you the facts and let you decide how you would rate this "business" (if this even qualifies as a business). Read the time line below and judge for yourself.

07/29/08 5:00PM - My fiancée calls Bo Peep Limousine after being referred by a legitimate limousine service listed in a wedding magazine. After a consultation, our credit card number was taken to secure our requested date should we decide to use their service. What should follow next is a drafting and delivery of a physical contract, the signing and return of such contract, and the necessary deposit charged to finalize the date and service in question.

07/29/08 6:00PM - After some discussion, my fiancée and I decided not to use Bo Peep Limousine as our choice for service. They were promptly called and the request was canceled, ONE HOUR after being initialized.

07/31/08 - Our account is charged in the amount of $1,320. I call personally and explain to owner Rick that our order had been canceled and that we should not have been charged. He assured me that my money would be refunded on Monday (08/04), as that is when their refunds go through. In addition to explaining this, Rick pressed the issue of our cancellation asking for our reasons to cancel and insisting that he'd prefer working something out because he'd rather "take something over nothing." I replied by saying if we decided to use his service, I would call him back.

08/04/08 - No refund processed.

08/06/08 - It has been five days since being incorrectly charged $1,320 and a refund has neither pended, let alone posted. It's been four days since owner Rick has explained that their refunds are processed every Monday. After getting ahold of Rick, he confidently assured me that the refund was put through on Monday 08/04 and should post on Wednesday 08/06 (the day of this call). I reluctantly accepted this response.

08/08/08 - I contacted Bo Peep owner Rick in the AM and expressed my increasing concern for this situation not being resolved. His response, a bit less confident this time, was that my refund had been processed on Thursday 08/07 and would post on Friday 08/08 (again, the day of this call). I firmly expressed my dismay at this situation as it's been over a week and refunds to charges do not take this long, regardless of the credit card processing service.

08/09/08 - I managed to get ahold of Rick in the early afternoon, now crossing from concerned to frustrated and a bit insulted. Over the past week, I'd been given a few different assurances regarding this situation, all of which have shown to be completely untrue. Rick's response was that the refund was indeed put through on Thursday 08/07 and that he can give me a confirmation number. According to Rick, he'd be out all day on this Saturday 08/09 and would call me on Sunday 08/10 with the confirmation number. I made him give me his word to call me on this following day. He committed to this promise.

08/10/08 - Rick did not return my phone call with a confirmation number, as promised.

08/11/08 11:00AM - I call Rick from my work phone and miraculously, I get ahold of him. It seems that for some reason my cell phone cannot reach him, only his voicemail. I tried to call him a few times on Sunday 08/10 and could not seem to get in touch. He explains nervously that he would have to call me back since at that moment he was out and about. He would return home to his office and call me back to resolve the situation. With stern patience I explained that this situation could not continue. He had charged us $1,320 for a service that we neither agreed to or signed for (on top of canceling it a mere hour after consultation). I made him swear to me that I would receive a return call as soon as possible. He guaranteed it. I doubted it.

08/11/08 4:00PM - I call Rick after leaving work and again, my cell phone seems not have the capability of reaching the live Rick, only his recorded voice. I explain in my message that it was rude of him to let 4 hours pass without the return call he promised.

08/11/08 9:00PM - I called again but decided against leaving another message saying the same thing I said hours before.

08/12/08 7:00AM - Bo Peep Limousine (Rick) is unreachable. We customers should embrace the voicemail's promise of a return call if we leave a message.

08/12/08 11:00AM - Bo Peep Limousine (Rick) must be so flooded with business (and the money from unsolicited charges) that the cell phone attached to the business number can not be answered. Or perhaps just not answered by any recognizable number I have used.

08/13/08 8:00AM - It has been 2 WEEKS since we were charged $1,320 by Bo Peep Limousine. It took them less than 48 hours to charge us this amount and yet the refund seems like it's being processed a penny at a time sent via snailback. I confront Rick understandably upset and drill a little rationality into his ear. I make my words sharp yet reasonable. Like a scolded child, Rick responds with a belittled explanation of being out of town and unable to answer his phone. He drops another promise of a return phone call and it floats away, like our money.

08/13/08 9:00PM - Over 12 hours after our jarring phone call, Rick answers my call with the immediate excuse that he had called my phone that afternoon and gotten my voicemail. "Why no missed call," I ask. "Why no message?" He cannot answer these queries but can only say that he reprocessed the refund and it would post in the AM on Thursday 08/14.

08/14/08 - No refund is processed.

08/18/08 3:30PM - Bo Peep Limousine does not answer the phone. Still no refund.
08/18/08 9:00PM - Bo Peep Limousine does not answer the phone. Still no refund.
08/20/08 6:00PM - Bo Peep Limousine does not answer the phone. Still no refund.
08/21/08 1:00PM - Bo Peep Limousine does not answer the phone. Still no refund.
08/23/08 3:00PM - Bo Peep Limousine does not answer the phone. Still no refund.
08/25/08 7:15PM - Bo Peep Limousine does not answer the phone. Still no refund.
08/31/08 9:30AM - It's been 1 MONTH since Bo Peep Limousine stole $1,320 from me and my wife-to-be. Rick (50% of the employees and co-owner at Bo Peep) will not take my call. Or refund our money.

Getting married is not an easy project to undertake. Most of us go through the process as novices and come out as pros. The trials of the do-it-yourself process can be harrowing and difficult, both emotionally and financially. If you are like us, you work hard for your money and know very well that saving for a wedding is a task unto itself apart from the planning and organizing. Can you imagine having $1,320 stolen from your wedding fund by a home-based "business" posing as a limousine service? Can you imagine the smug reaction of someone who would knowingly and fraudulently steal this money from you and your partner, only to give you the run-around for a month? All while still planning and organizing your wedding?

I can imagine it. In fact, I'm still imagining it. Because the $1,320 Bo Peep Limousine STOLE from us and promised as a refund is still just that ... imaginary.