Koosh Photography boss in Airdrie 'disappeared' after charging couples thousands for big day

Two couples have told how they have lost around £2000 between them after booking Koosh Photography to capture their special moments. 

They say problems began to arise after attempting to contact the Airdrie-based lensman to reschedule their bookings due to the pandemic.

William Boyle was married last-minute at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QUEH) on Hogmanay after learning his mother-in-law would only have days left to live. 

The groom claims that Koosh “fell off the face of the earth” when he approached the business for a refund in January. 

He said: “We had an emergency wedding on Hogmanay by my mother-in-law’s bedside after being told she would only have days left with us.

“We got married and then we phoned the photographer to say that we would be re-arranging our wedding to a day of celebrations instead. We still wanted to book him, but we couldn’t get hold of him.

“Eventually it got to the point where we didn’t care for our deposit – we just wanted a refund of the remaining amount. He fell off the face of the earth. We couldn’t get in touch with him at all.”

William and wife, Zoe

A bride from Airdrie - who wished not to be named – reserved a date for Koosh to take pictures of her wedding renewal after she was taken seriously unwell following an operation. 

But due to Covid lockdowns, the pair were forced to rebook the event on three occasions. The couple say they were asked for a single, one-off bank transfer of £100 to “secure” the date, but the bride realised she might not make it. 

She said: “I was told I’d only have a 25% chance of survival, so we wanted to renew our vows. My husband almost lost me. 

“We’ve tried to renew them three times now but we’ve had to postpone due to Covid. It didn’t seem like a problem at all to Koosh – I even went to go and see him and he was so nice and accommodating. 

“He said that he could facilitate our new date then went on to ask for more money.

“We paid £400 straight up then he asked for a £100 bank transfer to secure the date when I told him we had to postpone. I just sent it over.

“He had never asked for more money when we had to postpone previously but my husband reassured that it could just be their new business policy during the pandemic.”

After forking out an additional £100, the Airdrie bride claims to have seen posts on social media with other couples raising concerns that they couldn’t get in touch with Koosh. 

Concerned herself, she attempted to make contact with the photographer that day. 

“He was completely unreachable”, she said. 

“I even went down to his studio and it was locked up with the lights off. After that, I approached Citizen’s Advice to get some help.

“Due to the fact that I sent all the money to him via a bank transfer, it meant I wouldn’t be getting the money back. I had ticked boxes to confirm that I trusted him, which meant they couldn’t compensate.

“I feel lucky that it was only £400 but we are still really upset about it. We haven’t heard from him since.”

After attempting to contact Koosh Photography for several months, both couples took the decision to abandon their contracts. 

The groom said: “We are completely deflated that someone can take our savings and then not reply to us. We have been left high and dry.

“We had been saving since 2018 for this day to come. It’ sad that there will be other couples out there who have also paid so much money for this photographer. It will really affect their big day.”

The Airdrie bride added: “We’re gutted and it has made us really sceptical about booking another photographer for our wedding renewal. 

“We had been saving up really hard for this because of what happened to me, we wanted to make it special.”

A review from a separate customer on Trustpilot – a consumer review website for businesses across the globe – told how they also could not get in touch with Koosh when they tried to rebook a photoshoot due to Covid.

It reads: “We have tried several different means of communication to try and make contact but he refuses to answer emails, text messages or return phone calls. 

“I wish he would do the decent thing and make contact with his customers as these are memories we will never get back. He was certainly quick enough to accept our money.

Meanwhile, the business is promoting photoshoot deals on Groupon. One package advertises a photoshoot with 11 prints reduced from £170 to £9. 

The Glasgow Times approached Koosh Photography on multiple occasions for comment, but there was no response at the time of going to press.