Please excuse me if this is the wrong place. I am NOT a cake business, but didn't really know where else to post this, sorry. I just really, really need some help.

I'm just a girl who makes cakes as a hobby.  I am not a professional, I have no training.  I just enjoy it, and will make cakes for friends and family.  I do not make any profit, I just ask for enough money to cover the ingredients plus any extras people want - ribbons, boxes, cake boards etc.

A friend of my boyfriend contacted me asking me to make a cake for her mum.  She asked for a chocolate orange cake, the same one I'd made for my boyfriend's birthday that she'd tasted.  I agreed, and we agreed on the price.  I offered to deliver it to her house on Friday night, but she asked if someone could collect it from my house on Saturday morning, to which I agreed.

I made the cake, it was collected by a lady on Saturday morning, I showed it to her BEFORE she gave me the money.  She had said she was happy with it, witnessed by my mum and my boyfriend.  I also took pictures of the cake a few minutes before she arrived.

Fast forward to 10pm Monday night, and I get a text from the lady who collected it demanding her money back - saying it was the wrong flavour and that there was jam all over the plate.  I explained that the flavour was exactly as my friend requested and there was NO jam in the cake.  She then went on to claim the frosting had melted, to which I told her that it was fine before it left my house, when she collected it.  She was being very rude and forceful through text, so my boyfriend phoned her (as he's the business head in our relationship) to go through the issues.  She was very rude, shouting at him on the phone and threatening to "get her brother in law involved" - whatever that means.

I contacted the friend who had initially requested the cake - she said it was nothing to do with her, she hadn't seen the cake and didn't want to get involved.  I explained that I only do orders for friends/family and if I'd known it was for someone else I would never have done it.

I feel very threatened and intimidated by this woman, especially since she knows where I live.  I don't want to give a "refund" because I am NOT a business, I made the cake with money out of my own pocket after a friend requested it and there was nothing wrong with the cake when it left my house.  She said she threw the cake away and didn't eat it, therefore no longer has it.

This is the cake I made.  As you can see, nothing spectacular as I am not a professional and do not claim to be, but it was what my friend requested.  The picture was taken just before collection so you can see - no jam on the plate and no melted buttercream.  The gold plate is actually my own that I agreed to lend, believing that the order was from my friend.

What should I do?  :(

AShe paid you money for the cake. Whether you think so or not, you ARE a business. Just because you didn't "profit" from the cake doesn't mean there wasn't a business transaction.

Just ignore her. If she takes it any further she'll find out that she has no leg to stand on, since you took an order from the daughter, not her, and she will have to take it up with her. And in future don't make cakes for people you don't know well enough to give a free cake to! 

AIf you are in an area that requires a licensed and inspected commercial kitchen to sell food (even if you don't make a profit) this person could cause trouble by reporting you to the health department.

yes what kikiandkyle said!

in my area that is very strict with licensing etc--i doubt that the authorities would respond to this complaint if the woman complains to them

it's not the purview of the health department to demand customer satisfaction due to jelly and flavor issues on behalf of the aggrieved and benighted

not the police's purview nor anyone else in authority--

if they did respond they would issue you a cease and desist order

which you would have no problem with because you got hoodwinked in the first place

so since you aren't attempting to be a business by circumventing the legalities and since this is an unhappy person who is not b*tching about her bird dying when he ate a bite of cake then i really don't think you have anything to worry about

if she continues to harass you--you can take action against that

i'm sorry this got so complicated for you

hope you don't hear from her again and i hope you can get this far behind you soon

Wow, that's awful! I'd make a stink about the fact that you were LIED to and you have no idea who she is nor do you actually care but you want your plate back... But hey, thats me and I normally make situations worse, don't take this as advice! She's just being a bully for the sake of it by the sounds of it. And your 'friend'! Staying out of it? you may want to have words with her and tell her that it IS to do with her, its HER fault for letting a nutter like that loose at you and calm this nonsense down ASAP! Good luck =]

Oh I get in lots of trouble with this mouth! Seems to be quicker than my brain...

It's not fair though, I do the same though as in bake for friends and family. I want to set up a home/part time business but have to wait for my own mortgage till I officially can so I see the cakes I do as practise and lots of fun. To have some snobby [insert many many swear words here] call up out of the blue and tell you the cake she "bought" isnt good enough blah blah blah (clearly looking for a cheap cake) is ridiculous and one of the things I panic about all the time. I'm doing a massive this weekend for a friend's daughter's joint birthday party with about 100+ kids attending, it's pretty much this exactly that has left me with stumps where my nails used to be and trying to find someone with an inhaler to steal for those moments of blind panic. I mean other people will be eating it... OTHER PEOPLE! Pixiee88, you have my absolute sympathies and seriously, that was a nice plate...

Ok, let me get this straight.

Your boyfriend's friend ordered a cake. She herself placed the order and said she was sending someone to pick it up. That someone was the one paying for the cake, but no one told you this fact. Then this person who picked the cake up called to yell at you because she didn't like what she (didn't actually) order?

Good Lord, that is messed up.

I would tell her that since someone else ordered the cake, you cannot speak with her further about it, and to have the person who placed the order call you. (we know she has already been contacted, that is not the issue). Make a point that you did NOT know this cake was meant for someone not known to you, and if you have known that you would have never done the cake. Ask for your plate back, but expect it to be a loss.

And then NEVER take money for a cake again until you are a business (or at least make sure you do it for ONLY people who you PERSONALLY KNOW, not a friend of a friend.) This is why we set up businesses- so we can have policies and procedures in place to deal with the general public and all the issues that go along with that. If you don't take money, then people have no leg to stand on when they complain.

AThats rubbish I really feel for you, dont let this knock you too much! Its awful to put in time and effort make no money and to get shouted at as a result takes the cake!!!! My advice is to go 1 way or the other fight it 100 percent or give her the money back and put it down to experience. Some people want amazing cakes for practically nothing, I was recently asked to make 2 small carved cakes for someone at work and when I asked her budget she replied "10 pound each?" That was an interesting conversationxx good luck with it

The situation stinks, but if were you I'd give the money back and never take money for a cake again until you are set up legally as a business. Regardless of who placed the order, if the woman who picked it up paid for it, she's your customer, and she IS a customer if she paid you anything for it. It sounds like she's a lying creep, but she probably knows you're not legal so she's taking advantage of that.

By the way, it sounds like the person who placed the order to begin with isn't really such a friend as you thought, since she's not willing to get involved. I'd put her on the "no cake for you" list.