House of Brides Issuing Refunds Next Month

Echoing the message on their business line, an attorney for House of Brides says the Mobile shop closed due to the economy. In a statement, he says the company has opened a hotline for customers with outstanding deposits. He says customers with merchandise already locked in the store should call too. The number is 251-605-2681.

Meanwhile, things have been busy at the Better Business Bureau this week. The office has fielded dozens of calls and written up 14 complaints about the House of Brides. Compare that to the nine they got over the last three years. BBB President Tina Waller says this is a civil, not criminal matter.

“You have to prove intent, that this was an intentional deliberate attempt to take someone's money and not deliver a product,” says Waller. At the businesses, notes from distressed brides continue to pile up at the front door. Velma Lenox says her daughter got a strange call from the House of Brides last week asking her to pick up her wedding dress early.

“They had told her that they were going to repaint the entire building, they were going to put everything on trucks and they didn't want to be responsible for the bridal gowns,” says Lenox. The attorney says refunds should start after December 1st.