Shop owner says brides will get their dresses (From Daily Echo)

Shop owner says brides will get their dresses

11:58am Saturday 21st June 2008 in

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ONE of the owners of a Southampton bridal store that has remained shut for the last two weeks has pledged to reunite brides with their wedding dresses.

Perfect Days Bridalwear Ltd shut without any notice leaving brides-to-be wondering whether they would ever see their dream frocks again, as reported in yesterday's Daily Echo.

Kelly Bartlett said she will organise an appointment for brides to collect their wedding and bridesmaid dresses this month.

Her gesture comes after a turbulent few months for the family involved with the business.

Kelly's mother, and the shop's former proprietor Lynn Iacobucci, died in April this year of breast cancer, aged 53.

She had run the business since October 2006 with the shop previously located at The Bargate Centre before moving to its current High Street location earlier this year.

Now Kelly, her sister Kiera and father John are the directors of the limited company and plan to sell off their stock in the future.

Kelly said there were three bridesaid dresses and five wedding dresses that would be ready for collection.

"I will make an arrangement for these to be collected,"

she said.

"Everything else is with the suppliers and people will have to go direct to them,"

she said.

Bride-to-be Cathy Hooper is delighted that she will be reunited with her dresses after ordering three pink bridesmaid dresses, a white beaded veil and a pure white strapless wedding dress with train.

She paid a total of £300 for the bridesmaid dresses, £75 for a white beaded veil and a £305 deposit on her wedding dress with a £610 price tag.

The 21-year-old of Millbrook Towers is due to tie the knot with fiance Paul Bunday, 33, at St Peter's Church in Maybush on August 9.

She said: "I am very relieved that I am going to get the dresses. It was last Monday when I tried to ring the shop and heard nothing. It was very worrying. There has been a lot of tears. I have been feeling very depressed and low.

"In my eyes the bridesmaid dresses were the perfect dresses and I will be over the moon when I get them back."

However, fearing the worst Cathy has already paid out £249 for an off-the-rail wedding dress from Pronuptia in East Street.

Southampton trading standards department has received several complaints about the closure of Perfect Days.

Clive Robinson, trading standards team leader, said that if any dresses have been paid for in full they belong to the buyer, not the business.

He said that customers who have made a partial payment could potentially make a claim for their money back if they paid by credit card.

"If they have paid a deposit and the business ceases trading, by not being open, a customer who has paid by credit card can make a claim under section 75 of the consumer credit act.

"This means that it is a disputed payment and an application can be made for your card issuer to reimburse you."

He said brides to be collecting dresses should " make the best"

out of the situation by finding their own seamstress to carry out any alterations.