Hallelujah Fashions

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I have never seen that copy of regulations and/or responsibilities from his store at any time during my purchase and I have never received a copy during or prior to my commitment to buy the dress, or the other parents paying for theirsThis information has never been given to me or any of the other parents who have graciously paid for their daughters dresses nor for the parent who put down a payment for the RENTAL of tuxedos that were no longer needed eitherThe only thing we ever received were our receipts and that is itI have never in my entire life known of a store manager who used his license and used the law to destroy such an event in such cruel disrespectful unethical mannerThe money was given before he took the receipt from my hand and angrily changed the number to cancellation fee giving me no options in this matterI and the other parents have tried and tried to get our money back because he continued to deny us our dresses the entire timeWe all paid and received absolutely nothingHe also claimed to have even lost the receipt that he always kept on the store wall behind the registerHe is one against many of us who have witnessed his wickedness and severely horrific customer serviceThere are no words that can describe the unfairness of this matterHe is a thief in our eyesTook our money and now tries using the law to hide behindAs I stated before, none of us have ever seen any paper containing rules and regulations of how he runs his storeIt should be illegal for anyone to take our money and never provide us with what we purchased [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.] Regards, [redacted]

I'm glad you're giving me a chance to explain my sideI've been in business at this location serving the community for the past years and getting complaints about who I am and how I run my business doesn't happen.***s dress cost was $w/tax & shippingList price was $+ tax
& $for shipping, she received a discountHer payment of $was enough to order the dress, in April $deposit was made, then $in July and her last payment was made on Aug11-of $On August 14th-*** came to me to cancel the dressGoing back to Aug 11-when she came into the store *** wanted to cancel the dress and explained she found another dressI told *** her dress was ordered and didn't push the canceling of the dress and decided to pay offer her dress balance. Which I didn't ask for or was necessary to payWhen *** deposited $I didn't want the money but didn't say anythingI didn't understand at first why she would give more money towards a dress she doesn't want minutes agoThat flew up a red flagSo I explained with my employee at my side that if she does decide to cancel there will be a $cancel fee which she got angry at, which also surprised me because if your giving me money toward a dress order and didn't want it then keep your money and cancel the dress while the $cancel fee applies, *** would be correct in this manner but she decided to give more money with the understanding of the new cancellation feeI have hundreds of invoices from customers with $cancel fees- the reason for such a small cancel fee of $was a mistake an employee made, but as said I would have honored ***s decision and let her cancel with $cancel fee but she took the decision and paid more more money with the understanding of the cancel feeIt sounds as if I told her the cancel fee is $and I took her $to settle the cancel fee but that would be wrong, I also told *** her dress will be hereHer party is in December All of the months I've been doing business with *** I've been fine and there was no disagreement of anything*** even made plans to order her tuxedos with me and the the girls standing up in the party came and made deposits with me in JulyWhat led her to choose those words about me is awful and she should apologize. What I'll do is have a $cancel fee for her dress- This is a business and I have rules, I'll consider a $in store credit

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I have never seen that copy of regulations and/or responsibilities from his store at any time during my purchase and I have never received a copy during or prior to my commitment to buy the dress, or the other parents paying for theirs. This information has never been given to me or any of the other parents who have graciously paid for their daughters dresses nor for the parent who put down a payment for the RENTAL of 2 tuxedos that were no longer needed either. The only thing we ever received were our receipts and that is it. I have never in my entire life known of a store manager who used his license and used the law to destroy such an event in such cruel disrespectful unethical manner. The money was given before he took the receipt from my hand and angrily changed the number 100 to 600 cancellation fee giving me no options in this matter. I and the other parents have tried and tried to get our money back because he continued to deny us our dresses the entire time. We all paid and received absolutely nothing. He also claimed to have even lost the receipt that he always kept on the store wall behind the register. He is one against many of us who have witnessed his wickedness and severely horrific customer service. There are no words that can describe the unfairness of this matter. He is a thief in our eyes. Took our money and now tries using the law to hide behind. As I stated before, none of us have ever seen any paper containing rules and regulations of how he runs his store. It should be illegal for anyone to take our money and never provide us with what we purchased. 
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: I had been planning my daughters’ quinceañera for an entire year due to the fact that I am a single mom and have always been, and because I had no other financial help for this extremely important event as it is a tradition in which we celebrate not only a birthday but a young girl becoming a woman (The same has/can be done for a teenage boy). The party event was scheduled for (December 27, 2014).

Starting in January of 2014 I started making payments on my daughters $520 dress of which I paid $520, (full price) by August 14 2014, and the participants who are part of the quinceañera (2 girls, 2 boys), as well paid for their dresses ($200) each girl and ($100) for both tuxedo RENTALS (as a $50 deposit for each tuxedo), back in August. A total of ($500 for the parents of the kids+$520 for my daughters dress=$1020+TAXES).

The party was to happen in December of 2014.

From my very first payment in January of 2014, I was told that if I were to ever cancel, there would be a $100 cancellation fee; which was the deposit I had to put down on the dress and what is stated on my receipt. The grandparent of the 2 boys was told that if she cancelled the rentals with at least 30 days notice she would receive her full refund. The 2 girls’ parents were told they would receive their refund on their dresses as well.

August of 2014 (I was in for a rude awakening), I decided to cancel my daughters dress due to the fact that we found a much prettier Quinceañera dress the same size but much better material for $200 which would in turn save me money (of which I was in dire need of) minus the $100 cancellation fee from the Hallelujah Fashion store. So I went to the hallelujah Fashion store and spoke to the [redacted] of the store and told him I wanted to cancel my daughters dress. He asked me why I wanted to cancel it and I answered “I found a similar dress that was only $200 so it would save me money (thinking perhaps he might lower the price and/or that it be best since I was still trying to come up with money to finish paying for food, DJ, etc.). I know theirs the $100 cancellation fee and that’s fine but I need the rest of the money I paid for the dress. The other parents are keeping the dresses they ordered from here though.” His reply: “It’s $600 cancellation fee.” I explained to him that the agreement was $100 cancellation fee as it says on my receipt and that he has to pay me the rest of my money back. He continued to refuse and later said that the rest of my payment would be in-store credit only. I said to him, “The dresses have never even been ordered so you are not loosing out on money, in fact you are keeping $100 of mine for free for cancellation fee.” I told him I would just take the dress because I didn't want any problems and this was becoming a ridiculous ordeal of which I couldn't properly deal with due to the stress and pressure I was already under and because I, without getting my money back for this dress, would be unable to get the other more inexpensive dress. I asked my daughter if she wanted to just keep this dress because I really didn’t want any problems and just wanted to work this problem out with the manger/owner civilly. I had also never had to deal with a problem like this before so I was in a bit of shock as well. I really didn’t know what to do or who to turn to. I also didn’t want my daughter to feel bad about it.

He then asked to see my receipt and I was showing him where it says $100 (but still holding the receipt in my hand fearing he would take it from me) and he forcefully grabbed it out of my hand and scribbled angrily a number 6 over the 1 on my receipt. So it read $600 cancellation fee over the $100. I was so angry that I walked right out of the store and called the police. I felt I was being literally robbed by this person. This all happened in front of my two daughters. We then left the store because I felt this guy was so wrong and I was not able to do anything about it. As I sat in my car I called the police. They said that there was nothing they can do and advised me to take this matter to small claims court or contact the news to see if they could assist me. My daughter (14yr old at the time) was absolutely devastated and in tears afraid we may not be able to get her a dress for her party after this happened.

Knowing I was running out of time to have everything prepared for the event, and fearing I would not be able to pay for another dress by the date of the event I started to have anxiety attacks and started suffering from depression of which I was being treated for by my primary care doctor. So again I tried working this problem out with the [redacted] civilly before contacting [redacted] in August of 2014 and I went to the store. The young ladies working there said he was not there and I explained the situation to them. They said they could not speak regarding this issue and that I would just have to talk to the [redacted] to try to solve it. Two of the girls’ said they couldn’t say anything because they feared loosing their job. So I asked them if they had a pen and a sheet of paper I could use to leave him a letter and they can give it to him when he gets back to the store. He never responded so I tried calling the store everyday until he finally answered the phone. I asked him if he had received my letter and he stated he never got it. So I tried again to talk to him about the situation and I continued saying to him that I was not accepting the $600 cancellation fee and just want my daughters’ dress to be done with this entire situation. He finally agreed to order my daughters’ dress and the other girls’ dresses.

I asked for the dresses to be ordered right away to make sure I was going to have the dresses in time and that he wasn't going to be shady about it because for some reason I had a really bad feeling this was going to ruin everything. I started calling the [redacted] to see if he had ever gotten our dresses (my daughters’ dress and the dresses the other girls had ordered) yet and he continued to give me excuses such as "I can't find the receipt", "I will put the order in right away", "they should be here soon" and we were never to see any of the dresses. I also had left multiple messages with the girls who also worked there and left my phone number for the [redacted] to call me back and none of the phone calls were returned right away if at all.

So I proceeded to follow the advice from the police and contacted [redacted]. They responded and stated they would try contacting [redacted] of the store and try to get his input. He sent them a letter of which was full of lies of course. He also stated he would be willing to give me about $300 in In-Store Credit or something like that. I refused because this was not the contract I signed. The one I signed says $100 Cancellation fee and nothing about In-Store Credit. I was furious to say the least and decided to stop contacting this person until my anxiety issues were better (to the point I can start dealing with this situation again without breaking down). I could not afford to get a lawyer at the time and by the time all this was all done and over (with the news) it was already too late.

Now it is December, since the issues had not been resolved by the beginning of the month, I knew I was going to have to cancel the entire party because just as I thought, my daughter had no dress and neither did any of the kids who were to be part of the event. To this date we have never received our dresses or any refunds no matter how much the parents called and tried resolving this issue with him. The party was completely ruined and so I tried to reschedule it losing all the money I had put down for rentals of chair and table covers and decorations, table decorations and the deposit for the photographer because I had to cancel those orders in far more time in advance. The [redacted] is still refusing to refund anything and during our last conversation in the end of March of 2015, he stated he does not have the original receipt (which he kept copies of all his orders with a tack on the wall behind the cash register in his store), and that he does not remember the order. He also stated that the dresses were never ordered anyways and that he remembered writing a letter to the news station but does not recall what he had agreed to in the letter and he cannot find a copy of the letter that [redacted] sent him with a copy of his own letter.

Since August of 2014, I and the other families have been trying to get our money back. I had to cancel the entire party, I suffered from depression and anxiety attacks due to this matter and have had to deal with the other parents being extremely angry with me and my daughter due to this. They no longer want to be part of her birthday even if I was to reschedule it and now my daughter wouldn't have anyone to stand up in her Quinceañera if I was to ever reschedule it. My daughter has been suffering with stress and sadness and has been very angry about what this store [redacted] has done. She has lost more than any dollar amount can pay for including the trust from her friends and their families because of this ordeal.

I did contact the news station prior to this and they recommended I got a lawyer and took him to small claims. The owner sent them (the news), a reply back of which he lied on the letter he sent about everything that happened as it happened. I have many witnesses, my receipt currently, but can ask the parents/grandparent for their receipt as well if needed. I lost complete and absolute trust in this [redacted] and feel he shouldn’t even have a license at this point. There should be laws to protect consumers against predators like him who use the law in such a disturbing and cruel manner. The worst part of all is the title of the store. It shouldn’t include such a religious word such as “Hallelujah” as he in no way represents Jesus Christ or God but possibly the exact opposite.Desired Settlement: I am asking for a full cash-refund at this point of all the girls dresses, the boys tuxedo rentals, and my daughters dress. This [redacted] should be held responsible for all the hard work and money that was put into planning this party, including money I lost for all the decorations, and the Hall where the party was supposed to take place. Instead all I am asking for is a FULL REFUND with NO CANCELLATION FEE to myself and the other parents/grandparent. I am also asking for an apology letter to all parties involved in this case. This will be my last option before I do contact a lawyer.

Business

Response:

I'm glad you're giving me a chance to explain my side. I've been in business at this location serving the community for the past 23 years and getting complaints about who I am and how I run my business doesn't happen.[redacted]s dress cost was $520.00 w/tax & shipping. List price was $538.99 + tax & $25 for shipping, she received a discount. Her payment of $100 was enough to order the dress, in April $120 deposit was made, then $100 in July and her last payment was made on Aug. 11-14 of $200. On August 14th-2014 [redacted] came to me to cancel the dress. Going back to Aug 11-14 when she came into the store [redacted] wanted to cancel the dress and explained she found another dress. I told [redacted] her dress was ordered and didn't push the canceling of the dress and decided to pay offer her dress balance. Which I didn't ask for or was necessary to pay. When [redacted] deposited $200.00 I didn't want the money but didn't say anything. I didn't understand at first why she would give more money towards a dress she doesn't want 2 minutes ago. That flew up a red flag. So I explained with my employee at my side that if she does decide to cancel there will be a $500 cancel fee which she got angry at, which also surprised me because if your giving me money toward a dress order and didn't want it then keep your money and cancel the dress while the $100 cancel fee applies, [redacted] would be correct in this manner but she decided to give more money with the understanding of the new cancellation fee. I have hundreds of invoices from customers with $500 cancel fees- the reason for such a small cancel fee of $100 was a mistake an employee made, but as said I would have honored [redacted]s decision and let her cancel with $100 cancel fee but she took the decision and paid more more money with the understanding of the cancel fee. It sounds as if I told her the cancel fee is $500 and I took her $200 to settle the cancel fee but that would be wrong, I also told [redacted] her dress will be here. Her party is in December 2014. All of the months I've been doing business with [redacted] I've been fine and there was no disagreement of anything. [redacted] even made plans to order her tuxedos with me and the the girls standing up in the party came and made deposits with me in July. What led her to choose those words about me is awful and she should apologize. What I'll do is have a $300 cancel fee for her dress- This is a business and I have rules, I'll consider a $400 in store credit.

Consumer

Response: