A frustrated Vancouver bride is happy to finally have her wedding dress back after a six-month long battle with a local dry cleaner.
Patty Chiang bought a SocialShopper coupon to have her dress dry cleaned after her big day. But weeks, then months went by and she was told it still wasn’t ready for pickup.
“I felt like I was getting the runaround and that's when I started worrying about what was happening. Did they lose my dress?" asked Chiang.
Valet Your Laundry repeatedly promised Chiang her dress was cleaned and ready for pickup, but in actuality, the company had subcontracted the job to a Busy Bee cleaner in Vancouver.
Six months after the dress was taken in to be cleaned, consumer reporter Lynda Steele went to the store to try to pick up the dress on Chiang’s behalf.
The manager of Busy Bee explained that it was holding Chiang's dress hostage because Valet Your Laundry owed her money.
Steele was able to get the dress back and then contacted the head of Valet Your Laundry by phone. It admitted that doing the SocialShopper deal had overwhelmed his business.
"One of the things we failed in is the volume we ended up getting. I mean, we got a few complaints about how long it was taking," said company owner Harvey Braich, “I feel for Patty. It's just horrible."
SocialShopper says it was also getting complaints about Valet Your Laundry. It told CTV News that in October of 2014 it sent Braich, "a firm email followed by a call to advise him that SocialShopper is prepared to take legal action."
Angry consumers have also posted scathing online reviews warning others about Valet Your Laundry.
Chiang is just relieved to get her precious wedding dress back, even though after being held for six months, it still wasn't dry cleaned.
"I'm just happy to have it back in the same condition I gave it to them and that I have my dress back and I can go take it somewhere else to get cleaned,"she said.
When Steele on Your Side talked to Braich from Valet Your Laundry on the phone, he promised to sit down and do an interview on camera. That never happened, and he stopped responding to our emails.
SocialShopper says it goes to great lengths to vet the companies it does business with. It also claims to have the best refund policy in the industry, saying it always refunds or gives credit no matter what the situation. SocialShopper is making good on that promise, agreeing to refund Chiang the $69 she originally paid for her dry cleaning coupon.