Help Me Hank: The Perfect Dress

When it comes to wedding dresses there is one universal truth, like bride-to-be Marissa, you can try on dozens of them.

Hank Phillippi Ryan
"You tried on 37 dresses?"

Marissa Banks, Bride to Be
"Yes. We looked for a couple of weeks."

But when, like Marissa, you find the perfect one, you just know it.

Hank
"When you put that dress on what did you think?"

Marissa
"I look like a princess! And that was the reaction I was waiting for."

Still another universal truth, you can't order your wedding dress if your mom hasn’t given the O.K. So Marissa put $100 down to hold the sample dress until she could try it on for her mother and bridesmaids.

Marissa
"I was like, I just need another opinion and I want to come back."

But the morning of the appointment at the wedding shop she got a phone call.

Marissa
"They told me, ‘very sorry you can't come and try on your dress.’ And I said why is that. And they said, ‘because we sold it.’"

The dress Marissa wanted to model now belonged to another bride!

Marissa
"I had been looking forward to putting the dress back on that I remember starting to like… my eyes were tearing up."

Now Marissa knew her wedding to the adorable Scott was still a year away. So, she and her mom asked the proprietor for that $100 deposit back.

Hank
"And what did she say?"

Christina Banks, Mother of the Bride
"She got very angry with me and told me to have a nice day and she hung up."

When Marissa’s mom called back, a secretary told her "leave a message." She did.

Christina
"I said to her, ‘why don’t you just tell her I’m going to call Help Me Hank."

The contract does say no refunds... But remember in this case there was also no dress.

Hank on Phone
"You promised her the dress and the dress wasn't there."

Meanwhile, Marissa found the same perfect dress at a different store and don’t even think we're going to spoil her big day by showing it to you now. And to help pay for it, this refund check from the first store arrived soon after.

Christina
"It was our $100 and why should she get to keep it for a service she didn’t provide!"

Remember, you don't have to pay for something you don't get! So what consumer battle are you fighting, maybe I can help!