“The wedding dress rule,” advises Vanessa Rae with the Consumer Protection Branch in Ontario, “is the notion that in some situations the delivery of a good must be done by a drop-dead date, no excuses - what good is a wedding dress delivered one day too late?”
Does this happen a lot?
“Unfortunately, the ministry’s Consumer Protection Branch has received complaints like this in the past,” Rae indicates. “Either the dress is not delivered in time or it’s too small, too big, poor quality or the wrong one altogether.”Some of the other frequent topics of wedding product/service-related complaints received by the ministry include wedding photography services and banquet halls and wedding facilities.
How to avoid some of these common consumer problems? Ask lots of questions beforehand. For instance:How long has the company been in business? Can they provide reference clients? Do they have a service delivery guarantee? Will they return your deposit in case of a change of plans?
Try to keep advance deposits to a minimum in case the business unexpectedly closes its doors, and insist on a written contract which spells out important information such as their refund/exchange policy and the start dates and delivery dates.
You can check out the company’s name at the ministry’s Consumer Beware List, an online database which will indicate if the business has failed to respond to complaints lodged with the ministry in the past at www.mgs.gov.on.ca. By taking certain common-sense precautions, you increase your chances of a hassle-free wedding day.