Kenmore bridal shop’s closing distresses dress buyers
State tries to sort out situation after seizing tax-delinquent outlet
Anxious brides and prom-goers seeking to pick up long-awaited gowns are being met with a locked door and the news that the state has shut down a Kenmore bridal shop.
The state Department of Finance and Taxation seized Mary Lee’s Bridal Shop, 2872 Delaware Ave., for failing to pay $10,032 in sales taxes since September.
Though the state has taken pains to open the store and get dresses to customers who have paid for them, police said the store’s owners appear to have accepted money for some dresses that never were ordered.
“We have some control over matching customers with inventory in the store, but we have no idea what the owners did in terms of ordering,” said Tom Burgin, spokesman for the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
Kenmore police, who have been inundated with calls from customers complaining that they had been burned, said taking money for dresses without ordering them could expose the owners to criminal fraud charges.
“At first, we considered this a civil matter, but after some discussion with the department of taxation and the district attorney, we’re waiting to hear if this is criminally prosecutable,” Assistant Chief Peter Breitnauer said. “If that is the case, we’ll take criminal reports from everyone involved.”
Shop owners Mary Lee Marino and Craig Monkelbaan could not be reached to comment.
Mary LaPorta, of the Town of Tonawanda, seeking her daughter’s prom gown, was one of several women gathered Tuesday afternoon outside the shop, hoping to retrieve dresses as state auditors inventoried the store’s merchandise.
The auditors said customers with receipts for full or partial payment could call the Department of Taxation and Finance to make arrangements to pick up gowns at the shop.
According to the state, dozens of customers have been able to claim their dresses.
Others were not so lucky.
Clutching yellow payment receipts and a photograph of her dress, one woman awaited a brown mother-of-the-bride gown for an upcoming wedding. Another sought her daughter’s wedding gown, saying the entire bridal party had paid the shop in advance for dresses the manufacturers said never were ordered.
According to Tarin Foster, the owner of Layla Clothing next door, the stream of distressed customers has been constant since the store’s seizure Friday.
In online customer reviews dating back to 2007, the bridal shop averaged 1.5 out of a possible five stars. They described the shop owners as “strange” and their dealings with the company as “awful.” Since the seizure, more bad reviews have popped up.
Owners of nearby businesses said they saw Marino accepting money from customers right up to the very end, despite apparently knowing orders would not be filled.
Foster said that, just minutes before state taxation representatives arrived at noon Friday, Marino handed her the key to the store, said she was leaving and asked her to pass the key to the state.
“I feel bad for these customers. [Marino] had to know it was coming,” Foster said.
The Department of Taxation and Finance said it makes every attempt to keep tax delinquents informed and to work out a solution.
“Seizure action is always the last resort. We don’t want to seize a business; the community doesn’t want us to; the owners don’t want us to,” Burgin said. “Only a tiny fraction of warranted debt gets seized, and an even smaller fraction stays seized.”
So what happens to spring brides left in the lurch and high school students facing a prom in just days?
Customers who have ordered dresses should call the Department of Taxation and Finance at 855-5457 to see if their dresses can be located. Those whose dresses are not found in the store’s inventory can pursue civil litigation in Small Claims Court. For more immediate recourse, charges for purchases made with credit cards can be disputed with the credit card company.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments