Woman's wedding dress held 'hostage' over $42,000 billing dispute with Bed Bath & Beyond
A woman says her wedding dress was held 'hostage' by a dress preservation company over unsettled debts with Bed Bath & Beyond, who she purchased the $120 kit from.
Jesse Moltenbrey, 40, bought the kit from Bed Bath & Beyond in March and sent it off to Memories Wedding Gown Preservation in Houston for it to be safeguarded. The New Hampshire resident was married in 2018 and wanted to keep the dress safe as she has no immediate plans for it.
Weeks after she mailed the dress, however, Moltenbrey received an email from the Texas company saying they were holding onto the item over Bed Bath & Beyond's unpaid debts, totaling $42,000.
'I read it and I just felt kind of sick and helpless for a little while,' she said. 'I'm thinking, how am I supposed to get a bankrupt company to pay a debt?'
Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 23, announcing that all 360 nationwide stores will eventually close putting 30,000 jobs at risk.
A woman says her wedding dress was held 'hostage' by a dress preservation company over unsettled debts with Bed Bath & Beyond, who she purchased the $120 kit from
Jesse Moltenbrey, 40, bought the kit from Bed Bath & Beyond in March and sent it off to Memories Wedding Gown Preservation in Houston for it to be safeguarded
The trumpet-style wedding dress is unique in its color, midnight black, and is embossed with white flowers that adorn the skirt from the hem to the rib cage.
The strapless gown has a long train fit for any bride and was perfectly suited for Moltenbrey who said she knows it may not be for everyone.
Moltenbrey said she purchased the kit from the now-bankrupt retailer, which describes the product as an option 'to have your gown cleaned and preserved after your wedding.'
The woman told outlets that while she had no immediate plans with the dress, she wanted it preserved ahead of her second child's arrival.
Moltenbrey said she had planned to move the wedding dress to the basement to clear up room for her new arrival.
'I had to clear out that closet, and I was afraid that something could happen to it,' she told PEOPLE. 'And it's a very unique dress. It's a black wedding dress. My kids probably won't want to wear it.'
The woman told the outlet that while she doesn't believe her own kids will want to wear it in the future, she thought it was at least important to 'have that option.'
'I mean, who knows, but I just figured it, it's special to me. I will hold onto it, and if one of them wants to do something with it in the future, then that's up to them. I wanted it to at least have that option,' she said.
'And it's just the principle too. It's my property and they don't have any right to hold it,' Moltenbrey continued.
The woman immediately reached out to the company and begged for her dress to no initial avail.
She claims she told them she didn't care if the preservation was done, but that she just wanted her dress sent back to her.
'Then after a few hours of reflecting, taking a few deep breaths, I was like, all right, "We're going to make a TikTok, we'll contact the news. We're going to do everything we can,"' she said.
This is the email the gown preservation business sent to Moltenbrey
The woman told outlets that while she had no immediate plans with the dress, she wanted it preserved ahead of her second child's arrival
In a TikTok posted on April 25, the woman begs users to help her get her dress back.
The nearly three-minute video has since amassed some 65,000 views and several thousand likes.
Hundreds of TikTok users have weighed in on the situation, offering everything from support to ideas on how to force the company's hand.
'Their fight is with BB&B, not the dress owners. They are so in the wrong!!!' wrote one user.
'I mean did they think having their small business blasted all over TikTok was better than just sending people their dresses back,' another chimed in.
The comments and suggestions pushed Moltenbrey to continue pursuing her dress.
She said she eventually made contact with Memories and the company gave her a tracking number for the dress.
'I have received a tracking number, but there's no movement on it. It says the label has been created, but it hasn't shipped out yet,' she said.
In Facebook posts, the woman says she is now fighting for other women who have been impacted as she has.
'I did tell the VP that my goal is for ALL dresses to be returned. Not just mine. So I don’t feel bad they are still getting bad press. And the story will have the update that mine is getting returned,' she wrote.
'I did tell the VP that my goal is for ALL dresses to be returned. Not just mine. So I don’t feel bad they are still getting bad press. And the story will have the update that mine is getting returned,' Moltenbrey wrote in a Facebook post
She said she eventually made contact with Memories and the company gave her a tracking number for the dress. In Facebook posts, the woman says she is now fighting for other women who have been impacted as she has
In a statement to outlets, Memories Gown Preservation said they are working with affected brides to remedy the situation.
'We informed Bed Bath & Bed Bath brides beginning March 11, 2023 (before they filed for bankruptcy) that we would no longer be processing their gowns.
'At that time Bed Bath had outstanding invoices that date back to March of 2022. Memories is a small business and could no longer afford to 'clean, preserve, box, & ship gowns' without payment.'
'We are working with Bed Bath brides on a case by case basis, Not holding gowns hostage, and are giving them two options to return their gown: 1) Unprocessed - $30 for shipping/handling. 2) Cleaned & preserved at Bed Baths very low wholesale price.'
This is a bad situation all around. In a perfect world we could stop Bed Bath gowns from shipping to us, but that's not how the UPS Labels work. Both Memories Gown Preservation and Bed Bath brides are owed a major apology by Bed Bath & Beyond and their management.'
DailyMail.com reached out to Bed Bath & Beyond for a statement but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Source: Daily Mail
