Woman's Wedding Dress 'Hostage' in Bed Bath & Beyond Billing Dispute
Jesse Moltenbrey bought a wedding dress preservation kit in March through Bed Bath & Beyond.
Memories Gown Preservation said it would hold the dress until Bed Bath & Beyond paid a past-due balance of over $40,000.
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On Wednesday, Moltenbrey said MemoriesGP would send her wedding dress back, unpreserved.
New Hampshire resident Jesse Moltenbrey shared on Facebook on Tuesday that her wedding dress was caught in the financial cross-fire between Bed Bath & Beyond and one of its partner companies.
The now-bankrupt Bed Bath & Beyond is in a billing dispute with dry-cleaning company Memories Gown Preservation, which claims the beleaguered big-box retailer hasn't made any payments in the past year, and now owes it more than $40,000.
As a result, the Houston-based business began holding customers' dresses until it received payment from Bed Bath & Beyond — which led to Moltenbrey's black and white wedding dress from her 2018 ceremony being held for "ransom."
"This is a bride's worst nightmare," Moltenbrey wrote in her Facebook post.
Moltenbrey told CNN she decided to get her wedding dress preserved in March. According to Brides Magazine, wedding dress preservation involves "special cleaning and packaging techniques" that help keep the garment fresh in storage.
Moltenbrey purchased a $120 Memories Gown Preservation kit through Bed Bath & Beyond, she wrote on Facebook. According to her post, Moltenbrey received the kit on March 16, then sent the kit, with her dress, to Memories Gown Preservation, where it was received on April 3. When her dress arrived in Houston, Moltenbrey was also charged a $25 insurance fee.
"Why, then, on April 24th do I receive this email stating they are holding my dress ransom because of a company that is going BANKRUPT," Moltenbrey wrote.
On April 23, Bed Bath & Beyond announced it would be shutting down and going out of business in the midst of financial hardship. The big-box store is searching for a buyer after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week.
When Moltenbrey heard the news, she contacted the gown preservation company to figure out how to get her dress back.
In an email sent to Moltenbrey that she shared on Facebook, Memories Gown Preservation claims Bed Bath & Beyond owes them $42,563.73. According to the business, Bed Bath & Beyond hasn't paid them for any preservation kits done in the past year.
"Once payment has been received to MemoriesGP we will promptly clean, preserve & ship your gown out to you," the company's response read.
In an update on Wednesday, Moltenbrey wrote in a Facebook post that Memories Gown Preservation ultimately agreed to return her unique black and white wedding dress, un-preserved. The $25 insurance fee will be used toward the shipping cost.
The return process, however, might take a while. Moltenbrey shared screenshots of her conversation with Kyle Nesbit, former vice president of Memories Gown Preservation per LinkedIn, where he said that the company receives over 100 gowns a day. Nesbit also explained that there is no way to tell which gowns are from Bed Bath & Beyond customers, further lengthening the process.
Nonetheless, Moltenbrey celebrated the win on Facebook. "I WILL HAVE MY DRESS BACK! And I will be keeping it safe and sound until I can afford to pay someone locally to preserve it," she wrote.
Memories Gown Preservation, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Moltenbrey did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Source: Insider
