The owner of a Queensland bridal store has been fined $14,000 and ordered to pay back a number of customers, after a barrage of complaints were made against her.
The Office of Fair Trading launched legal action against Serenity Bridal owner Sharon Lucille Bennett after four different brides made formal complaints.
Queensland woman Lauren Copelin ordered a dress from Serenity Bridal, in Beenleigh, in March last year but after months of failed communication with Bennett, realised she would never see the dress she fell in love with.
‘Honestly, I never expected what happened to happen to me,’ Mrs Copelin told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.
Queensland woman Lauren Copelin ordered a dress from Serenity Bridal, in Beenleigh, in March last year but after months of failed communication with Bennett, realised she would never see the dress she fell in love with
Mrs Copelin gave Bennett a $1000 deposit for the dress, money she never saw again.
‘For months I dug myself into a hole of anger and hurt, knowing I lost that money and my dress,’ she said.
‘The amount of hurt she put me and my husband through was ridiculous.’
Mrs Copelin said the business owner, Sharon Bennett, was brilliant to deal with when she first ordered the dress, but soon realised there was no substance to her promises.
The Office of Fair Trading launched legal action against Serenity Bridal (pictured) owner Sharon Lucille Bennett after four different brides made formal complaints
‘The amount of hurt she put me and my husband through was ridiculous,’ Mrs Copelin (pictured with husband Jacob) said
‘Sharon’s communication at the start was great but it slowly started to become poor and I’d get auto replies after each message I’d send,’ she said.
‘After the first couple of dates she gave me, I put my faith in her to come through, but … when she started making excuses as to why my gown wasn’t coming, I had a feeling.’
The Queensland bride was forced to find another dress just weeks before her wedding.
Mrs Copelin was joined by three other brides who made complaints with Fair Trading to take the dress dealer to court.
Bennett did not turn up to court for proceedings, but defended herself with a written affidavit submitted to the court.
In the affidavit, Bennett said her health problems prevented her from running the business properly, and responding to customer complaints.
Mrs Copelin was joined by three other brides who made complaints with Fair Trading to take the dress dealer to court
‘After the first couple of dates she gave me, I put my faith in her to come through, but … when she started making excuses as to why my gown wasn’t coming, I had a feeling.’
Speaking in court, Magistrate Ron Kilner said Bennett’s actions were ‘deliberately misleading’.
‘Quite frankly, the affidavit is fanciful and totally unbelievable,’ Magistrate Kilner said, according to Nine News.
‘Her excuses are a further attempt by her to not comply.’
Bennett was ordered to pay a $14,000 fine and pay back the brides who never received their dresses or deposits back.
Much to the distress of her victims, Bennett has now created another business, swapping bridal gowns for baby clothes, according to Nine News.
She is now the owner of baby clothes store, Sylvie and Lu, which has already amassed hundreds of followers on its Instagram page.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Bennett for comment but she did not reply before publishing.
‘For months I dug myself into a hole of anger and hurt, knowing I lost that money and my dress,’ she said
‘Seeing my husband not know what to do when I’d cry in bed because I won’t get my dress or my mum hearing me break down because nothing was going right was an absolute nightmare,’ Mrs Copelin (pictured on her wedding day) said