On June 27th, while shopping for a wedding gown at one of the stores in New York, I was aproached by Lily's brother. He told me that the same gowns they sell in the store were too expensive. I'm a typical bargain hunter so I took the flyer and dropped by the following day.

I saw a couple of gowns and tried on a few. I ended up putting one particular gown on hold after taking a picture while having it on. I remember asking Lily if there was a problem in the sizing, which she denied. I normally wear size 8, but this size 10 was a perfect size give or take with some minor alterations that was also covered by the final price.

Just before I went home, I told Lily that I was concerned about the waist line. I had suspected I was pregnant, and if that was the case would I get my money back if I changed my mind or postponed the wedding? "No problem" she said.

I had the photos developed and came with my two bridesmaids, one of which is my 19-yr-old daughter. I tried the gown on after showing them the pictures, and it was not flattering. I came back on the 15th of July to tell her that I had lost my job July 8th, but I would go ahead with the wedding. We paid the deposit of $450 using my debit card. She was so anxious, she made me nervous. So I asked her again, what would happen if I changed my mind? She told me I would get a credit, I wanted to make sure it was a credit to my debit card. I went home knowing that if the worse came to worst, at least I can get my money back.

The worst happened. Not only had I been expecting but I had lost the baby. I called Lily, still in tears a couple days later on a Saturday. She was not listening to me, she only wanted to hurry up and get me off the phone. That was Saturday July 19th 2002. She told me to come in on Tuesday the 22nd, saying she was too busy on Saturday and she was closed on Monday. That was not true, because I had gone to her website to find her legitimate store hours 7 days a week from 11-7pm.

I actually gave her more time and came back on Thursday the 25th of July along with my kids, now my son also wanted to help me resolve this situation. The lady did not have a No Refund sign. So I asked her if she could hear me out. She refused, and started yelling at me in front of my kids. She actually threw me out of her store, that's when I called 911 and an officer came to my aid.

I had both the debit card receipt and the store voucher. I showed it to the officer who told me if by the 12th of August, I don't get my refund, to do what I'm doing and further pursue a law suit. The only problem, I need that deposit to pick up my gown from another respectable reputable store this Thursday the 15th.

Not sure we followed all of this but the place to settle it is Small Claims Court.