Wedding services company uncontactable after collecting S$108,000 from clients

SINGAPORE — Two months before her wedding day on Aug 5 last year, Ms Erli Elfira found out that the company she had engaged to book the venue had not done so.

She called the company, For You Wedding, only to be asked: "When is your wedding?"

Her trust in the company shattered, Ms Erli searched for a venue and vendors herself.

With the vendors' help, the 29-year-old network transmission executive was able to hold her wedding as scheduled. But she faced difficulty in getting her payment of S$3,480 back from For You Wedding and only managed to recover S$1,500 after going through the Small Claims Tribunal.

Ms Erli said she shared her experience online in February this year to warn others of the wedding services company, but many did not believe her as it still had some good reviews on its Facebook page.

However, another victim told her that she was harassed by the company's staff for posting negative reviews.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) issued a company alert on Tuesday (July 31), stating that it received six complaints on the closure of For You Wedding and For You Wedding Services between July 22 and 30 this year.

Based on consumers' complaints, the company had abruptly cancelled its wedding package contracts and is now uncontactable. The affected consumers had paid a total of about S$108,000 for their wedding packages.

When TODAY visited For You Wedding's registered address at 31 Woodlands Close on Tuesday, no one was in the office.

An employee next-door, who declined to be named, told TODAY she last saw people in For You Wedding's office in May this year – five individuals were smoking and chatting outside the office. She added that the staff usually went to the office at around noon, once or twice a week.

According to Case, the company's paid-up capital is S$1.

The watchdog said affected consumers with unresolved disputes against the company may approach it for further assistance. It encouraged consumers to purchase wedding insurance that covers business insolvency.

"Consumers should also do their own research on whether the bridal agency has a good track record of delivering their services promptly and effectively. They should minimise their deposit payment as much as possible and should never make full payment upfront to the company," the watchdog said.

Another client of For You Wedding told TODAY that although the company delivered services for her wedding in September last year, it did a poor job and made the wedding couple feel ashamed.

Ms Henny Sofyea, 42, who is unemployed, said the company's staff were always late for appointments but she and her husband decided to continue engaging its services as they had already paid a S$1,000 deposit and some instalments.

On their wedding day, the food catered was much less than what they had paid for, and no disposable plastic cutlery was provided. Ms Henny and her husband had to provide their own utensils for the occasion.

Ms Henny, who paid S$5,800 in total to the company, said she had promised her family members and in-laws that they could simply relax and to entertain guests. "But both my family and in-laws had to clean up disposables and clear dirty tables," she said.

For more tips on what to look out for when engaging a bridal agency, visit: https://www.case.org.sg/consumer_guides.aspx#Bridal.