Former owners ordered to pay more than $100,000 in civil penalties after authorities said they deceived customers and took payments for prom dresses they never provided.
Customers who purchased prom dresses from the now defunct Red Carpet Pageant and Prom store will receive refunds, state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa announced Wednesday morning. The state Division of Consumer Affairs obtained a final judgment against the North Jersey prom dress company. The State Division of Law filed a complaint against the store in June, accusing it of violating the state’s Consumer Fraud Act. The judgment allows the DCA to distribute $2,900 in restitution to 11 customers who are still waiting for refunds from the store. “This judgment brings victory to the consumers who were defrauded after they paid large, up-front deposits for dresses that were supposed to be ready in time for the prom, a major event in an …
Dresses that used to belong to Red Carpet Pagenant and Prom Store went for as little as $5.
A $25 wedding dress. An entire rack of women’s gowns for $10 each. More than 40 children’s dresses sold for $210, the cost of just one of those dresses. Hundreds of dresses and gowns flew off racks at an auction featuring merchandise from the Red Carpet Pageant and Prom store on Route 23 Wednesday morning. Heater Reiss, a Clifton resident, purchased a wedding dress for less than a tank of gas. “I already have a dress, but I can use this one if I loose a little weight,” said Reiss who is getting married in May. “You can’t go wrong really.” The attorney general’s office took possession of the dresses after it filed a complaint accusing storeowners Patricia and Michael Dowling of engaging in unconscionable commercial practices and allegedly …
40.925293
-74.268298
The Red Carpet Pageant and Prom
1200 State Route 23, Wayne, NJ
/articles/dresses-auctioned-for-a-little-as-5
1975471
/locations/7651831
Patricia Dowling initially said 40 dresses valued at $20,000 were missing. But after viewing video from the store, officers accused the owner of taking the dresses herself.
The owner of the Red Carpet Pageant and Prom store, who had claimed 40 dresses valued at $20,000 had been stolen from her store, was issued a summons Tuesday for filing a false police report, Wayne police said. Patricia Dowling is scheduled to appear in Wayne Municipal Court on June 7, said Detective Capt. James Clarke. Dowling faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine if found guilty, Clarke said. Dowling could not be reached for comment at the store. Wayne police issued the summons after they watched video they said showed Dowling removing 40 dresses off a rack herself. The video shows Dowling placing the dresses in a storage room, police said. Dowling originally reported that the dresses, valued at $20,000, …
40.925293
-74.268298
The Red Carpet Pageant and Prom
1200 State Route 23, Wayne, NJ
/articles/police-investigating-if-dress-store-owner-filed-false-report
1975471
/locations/7084030
Justice
6:50 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013
This case was given to them on a silver platter. more ›