Terri-Lyn Campbell has finally been compensated by an Orléans dry cleaner for her stolen wedding gown.
Campbell’s wedding dress disappeared last year after it was dropped off for dry cleaning.
Last week, her husband, Greg, was given a certified cheque for $4,657 by Ratis Sen, the owner of Hills Cleaners on Forest Valley Road.
Sen, though, continues to maintain his dry cleaning company was never in possession of the gown and that the publicity around the incident has unfairly cast his business in a negative light. He says blame for the theft falls entirely on seamstress Parwin Payman, who rents space at his outlet and takes dry-cleaning orders on behalf of Hills Cleaners.
Sen should have told that to a small claims court judge last July when the Campbells presented their case for compensation. The couple took Sen to small claims as they felt he was ultimately responsible for the loss. They say Payman was acting as his agent when she accepted the gown for cleaning, following their October 2012 wedding.
Sen, who was served with papers to appear, was a no-show, cementing the case in favour of the couple. Sen was ordered to pay the Campbells $4,407 for the dress, including pre- and post-judgment interest, plus $250 to cover their court expenses. But Sen ignored Greg Campbell’s letter to make arrangements for payment.
So Campbell enlisted the help of The Public Citizen. Sen would not return calls, though someone in his office told me to deal with Payman, alleging that she was at fault for the missing gown.
Payman explained the gown was stolen from her car outside her home. She said she planned to complete some alterations on the gown at home over the 2012 Christmas break, before sending it in for dry cleaning. Terri-Lyn Campbell denies she asked for any alterations.
Payman didn’t seem to understand why such a fuss was being made over a missing wedding dress. She slagged the gown as being very old and in bad condition, and said a similar garment could be purchased for $50 at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop. Payman offered the couple a few hundred dollars to cover their loss when she first revealed it was missing.
After the story appeared in the Citizen Dec. 5, Greg Campbell says, the seamstress called their home on a number of occasions to try to settle the matter between themselves. But they refused to deal with her, says Campbell, as the court order was against Sen. When he finally agreed to sign a cheque to compensate the Campbells, Sen told The Public Citizen the money was coming from Payman. He also said he was having Payman vacate his premises at the end of this month.
Campbell had to go to Sen’s office twice to get the money. During his first visit, Campbell says, Sen wanted him to get the Citizen to agree to remove the Dec. 5 story from its website. Campbell says he explained to Sen he could not do that as it was the Citizen’s website.
Sen called The Public Citizen that same day, saying he was confused as Campbell left his office angrily, without accepting the cheque. He denied he told Campbell to have the story removed from the Citizen website. So I told Sen he should call the Campbells to offer payment again — without any conditions. Sen was also told that upon payment, the Citizen would be more than willing to report the settlement.
As far as the gown goes, Greg Campbell says he and his wife often wonder what really happened to it. They have a few theories.
OTTAWA MAN BACKFROM SPINAL SURGERY
Adam Gard is recuperating in Ottawa following major surgery in the United States to help correct a spinal problem brought on by a degenerative condition known as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).
Gard, 40, travelled to the Baltimore area at the beginning of December for spinal fusion surgery. He could not find an Ontario neurosurgeon who was comfortable enough to attempt the procedure.
Married with two young boys, Gard went through three years of severe suffering before an Ottawa neurologist suspected he had EDS and suggested he seek the help of Dr. Fraser Henderson, a Baltimore-area neurosurgeon. He was examined last June by Henderson, who confirmed Gard had EDS.
EDS is a rare condition involving the body’s collagen that holds joints together. Simple ailments appear first, but the condition can deteriorate to the point it did with Gard, whose neck muscles and ligaments were so weak that his head was beginning to sink into his brain stem.
OHIP did not cover of the operation, forcing family and friends to organize a fundraising drive. Not long after The Public Citizen told Gard’s story, the full $70,000 needed for the surgery was raised.
The operation was performed on Dec. 2, and it went so well that Gard was allowed to return to Ottawa a week later. He had expected to remain in the U.S. until mid-December. “I was walking and doing stairs (the day after the operation).”
Gard is wearing a neck brace as he did before the operation. But he should be able to start taking it off for periods of time in January, and begin physiotherapy in February. By March, Gard, who co-owns an auto-detailing business and works on the side as a small housing developer, says he should begin returning to a normal routine. “It’s just time.”
He says an annoying problem right now is getting enough sleep. He says his neck brace is mostly to blame as it forces him to lie on his back.
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