WEDDING FIRMAND THE ‘PERFECT CRIME’
EXCLUSIVE: Brides’ fury as trading watchdog to take no action
AWEDDING firm which left hundreds of people out of pocket may never be held accountable.
FUMING couples say a pair of wedding planners have committed “the perfect crime” after Trading Standards admitted they can’t take action against them.
Husbands and wives-to-be were cheated out of thousands of pounds by Happy Talk Events when it shut up shop in June 2016.
The events company, run by Michelle and Alastair McMorris, had been operating for years from their Howard Street shop and provided venue décor and accessories. However, last year the family shut their business and are thought to have moved to Florida, leaving staff without wages and couples without the services they had paid for
hey lied to staff and customers about their plans to close the shop, and covered up their collapsing businesses by continuing to take payments up to 24 hours before closing.
The pair also cheated their customers out of any hope of compensation after fleeing the country.
Despite conducting dozens of interviews with victims, Trading Standards now say there is “nothing more we can do”.
Out-of-pocket couples have blasted the regulator and said there is nothing stopping other firms doing the same.
Other wedding firms have also hit out, saying the lack of action is giving the industry a bad name.
Kelly Wallace, 28, from Coatbridge l ost almost £3,000 and said: “I think it’s disgusting.
“Clearly this is the perfect crime because there is no punishment.
“If they robbed someone in the street they would go to jail.”
Lynn Hamilton, who worked at Happy Talk, has spent the past year helping desperate couples for free.
She has since set up her own firm, Something Blue, and is worried about the impact the Happy Talk incident will have on the industry.
She said: “It’s just a joke really. It gives companies a bad name and makes people lose trust in them and in the industry.
“I’ve helped so many people who were abandoned by them, more than 100 in the last year.”
Brian Reilly, 31, f rom Clydebank, married wife Maxine last year and lost hundreds from Happy Talk.
Brian said: “The response I get is they are building a case against them.
“I am still angry about it and really want them to pay for what they have done to everyone.
“I think Trading Stand- ards should be doing more about it.”
Trading Standards say they are not able to investigate any further as they cannot determine if the McMorrises are back in the UK.
A spokeswoman said: “Officers have interviewed a number of the affected customers and liaised with other authorities both here and abroad.
“While the loss of money is clearly upsetting for those affected, it would require a substantial amount of planning, staff resource and public money to put in place the sort of measures and intelli- gence required for this particular case - with little prospect of securing the outcome the customers would like.
“Officers from Trading Standards have interviewed a number of the affected customers and liaised with other authorities including the police, however we’ve not been able to progress further.
“And until we can establish the people concerned are back in the country there is nothing more we can do at this time.”
The Evening Times attempted to contact Michelle and Alastair McMorris but received no reply.