Customers left in the lurch after Love Nest bridal shop in City Gate was suddenly closed, employees allegedly owed monthly wages

UPDATE (April 7): The Ministry of Manpower has announced that it is investigating Love Nest Holdings and its affiliated companies. The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management is also assisting 8 employees of Love Nest’s affiliated companies Hawk Eye (Singapore) Pte Ltd and LNHG (SG) Pte Ltd with claims for unpaid salaries.

SINGAPORE — At least 50 couples and their upcoming weddings have been affected by the seemingly sudden closure of Love Nest, its associated company L’atelier and its affiliated company Love Story, which offers pre-wedding photoshoot packages and wedding attire rentals, as well as jewellery and interior design services.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the wedding company’s store at City Gate was empty and locked when a reporter visited it on Wednesday (April 3).

Calls to the company also went unanswered. A security guard said that several couples had gathered in front of the store the day before and that the police had also been there, Shin Min reported.

Love Nest’s Facebook page and website remain operational, but Love Story’s Google business profile indicates that the store is temporarily closed.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) shared Yahoo Southeast Asia on Wednesday that it had received 17 consumer complaints regarding the closure of Love Nest and its related businesses L’atelier and Love Story Wedding Boutique.

According to Melvin Yong, President of CASE, consumers had reported that they had used services such as wedding photography, make-up artists and wedding outfit rental at Love Nest, L’atelier and Love Story Wedding Boutique and had already made payment.

“However, they were informed by Love Nest on April 2 that the company and its affiliates would be temporarily closed, with no clarity on when these businesses would reopen and meet their contractual obligations. The total contract amount for these affected consumers is over US$58,000,” Yong said in response to queries from Yahoo!

CASE provides support to affected consumers. Consumers who need assistance with their disputes can contact CASE (Hotline: 6277 5100, Website: www.case.org.sg).

According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Manpower and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), since April 6, 2024, TADM has been assisting eight employees of Love Nest Holding’s affiliated companies Hawk Eye (Singapore) Pte Ltd and LNHG (SG) Pte Ltd in claims over unpaid salaries.

“As Love Nest Holding is being liquidated, TADM has advised those affected to pursue their claims through the appointed liquidator. TADM has also referred the affected employees who require job search assistance to the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) of NTUC,” the spokesperson said.

The Ministry of Labor is also investigating Love Nest Holding and its affiliated companies are facing charges for possible violations of labor laws, the spokesman added.

“We would like to remind employers to pay their employees’ salaries on time. Employees who need assistance with salary claims should contact TADM early at www.tal.sg/tadm/contact-us.”

Affected customers are said to have been informed of the sudden closure via SMS

User Dragonnitex, who had fully paid for a pre-wedding photo shoot and wedding dress rental, wrote on Reddit on April 1 that he had been informed that the company had not paid its employees salaries for several months and that they had subsequently quit.

When he visited the store that same day, it appeared there was only one employee working there, and she said employees had left group chats because they were “going on maternity leave” or “going home.”

User pixel7 shared on the Singaporebrides forum that the company allegedly sent a message to inform customers that it would temporarily suspend its operations from April 2 until further notice, citing “unforeseen circumstances and financial challenges.”

It went on to say that “all services will be temporarily unavailable” and that “we are working diligently to resolve any existing issues and resume operations as soon as possible.” A customer service phone number was provided, but when it was called, no one answered.

The affected groom, Ramsey Teo, 30, said Yahoo that he too had been taken by surprise because the company had already responded to him in the Whatsapp group chat before April 1st.

His bride had also only been to a dress fitting on February 17, so he did not expect to receive the news that the company would cease operations before his wedding in November 2024.

He and his wife booked an $8,000 package that included a pre-wedding photoshoot and wedding outfit rentals at a wedding expo in October last year. They were told they had to take advantage of the package by the end of 2024 or risk incurring additional fees.

However, Teo, who works as a manager, is lucky that he has not yet made the full payment as he was “unsatisfied with the performance”. He had planned to pay the full amount only after his wedding day.

He also said that other couples had paid up to $10,000 to the company without receiving the promised benefits.

The company is in liquidation and allegedly owes its employees monthly wages

One forum user on Singaporebrides said they contacted CASE and were informed that the company was in liquidation, while another user was advised to contact the liquidator instead as “the company has no money to repay.”

A check online revealed that Love Nest Holdings received a liquidation order on January 13, 2023. The ACRA website also lists the company as “in liquidation,” with BDO Advisory listed as the liquidator.

However, the forum revealed that users had purchased wedding packages from the company as recently as January 2024 and that the company had sold packages that could be used until 2025.

Knotz co-founder Evan Ong, who has put some of the affected couples in touch with other companies, told Shin Min Daily News that about 50 couples had spent about $200,000 on wedding services at Love Nest and Love Story that have not yet been used.

These numbers were similar to the numbers that Teo had Yahoobased on a group chat set up for affected customers.

Several have reported the incident to the police and filed complaints with CASE, Ong said.

One employee, who asked not to be identified, told the Chinese newspaper that he was entitled to two months’ salary. He estimated that more than 20 employees were affected and that they were entitled to at least $100,000 in wages or payments.

The employee added that the owner was currently unavailable and the affected employees planned to file a complaint with the MOM.

Another employee, who also asked not to be named, said several of the company’s full-time photographers were entitled to salaries of up to three months’ salary, or a total of $10,000.

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