Carol Damboise of Kittery, a member of Northeast CONTACT, wrote a touching letter just before the holidays last year.

“I really need your help, guys. I went to the doctor several months ago, as I had not been feeling well. After many tests, it was verified that I had cancer. After surgery, I needed the usual treatments and, as a result, I lost my hair. That does something to a person. At the time, to me, it seemed worse than the diagnosis.

“I spoke to my husband about my thoughts and mentioned I would like to buy a wig. I had long blonde hair all my life, but I thought, perhaps even though I’d like the same color, I’d like a shorter version of my style. We agreed as he saw how happy that would make me.

“I ordered my wig that week from Vanity Fair Hair, Pasadena, Calif. I saw their ad in a popular women’s magazine and I could picture myself in one of the lovely, soft looking wigs.”

“We dipped into our small savings account and I sent Vanity Fair Hair a check for $754. The ad said delivery would be in 30 days. I have been wearing a cap when I go out shopping. I wore this cap with a smile as I knew I would be trading it in for a beautiful head of hair in less than five weeks.”

“Each day I waited for the wig to be delivered even though it was just days since I had sent the check to Vanity Fair Hair. The thirty days came and went but no wig arrived. I wrote the business twice but received no replies. Now almost two months later I am still waiting. I kept the ad so you will find a copy of it enclosed along with a copy of my canceled check.

“Northeast CONTACT, will you please help me. I have been reading your Bangor Daily News column for as long as I can remember. I need my faith restored and I am putting that faith in you.”

A Northeast CONTACT caseworker called information to discover that Vanity Fair Hair had no listed telephone number. A letter was composed in which we related the background of the order Damboise had placed. We enclosed copies of her canceled check, front and back, as well as a copy of the magazine ad.

“Please send Carol Damboise the wig she ordered. If you are unable to fill her order, then please send a refund in the amount of $754 within the next 18 days with notification to Northeast CONTACT of the transaction. If you do as we ask, we will then, and only then, drop this matter.”

We mailed Damboise a copy of the letter. Three weeks later she called to say she had heard nothing from Vanity Fair Hair; nor had we.

A second letter was sent, in which we repeated what we had previously written and added, “If you choose not to send a refund in full within 14 days to Carol Damboise for the wig she ordered and paid for, Northeast CONTACT will have no alternative but to contact the California Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, the District Attorney of your county, and your local and state Chambers of Commerce.

“We will ask them to investigate your business practices, check into the possibility of consumer fraud and work actively on behalf of Carol Damboise by contacting you directly. We are relying on your integrity.”

A copy of this letter was sent to Damboise and we asked that she let us know whether or not she received the wig or refund at the end of the two-week period.

The following week we received a telephone call from a woman named Monique, who stated she represented Vanity Fair Hair. She apologized for the delay in sending the wig. She said they had received a large number of orders for that particular style, but that the company was now in a position to fill the order and send it by overnight mail.

She went on to say: “Because of the delay in our filling this order, we are sending your client a coupon for $150 off on the next wig she chooses to purchase from us.”

We relayed this information to Damboise and asked her to let us know when she received her order and if she was satisfied.

Two days later, a happy Carol Damboise called. “What can I say? There are no words to describe how wonderful I feel about your organization. I look like me again. I love it. It is soft and so real-looking. Thank you, and bless you !”

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT for Better Business, Inc., Maine’s membership-funded, nonprofit organization. An individual annual membership is $25; business memberships start at $125. For consumer help and information write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.