frantic bride

franticbride

hi everyone, i bought a wedding dress on saturday and paid in full £900. on sunday i cried as i thought i'd made the wrong decision. i was pressured into buying it by the lady who said i could only get 10% off that day and that i could not get a refund if i changed my mind. i called on monday (today) the next working day and spoke to the same lady as the manager wasn't there who gave me no reassurance that i'd get a full refund. she said it had been put on hold at the dress makers. it was due to be ready to collect in january and it is a brand new dress- not a sale one. do you think i can cancel it and get my full amount back? what are my consumer rights? any help would be appreciated.

Mark_Hewitt

You would think that they would be more sympathetic given that the item has not yet been ordered in, you haven't taken delivery etc.

However unfortunately legally speaking you don't have any rights I'm afraid. You paid the money and entered into a contract which is binding, especially since you've already parted with your cash.

You could get a refund if you'd ordered it online or a salesperson turned up at your door but since neither of those apply it's down to the goodwill of the shop, and they don't sound very willing..

Anyway, is the dress so bad? You must have liked something about it? I know it's difficult for your wedding, everything has to be just so.

Pollycat

franticbride wrote: »

hi everyone, i bought a wedding dress on saturday and paid in full £900. on sunday i cried as i thought i'd made the wrong decision. i was pressured into buying it by the lady who said i could only get 10% off that day and that i could not get a refund if i changed my mind. i called on monday (today) the next working day and spoke to the same lady as the manager wasn't there who gave me no reassurance that i'd get a full refund. she said it had been put on hold at the dress makers. it was due to be ready to collect in january and it is a brand new dress- not a sale one. do you think i can cancel it and get my full amount back? what are my consumer rights? any help would be appreciated.

Do you actually mean that you were told that you couldn't have a refund if you changed your mind?

To me that statement seems at odds with you saying that today you were given no reassurance that you would get a refund.

Although some stores are happy to give refunds if you decide you don't like the item you've bought, they are not legally obliged to do so.
Were there any notices in the store about refund policy?

OK, let's be pratical - what was the reason(s) that you decided you'd made a mistake about the dress?

Were you on your own when you bought it? Most people take someone with them for a second opinion when shopping for a wedding dress.
In what way did the woman pressure you into buying?

If the shop is unwilling to give you a refund, I'd ask if you can cancel that dress and choose an alternative one from them. If you choose one that's not as expensive, you could buy something else up to the £900 value such as a veil or tiara.
In that way, the shop has not lost an order.
I think you need to be prepared to meet them more than halfway as they have your money and are not in the wrong here.

I hope you can sort this out so that you have the dress of your dreams.

iamana1ias

A woman in work told me a very similar story last week, and it seems several customers at the same shop have been bullied into ordering dresses then and there with no refund when they change their minds (hours later). Seems quite a wheeze.

Which area is the shop in?

love_my_2_boys

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

You would think that they would be more sympathetic given that the item has not yet been ordered in, you haven't taken delivery etc.

However unfortunately legally speaking you don't have any rights I'm afraid. You paid the money and entered into a contract which is binding, especially since you've already parted with your cash.

You could get a refund if you'd ordered it online or a salesperson turned up at your door but since neither of those apply it's down to the goodwill of the shop, and they don't sound very willing..

Anyway, is the dress so bad? You must have liked something about it? I know it's difficult for your wedding, everything has to be just so.

Absolutely correct I'm afraid OP.
While most stores offer a refund/credit or exchange for unwanted items as a gesture of good will, they legally do not have to refund unless there is a fault with the item. If you just decided you didn't like it any more then I'm afraid it's just tough luck.
Try talking to the store manager to see if you can come to some arangement.
good luck x

markelock

Pollycat wrote: »

Do you actually mean that you were told that you couldn't have a refund if you changed your mind?

To me that statement seems at odds with you saying that today you were given no reassurance that you would get a refund.

Although some stores are happy to give refunds if you decide you don't like the item you've bought, they are not legally obliged to do so.
Were there any notices in the store about refund policy?

OK, let's be pratical - what was the reason(s) that you decided you'd made a mistake about the dress?

Were you on your own when you bought it? Most people take someone with them for a second opinion when shopping for a wedding dress.
In what way did the woman pressure you into buying?

If the shop is unwilling to give you a refund, I'd ask if you can cancel that dress and choose an alternative one from them. If you choose one that's not as expensive, you could buy something else up to the £900 value such as a veil or tiara.
In that way, the shop has not lost an order.
I think you need to be prepared to meet them more than halfway as they have your money and are not in the wrong here.

I hope you can sort this out so that you have the dress of your dreams.

one hell of a tiara!

Pollycat

markelock wrote: »

one hell of a tiara!

If you read my post, you'll understand that I wasn't suggesting she spend £900 on a tiara. :rolleyes:

If the OP can get the shop to agree to a compromise, and she chooses a dress as a replacement for the one she now doesn't like at a cost of, for example, £850, she has £50 to spend on other items for the wedding - such as a veil, underwear, shoes - or even a tiara - so that she doesn't lose the money she's already paid out.

bingo_bango

Although what has been said about you entering an enforceable contract being correct, it might be worth speaking to your local Trading Standards Service.

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 has a list of banned practices, of which number 7 is:

'Falsely stating that a product will only be available for a very limited time , or that it will only be available on particular terms for a very limited time, in order to elicit an immediate decision and deprive consumers of sufficient opportunity or time to make an informed choice.'

The scenario you describe whereby you were told that this was a deal peculiar for that day only may fit that description. Especially if others have had the same tactic used on them in that store.
This is a criminal offence, and I suspect that the retailer may be inclined to allow you to void the contract should you bring this to their attention.

If this was a one day sale and you were the only one offered such a deal, then no offence has been committed. It would only be if this same ploy was a tactic employed by the retailer on an ongoing basis. Can you find out from other brides if the same thing happened to them?

RadoJo

I have to say, I had a similar thing with my wedding dress - not the sale/discount/10% off but convincing myself I'd made a terrible mistake, and as far as I am aware, almost everyone does! Are you really sure you don't like the dress now, or are you just having post-shopping regrets? Are you really going to care on the day (I would have married him in a bin bag by the time it got to the wedding, but I appreciate some people are more concerned about having the 'perfect' dress).
Honestly, try not to let it bother you and give yourself a chance to think calmly, after all, you're not getting married till next year, so you've plenty of time to sort things out between now and then without getting yourself worked up. Was it in the style that you were looking for? Can you be specific about what you don't like about it now? Do you think it would help to have another go at trying it on? I'm sure you can salvage something out of this, even if it means paying someone to make some alterations once the dress is delivered.

DVardysShadow

franticbride wrote: »

. i was pressured into buying it by the lady who said i could only get 10% off that day and that i could not get a refund if i changed my mind.

3 lessons to learn, next time you hear that line

• If they can give 10% on saturday, they can still give 10% on monday and make the same profit.
• If they press you to make a quick decision, resist - decide whether or not you want it at full price. If you decide you would take it at full price, then the discount is a bonus
• Sleep on big decisions and don't be afraid to tell the sales person that is what you will do. If they throw a strop, leave it.

Obviously, with the dress being such a big decision, they must get lots of women not actually committing to a purchase for quite some time, hence the 10% off today tactic. It is used by others - Double Glazing and Home Improvement companies. All you need to say is "I am going to sleep on it and if your discount is not there for me after that, then I will know you are trying to stop me sleeping on it.

sarlyka

For the OP, hopefully there won't be a 'next time'.
I have to admit that I returned my first wedding dress to the shop having had second thoughts about it (the dress, not the wedding). Fortunately, I bought from a high street chain who had a clear returns policy. I eventually bought my dress from eBay for £4.99!!! I didn't tell my hubby how much it had cost until after the ceremony.
For the OP, I would suggest that she tries the advice given by Bingo Bango. If any other readers have had similar experiences with this shop, perhaps they could give some details so that the OP has ammunition to take to the Consumers Association.