£120 for a hem raised on wedding dress ?

Cat72

I have had a nightmare with my wedding dress. It has fianlly arrived one week excatly before the wedding.
I went to try it on today and it was far too small. Im a size 10 and have not put on weight. The dress looked about two sizes too small and there was a gap of about 2 inches at the back.
The shop said they will take the sides out free of charge.
I pointed out the girl who served me did not even measure my bust and the size od the sheet was wrote 32- while Im a 30 so there is no way the dress should be small.
Then they are taking the hem up and have charged me £120 for it and insisted I pay there and then. I told them I thought this was extortion and am really upset- we really cantafford this.
Again she said under the terms & conditions etc and that they tell brides to budget £100- £150 for alteations but I pointed out I was not told this at all.
Is there anything I can do- I have to collect the dress tomorrow and I know I should have stuck up for myself more but I just became tearful.
thanks x

anderson8

dont worry. have a ring around and see if there are any other seamstresses in your area that will do it cheaper.
get them to do the sides(free of course) and take it elsewhere for the hem.
where abouts are you?

talulahbeige_2

anderson8 wrote: »

dont worry. have a ring around and see if there are any other seamstresses in your area that will do it cheaper.
get them to do the sides(free of course) and take it elsewhere for the hem.
where abouts are you?

Too late she has aleady paid them to do it.
I'd personally get a few quotes from other dress makers and when you go and collect your dress use it as evidence of why you think £120 is ridiculous.
Write paid in protest on any docs you can regarding the alterations so you if you decide to take further action down the line you have something to back you up a little.

I'd also take someone with you as a bit of moral support.

Personally, once I knew the dress was ok, I would be telling the shop, nicely of course, the repercusions of the bad service you have received (review websites, word of mouth, you have lots of freinds in the area getting married in the next couple of years and you won't be reccommending them, etc etc) in your discussions over the price in a hope that they give you some money back!

On another point, when you ordered the dress did your contract say that alterations were included etc?

bubble96

does seem expensive, im paying £60 for hem alterations and im based in the south - usually bit more expensive anyway. It seems like they are offering you the seams for free but then getting it back by charging extra for taking dress up. I would be tempted to phone up pretending to be a customer who is just looking to get their wedding dress altered and see what they quote you. Though bear in mind it does depend on the dress, e.g, my lady told me about £20 a layer when i contacted her before she had seen the dress.