Joanne's dress - HELP!

zeropointone

Can anyone give any advice on how to pursue this?

My partner ordered a tailor-made dress online from Joanne’s Dress. Despite paying extra for “rush delivery”, it arrived some 7 days late, by which stage the event had been and gone.

She would not ordinarily order from a website like this but was really struggling to find what she needed (long story). Having now read the reviews, we certainly wish she hadn't!


In short, the company will not supply a returns address, refuse to refund the (substantial) cost, appear to be based in China and do not appear to have a UK registered company. Just a quick online search shows we are not the only people having this problem.


I have mentioned the fact that we had a contract, and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, but something tells me they will not be interested. Can anyone think of anything that I can, realistically, do to get the money back?


I'm fairly resigned to the fact that we won't, but would hugely appreciate any help/guidance that anyone can provide.

meer53

Reading these 2 sections, i'd mark it down as a huge mistake and sell the dress on Ebay.

Founded in 2010, one of leading suppliers of wedding & special occasion dresses in Singapore. We keep abreast with the latest trends in bridal fashion, offering fashionable dresses of good quality at the most reasonable price for every bride in the world.
Note: We will not be responsible for loss or damage of return shipments. We cannot be held liable for any loss you may suffer as a result of late delivery or cancellation of your order.we can't give refund if the dress just do not fit for you.

zeropointone

Thanks for your response.
Yes, I fear you are right.
As an aside, that statement on their website is completely legally nonsensical. They cannot simply make a statement on their website that absolves them of all responsibility - particularly one that runs contrary to the Consumer Contract Regulations, the Sale of Goods Act and is probably an unfair contract term.
But I am just not sure what recourse to this we can have when they are based in China (I read online that the Singapore references are misleading, but either way).
Just for the record, even if the dress was not late, it was not to specification and pretty horrendous. (Selling it on would be interesting....!) I also read online that we are not the first with this experience.
If anyone else is considering them, STEER CLEAR!

LilElvis

zeropointone wrote: »

Thanks for your response.
Yes, I fear you are right.
As an aside, that statement on their website is completely legally nonsensical. They cannot simply make a statement on their website that absolves them of all responsibility - particularly one that runs contrary to the Consumer Contract Regulations, the Sale of Goods Act and is probably an unfair contract term.
But I am just not sure what recourse to this we can have when they are based in China (I read online that the Singapore references are misleading, but either way).
Just for the record, even if the dress was not late, it was not to specification and pretty horrendous. (Selling it on would be interesting....!) I also read online that we are not the first with this experience.
If anyone else is considering them, STEER CLEAR!

They certainly can ignore the legislation you cite as they do not apply to contracts formed with overseas entities. The governing laws will be those in China, Singapore or wherever they are based.

Lomast

Trouble is CCR and SOGA etc do not apply, you will be relying on what ever equivelent legislation applies in Singapour and would have to pursue them through the courts there

zeropointone

Wow, hadn't realised there were so many lawyers on this site!
Thanks all....!
I had thought that doing business in the UK would have an impact. Can't be bothered to look it up right now though, as fortunately we bought with a credit card, so will use the s75 route instead.
Take care all!

Lomast

you should be able to use S75 as long as the dress was over £100

meer53

As you received the dress, you'll probably only be able to claim back the cost of "rush delivery" whatever that may be !

What do you want from them exactly ?

bris

S75 isn't a money back guarantee and you will get no where as you have the dress. Forget your UK rights as you have none in this situation. Their website can say what it wants, UK legislation does not cover your sale. It even says they are not liable for late deliveries and you have no choice but to accept that.

photome

zeropointone wrote: »

Wow, hadn't realised there were so many lawyers on this site!
Thanks all....!
I had thought that doing business in the UK would have an impact. Can't be bothered to look it up right now though, as fortunately we bought with a credit card, so will use the s75 route instead.
Take care all!

Please come back and let us know if you get any joy that way

unholyangel

zeropointone wrote: »

Wow, hadn't realised there were so many lawyers on this site!
Thanks all....!
I had thought that doing business in the UK would have an impact. Can't be bothered to look it up right now though, as fortunately we bought with a credit card, so will use the s75 route instead.
Take care all!

No that has no impact. They are only subject to UK law if they have a physical presence in the UK.

Its technically no different to you going to china/singapore and buying the item in person - the economic activity of the sale take place in that country so that countrys laws would apply.

You might get lucky with a s75 claim but be aware that section 75 only gives you the same rights with the creditor that you have with the retailer. Therefore if you have no right of refund with the retailer, you won't have one with the credit company. However as I said, you might get lucky and they might not catch on to that.