Wedding Dress Cancellation - a long time ago!

burkicott

Over two years ago, I ordered a wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses and in total, paid off 70% of the outstanding amount.

Unfortunately the wedding was cancelled and I moved to a different address. It was quite an upsetting time so to be honest, the dress was the last thing on my mind. I didn't collect the dress and had no further contact with the shop. They sent me one letter just after I had informed them of the cancellation, reminding me the full payment was due. This was over two years ago.

When I was sorting through old paperwork, I found this letter and remembered about the money owed. I want to avoid any further action being taken (such as a CCJ). They only have the address I lived at back then, so I wouldn't get any warning of action being taken against me and it just isn't worth it. I haven't heard anything from them via phone or otherwise but I assume they do yearly audits and it's highly likely they will attempt to recover the amount some time in the future.

As I didn't collect the dresses, am I to assume they should still have them in storage? And in this case, am I allowed to ask for them back? If I am going to pay the outstanding balance then I would like the dresses, and to donate them to charity, as they are brand new.

If they have sold them on (none were changed at all) then I'm assuming they would have had some financial gain from this. Would I be allowed to ask them about this? What effect would this have on the outstanding amount?

I'm going to call them later to dicuss and potentially make payment but I wanted to check my rights first, as it's a bit of an odd situation.

Gary123456790

burkicott wrote: »

They sent me one letter just after I had informed them of the cancellation, reminding me the full payment was due. This was over two years ago.

If you advised them that you wished to cancel the order then I doubt they would keep the dresses in storage for 2 years - they would sell them for whatever they could.

Most likely they sent a couple of chaser letters to you (at your old address) and after hearing nothing did the best they could with the dresses which was to sell them at a reduced price to someone else.

burkicott

Gary123456790 wrote: »

If you advised them that you wished to cancel the order then I doubt they would keep the dresses in storage for 2 years - they would sell them for whatever they could.

Most likely they sent a couple of chaser letters to you (at your old address) and after hearing nothing did the best they could with the dresses which was to sell them at a reduced price to someone else.

Thank you for your reply.

I assumed that may have happened, but I don't like the uncertainty. I've seen CCJ's be requested for much less than the outstanding amount (£200). There were three dresses and a wedding dress, all ordered in standard sizing, so I'd like to think that coupled with the deposit they made back their money. However, I just keep thinking about the impact it would have if they decided to randomly chase it after two years, especially considering that I wouldn't even have the option to defend myself at court as I'd never get the letters.

I understand I was under contract but I honestly just went a bit off the radar at the time, so I buried my head. It was only recently when sorting through an old box of paperwork that I remembered I never made the last payment!

If they've sold the dresses on then I do feel slightly aggrieved paying them again, although accept it was my fault for not collecting them in the first place. I'm assuming if I call them and explain, they will try their best to get the money anyway, but I wanted to know if I could ask about the dresses and where they are.

pinkshoes

You have 6 years legally to chase this up...

The easiest thing to do is to write to the shop explaining the situation and state that you would like to pay the remaining balance for the dresses and collect then if possible.

If they still have them, then there is probably storage fees to pay. Quite a lot after two years...

They cannot just 'dispose' of the dresses. They have to mitigate their losses.

If they have sold them on, then they will owe you a refund less any admin charges and any shortfall of the original price e.g. If you were going to pay £1000 and had paid a £700 deposit, and they sold them for £500, then you would get £200 back less any admin costs.

Just broach the subject gently!!

burkicott

pinkshoes wrote: »

You have 6 years legally to chase this up...

The easiest thing to do is to write to the shop explaining the situation and state that you would like to pay the remaining balance for the dresses and collect then if possible.

If they still have them, then there is probably storage fees to pay. Quite a lot after two years...

They cannot just 'dispose' of the dresses. They have to mitigate their losses.

If they have sold them on, then they will owe you a refund less any admin charges and any shortfall of the original price e.g. If you were going to pay £1000 and had paid a £700 deposit, and they sold them for £500, then you would get £200 back less any admin costs.

Just broach the subject gently!!

Thank you so much Pinkshoes!

My plan was to email them so everything is in writing, and provide a contact number should they wish to talk to me. I'm not one to get flustered on the phone but I'm really not sure how to broach the subject and I don't want to end up getting upset!

Shall I just explain the situation and that the dresses were never collected, and that I'm unsure of my position at the moment in regards to payment?

Edit - I should add that I don't want the dresses back if at all possible, I would just prefer to have them if I have to pay the outstanding amount. My plan is just to donate them to one of the Oxfam shops which specialise in wedding gear. My question is more about what time do if they've sold or got rid of the dresses.

pinkshoes

burkicott wrote: »

Shall I just explain the situation and that the dresses were never collected, and that I'm unsure of my position at the moment in regards to payment?

Edit - I should add that I don't want the dresses back if at all possible, I would just prefer to have them if I have to pay the outstanding amount. My plan is just to donate them to one of the Oxfam shops which specialise in wedding gear. My question is more about what time do if they've sold or got rid of the dresses.

I wouldn't say you are unsure of your position.

I would state that under the circumstances you have no doubt that they mitigated their losses and resold the dresses, in which case could you please be refunded any money owed, and you look forward to hearing from them.

Then wait and see what they say. Play it by ear. If they say they have the dresses (unlikely), then pay the balance and collect.

It is a shop. They don't just give dresses away. There will be a paper trail showing what happened to them e.g. How much they were sold for.

burkicott

pinkshoes wrote: »

I wouldn't say you are unsure of your position.

I would state that under the circumstances you have no doubt that they mitigated their losses and resold the dresses, in which case could you please be refunded any money owed, and you look forward to hearing from them.

Then wait and see what they say. Play it by ear. If they say they have the dresses (unlikely), then pay the balance and collect.

It is a shop. They don't just give dresses away. There will be a paper trail showing what happened to them e.g. How much they were sold for.

Thank you so much for your help.

I don't think I'll push for a refund in my first email, as I don't want to antagonise them. I just want to know I either owe the money (so I can clear it) or no longer owe the money as they've sold the dresses. I'm not worried about getting the money back as I haven't had it for years and haven't missed it. However, I don't want to assume its all sorted only for it to come back and bite me in the bum!

I will take your advice though - thanks again