Bridemaid dress cancellation

The_Rainmaker

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

...... or commence legal action.

And run the risk of losing out on everything.

warby68

OP you're going to have to be practical I think.

Legal/contractual rights are one thing but there is also a reason why the saying 'possession is nine tenths of the law' holds.

If you are genuinely willing to pay for these dresses in due course but the shop doubts you, its up to you to convince them. The best way to do that is to come up with some more cash now rather than keep arguing with them and threatening legal action which is all well and good but is risky, costly and takes time you don't have.

I have to say if your stance has been to pay nothing until they agree a protracted payment plan which runs after your wedding, I'd doubt you too especially given the somewhat strange scenario where you gave up dresses which had been more than 50% paid for and bought new ones somewhere else.

Sometimes we have to suck one thing up to get a better overall result - this might be the case here.

Hopefully you might find if you pony up say another £300 the shop might relent.

es5595

I think you should send a letter to the shop, formally asking for the collection of your wedding dress.

"I have completed my side of the contract, paying a deposit of £xx for my wedding dress on XX, and the balance on XX. As I explained to you at our initial meeting, the wedding is on XX April and I need the dress by XX January so I can take it to my dressmaker for alterations on XX February.

Unfortunately, if you wish to renege on this previously-agreed timescale, and the dress is not released by XX January, I will have no option but to go elsewhere to ensure I have an appropriate and fitted dress for my wedding.

As such, due to your non-performance of a contractual obligation, and the resulting breech of contract, it will be necessary to pursue damages, including, but not limited to, a new dress to the same standard, but made it a much shortened time scale, along with the necessary fitting and alterations, again, with a premium for the rapid service required.

I hope it does not come to this, and you can let me know when I can come to collect my wedding dress before the XX January"

You need to play hardball as well, and make clear to them that the two contracts are separate, you fully intend to pay for the bridemaids dresses as they will now be used for (a friends wedding, prom dresses etc) but as they are no longer being purchased for you, you've got to get the funding for them, and cannot do that before XX.

Tracey_m

Hi, no I did not pay any deposit in my name at all.. the day the dresses were measured.. I left the shop after my name was put in the form but no money was out on them. They told me dresses would not be ordered until full deposit was paid.. I said I would ring them the following day with deposit.
But my sis in law went bk to the shop after I left and paid a first payment of £300 without me known. Then told me afterwards.. Even at this stage the dresses were still not ordered until my sister in law paid the remaining 300.. which was on the 24th may.. it was again paid from her own bank and no money came from me at all. I have never made a payment on the bridemaids dresses.. only ever my sister in law. She is the one with the receipts also.
All calls were made to my sister in law regarding payments.. until we had the fall out and she rang the shop to cancel them.
They are now saying I have to pay the remaining balance as I’m the bride and my name is on the form

Tracey_m

Yes I am Going to write a formal letter and then go from there. I’ve had advice from solicitor and they said unles they have had a loss from earnings on the bridemaids dresses I am not legally obligated to pay them as such a big deposit was paid. I am therefore still willing to pay them of with a payment plan as I’m not a bad person. I just don’t like how they are handling this. It’s so unprofessional of them ..

BoGoF

Tracey_m wrote: »

Yes I am Going to write a formal letter and then go from there. I’ve had advice from solicitor and they said unles they have had a loss from earnings on the bridemaids dresses I am not legally obligated to pay them as such a big deposit was paid. I am therefore still willing to pay them of with a payment plan as I’m not a bad person. I just don’t like how they are handling this. It’s so unprofessional of them ..

It may be unprofessional but going in all legal isn't going to help IMO. Legal processes can take months. You need your dress for April.....you do the maths.

KatrinaWaves

Tracey_m wrote: »

Yes I am Going to write a formal letter and then go from there. I’ve had advice from solicitor and they said unles they have had a loss from earnings on the bridemaids dresses I am not legally obligated to pay them as such a big deposit was paid. I am therefore still willing to pay them of with a payment plan as I’m not a bad person. I just don’t like how they are handling this. It’s so unprofessional of them ..

Are you SURE an actual solicitor said this?

Deposit was paid and dressed ordered in May, correct?

When did you tell then you wanted the dresses ready for? When was payment due? When did you tell them you would no longer be paying for them on the due date?

Honestly do not go all legal on this, you need the dress in a month to get altered.. As said multiple times legal processes can take a long time, way longer than a month, and if you start playing hardball then suddenly some terrible accident may befall your wedding dress. Oh dear...

Pollycat

Tracey_m wrote: »

Hi Warby,
I was speaking to the shop in November and explained everything then to mine. I asked to put a payment plan in place..

my sister in law was paying for the dresses as my gift, but we had a fall out and she told me she had cancelled the bridemaids dresses on me. As she was the person paying for them. She made all payments through her online banking.. I went ahead and ordered new dresses .

When I spoke to the shop they told me dresses couldn’t not be cancelled and as my sister in law wasn’t making the rest of balance up, I had to because I’m the bride and my name was on the form sheet. so I said I would put a payment plan in place to pay the remainder of the balance. They told me there head office wouldn’t allow that to happen and that they would send me out a letter. So I was waiting on said letter from them but I never received one. I rang the shop and left message to collect my wedding dress .. ( both separate booking, 8 months apart.) and they are saying they aren’t giving me it. they saying I’m in a contract with them. Which I am and I’m willing to pay balance..
I’m sister in law paid 680, which was over half the balance so there’s 600 remaining on them

Did you order new dresses from the same shop?
Identical to the ones your SIL originally ordered?

I do see your point about your dress being on a separate contract but it sounds like the shop are going to play hardball.
I really can't see how you're going to get hold of your dress - even with legal advice - without addressing the bridesmaid dresses issue.

lincroft1710

This reminds me of the "right of way at a roundabout/junction" scenario.

"Yes I could see the other driver was in the wrong and I could have stopped but I had right of way. Still, I will be out of hospital very soon"

Tracey, you probably have "right" on your side, but sadly you are not in the driving seat and hold no aces. It could take 4 weeks just to get the legal processes moving, a hearing may not even happen before your wedding day! Even if it does, you may not win, and if you do you may not get the dress back in time.

See if you can raise the money on Crowdfunding or similar.

Finally, it may be the shop not being truthful, but if the bridesmaids' dresses manufacturer won't supply the dresses without being paid in full by the shop, it suggests the shop may have credit problems with its supplier(s)

Undervalued

KatrinaWaves wrote: »

Are you SURE an actual solicitor said this?

Deposit was paid and dressed ordered in May, correct?

When did you tell then you wanted the dresses ready for? When was payment due? When did you tell them you would no longer be paying for them on the due date?

Honestly do not go all legal on this, you need the dress in a month to get altered.. As said multiple times legal processes can take a long time, way longer than a month, and if you start playing hardball then suddenly some terrible accident may befall your wedding dress. Oh dear...

As a very basic summary of the legal position I don't see much wrong with the words you highlighted.

Otherwise though I agree. Whatever the actual legal position is, and without full details of both contracts we can't be certain, the OP is somewhat stuck. As many others have said, no legal action let alone any necessary enforcement (assuming the OP wins) will happen in time.

I see no practical alternative but to do what is necessary to get the dress released then, having taken proper advice, take action to recover any money that was not actually owed later.