Wedding dress help urgently needed

help_please1234

My daughter bought a wedding dress from Grace Loves Lace in London spring '24 which was delivered August '24 for her wedding this July.
The shop assistant measured her, recorded this and advised her to order an XS. 
At no time we're her measurements or the different sizes discussed.
On receipt she tried the dress on but being alone she couldn't fasten the buttons/ties properly and just thought she needed to tone up.
On trying on recently, she's discovered that the actual measurements of the top of the dress are smaller than stated on their website (so therefore faulty) and smaller than the measurements the assistant made of her.
So she has paid nearly £3000 for a faulty dress and received poor service in regard to measuring and advising her on sizing.
As the manufacturer is Australian she is having to deal with them, which makes it more difficult. When basically the London store have made serious errors. The dress is made to order with a 5 month wait.

Any advice on how to deal with this ready for her July 8th wedding in Bali greatly appreciated.

born_again

help_please1234 said:

My daughter bought a wedding dress from Grace Loves Lace in London spring '24 which was delivered August '24 for her wedding this July.
The shop assistant measured her, recorded this and advised her to order an XS. 
At no time we're her measurements or the different sizes discussed.
On receipt she tried the dress on but being alone she couldn't fasten the buttons/ties properly and just thought she needed to tone up.
On trying on recently, she's discovered that the actual measurements of the top of the dress are smaller than stated on their website (so therefore faulty) and smaller than the measurements the assistant made of her.
So she has paid nearly £3000 for a faulty dress and received poor service in regard to measuring and advising her on sizing.
As the manufacturer is Australian she is having to deal with them, which makes it more difficult. When basically the London store have made serious errors. The dress is made to order with a 5 month wait.

Any advice on how to deal with this ready for her July 8th wedding in Bali greatly appreciated.

Going back to the shop would be the 1st port of call.

Ergates

Did she buy the dress from the manufacturer (with the shop acting as a middleman), or did she buy the dress from the shop?   (i.e. who did she pay?)

help_please1234

Ergates said:

Did she buy the dress from the manufacturer (with the shop acting as a middleman), or did she buy the dress from the shop?   (i.e. who did she pay?)

She paid the shop, there is only 1 branch in the UK. There offices/support is in Australia.

Ergates

help_please1234 said:

Ergates said:

Did she buy the dress from the manufacturer (with the shop acting as a middleman), or did she buy the dress from the shop?   (i.e. who did she pay?)

She paid the shop, there is only 1 branch in the UK. There offices/support is in Australia.

So the shop is part of the manufacturer?  (i.e. it's not a "general" dress shop that sells dresses from different companies) ?

help_please1234

Ergates said:

help_please1234 said:

Ergates said:

Did she buy the dress from the manufacturer (with the shop acting as a middleman), or did she buy the dress from the shop?   (i.e. who did she pay?)

She paid the shop, there is only 1 branch in the UK. There offices/support is in Australia.

So the shop is part of the manufacturer?  (i.e. it's not a "general" dress shop that sells dresses from different companies) ?

Yes that's right.

Ayr_Rage

You shouldn't be asking an internet forum, get your daughter to take the dress back to the shop, show them the issue and ask what they can do.

However, she should've identified the issue last August if the actual size differed from the size stated from the website and from her measurements.

Not checking the fit because she was alone is a very weak excuse.

Does the shop offer alterations?

DullGreyGuy

help_please1234 said:

Ergates said:

help_please1234 said:

Ergates said:

Did she buy the dress from the manufacturer (with the shop acting as a middleman), or did she buy the dress from the shop?   (i.e. who did she pay?)

She paid the shop, there is only 1 branch in the UK. There offices/support is in Australia.

So the shop is part of the manufacturer?  (i.e. it's not a "general" dress shop that sells dresses from different companies) ?

Yes that's right.

There is a UK legal entity of Grace Loves Lace Limited who was owned by some Australian based persons, now it looks like they are making false declarations to Companies House but their accounts say they are owned by Grace Loves Lace PTY LTD in Australia

Almost certainly your contract is with the UK entity given you bought it in the UK. Your statutory rights are with the UK entity as the retailer not with the Australian Manufacturer. 

I'd be getting to the shop with the dress, original measurements and stated dress measurements at the earliest opportunity. 

Ergates

Normally we'd advise that you should be dealing with the retailer not the manufacturer, as your contract is with them (the retailer).  However, in this case, they're one and the same so that doesn't make a difference.  Similarly, it won't really matter if the shop staff took/recorded the measurements wrong, or if the dress was made incorrectly, as they all part of the same company.

In terms of resolution - can the dress be altered to fit?  Or will to require a new one to be made?
If it can be altered, can the company themselves do this (within the time available)? 

With a shop in the UK I believe they'll be bound by UK consumer laws - but I expect the laws in Australia are similar anyway.

Ergates

Ayr_Rage said:

You shouldn't be asking an internet forum, get your daughter to take the dress back to the shop, show them the issue and ask what they can do.

However, she should've identified the issue last August if the actual size differed from the size stated from the website and from her measurements.

Not checking the fit because she was alone is a very weak excuse.

Does the shop offer alterations?

The OP's daughter doesn't need an "excuse".  She paid for a dress of size X and was given a dress of size Y.  

Yes, in hindsight, if she'd checked back in August they'd have more time to fix this but, ultimately, the seller should have provided a dress made to the correct measurements so fixing it shouldn't have been necessary.

DullGreyGuy

Ergates said:

Normally we'd advise that you should be dealing with the retailer not the manufacturer, as your contract is with them (the retailer).  However, in this case, they're one and the same so that doesn't make a difference.  Similarly, it won't really matter if the shop staff took/recorded the measurements wrong, or if the dress was made incorrectly, as they all part of the same company.

In terms of resolution - can the dress be altered to fit?  Or will to require a new one to be made?
If it can be altered, can the company themselves do this (within the time available)? 

With a shop in the UK I believe they'll be bound by UK consumer laws - but I expect the laws in Australia are similar anyway.

They are related, not one and the same. The OP's contract is with the UK entity, almost certainly.