Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/17/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I told the owner what I wanted done to the dress and she said she could do all of it. When I cam to pick the dress up, the straps were thin and sewn on from pre-made fabric she had bought. I asked for thick straps made from what was hemmed off the dress. At pickup and after being paid, she then tells me she cannot make thick straps with her machine. She pressure sold me at drop off by telling me that I wouldn't find anyone else to alter my dress in 4.5 weeks or less and that no one else would do as good of a job as she could and no one else would be as cheap as she was. I called around after picking up my dress and my usual lady in *********, ** said she would have charged $300 total for the same alterations this lady had done. The owner of this business charged $1050 to hem, add 11 bussles, take in the sides a tad bit, and add a pearl belt and thin pre-made straps. Multiple bussels popped/fell off, the crenaline underneath was not hemmed enough as I kept stepping on it the day of my wedding, and she left a huge cut under the top layer of the dress that she did not sew back up all before my wedding day before i even got to wear the dress! The strap on the right side started coming off on the backside at my wedding during the reception. I clearly asked her multiple times if these straps were going to hold up with them being so thin and the dress being so heavy and me heavy chested and each time she said yes and that she had no doubt and guaranteed they would hold up. She is now refusing to give a full or partial refund. She is price gouging co.pared to others in this area BY FAR! Others around her were ALL under $450 for the total alterations requested or needed while she told me I wouldn't find anyone else to do it for less. Her price didn't even include the steaming of the dress so I had to take it elsewhere and have it done for cheaper than she quoted me. Said it would be $250 to steam and I found someone else for $60. She only wants to be paid in cash & no cards

  Business Response

  Date: 01/04/2025

  The complaint from customer *******. She came to my house with her mother on 11/03/24 with a very big heavy dress which was twice her size and she said she needs it done by 11/16/24. Turn around time is usually 4 weeks at alteration shops and requires a rush fee if you want it done earlier but I did not charge her for that. I gave them the estimate for the dress which both the mother and daughter agreed on and I can provide proof for with paperwork that she signed. I offered them two different ways on the bustles, one was with 3 points and the other had 11 which is the one she chose because she said it was a very special day and she did not care about the money. I do not accept any payments before the final pickup. I do accept credit, cash or checks as payment and I do have a machine that takes credit cards which I can also provide proof for with previous statements. She had a choice to accept my service or take her dress and find somebody else to work with, there was no pressure involved at anytime but she was more than happy to have it done in the time I offered and decided to work with me. I called her a week later to let her know the dress was ready and she came with her mother to pick it up. I have pictures from the pickup day where she tried on the dress and it fit perfectly, she loved it and so did her mother. That is the day she payed me. The straps that she complains about, I made them from the left over of her fabric. Two days after the wedding is when she started texting me complaining and threatening my business saying if I dont give her a refund she will leave bad reviews and report my business, which both her and her mother did. There were no complaints or issues before the wedding and that is why I find all of this very suspicious. She wants her money back AFTER the wedding.  She had her pictures taken days before the wedding and there were no complaints until after the wedding. I do not take any responsibility after the dress has been picked up from my house. That is mentioned in the paperwork that was signed by her before any of the work was started. If they had mentioned any issues before the wedding day, I would have been more than happy to fix it and after all of this I did still offer to fix whatever she did not like but she refused. This is my point of view on this whole situation.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/17/2025

   I am rejecting this response because:  

   I am rejecting this response because:

   

  These are just a few of the many images I have of the dress that this lady has altered. I called 2 other places after this lady completed my dress to see how much they would have charged for these same alterations and how long it would have taken them. Both of which said $350 or less and they could have had it done in less than a week. As far as I'm concerned, this business owner DID in fact charge me a rush fee considering the cost was $1050 for simple alterations! I mean wow! What a scam! The paperwork this lady continues to mention is the same paperwork that she had me sign without allowing me the time to read the fine print on the back. My mistake was reading and signing at the same time and she literally grabbed the paper from me before I could finish reading the back and when I asked for a copy of it she acted dumbfounded and said "I don't know how to make a copy of the paper because it's two-sided" but yet she knew how to print the two-sided contract....that's suspicious to me. She did offer two ways for the bustles and also let us know that the more expensive way would look best for this specific dress (of course she's going to suggest the more expensive way, right?). I NEVER once said "I did not care about the money", in fact my actual comment to her was "I just had a set of twins (one of which I lost right before birth and was stillborn) in ************ and with having my oldest child and a newborn at home on formula and in diapers, that we were pinching pennies where we could and trying to save as much money as possible" and yet she took advantage of me anyways as she kept telling me after she had already started alterations that this and that were going to be an extra charge so the original $930 price eventually became $1050. Not to mention, she calculated "incorrectly" and tried to argue with me on the total amount to get more money out of me while I was there. I told her to calculate it again and she argued with me trying to add it in her head and I asked her politely to calculate it on her calculator and once she did, her response was "oh yeah, I'm sorry it was off but ONLY by $100". This lady NEVER mentioned accepting check or card but instead she persisted to let us know that she only accepted CASH! She tried to say she had a card machine but it "didn't work"....again, very suspicious! Had I known she accepted card, I would not have been late to my appointment to pick up the dress by 30 minutes because I was out trying to get my daily limit increased on my debit card to be able to withdraw that kind of money. This lady did in fact pressure sale me by repetitively saying "you won't find anyone else to do these kind of alterations (hemming the bottom and taking in the sides) in 3 weeks for this cheap. Everyone else will charge a lot more and I'll even throw in ONE of the ELEVEN bustles for free" which she didn't not do! She said she could steam it as well for only $100 more where she normally would charge $250 and anywhere else, again, would normally charge $600 or more just for the steaming! I told this lady the SAME DAY within 5 hours of my appointment time to halt alterations until I could make sure I had the funds to pay her and she eventually sent me a text back with pictures showing where she had already cut the bottom of my dress all up. (Unfortunately, I don't have a way to prove it but I do believe she cut the bottom of my dress RIGHT AFTER I text her just so I would have to pay her because the picture she sent me was of the bottom cut up but not hemmed yet. I asked her how much it would be just to pay for the cut up and unfinished work she had already done and she told me $600 just for her cutting the bottom off and not even finishing it and hemming it yet! She also keeps saying that she has pictures from the day I picked it up which is NOT TRUE! Her pictures are from the day I came to try it back on so she could measure the straps. She doesn't have any pictures from the day I picked it up because she wouldn't let me try it on that day. My mother asked if I could try it on one more time to make sure the straps fit right and she made up some excuse as to why I couldn't and then let me know that it would fit the same way as last time except it would have straps now. My mother also told her she had altered it too tightly the day that I did try it on before my pickup date. My mom could barely get the dress zipped up after this lady had altered it. I would have expected this if I had gained weight but considering I had changed my diet the week prior and had actually lost weight prior to coming in just didn't explain why the dress was now that tight. If I had not lost the few pounds that I did, I would have been screwed and the dress would have not fit for sure. It was so tight that it was pinching the skin on my back together. I POLITELY asked her SEVERAL times for a full refund and when she kept saying no and being extremely rude and accusing me of false accusations, I then asked for just half of the money back and she continued to be nasty and rude and accused me of lying. My mother never left a bad review on this woman and neither of us threatened her business at all so I do not appreciate her continuous lies throughout this matter to "protect" her crooked actions and business. The reason I didn't have complaints about the dress fabric being torn and still cut open under the train as seen in the pictures is because as she stated, this dress is twice my size, therefore, it's not a dress that goes over your head. It's a satin ballgown that you step into, which she knows, therefore, I would not have seen this slit or the MULTIPLE bustles being broken until after the wedding ceremony during the reception when my dress would need to be pinned up. She did offer to fix my dress AFTER the wedding day; however, I think anyone in their right mind after spending this kind of money on a dress would NOT take it back to the SAME PERSON WHO RUINED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE! And why do I need it fixed it now? It's AFTER the wedding! I want a full refund from this woman! 

  
  
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/29/2025

  Ive attachable pictures, here is my proof.  (In the attachments are both reviews, pictures from the pick-up/wedding day, and paperwork that was agreed to and signed before we started working, where she agrees to my policies.) When she picked up the dress everything was good as well as during her photo shoot. If the complaint was before the wedding or after the photo shoot, yes I definitely understand asking for a refund but this was all after the wedding so I am not refunding anything. I am also sending pictures of the other review, they have similar wording and I have never worked with her before so I am assuming they are somehow related. To me, everything she is saying are lies so I dont have anymore time and nothing else to say about this situation. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/30/2025

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  It shows clearly in your photo of me trying the dress on at your personal home that it is obviously not the day I picked up the dress. There are NO straps on the dress in that photo nor were the jewels on there (not to mention I had to take the dress to a second alterations place to have them removed because this lady attached them so tight that it was cuasing the fabric to pull up on the dress and crease). Therefore, what you have attached is no proof at all. Also, you obviosuly didnt read my previous response where I mentioned that you took the paper from me before I could even finish reading it!!! I was signing while reading and you took it from me! How unprofiessional! Yes, when I picked up the dress everything "looked" fine. It wasnt until my wedding day, when pinning the train up that I saw the big slit underneath where you left it cut up! I wouldnt have seen that at your house as it is a ballgown that you step into. There was no need to pick the train up. You also had the train pinned up already so that my mom and I wouldnt have to pick it up and do it ourselves which tells me you probably knew that slit was there and thats why you went ahead and had it pinned up! It wouldn't have mattered if this complaint was before or after, you'd still be acting the way you are and refuse any refund at all! I told you not to do any alterations and instead you did them anyways and then sent me a picture to show you had apparently already started and my dress was cut all up forcing me to allow you to finish the alterations. And to this review you've attached, I do not know about that review! I don't appreciate you accusing me of knowing or your accusations against my mother. The person who wrote that review is not my mother at all and does not have any relation to me! It seems to be another bad review however and i guess that strikes you wrong. And of course you respond to it saying you've never done work for them but how do we know that?! You only accept cash! You are absolutely one rude entitled woman and I pray that people see MY review and make themselves aware before they bring anything to you and let you s**** them out of thousands of dollars! You do not deserve to have any clientele with the way you treat people. You are cold hearted and ruthless. You are very aware that everything I've said has been completely truthful, and you're worried about what will happen if you admit to it. That's okay. Doing business this way will only catch up to you over time. You'll end up biting your own self in the a** Enjoy your business while you have it, *****.