Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/27/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  Order #***** --- On July 6th, 2023, I purchased a corset from online store French Meadows. The corset was meant for my wedding. I had found their website featuring items I thought might accommodate a desired look. I emailed the merchant and was specific in what I wanted with regard to the look and color. We emailed for a few days before I purchased an IVORY corset. She assured me the look and fit of the items look just as they do in the photos of her website. I ordered an IVORY corset and once it delivered, found that I received a deep BEIGE CREAM corset instead. It looked nothing like the pictures on her website and had been falselyadvertised. I reached out to her to request a return and refund of the corset - along with the RUSHED PROCESSING of it - seeing as I paid to have this item delivered quickly, only to receive the WRONG ITEM. But she has not cooperated. She refuses to refund me and has since changed her story that the corset I bought was MADE TO ORDER when, actually - it was READY TO SHIP and taken off the shelf. I have emails verifying her telling me this corset was in stock and that I can order it 'as is' instead of a custom made one. In total, I paid her $498 for the corset ($298 for corset and $200 for rushed processing). I am requesting BBB to help resolve this in result of a refund, seeing as the merchant is not honest about her original claims regarding the corset and what she had in stock. I have pictures showing what this corset REALLY looks like versus what I ordered from her website. Since ordering from her website and requesting a return, she has since changed her policy and the Ready-to-Ship section for which the corset was originally placed under to reflect a genuine representation of her claims at this time.I have SHIPPED and RETURNED the item back and it delivers this week. She MUST refund me. It is within my legal right to be refunded, seeing as she did not accurately represent the item and, instead, falsely advertised it.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/27/2023

  On July 4th, the customer contacted us about making a custom wedding gown for their wedding in three weeks. We responded that we're not able to create a gown in such a short time frame, but the customer was welcome to select any of our available corset styles displayed on the website, and to purchase a rush fee with their order in order to receive the item in time. We originally recommended our Ivory Bridal Renaissance Bodice, but the customer chose to go with a different item instead. 

  The customer ordered a made to order item. All of our corsets are made to order unless specified directly in the listing title that the item is "ready to ship." This is explained repeatedly throughout our website, so that our customers are aware of our standard **** week production time. Our ready to ship corsets ship within 1-3 business days, so a rush fee would not be necessary for those items. The customer paid for a two week rush fee for us to make their made to order corset within two weeks time.

  Our return policy is very clear on our website. We do not accept returns on any of our corsets, however we do accept exchanges on standard size and ready to ship items.When the customer reached out to us about returning their corset, we explained our return policy to them and said that we could not refund the corset, but they could exchange the corset for a different style, in accordance with our return policy. The customer refused the exchange, and proceeded to send the corset back to us, even though we clearly informed them we do not accept returns. 

  In regards to the color differences, we explained to the customer that photographs do not always show accurate depictions of fabrics due to lighting conditions, monitor settings, and camera settings. I have included photos of the same corset taken in three different lighting conditions. We have a disclaimer on all of our custom orders, including the one the customer purchased together with their corset, that we recommend ordering swatches of fabric from us in order to confirm the color of the fabric. This is true of any online clothing purchase, and we happily offer swatches to our customers should they desire to confirm the color of their items before purchasing. 

  We are a very small business. Each of our corsets are made by hand in our home studio. These corsets take many hours to make, and we had to work overtime in order to finish the customer's item within the two week time frame. For those reasons we are not able to refund the rush fee, nor the cost of the corset, as this was a made to order item made specifically by the customer's request.

  If the customer would like to exchange the corset for a different style, they may do so by notifying us within 30 days of their item's delivery date. If they would like us to return the corset they mailed us back to them, we are happy to do so.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/01/2023

   
  Complaint: 20382657
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Her response is 100% fabricated. The seller has lied about the events that took place and they have not been honest about the integrity of their business. She has since updated her website to reflect a policy that substantiates her policies. This item was NEVER made to order. It was already in stock and Ready-To-Ship and she confirmed this in our email exchange - but she has since removed the corset from listed items that are Ready-to-Ship as-is to impress that it's an item made to order. 

  Upon originally inquiring about her shop, I was not looking to custom or make-to-order my wedding wardrobe. I asked her if she had anything already IN STOCK that could resemble the image of another bride's wardrobe I forwarded her way. She said she had items that were similar but the only ones that were READY TO SHIP were her Ivory corsets; one of which she forwarded me a link to. I had found a different corset that was also Ivory and Ready to Ship and she confirmed it being in stock, saying:

  "Yes we have that fabric in stock! You can simply order that corset as is, and then order this listing for the linen skirt in ivory.....Everything we make will look just like it does in the photos. How it fits on you will depend on your body type, but we're not making *************** here, so no changes will be made to what you see in the photos."

  She clearly says in her response to me that -- "WE ARE NOT MAKING *************** HERE." She also assures that everything looks just as it does in the photos when clearly, it did NOT.

  BBB please note how the seller is not being honest.

  
  Her claims of how hard or fast she worked on the corset are irrelevant AND untrue. She grabbed an item off the shelf that did not represent what I paid for and shipped it. I did not pay for a deep, dark cream beige color. I made it very clear in the NOTE section upon check-out what color I wanted and emailed her for confirmation - which she approved and confirmed the receipt of.

  Due to her failure to send the right item, I have been forced to delay my elopement and cancel other booked reservations. I am entitled to the refund of the item itself AND the Rush Processing fees. I paid for an IVORY WHITE fabric and paid to rush it for delivery in time for my wedding day - which I could not honor after she shipped the WRONG ITEM. 

  She can expect further notice from the dispute department soon. I am requesting a chargeback of $698 ($298 for the corset, $400 in total for all Rushed Processing fees). She can refund the total or wait to respond to the dispute department. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business Response

  Date: 08/11/2023

  All of our previous statements were true and we havent changed our website these policies have been in state on our website for a very long time. You can use various internet archival services to check the older versions of our website and verify that we havent changed anything since our communications began.
  

  As mentioned previously, this is how our business works: all of our corsets are made to order unless otherwise noted by the words ready to ship in the title. We carry most of our fabrics in stock so that when an order is placed, we have it available to make the item in the size the customer requested. 
  
  The customer originally asked us to make them a custom wedding gown out of a custom fabric (refer to the original email communications the customer provided). We informed them that two weeks was not enough time to order a custom fabric or make a gown, but they could choose from the fabrics we have in stock (note that we said we have the fabric in stock, not the corset).  As with all our made to order items, the customer selects the fabric they want, and then we make the item.
  
  If the customer checks their original purchase receipt, they will see that the words ready to ship are not in the title of the item they purchased. They will also note that they paid the rush fee for a made to order item. We do not charge rush fees for our ready to ship items, since they are already made. The fact alone that they paid for the rush fee indicates it was not ready to ship.
  
  As mentioned previously, the customer was eligible to exchange the corset for one in a different fabric from our shop. They rejected this option.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/14/2023

   
  Complaint: 20382657
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  As already mentioned, the merchant is lying and quite dishonest. Never did I ever request a custom made wedding gown. I inquired about what she already had in stock that might match the look I sent her an image of. Surely, I have forwarded the email exchange and the authorities are aware. Also, I live with an engineer and have surely taken her advice to determine if her website was recently updated to reflect a new refund policy. Certainly, SHE HAS LIED. 

  She made the remark that the fact that I paid for rushed processing is evident that I was paying for the item to be made. Again, a fabricated detail manipulated to support her story. Rushed processing was paid for because she ships items out in the order she gets them and assured me upon inquiring that she could not deliver my items by the date I wanted unless I pay for RUSHED PROCESSING. 

   There is no point in communicating any further with her as it is impossible to reason with ignorance. However, my bank is still investigating the situation. I will be in pursuit of legal action if necessary. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************