HELP WITH A COMPLAINT...SUIT HIRE *edited*

Anyone? LOL!

I think it would depend on what the mistakes were tbh.

Hi Natalie,

I don't think there is an acceptable number of mistakes. Any mistakes no matter how many should have been rectified prior to the wearing date. If they were not rectified to your satisfaction then they are in breach of contract.

What type of mistakes are we talking? Poorly fitting? Poor quality? or the wrong items?

Marc

Thanks guys, here is what went wrong....

Steve - the strap on the back of his waistcoat was torn off on one side and hanging by a thread on the other

Barry -shirt 2 sizes too big, trousers 1 size to big on the waist, trousers 2 inches too long, shoes 2 sizes too big.

Andy - Waistcoat had a large black stain on the front and 2 smaller ones on the back

Karl - White shirt instead of Ivory, wrong style shirt (should have had a flap over the buttons), shirt about 3 sizes too big (no exaggeration) CIGARETTE ENDS IN THE TROUSER POCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I called into the shop and explained the catalogue of errors and was told the replacement items would be ready on the Friday. They were then collected and distributed to find that now Karl’s shirt was still too big, Barry’s shirt was also still too big and the trousers now fitted on the waist but were longer that the last pair!

I rang the shop again and was told to go back to the shop to pick up more replacements at 5pm on the day before our wedding!!!!!

In my opinion, one mistake is one too many. we have ordered 3 suits to hire and your post has made me very nervous. I would be back to the shop and ask for replacements sooner than the day before your wedding, followed by a letter to Head Office....ps photograph the mistakes. I would not settle for such late replacements. The service is VERY poor indeed. Totally unacceptable.

Sorry I should add, THIS HAS HAPPENED!.... the wedding was on the 3rd of september. It was far too stresfull to have done the complaint the day before the wedding. This is an aftermath complaint!

My dad went to collect his suit 10 days before the wedding and when trying it on in the shop had a shirt, waistcoat, crafat and shoes.....but no jacket or trousers! Because he had tried it onin the shop they could clearly see the error and fixed it for him to collect the missing items 4 days before the wedding which still allowed us time if there were any other mistakes. I would suggest trying to do the same if anyone is hiring suits if at all possible but if you can't get them early enough, try everything on in the shop so that any mistakes are there in front of the shop assistants and not you describing them on the phone - seemed to work for us.

K

Natalie,

At the end of the day we all make the occasional mistake (although that was alot of mistakes!) but a good test of any companies customer service is how they rectify their mistake. It seems from what you have said they did an incredibly poor job of rectifying their error(s). Which is extremely poor customer service indeed. Inexcusable in my opinion.

I would imagine it was your husband who signed the paperwork when he booked the suits? If it was, then write a letter addressed from him. A very polite but long letter, explaining exactly what has occurred and what effect the stress and anxiety caused on your OH and yourself on the day. Also remember to add that the additional running around caused significant problems (and additional cost) in the last few days before the wedding, to not a only you but also other family members. Try to keep the letter as professional and factual as you can. If you are good at this type of thing then write it yourself but if you have someone in the family who is very professional, then ask them to check the letter before sending it (a lawyer or something similar).

Also before writing the letter read the hire terms and conditions. They may be in breach of their own contract? Also be sure that you are not in breach of the contract.

Address the letter to the customer service department manager and ask for a reply within 14 working days.

I would suggest not naming and shaming them online but it may well be worth suggesting that you are considering adding negative reviews to already established review websites.

I think that is the best you can do, I am afraid. You could try taking them to the small claims court but from my experience I can tell you that most high street chains are well experienced at this procedure and tend to not lose very often because of their terms and conditions.

Good Luck

Marc

Thanks Marc

Sound advice!

I have written my letter and hopefully it hits the right note!

Nat