Anyone tried to dispute a purchase with a merchant that has a no return policy?
Jul 12, 2019, 8:46 am
#1
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Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 2
Anyone tried to dispute a purchase with a merchant that has a no return policy?
I got a wedding dress this Tuesday and paid $800 with my Amex Gold for alterations and I signed a contract saying that all sales are final. I was supposed to have my first fitting today but they had mixed up my appointment times and I wasn’t able to make it. When I was trying to reschedule, they told me multiple fittings would be needed which they didn’t disclose prior of me purchasing it, and they had no appointments available that worked for me since I leave in four days. I had told them that my wedding was next Friday and I leave this upcoming Tuesday. With no appointments I can go to available, I had to cancel the alterations altogether and now I have a dress that hasn't been altered and out $800. Would I be able to dispute the charges or am I out of luck since I signed the contract?
Jul 12, 2019, 8:58 am
#2
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Unless you can point to a contract provision which guarantees only one fitting in a time-frame, you are going to have a very tough time on this one. It's hardly usual for there to be only a single fitting, so it's not as though the vendor is doing anything out of the ordinary.
It won't hurt you to make the case to Amex, but you can expect the merchant vendor to fight this one tooth and nail.
Isn't the better approach to try to work this out with the vendor and find times which might work? Maybe speak with someone else.
It won't hurt you to make the case to Amex, but you can expect the merchant vendor to fight this one tooth and nail.
Isn't the better approach to try to work this out with the vendor and find times which might work? Maybe speak with someone else.
Jul 12, 2019, 9:11 am
#3
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Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 2
I've spoken to the manager and the owner of the salon to try to find a time that works, but their latest alterations appointment is at 3pm and I work 8am - 5pm and they will not take me in on the weekends. I only assumed that 2 alterations max were needed since they were just shortening the straps, not 4. I know it probably falls on me since I signed the contract, but it is terribly frustrating for them not being able to accommodate me when they double booked.
Jul 12, 2019, 9:08 pm
#4
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Unfortunately, the "return protection" program, which generally protects against all-sales-final policies, cannot help you either -- bridal wear is excluded: https://www.americanexpress.com/cont..._Rev_09-17.pdf. (And it would be capped at $300 even if it could help.)
Sounds like it's worth taking whatever steps you can to take off work and find times that work for you.
Sounds like it's worth taking whatever steps you can to take off work and find times that work for you.
Jul 12, 2019, 9:15 pm
#5
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If you can find a competent free lance alterations person who can reliably do what's needed in the available time, that should work and is likely to be cheaper than the alterations prices charged by the bridal gown store.
However, was the gown made and delivered late or not made correctly in your size? People usually arrange for bridal gowns well in advance of the ceremony. Did the store mislead you on this or fail to have the gown available for fittings on time as promised?
Can you perhaps arrange with your employer to do the alterations during your (scheduled to work) lunch hour or could you take time off during the day in exchange for arriving early or working late (or as unpaid leave time)? I would expect an employer to understand that a wedding is a (hopefully) once in a lifetime event, but your job might have particular demands or busy times.
However, was the gown made and delivered late or not made correctly in your size? People usually arrange for bridal gowns well in advance of the ceremony. Did the store mislead you on this or fail to have the gown available for fittings on time as promised?
Can you perhaps arrange with your employer to do the alterations during your (scheduled to work) lunch hour or could you take time off during the day in exchange for arriving early or working late (or as unpaid leave time)? I would expect an employer to understand that a wedding is a (hopefully) once in a lifetime event, but your job might have particular demands or busy times.
Jul 13, 2019, 1:19 pm
#6
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Of course it is - otherwise, people would use this benefit to get a free bridal gown rental, with Amex having to pay not just a rental cost, but the entire purchase price.
Jul 18, 2019, 3:35 pm
#8
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I got a wedding dress this Tuesday and paid $800 with my Amex Gold for alterations and I signed a contract saying that all sales are final. I was supposed to have my first fitting today but they had mixed up my appointment times and I wasn’t able to make it. When I was trying to reschedule, they told me multiple fittings would be needed which they didn’t disclose prior of me purchasing it, and they had no appointments available that worked for me since I leave in four days. I had told them that my wedding was next Friday and I leave this upcoming Tuesday. With no appointments I can go to available, I had to cancel the alterations altogether and now I have a dress that hasn't been altered and out $800. Would I be able to dispute the charges or am I out of luck since I signed the contract?
Customer service these days is non-existent at 99.9% of businesses out there. Why did you even take the dress? I would've said "no thanks, the dress doesn't fit and you couldn't hold up your end of the bargain... It's not a sale."
Jul 18, 2019, 4:47 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 378
So they mixed up the appointment times, didn't want to accommodate your open schedule, and then then you still took the dress.
Customer service these days is non-existent at 99.9% of businesses out there. Why did you even take the dress? I would've said "no thanks, the dress doesn't fit and you couldn't hold up your end of the bargain... It's not a sale."
Customer service these days is non-existent at 99.9% of businesses out there. Why did you even take the dress? I would've said "no thanks, the dress doesn't fit and you couldn't hold up your end of the bargain... It's not a sale."
Jul 19, 2019, 4:35 am
#10
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 33
I've spoken to the manager and the owner of the salon to try to find a time that works, but their latest alterations appointment is at 3pm and I work 8am - 5pm and they will not take me in on the weekends. I only assumed that 2 alterations max were needed since they were just shortening the straps, not 4. I know it probably falls on me since I signed the contract, but it is terribly frustrating for them not being able to accommodate me when they double booked.
Jul 19, 2019, 7:58 am
#11
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Jul 19, 2019, 8:01 am
#12
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Why don’t you take some time off work? After all it is your wedding. In my business I get terribly frustrated with clients that expect me to work for just them at 8pm or take an appointment on Sunday all because they refuse to take time off of their job. Well sorry I have family too that I have to see sometime. That’s why I post clear business hours.
Jul 22, 2019, 9:08 am
#13
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 378
Why don’t you take some time off work? After all it is your wedding. In my business I get terribly frustrated with clients that expect me to work for just them at 8pm or take an appointment on Sunday all because they refuse to take time off of their job. Well sorry I have family too that I have to see sometime. That’s why I post clear business hours.
Maybe she did. Which is why she's asking about refund on the first dress.
Jul 22, 2019, 9:33 am
#14
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Bottom line is that unless OP has abused the chargeback process in the past, there is little downside to attempting it here. It might work. It might not. While card issuers may tire of customers who abuse it, if it is a one-off, it won't hurt, it is free, it is online, and takes less time than OP has spent on this thread.
That said, I would be surprised if it works. For an expensive item, the card issuer will not eat the cost as a goodwill gesture and the merchant will likely say that it did its best and there is no contractual requirement that it shift its hours or other practice. A short way of saying that I would not spend the money just yet.
That said, I would be surprised if it works. For an expensive item, the card issuer will not eat the cost as a goodwill gesture and the merchant will likely say that it did its best and there is no contractual requirement that it shift its hours or other practice. A short way of saying that I would not spend the money just yet.
Jul 22, 2019, 11:28 am
#15
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Why don’t you take some time off work? After all it is your wedding. In my business I get terribly frustrated with clients that expect me to work for just them at 8pm or take an appointment on Sunday all because they refuse to take time off of their job. Well sorry I have family too that I have to see sometime. That’s why I post clear business hours.