Alexia's Bridal Boutique

This bridal salon is fraudulently withholding a deposit of over $1400 on bridesmaid dresses that were never ordered from the designer and evaded callsOn November 28th 2014 my sister and I went in to Alexia's Bridal for an appointment to try on bridesmaids dresses for my wedding set for October 2015. This was our first time at the salon and first attempt at bridesmaid dress shopping. My mom was supposed to be there with us but was home sick with a stomach bug. Since I now live in Ohio and was only home in NC for the holidays for a few days, we kept the appointment and went without her just to look, not buy. We found a bridesmaid dress we both loved and planned to come back another day with my mother to go forward with order. Again there was no rush since my wedding was 11 months away. The salesperson, [redacted], put on a high pressure sale and said ONLY that day we could get 10% off the dresses if we went ahead and placed a deposit of 50% of the total of 9 dresses ($1420.71). I was surprised by this and questioned it because in all other weddings I've been a bridesmaid in, I've paid for my dress myself 1/2 when measurements submitted to designer and other 1/2 when dress came in to the salon. Since no measurements were going to be taken for another couple months from my bridesmaids I didn't understand why I had to rush to put the 50% deposit down, but they insisted that was the only way to get 10% off so foolishly I went ahead. Almost exactly one month later on December 26th 2014 I called and spoke to [redacted] telling her my wedding plans had changed, we were now going away with just our families to [redacted] to marry and that I didn't need to move forward with bridesmaid dresses and asked for my deposit refunded since no measurements had been received from my bridesmaids to the salon and no order placed with the dress designer by the salon. From there commenced a month of evaded calls and emails on the salons part. They told me I couldnt' be refunded or needed to speak to manager who would then evade my calls. My mother got involved to help me since she lives in NC. Finally she spoke to the owner who blatantly lied and said that fabric had been reserved for these dresses with the designer [redacted]. I spoke with a rep from [redacted] who said that is not their practice and that only when all measurements are received from all bridesmaids does the salon make initial payment to the designer. This bridal salon has not been out one dime and is fraudulently withholding a deposit on a order that was NEVER placed with the designer in the amount of $1420.71 from me. Since this very frustrating episode, I have researched online reviews and dug only to find that this company operates under false business practices. They have somehow pushed many very negative reviews from other customers down to where you can't see unless you know where to look on [redacted] (under 13 other reviews that are not currently recommended). It appears I'm not the only costumer this salon has handled unethically and poorly. Desired SettlementI am asking for my deposit of $1420.71 be refunded. There was no order placed and no sale on their part. I have nothing to show for them keeping this money. Business Response I am writing in response to this complaint. The Customer's details are not accurate, and I hope you will agree after reading my response below. Thank you!Customer scheduled an appointment over a week in advance to come in to look at bridesmaids dresses and attended her appointment on November 28th, 2014 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm, lasting much longer than the typical bridesmaid appointment. She and her sister chose bridesmaids dresses, and Customer completely filled out and signed our bridesmaid agreement contract stating she wanted to move forward with the order and acknowledged that all sales are final. Her sister placed the initial deposit (which was her dress paid in full) to receive the Thanksgiving sale we were having that day. On Friday, December 5th, 2014, Customer called over the phone with the remaining deposit for the bridesmaids' dresses, knowing that all sales are final, as stated on the sales agreement signed on November 28th.NOTE: Customers can place orders by either paying 50% of the entire order or by having each bridesmaid pay in full individually. Like most, Customer chose to place the 50% deposit on her order.-The deposit payment made by a customer secures the order (this is the same for bridesmaids and bridal), and all sales are final, which is clearly stated on ALL signed forms, as well as verbally communicated to our customers. Our customers are never pressured into a sale or placing a deposit on the spot; each customer is free to make her own decision on when or if to purchase from our store. The day Customer came in for her appointment, we were have a Thanksgiving Weekend Sale. Customer very much wanted to take advantage of receiving a 10% savings for her bridesmaids; she was certainly free to wait to place her deposit, but she moved forward with the order that day. She spent much time with us during that appointment and even asked if her sister's dress purchase could count as an initial deposit until the following week when she was going to come back with her mother. We agreed. She then never brought her mother in; instead, she paid the remainder of the deposit over the phone about a week later. SIDE NOTE: When Customer was in the store for her bridesmaid appointment, she asked if she could try on bridal gowns; her sales consultant took her back to the bridal suite to try on bridal gowns even though she had no bridal appointment scheduled. Customer found a gown that she LOVED and cried. She almost purchased the bridal gown that day but decided to wait until her mom was able to be with her, which is completely normal and reasonable in the bridal industry.-The following is a dated series of events that can speak to the fact that this customer was NOT pressured into a sale. In fact, she had multiple correspondences with us BEFORE placing the larger deposit securing her order.On Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014, Customer emailed thanking her sales consultant for her help and the great experience they had at our salon. She stated that she would like to schedule a bridal appointment in January. She also asked a couple questions regarding the remaining bridesmaids' deposit.On Thursday, December 4th, 2014, Customer emailed her sales consultant all of her bridesmaids information needed to obtain measurements from each bridesmaid and said that she would call later today with the remainder of the bridesmaids' deposit. On Friday, December 5th, 2014, Customer called over the phone with the remaining deposit for the bridesmaids' dresses, knowing that all sales are final, as stated on the sales agreement signed on November 28th. On December 26th, 2014, (nearly a month after the order was placed by the customer) Customer called to discuss possibility of having her bridesmaids' deposit refunded. She stated she has decided not to have bridesmaids anymore in her wedding and is going to have a destination wedding instead. Consultant let Customer know that deposits cannot be refunded and that all sales are final, as stated on her sales agreement signed on November 28th. Customer then asked about the possibility of applying her initial bridesmaids deposit towards a wedding gown she had liked at our store. Consultant let Customer know deposits cannot be refunded, but would check with the owner to see if anything could be done regarding an exchange in this extreme situation. *The owners agreed to Customer's request to transfer the bridesmaids' deposit to a bridal gown; the following are some important facts I would like to share which comments on some of Customer's complaints.Our store was closed a few days around the Holidays. This is the reason for the slight delay in a response to Customer's request.On January 6th, 2015, Customer emailed asking if she could have the deposit for her bridesmaids refunded to her and put towards the gown she "will be buying" in our store. She stated that she "apologized for all the changes" and promises she is "not trying to be difficult". During this time, Consultant got sick with pneumonia, and was out of the office for two weeks.While Consultant was out of the office with pneumonia, our general manager corresponded with Customer. On January 13th, our General Manager spoke with Customer's mother, which we have never been in contact with before, who called DEMANDING a refund. She was extremely rude on the phone while we were trying to explain the situation. It sounded like she did not speak to Customer, but instead took it upon herself to call us with the intent to "take care of this" for her daughter.Customer had already been informed that we had agreed to her request for an exchange. There was apparently miscommunication between Customer and her mother.Additional phone conversations with Customer's mother became very heated (not on our part). Her mother yelled over us demanding their money back and then abruptly ended the call.-We were surprised by the mother's interference after we had agreed to give Customer what she asked for, but just assumed there was a miscommunication between daughter and mother. NOTE: Bridesmaids' gowns take 14-18 weeks to arrive after the order has been placed. Customer insisted that she had plenty of time and wanted to wait on the bridesmaids' measurements. This causes problems from a business perspective because the order is placed but on hold, but we agreed to wait on the measurements to appease our customer.-We heard nothing from Customer for some time, but this is normal after an order has been placed due to the unique time-frame involved in a bridal/bridesmaid order and its various steps. Then, on February 4th, Customer issued a Chargeback with her credit card company, which took me by surprise. I submitted all of Customer's forms to my Merchant Account Specialist which proved that she agreed to the purchase and that there was nothing fraudulent about this order. *I won the case.*I have since reached out to Customer to try to work this out in an amicable manner. There has, unfortunately, been no resolution.*My opinion...I have tried to go above and beyond to help Customer, but I feel like she was lying to me to simply get her deposit refunded. She insisted that she wanted to apply the deposit to a bridal gown (which she had already chosen during her initial bridesmaids' appointment), but when I agreed to her request, she changed her story, had her mother get involved and then issued a chargeback.Customer was fully aware of our policy. Consultant, worked with her and her bridesmaids for weeks before Customer decided she no longer wanted the dresses. Even though I am a compassionate person who truly cares for ALL of my customers, I am still a business that cannot sustain when customers receive money back for orders already placed. Please consider all of the above information, and please do not post her complaint.[redacted]I have signed documents, credit card receipts and email trails to prove my statements. Please let me know if I can provide these to you.THANK YOU!Also, I would appreciate it if you would NOT allow the designer's name ([redacted]) to be posted even if this complaint does. Thank you!