Call me old fashioned, but I think there’s something incongruous about “maternity wedding dresses.” Either you should be buying a wedding dress, or you should be buying maternity clothes. Not maternity and bridal all rolled into one! But like I said, I’m old fashioned…
Impressa:) or as a Portuguese, vpechatlilso!
I just wanted to share my bad experience with maternitybride.com. I spoke to the owner of the store (Leslie) and she requested that I purchase 2 wedding gowns since my wedding was happening on short notice (we were eloping). Her logic was that if one didn’t fit or I didn’t like it, I could return it. I asked if there were any issues with returns and she said not as long as I kept the tags on the dresses.
Well, it turns out neither dress fit. So I returned them and she phoned to tell me that since one was on sale, that I could not return it (for either a refund OR exchange)!!! I argued that I had only done this from her suggestion and she basically argued that I should have read the FAQ on their website! This is the worst customer service I have experienced. I only hope others will be forewarned if deciding to purchase online.
Just had awful experience with Expectant Bride (Chiswick). I paid for a dress for my daughter. Appointment for fitting was cancelled as she said her daughter had meningitis. Have been feeling desperately sorry for her, and she promised to post dress. Dress didn’t arrive. In desperation have ordered replacement from Tiffany Rose, who have been brilliant, but warned me that they have had a lot of trouble with customers of Tracey’s.
Just wondering if anyone else has had a bad experience with Expectant Bride in Chiswick? Catherine, did you manage to resolve the problem and/or get your money back? I’ve paid for my dress but now it has come to picking up time I can’t get hold of her and am getting really worried…
Thanks!
Jane, no I didn’t get my money back. We had lots of promises after the wedding, but nothing materialised. The most important thing is to have a dress that you like for your wedding, so I’m afraid you need to get on with organising that (don’t wait for Tracey!) The most difficult part of our experience was that she was so plausible. Because she told us she had posted the dress (and then a replacement when she decided the first one must have been lost in the post) we waited until far too close to the wedding to find another one. My daughter is only just over 5′ so any off the peg dress would need shortening and that takes time. It all caused a huge amount of extra stress that could have been avoided if we’d realised sooner that we weren’t going to get a dress from her.
Jane,
Did you receive the dress in the end?
If not, please contact the company of the dress that Tracey was claiming to sell you, as they need to know this is happening so that they can take action:
Sarah Houston – http://www.sarah-houston.com
Nicole Michelle – http://www.nicolematernity.com
Tiffany Rose – http://www.tiffanyrose.com
If you believe you have been a victim of fraud, report it to the UK National Fraud centre, Action Fraud:
http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/report_fraud
You should also contact Consumer Direct (08454 04 05 06) for advice on what to do next:
https://secure.consumerdirect.gov.uk/reportascam.aspx
Good luck!
I had a dreadful experience with this company in 2010, my daughter was pregnant and we went to Tracey’s home she was lovely and I was stupid enough to give her £150 deposit on the chosen dress. She cancelled every appointment, her mother had allegedly had a car crash so we were of course very sympathetic, however I started to get uneasy when we only had about 5 weeks until the wedding and still no wedding dress. Tracey blamed everyone including the tailor, I eventually became so fed up I told her I wanted my money back which did not happen, I tried to sue her through small claims but she did not respond. Again we eventually had to give up and found a lovely bridal shop who also knew of Tracey as she had helped out many expectant brides who Tracey had let down. I hope my story helps others not to use this company and not have their wedding day ruined!!