My partner wanted an outfit to dress up for the Rocky Horror Show and ordered one online from a shop in Paraparaumu.
Before ordering it he had an email conversation several messages long with the woman who runs the business asking, among other things, about the size. The website claims 'one size fits all'. Clearly this is unlikely to be true so he asked for measurements. She replied saying that it "will fit size 10-14 best as it is quite a stretchy fabric!"
I'll skip over the full version of the long, protracted difficulties of actually getting the thing - the courier eventually tried to deliver it on the day of the first show, while we were both at work - despite it having been ordered in plenty of time and him stating in the emails when he wanted it for. Emails asking about the whereabouts were initially ignored and and eventually with rude responses.
It is not stretchy fabric, and does not fit my slim partner. It's not just that he couldn't do it up - he couldn't even get it on.
Clearly it is not as described and is of no use to us. I emailed and asked how to go about returning this unworn item for a refund and she refused, referring me to the frequently asked questions on her website.
These state 'due to the intimate nature of our items we cannot accept returns or exchanges. Please measure and chose your items carefully'.
The item is a dress and hat, Not lingerie, and so not of an 'intimate nature' (she sells lingerie as well). As for measuring and choosing carefully, other than going and trying it on (which was not practicable) I'm not sure how more careful you can be than actually asking the vendor the size and ordering based on the reply.
When I replied to her 'we don't do refunds' email she responded saying she would not respond to my abusive emails. I was not abusive.
Where do I go from here?
It's not a huge amount. $69. But it's annoyed me/us and I'd rather have our money back than put it on Trade Me.
I'll post this in both forums and the Facebook group. Apologies if you see it more than once.