Karen millen dress cannot be dry cleaned..

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

I bought two dresses from Karen Millen a couple of years ago. I had a wedding coming up and loved them both so decided to get both of them. I wore one dress to the wedding and not the other. I then got pregnant has dc3 and finally fit into the other dress for the first time this summer.

I wore it twice on holiday and brought it to the cleaners when we got back. All the colour in the pattern of the dress ran and I got a report from the cleaners saying that the dress was faulty as it wasn't possible to clean it without the dye running.

I brought the dress back to KM a couple of weeks ago. They had their cleaner try to fix it (they couldn't) and will only offer me £50 store credit as this is the last known selling price of the dress and I have no receipt. I am a very regular customer and this is really upsetting me.

Surely if the dress cannot be cleaned then it shouldn't matter when I bought it it isn't fit for purpose?? AIBU? I really was expecting more from them

[ReginaldBlinker]

This article might be of some interest if you pursue anything with their corporate office. If Prada can be found guilty of it, I would think Karen Millen would take note...

now.msn.com/catherine-whitty-sues-prada-after-champagne-stains-her-skirt

[PunkHedgehog]

Our local dry cleaner has a big sign that's been up for years saying they won't touch KM clothes. It's obviously a known and ongoing problem.

[Bunbaker]

"I don't want to get £185 cash back. I just think that it's a bit shit that they can produce a dress that cannot be cleaned and I'm down that amount of money."

But if you can't prove that you paid £185 for the dress it isn't unreasonable for them to only want to refund the last selling price of it. SIL buys stuff for DD from Next for Christmas and birthday. The Next sale starts straight afterwards. If I need to exchange something I need a receipt to prove that SIL paid the pre-sale price for it. I could have bought the item in the sale for all they know unless I prove that I haven't.

It isn't unreasonable for the shop to expect you to prove it. There are a lot of con merchants around who try this all the time. Surely you must have it on a bank statement?

[ReginaldBlinker]

Sorry, just realised that was a summary of the story. Full article here:

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2412137/Woman-sues-Prada-unable-remove-stain-971-silk-skirt.html

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

I'll root out the bank statements. It's bad business is what it is. But fair enough they are doing what they have to etc but good customer service doesn't involve doing the least you legally have to for your customers. I had an expensive km leather jacket on when I brought it in. They won't get another penny out of me now

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

Thanks for that reginald

[HormonalHousewife]

I've washed my Karen millen dresses on the delicate cycle in the washing machine.

Never had a problem.

Sorry, I know that's not helpfully here.

[TarkaTheOtter]

OP what is your desired outcome? A full refund? A credit note for £185? A replacement dress? It's always worth knowing what exactly will rectify the situation when you complain. In their eyes you could replace the dress with another dress in the sale (or next sale). As far as they can know this might be the price at which you bought it. I'd try getting bank statements as, if nothing else, it adds weight to your claim that you DO spend a lot of money there. Then complain to head office stating exactly what you want from them rather than just expressing your disappointment.

[cleoteacher]

I think it's good that they have done that when it's a few years old. It's annoying but one of those things. Did km accept liability for the dress not being able to be cleaned? Do you trust the dry cleaners when they say it cannot be cleaned? I would probably get a second opinion from another dry cleaners on that and depending on their answer try and get compensation from the dry cleaners for potentially ruining your drss. The label says it can be dry cleaned too.

[manicinsomniac]

If you spend £1000 a year there it might be worth pointing that out to them. You could also say that you have a lot of friends who also use the store (probably true, I find people tend to be friends with people who shop in similar places) and that you will telling everyone about your experiences. That would probably make them at least offer you a replacement dress (obviously not the same dress as it's several years old, but one from their current store).

[StuntGirl]

£1k in Karen Millen isn't that much.

It's several years old and with no receipt. I think they've been more than generous.

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

It's a grand a year I'll be spending elsewhere. I never claimed to be their best customer.

[AmandaHoldenmigroin]

Ridiculous really. I won't even mention the leather bag that I purchased from them - it broke after 4 wears - a bespoke screw fell out. the price of this gem: 300 pounds (although I got it in the sale so cheaper than that, it was was still expensive). Won't be buying from them again.

[Goodadvice1980]

Hi OP, as a regular KM shopper myself I'm curious which dress this is?

Do you have the KM Black Membership? If so, your membership card would have been swiped when you made the purchase.

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

It's a white/ cream summer dress with orange and red flowers all over it. Cap sleeve and short.. I am not a 'black' member, never heard of it but I always refuse store cards without listening to the spiel that goes with..

[Goodadvice1980]

Such a shame the dress is ruined.

The Black Membership isn't a store card, it's a loyalty card offered to certain customers (selected by KM depending on your spending with them). The sales assistants swipe the card every time you make a purchase. You receive a voucher for money off at certain times of the year depending on your KM spending.

Do you have a copy of a credit card statement detailing the purchase instead of the receipt?

[LouiseAderyn]

I don't think it matters if she did buybthe dress for a tenner off eBay. The fact remsins thst KM sold a dress which cannot be cleaned! Someone gave them money for something whichbis unfit for purpose.

Seeing as the OP is actually in possession of the dress, they ought to refund her what it cost originally and then stop selling crap to people!

[pudseypie]

Have KM admitted the colour ran due to their fault? As it's not uncommon for dry cleaners to ruin clothes and blame the retailer. I know that might not help you much but it might explain KM's reluctance to give you any more credit for the dress.

[kali110]

Yabu.
You have no receipt. You could have bought the dress in the sale for all they know.

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

They haven't admitted it but they aren't disputing it either. They are making me feel like shit. They are basically calling me a liar. And

[Norudeshitrequired]

the dress is two years old - you have no proof that you haven't washed it and worn it many times over those two years. I think KM have been more than generous as you cannot prove the price paid and cannot prove it wasn't fit for purpose as two years have passed and it isn't unreasonable to expect a dress to last 2 years,

[kali110]

Just realised its several years old too.
Yabvvu.

[TSSDNCOP]

They aren't calling you anything though, you're projecting that simply because of what they have offered.

What everyone else has said is true, you simply could've got that dress anywhere and it could have been the dry cleaner that ballsed up.

Try and find your statement, then go back and request the store talk to the HO and find out if the dress had a known fault.

If neither, then I think their offer is not unreasonable.

[Fisharefriendsnotfood]

The cleaners gave me an independent report that said it couldn't be cleaned.

[TSSDNCOP]

Well they would do. Cleaners do that all the time to avoid being done. Ever heard of photoshop. Why are you so keen to believe the cleaner and yet not KM.