Got my daughter's prom dress back today and it is only half altered (is not yet wearable as no straps and is wrong length). Is it unreasonable to pay half of what the lady is asking, as it's not finished?
Made mistake of not getting a quote although prom shop owner said would cost c.£75 max by this recommended lady. Made appointment ages ago, went for fitting, it was a bit weird in there but we agreed to leave dress and come back several weeks later as she had a lot of earlier proms than ours.
She then cancelled our next appointment (no reason) and rescheduled it for today. We turned up this morning but no sign of her and her shop was shut. Eventually established via text that she was ill and had forgotten about it. She just left it at that! We are standing in the rain outside a closed shop 1/2 hour drive away wondering what's going on. So I kept texting, sympathised that she was ill and politely asked if could just get the dress somehow, and she suggested her husband could drop it round tonight. Few texts back and forth, realised was unfinished but I said we'd get someone local to finish (tbh it all felt a bit off and we had no idea when she'd be able to finish it). She asked how I will pay for the work done so far and I said put your invoice in with the dress and I'll transfer.
She's put in an invoice for £90 with no mention that it's not finished, so it reads like an original invoice...e.g. 'make strapless' - yes it is now strapless but there's no way of holding it up as there's no back on it yet! I'm tempted to pay half, so £45? Plus her stitching is unravelling already and we have the hassle now of trying to find someone else to do it in time for the prom in 10 days time so imagine we'll get charged a lot for that. She's had the dress for over a month and only done half the agreed work. I do feel bad for her that she's unwell. What would you do?
Thank you for any thoughts!