Returns and refunds for dress hire

This page brings together the return, refund and cancellation information from our Terms of Hire. Section references below refer to those Terms of Hire. This information covers hiring, not outright purchases.

1. Returning your dresses

Your Returns form, supplied with your parcel, shows your return date and return address. Please follow it. If the date on the form is different from these terms, the date on the form applies.

To return your dress, use the original packaging or choose your own, attach the address label we provide, and post it at your Post Office by the return date. We recommend Royal Mail 1st class. Always keep your proof of postage (your receipt or tracking information) until we confirm we have received your parcel.

If we choose to send dresses early, please refer to the correct return date on your enclosed Returns form rather than calculating it from the early delivery date.

The dress remains your responsibility until we receive it back. If it is lost or damaged in transit on the way back to us, you must contact us immediately and send us your proof of postage.

Please do not dry clean, wash or iron the dress yourself, unless we tell you to. We will clean it after your return. If you do try to clean it yourself, we may charge you the reasonable cost of putting right any resulting damage.

2. Return postage

If you wear a dress and send us proof of return postage, we will refund your return postage cost. If you do not wear any dress, you pay for your return postage and we will not refund it. If you choose a service more expensive than Royal Mail 1st class, such as a tracked or express service or another courier, we refund up to the price of Royal Mail 1st class only. INFINITE members always pay for their own return postage (section 11).

3. Sizing, fit and unworn dresses

You can order up to 3 dresses at one time to try on. When we can, we may send 4 or 5, depending on the dresses, so get in touch to chat to us. You may wear more than one dress and pay the hire price for each dress worn. After your event, return all of the dresses together in the same parcel. Once we have received your parcel, we refund the hire price of each dress you did not wear. A dress counts as not worn if all its tags and labels are intact and it shows no sign of wear. If a dress does not fit, we refund it in the same way.

If you try on several dresses and decide to wear one or more, return all of the dresses together after your event date, unless otherwise instructed by us. If you decide not to wear any of them, send them all back within 24 hours of delivery, at your own cost (section 5). If that posting deadline falls on a Sunday or bank holiday, you may post them on the next working day.

For an ordinary unworn return, any delivery fees, the £7 damage waiver and the £30 advance try-on fee are retained where added to your order. The full-refund situations for unavailable dresses and late delivery are explained below and in sections 2 and 12.

4. Advance try-on

If your event is more than 4 weeks away when you order, you can choose our advance try-on service at checkout for £30 per order, which is not refundable. We send you the dresses straight away so you can choose, then deliver your chosen dress again nearer your event. Standard delivery each time is free. Your enclosed Returns form confirms the advance try-on post-back date and instructions. Return postage is covered by section 5. If your event is less than 4 weeks away, please get in touch as we can usually allow flexibility and provide this service.

5. Refund processing

We process refunds after your parcel arrives and email you to confirm. Refunds can take up to 14 working days, depending on your bank and the time of year.

6. Changing or cancelling your order

Changing your order. Until we dispatch your order, you can email or call us to swap dresses, change sizes, add items or move your event date. If your plans change, please get in touch as soon as you can. All changes depend on availability. If a change increases the price, we charge the difference. If it reduces the price, we refund the difference once your dresses have been returned. Once your order has been dispatched, we may not be able to make changes.

Your statutory right to cancel. If you place your order online, you may have a legal right to cancel within 14 days of the contract being made without giving a reason. To cancel, email us at customersupport@girlmeetsdress.com with your order number. If the cancellation terms below are less favourable to you than your statutory right, your statutory right applies.

Cancelling before your dresses are delivered. Please tell us as soon as you can. If you have not yet received and tried on your dresses, we will refund you in full if you cancel more than 4 weeks before your event date, less a £20 cancellation fee.

Cancelling within 4 weeks of your event. We will issue GMD credit for the value of the single highest-value dress in your order, and refund the other dresses to the card you used. For example, if you ordered three dresses, you receive credit for the highest-priced one and a refund for the other two. GMD credit is valid for 6 months from the date it is issued.

After you have tried on. Once you have tried on your dresses and confirmed that you wish to wear one, including after an advance try-on, later cancellations are not eligible for a refund or GMD credit.

Accessories. Accessories such as hats and bags are not refundable.

If we cancel. If we have to cancel your order, for example because the dress is damaged or unavailable, we will tell you as soon as possible and refund you in full, or offer a similar dress if you prefer.

7. Unavailable dresses

If your chosen dresses are unavailable, you can choose alternative dresses or sizes, or cancel the order for a full refund, including any damage waiver, advance try-on and delivery fees paid.

8. Dress not as described or delivered too late

Not as described. We take care to describe and photograph our dresses accurately, but colours and details can vary slightly on screen. If a dress arrives damaged, faulty or not as described, please contact us immediately. We will, as appropriate, repair, replace, supply a similar dress or refund you, in line with your legal rights.

Late delivery. We use third-party couriers, and because we know your event date, we always aim to deliver your order before it. Sometimes a courier delivers late, which is outside our control, so we cannot guarantee delivery by a particular date or time. If your dress does not arrive in time for your event, please contact us straight away. You will not pay for a dress you could not wear because it arrived too late. Once the unworn dresses are received back by us, we refund all fees paid for the late order, including hire, damage waiver and delivery fees, plus your return postage.

9. Late returns and extra charges

If you think you will not be able to return your dress by the return date, please email us at customersupport@girlmeetsdress.com as soon as you can, ideally before the return date, and tell us why. Late fees can still apply.

If you do not return the dress by the return date, we may charge a late fee of 50% of the 2-night hire price for each night the dress is late, until you post it back (shown by your proof of postage). We do not count Sundays as late nights. INFINITE members pay the same late fees, calculated on the dress's standard 2-night hire price. This reflects the cost to us of lost bookings and extra handling. We may waive late fees where the delay was not your fault and you can show us why.

If charges become due under these terms, such as late fees (section 6) or damage charges (section 8), we deduct them from a refund or send you an invoice. By placing your order you authorise us to do so. We will tell you before we take any such charge.

Please refer to sections 6 and 8 of our Terms of Hire for extensions and damage, stains and loss.

10. INFINITE membership

INFINITE members always pay for their own return postage, including when they wear a dress. Membership payment, cancellation and refund information is set out in section 11 of our Terms of Hire.

11. Contact us and your legal rights

If you are unhappy, please email customersupport@girlmeetsdress.com, call 0207 498 9131 or use the live chat on our website, and we will try to resolve it quickly.

Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer. This includes your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for hired goods to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, and for services to be performed with reasonable care and skill.