Deception of manufacture origin (Misleading about what company and which country).

[caterpillar21]

I commissioned a bespoke wedding dress from a London-based designer I’ll call MQL. I was told that the dress would be made by high-end tailors in London. Long story cut short, the tailors botched the wedding dress (excuse the pun but the dress was literally cut too short!). 

 

I have since found out that the dress was not made by MQL in London but outsourced to another company called CMT based in Dubai (employing low-paid migrants). The designer is the director of both MQL and CMT. 

 

I would appreciate any comments on: 

 

1.     Any legal points / implications in the above situation.

2.     E.g. The law of disclosing the origin of production. Is there an obligation for a company to be transparent if they outsource a job to another supplier in another country?

3.     What might be all of the possible motivations for MQL to not be transparent about the outsourcing?

 

Thanks so much for your help. 

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

Can you tell us what has happened since you discovered that the dress was too short please? Do you have paperwork and did tell MQL about the problem? If so, we'd be interested to know what they said.

 

Also, do they have a website?

 

Best, HB

[caterpillar21]

Thanks for your help. Since discovering the dress is too short (and too tight), I've been trying to negotiate a price reduction or a promise that MQL will find a solution. This has been unsuccessful and I've initiated the small claims court. 

 

MQL then put pictures of me alongside separate images of my bridal gown on her social media saying that the dress 'fitted like a glove'. I believed that this was a data breach as it was before my wedding day and key people in my life were not allowed to see the dress before the wedding.

 

I made a subject access request (SAR) under data protection legislation. Very little info came back, but it gave me a lead and when I did a little more research on Google, I discovered the existence of CMT and the directors' involvement with both companies. Things clicked into place in my mind e.g. the tailor weirdly never being present at my fittings (only the designer). I now know why - the tailor was in Dubai.

 

Since small claims is involved, I'd prefer not to put the website here for now - but might at some point. I'll send you a PM if that's okay.

 

Best wishes

 

Sherylin

 

 

[honeybee13]

PM is fine.

 

So you've submitted an MCOL claim?

 

HB

[caterpillar21]

Hello. I've tried to PM but get the message: Sorry, but you can't access this page

 

Yes - I've submitted the MCOL claim and the case is set to be heard in June. I did not know about the deception when I submitted the claim. I'm now quite certain that the dress was not made in the UK by MQL who I had the (rather haphazard) contract with. 

 

I don't understand why there was the deception. I probably would not have gone with MQL if I knew that my dress would be shipped between the UK and Dubai to be amended between fittings. But from her point of view, why would she have kept concealling who was making my dress and where? She kept making excuses when I needed to have contact with key members of her staff e.g. pattern maker and seamstress. 

 

[honeybee13]

Hi.

 

I got your message. Is it OK if I share the names of the companies in confidence with the site team please?

 

HB

[caterpillar21]

Hello HB. Yes - absolutely fine to discuss with your site team and show them the websites. 

 

 

[honeybee13]

Thank you.

 

I've been advised that we need to know more about your claim if you want us to advise on it.

 

Could you start by showing us what your Particulars of Claim [POCs] say please? Leave out things that could identify you like name and address.

 

HB

[caterpillar21]

Hello. I can send you the claim form submitted via MCOL. I can redact my personal information on it. Would you like me to send this to you as a PM?

 

The claim form does not say anything about MQL outsourcing the project to CMT in Dubai. I did not know this at the time of the claim. 

The claim is about her incompetence in cutting the dress too short and not completing the job to satisfaction. Her counter argument is that I have put on so much weight that my fat is lifting the dress off the floor. 

[dx100uk]

just type out your particulars here .

 

dx

 

[caterpillar21]

MQL quoted £1,650.00 (plus £735 fabric) to deliver a full bespoke bridal gown making service. Before I had even tried on the silk dress, MQL cut the hem too short with absolutely no seam at the bottom of the dress for it to be lengthened. The short dress is unsuitable for my wedding as well as for plans that I had for the dress following my wedding e.g. lengthening the dress to wear with higher heels at another event, selling the dress to someone who may want to extend the hem.

 

MQL also promised me a bias-cut dress. But six weeks before I needed my dress, MQL told me that they could not source fabric width to deliver on the brief contracted with them. The whole skirt had to be redesigned. Given the incredibly short notice, I was forced to continue working with them, compromise and accept a style I would have preferred not to have. The dress is not as described / agreed when I ordered it and it and also does not fit me.

 

My wedding was soon after postponed due to Covid-19. Following lockdown, MQL is refusing to complete work on my dress, and also refusing to allow me to try on the dress again. MQL will not permit other dressmakers to inspect, or have detailed photographs of me in the dress in order for other suppliers to provide quotes / opinions on whether the dress can be lengthened / fitted without damaging the fabric. MQL is also refusing mediation. But MQL is demanding a £500 final instalment before they release the dress.

 

I have concluded that MQL is abandoning the project and not co- operating with other dressmakers because there are unresolvable issues with the quality of the dress in terms of fit, length and potential damage that will come with any attempt to amend it. Yet MQL holds the power in the situation as they hold the dress I have already invested heavily in (I have already paid £1045 down payments and £735 for fabric). I believe that I have no other recourse but to the take court action.

[caterpillar21]

 

 

I've redacted the fuller claim form. Please let me know if you need anything else. 

Claim-form-redacted.pdf

[honeybee13]

You've left your full name at the end of the claim form, it would be good to edit that.

 

So you submitted the claim last September. What's happened since then please?

 

HB

[stu007]

PDF Post#12 Redacted

[caterpillar21]

I've just seen your message. Thank you for redacting my name at the bottom. 

 

In answer to HB's question about what's happened since September:

 

1. MQL responded to claim saying that she was unavailable for a hearing every single day until mid-may 2021 (so court scheduled for June 2021)

2. Court mediation (in November) was not successful.

3. MQL puts images of me, my dress and details of my wedding on social media saying that the dress 'fits like a glove'. I make a Subject Access Request (SAR).

4. From the SAR, I discover that my dress not being made by MQL in the UK, but by another company, CMT in Dubai. 

 

 

[caterpillar21]

Hello Team. I just thought I'd reach out to see if you can still help me with this query on deception of manufacture origin (Misleading about what company and which country). Any thoughts would be very helpful. 

 

Best wishes

 

CB

[BankFodder]

On 26/04/2021 at 18:31, Covid Bride said:

Hello Team. I just thought I'd reach out to see if you can still help me with this query on deception of manufacture origin (Misleading about what company and which country). Any thoughts would be very helpful. 

 

 

 

I think it's only marginally relevant – and also your other question about transparency is not relevant.

What is relevant is whether or not there is a breach of contract. Also the use of your personal data is relevant and you don't appear to have included that in your claim

Have we seen a copy of the original agreement which you entered into?

This claim was issued quite some time ago, have they filed a defence?

How did you pay them?
 

[caterpillar21]

Hello

 

With regards to the deception of place of manufacture, what about Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 for misleading omissions: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-protection-from-unfair-trading-regulations-2008-asO0C3p6VZQR#misleading-omissions. This says: 

• omits material information that the average consumer needs, according to the context, to make an informed decision about a transaction

If I had known that my expensive silk wedding dress would be shipped between the UK and Dubai to be sewn and amended, I would never have chosen MQL as my dress maker. Further, I have found out that the workers are paid less than £400 for a 10-hour day, 6-day week contract (job adverts online). I think that these conditions affected the quality of work on my dress. 

 

With regard to your other questions, please see my post: Sunday at 10:31

 

[BankFodder]

Yes, but the problem is that you haven't refer to any of that in the claim which you've already issued. Therefore there is no particular relevance at this point.

Your particulars of claim is very lengthy – much lengthier then it needed to be but as far as I can gather, you are suing on the breach of contract is the basis of your argument – and you should stick to that. You should keep it simple.

As far as I can gather, you got a perfectly good case on the basis of breach of contract.

However, you haven't told us anything about the defence, method of payment – or the other questions we've been asking about.

[caterpillar21]

I thought I had answered your question: "This claim was issued quite some time ago, have they filed a defence?" in my post where I said: "1. MQL responded to claim saying that she was unavailable for a hearing every single day until mid-may 2021 (so court scheduled for June 2021)". Please let me know if there is any other detail that you need on the defence as I don't think any other question was asked on this. 

 

I've explored getting chargebacks etc through method of payment - and no luck. But if you need to know: Debit card through Paypal. Paypal's rules are: bespoke goods not covered. Debit card only covers transactions up to 6 months previously. I've also looked at household insurance and I'm not covered.

 

 

 

 

 

In terms of the contract, It was between myself and MQL. The contract was not with CMT who made my dress. Could the breach of contract also include that essential information was omitted on the basis of which the contract was made? 

 

 

[BankFodder]

From what you say, it's clear that the contract was made between yourself and MQL. I really don't know why you are bringing this CMT people into it. You are simply complicating the issue.

I understand that you made a contract with a company to make your wedding dress. Presumably it was made to certain specifications and you have those specifications in your possession so you can show what was agreed.
Hopefully, you also have a copy of the contract.
In the end, the address is not made to those specifications. Because of that it didn't fit correctly.

If that's correct – then that is your breach of contract.

Additionally – which you don't appear to have pleaded in your particulars of claim – and I have no idea why, you discovered that MQL have used pictures of you and the dress and exposed them publicly on a website. Is this correct?
I understand that this is since you raised the dispute with them.


I'm not too sure what the cost of all this was – and how much you have paid and how much you apparently owe them.

Has the dress been completed?

Has the wedding taken place?

[BankFodder]

And on the issue of the defence – if they have filed a defence then where is it? Why haven't you put it up here for us to see – in PDF format – single file multipage.

You don't make it very easy for us

[caterpillar21]

Please can I ask that this post is deleted. I'm not finding this helpful at all.

 

I haven't provided the information eg: "Why haven't you put it up here for us to see" because I haven't been asked for it. I'm sorry you don't think I'm making this helpful for you - but I can't read your mind

 

I keep being asked for information I've provided e.g: "I'm not too sure what the cost of all this was – and how much you have paid and how much you apparently owe them." and "Has the dress been completed?" These details are in the claim I attached. 

 

Thank you for deleting this. I have found help  elsewhere and am getting good support there which is sufficient. 

[BankFodder]

Okay. I am glad that you are getting help elsewhere and best of luck.

I'm afraid we don't delete material from this forum. Everything we have is useful for somebody or other.

[caterpillar21]

I hope others derive more help from this than I have. And when I come to an answer myself, I might post it here so that others can get an answer that hasn't been provided here as yet.