Legal Advice on Deposit Reclaim

Questioner

Ir/Madam, I transferred money to a bridal shop because I intended to buy a dress there, but I haven't bought or ordered a dress there yet. Due to circumstances I want my money back, but the bridal house does not want to refund me my money. Are they within their rights? If not, what steps can I take? Yours sincerely,

Questioner

The answer to your question depends on the terms and conditions under which the payment was made. Could you elaborate on this?

Questioner

This is what they sent: "You have ordered a wedding dress from us with a special service, namely that you can exchange the dress for any desired model within a certain time. However, you would have understood that if you had not yet given a definitive answer as to whether it would be the dress you reserved here or possibly another model of your choice, you would then have no obligations regarding the purchase contract. The fact that you could still exchange the dress is an additional service and not a reason to cancel the agreement. You also signed for the purchase with an exchange guarantee and made a down payment. Please let us know if you would like to exchange your ordered dress for another model or if we should proceed with your first choice/reservation." This is what we sent in response: "As is also evident from the 'copy receipt', there was no purchase of a specific wedding dress, nor was there any reservation of it. The reason for this was mentioned at the time and I repeated it in my email of September 23, 2020. The fact that I didn't buy a wedding dress is confirmed by the fact that I didn't pay 50% (half) of a purchased wedding dress—which dress that was—but that, at J*'s request, I paid a deposit of €650 for a wedding dress I intended to buy through or from you. Due to circumstances, that will now not happen. Contrary to what you stated in your email of September 26, 2020, it's not true that "I ordered a dress from you." I also didn't reserve a dress, whatever that may mean. Therefore, there are no "obligations under the purchase contract." The "exchange guarantee" only referred to the fact that if I found a suitable wedding dress elsewhere, I would let you know so you could order it for me. This meant I would buy it from you and the €650 deposit could be deducted. There was no question of exchanging with a "purchased dress", nor of a "reservation". Hopefully this can help you? Anyway, thanks for your time!