Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions (Last Updated January 2020)

Appointments

All fittings and consultations are by appointment. It is essential to either keep to the appointed time or inform us of delays or cancellations. We reserve the right to charge for missed appointments if no notice or less than 24 hours’ notice is given for cancellation.

Missed appointments are £60 per hour plus VAT, with minimum charge of £30 plus VAT, charged at our discretion.

All appointments are held in our primary office in Bishop's Stortford unless an alternative location is arranged with you in good time.

Estimates & Pricing

Our standard price lists serve as a guideline for all of our services, and these prices are quoted for what we consider to be a standard level of work. More complex services, such as bridal alterations and dressmaking, are estimated.

We will always endeavour to clearly inform customers prior to carrying out any work of costs and estimates. Customers may make further requests while work is on-going, which will be fulfilled at our discretion, and may incur additional cost or increased timelines.

Start of Work

When garments are handed over to us we may, at our discretion, review and photograph these items to form an accurate description of their initial state, quality, and cleanliness. We will only take responsibility for the services that we perform and will clearly describe what that will cover before work begins.

We reserve the right to reject any work to protect ourselves where we feel the customer’s expectations are set beyond anything realistically deliverable.

Cancellation of Work

You may normally cancel your order (once accepted by us) for any reason up to the point of the alteration or repair being carried out. If you do cancel the order within this time any payments made by you will be refunded in full within 31 days.

Materials purchased must be covered and will typically not be refundable. Your timeline will cover when materials are finalised and purchased.

Alteration Specification and Defects

For each garment a detailed description will be prepared by the fitter, recording the customer’s measurements and garment alteration instructions (“The Instructions”) agreed with you.

Where possible we will finish the garment to the style it was originally manufactured. In some cases we may have to change the finish of the garment (or pre-existing alterations) to allow the new alterations to be carried out sufficiently.

A copy of The Instructions will be given to the customer at the fitting. Upon completion of the work specified it will be quality controlled. If a garment is unacceptable to the customer as a result of the alterations not being carried out in accordance with The Instructions, we will rectify the work at our expense. If further alteration(s) are required, this additional work will be charged accordingly.

Completion of Alterations

We generally ask to allow 8 to 12 weeks for bridal alterations due to the complexity of the dresses unless otherwise stated. We typically expect non-bridal garments to be finished faster. Express charges may apply to expedited services. Please ask about express alterations prior to appointment, and any additional cost that may be involved.

Dressmaking Specification and Defects

For each garment a detailed description and design specification will be prepared by the fitter, recording the customer’s measurements and dressmaking instructions (“The Instructions”) agreed with you.

A copy of The Instructions will be given to the customer at the fitting. Upon completion of the work specified it will be quality controlled. If the new garment is unacceptable to the customer as a result of the alterations not being carried out in accordance with The Instructions, we will rectify the work at our expense. If further alteration(s) are required, this additional work will be charged accordingly.

Design Ownership

Olivia Van Der Horst LTD retains ownership of all designs and has the right to reproduce unless agreed otherwise. Designs may not be reproduced by anyone but Olivia Van Der Horst LTD without permission.

Completion of Dressmaking

We generally ask to allow 3 to 8 months for bespoke dressmaking due to the complexity of the dresses unless otherwise stated. We typically expect non-bridal garments to be finished faster. Express charges may apply to expedited services. Please ask about express dressmaking prior to appointment, and any additional cost that may be involved.

Payments

All prices and estimates quoted are subject to VAT. Full payment is required at or prior to collection or dispatch. In most cases either full payment, or a 50% deposit plus material costs, will be required prior to commencement of any of our services.

Collecting Garments

All finished garments should be collected from our office by the customer. We do not offer any form of delivery, unless we have made special arrangements, which we will only agree to at our discretion. Garments will not be allowed to leave until final payment has been resolved.

On collection the customer is obliged to try on the garment and immediately inspect it thoroughly for any defects. We cannot accept responsibility for any further or remedial alterations connected to the original work more than 14 days after collection and final settlement. A final document restating this will be signed by the customer upon collection.

Please ensure that any final concerns you have about your garment are discussed with our team before leaving our office.

Insurance and Liability for Clothes

The company will take the utmost care of your clothes but all garments left with us are entirely at the owner’s risk. Olivia Van Der Horst is covered by public liability insurance for up to £1,000,000.

The company cannot accept liability for clothes damaged whilst in the care of any third party – for example dry cleaners, invisible menders – who are engaged on your behalf. Their own terms and conditions will automatically apply.

Uncollected Garments & Disposal

Please note that any uncollected garments may be sold or disposed of, to cover our costs, within six weeks of notice of collection, and/or a storage charge may be levied for late collections. We can store bridal gowns and other alterations for longer than six weeks, but storage must be agreed in advance and may be charged for at a rate we will quote.

Privacy Policy

We will retain your details in order to contact you while our service work is ongoing. Some information will be retained until all outstanding invoices have clearly been resolved.

Please inform us if you do not want to hold any of your information after this time. Otherwise, we may retain core contact details so that we are able to follow up on any of our services and ensure we satisfied your expectations.

Your information is stored securely and we will endeavour to follow GDPR to the best of our ability.