Lay-by issues: law versus customer relations

Two months before Christmas, I put an expensive dress on lay-by. When I went to pick up the dress on Christmas Eve, having nearly paid it off, I found the rest of the stock of the same dress was on sale, with 40% off. When I asked the shop assistant if 40% would now be taken off my dress, she said no, because the sale did not apply to any items on lay-by.

I thought that wasn’t very nice, so I asked if I could at least be let off my final payment. Again she said she couldn’t do that. Since I needed the dress for Christmas Day, I had no option but to pay in full, but I think I was ripped off by about $120 and won’t be returning to the shop. Do you agree with me?

There are two issues here. One, the law. Two, customer relations. I am afraid the law is on the shop’s side. Once you signed up to buy the dress on lay-by you were obliged to pay the amount that the dress was selling for at the time. That’s one of the reasons I have never liked lay-by. My main reason is, for me, the buzz of walking out of a shop with something new disappears if I have been paying it off for months.

But there’s also the second issue – customer relations. Surely the shop would know how disappointing it would be for you to find the dress you’ve paid full price for, selling for 40% less. I think, even if they won’t offer you the sale price, they should offer you some concession. The perfect compromise would have been to let you off your final payment. Maybe the shop assistant was too inexperienced to do that. Call the shop and see if the manager will give you a refund.

If they won’t, they clearly don’t value your custom and I support your stand not to return there. Unless, of course, something else gorgeous turns up in the window. Fashion shoppers should always be flexible.