Wedding dress ruined - future brides STAY CLEAR!

<p>On 22 August 2016, my husband took my wedding gown (Preston by Pronovias which cost me R24 300 and an additional R2 160 for alterations) and his suit to Legaci Dry Cleaners & Laundry at Moreleta Square, Cnr Garsfontein and Rubenstein Drive, Pretoria to be cleaned. He completed a Wedding gown acceptance form and on this form the condition of the dress was completed as good (no loose hems, no visible tears, beads intact, no visible stains), and it was indicated that the dress was medium soiled (stains, dirt on the hem - note only on the hem!) and white. The gown was sent to their headquarters for cleaning, where all the wedding gowns are cleaned. On 6 September I went to pick up the gown and suit after a notification that they were ready for collection. There was no problem with the suit. My gown was brought out, closed in its original Pronovias dress bag. I immediately noticed something was wrong, because I could see a dark undertone through the bag, whereas when I bought the dress you could not see through because the dress inside was white.</p> <p>When I opened the bag I could clearly see that the bottom ruffles of the dress were now stained, a nude brown colour, from below the bodice to the bottom of the skirt (if only the hem was dirty, why is it now stained from below the bodice to the hem?). The bodice and the ruffles were now two distinctly different colours, where the ruffles (skirt) were supposed to be just as white as the bodice. </p> <p>It was clear that they made a mistake and something was done that should have never been done. The material on the ruffles of the dress is clearly not the same colour now as the material on the bodice.</p> <p>I was very upset and the woman working in the shop put me on the phone with a lady from their head office. She told me that I should fill in a complaint form and that the dress should be sent back for further inspection. I told her that all I want is for the dress to be fixed and returned white!</p> <p>Afterward, there was a lot of email correspondence, but nothing positive came out of it. There was no further mention of getting the dress white again, so I assume it won't be possible. It was turned into a "he said-she said" scenario and no reasonable solution was found. </p> <p>They insist that there was no wrongdoing on their part. Their solution of sending the dress to the US for tests is not acceptable to me as I have no knowledge of the reliability or trustworthiness of this institution. Obviously, I know how the dress colour is supposed to look like and my wedding photos are evidence of this.</p> <p>Yes, the dress was dirty when we brought it in, but Legaci comes very highly recommended and the lady at the Moreleta Branch ensured us we would not be disappointed. It was not our fault for what happened to the dress, we gave it to them white and dirty and Legaci tried to give it back discoloured. If the amount of dust/dirt was too much for Legaci to sort out I feel they were obligated to immediately notify us that they were not able to clean the dress and should have given it back without attempting to clean it.</p> <p>They refuse to take responsibility in ruining my dress and I am completely frustrated!</p>