bought an uncleaned dress thought seller claims it has been. What can I do?

[samnshauna2010]

I bought a dress which was described as immaculate.  It has arrived and appears to be uncleaned.  There is a faint smell of perspiration on the armpits and overall not fresh smelling.  Contacted seller two weeks ago to express disappointment and heard no reply.  Recontacted yesterday and asked if they had received my message.  They replied yes they had but didn't feel I had asked any question so therefore did not reply.  I again expessed my disappointment and they replied that the dress had been dry cleaned and posted immediately after.  There is no doubt in my mind that it has not been cleaned.  Where do i stand in this situation? This was an expensive dress that i paid £70 for.

[putney32]

you are asking here on the ebay Australia board, not the UK board.

I'm not sure you would win a Not as Described dispute

maybe your only option is to get it cleaned yourself and leave that seller appropriate feedback.

[shypansy]

Do you like the dress and do you wish to keep it? 

You have options,   open a dispute if you paid by paypal, escalate to a claim when you are able to, paypal will instruct you to return the dress, do so by trackable means (signature required) and to the address PP provides, this will be at your cost, once you provide proof of return post, you will receive a refund of your original payment.

Alternatively, have the dress cleaned yourself, as it may be cheaper than returning it.

[extra-keen]

Did it have cleaning tags on it from the dry cleaners? If it has been cleaned, you would expect that there would be a tag saying it had been cleaned. Here in Australia certainly that is the case.

If there are no tags, contact the seller again and tell them (nicely) that you don't believe the dress has been cleaned as it smells (as you described in your post) ask for a partial refund to have it cleaned again. You could take it to your drycleaners and ask their advice too and get a quote so you know exactly what amount to ask the seller for.

The other two courses of action are: Open an ïtem not as described" case.

Leave appropriate feedback as to how you felt about the transaction.

[digital*ghost]

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@samnshauna2010 wrote:

 There is no doubt in my mind that it has not been cleaned.  Where do i stand in this situation? This was an expensive dress that i paid £70 for.

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I don't know too much about PayPal or eBay policies overseas, but in Australia, smells on clothing do not qualify it as not as described, and also the word 'immaculate' is subjective. (Not only in terms of what one person considers immaculate, but it may simply refer to the physical condition), so I would be dubious about getting any restitution without the seller's co-operation - which it unfortunately looks like you don't have... 

Though, it is eBay policy that all pre-owned clothing is to be cleaned according to the manufacturers instructions prior to being listed (or at least, prior to being sent).

The UK has distance selling regulations (which I know very little about), so if your seller was registered as a business, you may be able to do something about it.  

[ajarnjenny]

In my experience any garment that has a man made content, will have faint smells. They go initially after being cleaned and come back when the chemical smell of the cleaning wears off. Perfume and perspiration. Faint, but they can be detected by a sharp nose and someone who is looking for them.

If you want to avoid this when buying used clothing, buy only natural fibres.