The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Dress shop owner suing angry bride for £15,000
Defamation action against bride amid claims negative comments impacted business financially
The owner of a wedding dress shop is suing a bride for £15,000 damages over a series of one-star reviews she posted across social media sites.
Yvonne Watson raised the unusual defamation action against disgruntled bride Marie Aitken over claims her posts cost The Bridal Boutique trade.
Ms Watson is seeking damages along with an interdict banning the newlywed from posting further “defamatory statements” about the Broughty Ferry bridalwear shop.
Miss Aitken, now Marie Mason after marrying Steven Mason in Perth in June, took to social media with her complaints after falling out with the shop over the mermaid-style dress.
She ordered the £2,000 Pronovias Druida dress, along with a veil and tiara, from the shop in September last year but claims there were problems with the size and colour of the dress which arrived.
Mrs Mason took to online platforms, including Facebook, Google Reviews, Trust Pilot and the You & Your Wedding bridal forum, to express her anger about the way she claims the store treated her.
Within a 722-word rant Mrs Mason, from Perth, said: “This is supposed to be one of the most happiest times of my life and now it has turned into one of the most stressful !!!! ”
Ms Watson has lodged an action at Perth Sheriff Court demanding the newlywed remove all the negative posts and imposing an interdict banning her from repeating them.
The shop owner said Mrs Mason had falsely claimed the dress she was given was either “fake or second hand”.
In addition, she is seeking £15,000 from Mrs Mason as compensation for the damage she claims was caused by the reviews.
Her action states: “The reputation has been injured.
“The business has been negatively affected by these comments. Clients have cancelled appointments due to the defamatory statements.”
A solicitor for the bride told the court her posts were a narration of her experience in the store and that other pursuer’s people had posted comments for which she was not responsible. She has called upon The Bridal Boutique to prove any losses were directly attributable to the comments she posted, rather than to further posts by unknown third parties.
The saga began when the then Miss Aitken paid £2,000 for a Platinum Bridal Package in autumn 2017 and decided it was the wrong colour when it turned up in February 2018.
Ms Watson said a replacement arrived in March and Miss Aitken spent 45 minutes walking around the shop in it before agreeing she was happy with it and taking it home.
But Miss Aitken claims she ordered a UK size 6 and the dress she was given was too big because it was a UK size 8.