Nicola’s top designers and a £300 payout over ruined dress
WHEN you’re looking for the perfect outfit for your son’s wedding, the First Minister’s favourite designer ought to be a safe bet.
But after Totty Rocks ‘ruined’ her chosen dress while altering it, teacher Pamela Roberts took the company to court.
And yesterday the small business, which counts Nicola Sturgeon and Kate Moss among its fans, was ordered to pay Mrs Roberts £300.
At one point, a sheriff became so frustrated by the feuding parties that he ordered them to adjourn to a side room with a mediator to discuss the case.
The Edinburgh-based boutique – which is also a favourite of TV stars Lorraine Kelly and Gok Wan – eventually accepted liability.
Sheriff William Wood ordered the company to pay £300 but gave them nine weeks to do so after they claimed not to make much money.
Mrs Roberts, 62, alleged she had been left more than £600 out of pocket after Totty Rocks messed up crucial alterations to the dress she bought last September. She told a small claims action at Perth Sheriff Court that she was left with only three weeks to find a replacement outfit for the wedding.
She said: ‘The dress was given to me in a very bad state for my son’s wedding. I couldn’t wear it, it was a complete mess. I am hoping to be reimbursed for the cost of the dress and the accessories with it.’
She said she had to purchase another dress for £175 along with a new bag, shoes and a fascinator. Mrs Roberts, of Crieff, Perthshire, had initially asked Totty Rocks to make her a dress from scratch, but after discussions with the shop, she asked them to make a bespoke alteration to a pre-bought dress.
She bought a blue outfit and asked them to add a fabric top, beading and buttons in time for the wedding last October.
However, she claimed in court that she was unable to wear the altered dress as it had been left with holes in the back, arms that were too short, misaligned buttons and poor general finishing.
Yesterday she told the court: ‘The contract was to remake part of the dress. By agreement I went out and bought a dress for Totty Rocks to add to and alter. It was £399. Then I had to buy another dress at £175. I immediately raised the issues and got no response. I was only wanting recompense for my loss.’
The company’s Holly Mitchell said they had offered £300 compensation but that it had been turned down by Mrs Roberts.
Sheriff Wood halted proceedings and sent both sides of the dispute to a meeting room to try to reach an agreement through a mediator.
‘If you have to come back again it will be another day out of your lives and off work. Maybe you could come closer together so you don’t have to come back,’ he said.
After the meeting, Mrs Roberts said: ‘We are both having to take days off work and we are both in an emotional state. I don’t want to come to court again.
‘I am in such a state now that I would be happy to accept £300 and leave court today.’
The sheriff made an order against Totty Rocks and gave it two months to pay after being told it was ‘a small company which doesn’t earn an awful lot of money’.
Totty Rocks was set up by designers Miss Mitchell and Lynsey Blackburn in 2004.
Outside court, Miss Blackburn said: ‘We provide a service every day for women from 18 to 85 years old and never in ten years have we had any dispute. It was definitely not merited in this case.’
‘The dress was a complete mess’