Seeking advice for my upcoming hearing -
I am from West Yorkshire, in December 2018 I tried on a sample wedding dress at House of Zargham store in East Shopping Centre, London (I have pictures of the beautiful sample dress I tried on). I ordered colour swatches (£50), I chose my colour and transferred £800 deposit (50% of total price) for the dress via mobile banking (regrets!). No changes were communicated to me apart from the colour.
The dress arrived April 27 (two months late) and was a poor replica of the original sample I tried on in the store. The dress was cheaply made, significantly less fabric, no trail and the material was poor quality and frayed (sadly I do not have pictures of the final dress they produced).
On the day of collection, the owner recommended their tailor, who destroyed the dress even more by adding scraps of material. I refused to pay an additional £800 and asked for a refund. The trader refused to provide a refund and kept the dress.
The next day I discovered hundreds of google reviews online where customers have had similar experiences, some customers never received their dress at all and others ended up in violence/verbal abusive arguments. April 30 I wrote a letter of complaint to House of Zargham asking for a refund and they did not respond (I also recommended they show the dress as evidence if the matter was to go to court).
In May I had to order an emergency wedding dress costing me £2300 (I have receipts). I requested mediation however SCMreferrals claim they could not contact both sides even though I confirmed my appointment. Now the matter has been transferred to small claims courts in London. My hearing is on 26th November I must supply documentation 14 days prior.
Any advice on what to supply the hearing and claiming costs will be much appreciated. Let me know if you would like to see pictures.