PEOPLE who were hoping to sell their clothes through a dress agency in Romsey have spoken of their anger as the owner closed the town centre store and moved to an industrial estate, taking their items with him.
Desperate customers say they have been calling, texting and emailing Simon Wills, director of Change Of A Dress, for months on end with little joy.
They say that when they have got through they are met with a volley of excuses or simply cut off.
However, Mr Wills says that he first notified customers he would be leaving his Bell Street premises and moving the company online in April, citing decreased footfall and rising overheads.
READ MORE: Change of A Dress opens its doors in Romsey
In an email sent out to his customers in May he said the change of approach would market the stock to a "myriad" of new potential buyers and that he would be adding a website "shortly".
Three months on, such a website has yet to materialise.
When asked by the Romsey Advertiser this week, Mr Wills said the website is in the process of being set up, but his "IT guy" has gone on holiday. He refused to confirm a date for when he would start selling the stock online but was adamant it would be "soon".
In the meantime, scores of people say they have been battling to get their garments back. With many posting comments on social media.
Janis Duke, 64, of Bishopstoke, took a package of high-quality clothes worth hundreds to Mr Wills in April. When she arrived in Romsey she saw the store was shut and was told to take them to a sewing shop round the corner.
After several weeks without any update, Ms Duke got in touch with the company to retrieve her clothes. However, she says her efforts were frustrated by Mr Wills either 'fobbing her off' or putting the phone down.
She said: "When I do get to speak to him he gives me so many ridiculous excuses.
"I'd phone him and he'd say he was doing the laundry or off to a birthday party. The next time he'd be on the way to hospital, and so it goes on. I mean, where do you go with that? I just want what I'm owed, whether that be money or my clothes back."
Ms Duke received an email this month from someone working on Mr Wills' behalf asking for details on what she originally took in, but she said communications have once again fallen silent.
A director of several other companies, Mr Wills said customers are welcome to request the return of their clothes and was adamant many packages have been picked and delivered as per his policy.
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He added "false" online comments and "vitriol" since the shop closed its doors have "killed the business" and said he is left as the sole permanent employee, increasing the time it takes for him to pick and send packages and initiate payments as a consequence.
But Karen Barnes, 61, said she is one of a number of people who are fed up with the experience after similar issues. She took seven items to the shop in May 2021, including her daughter’s prom dress. Having heard nothing for months, she returned to discover four had been sold some time prior, with no attempt made to pay her a cut of the money.
She says she made at least five visits to the shop to try collect her share, finally receiving her funds at the end of March. At that point, she requested the return of her remaining clothes and is still waiting.
She said: “I feel like I’ve been conned, and I know many others do, too. It kind of tainted my feeling about Romsey.”
Change Of A Dress opened in Romsey in December 2020. It offered customers the chance to sell and buy clothing, or to rent items, with the shop taking a cut for the handling.
It is listed on Companies House as being run from Horsefair Mews, in The Horsefair, Romsey.
Mr Wills said the business was still operating from a stockroom on the industrial estate, with a small number of customers being allowed to both buy and sell, but that he was largely supporting the business with his own savings.
He said he had experienced phone and email problems with his provider, and that he did not have an answerphone set up on his mobile.
He said: "The business has died. I'm personally funding it because of the testimonies of others. We do get a small amount of trusted clients who bring in stuff to put on the internet and those who come in to buy. But it's not the volume we once had coming through the shop, which wasn't great in any case."
The Advertiser understands several residents have reported him to both Trading Standards and the police. Trading Standards has been approached for comment.
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