Rent The RunwayReviews 656

I am a very busy working woman who did not have time to search for an evening gown. I heard about RTR on NPR and thought I would give it a try. It sounded like a great concept that would be very economical. I was actually excited about the dress. It looked perfect for my style, body type and age. I received an order confirmation email confirming the dress that I ordered. Two days before the order was due to arrive I received a confirmation of shipping. The subject line on the email simply said my ordered had shipped. I didn't open it because their was no indication of a problem. This was a big mistake. When my ordered arrive, I found two dresses that were in no way similar to what I had ordered. One dress was floral... I have not worn flowers since I was 6. The other was designed for a much younger woman with the body of supermodel... definitely not me. I immediately called customer service and was told by the very capable customer service representative that the last person to use the dress ruined it so they sent something that they thought I might like. How about calling me about this or sending an email that there was a problem with my order? Nope RTR just sent two completely inappropriate dresses and sent them hoping that I liked them. The event that I need to attend is less than two days away and I have nothing to wear. I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with customer service looking for an alternative but of all the dresses that RTR allegedly has their is nothing in my size available for the night that I need it. I will be given a full refund and was offered a 50% credit on a future order. I declined the credit. Next time I need an evening gown, I will simply buy it. I do not have the time or energy for a company like RTR.

I had previously spoken to a rep regarding renting multiple dresses to determine what fit and didn't for an event. I was told by the rep that I could return them when scheduled and an exception could be made as I was only one person and ordered 5 dresses. When I called for the credit to be applied it was told that the rep documented I had to return in 24 hours and no credit would be issued for a 400 dollar order. Worst customer service ever. I would never use them again.

I was pressed for time and couldn't find a dress in stores so I thought I would try this website. I ordered my dress 2 1/2 weeks prior to my event and was told the night before my delivery date that the last person to use the dress ruined it and they said therefore they can't send me the dress. They instead pick a dress completely not my style, color, or fit that I like and emailed me late to tell me this. Phone service is terrible too. I was also charged more money for the dress they shipped me I didn't even like. You're better off buying a dress or even borrowing from someone. Please don't waste your time on this business. Their customer service is the worst I've ever experienced.

This is the first review of my life, RTR was so awful i felt it was right to share my experience with other customers.

BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER, save yourself the frustration and aggravation I have gone through in additional to hundreds of other customers! I wish i read a review before:(

I was charge an absurd amount for "late fee" for $870.00
This is how RTR treats their customers: I suddenly received a charge for $870.00 2 weeks after appropriately returning the dress to a UPS store in New York City. I was in completely shocked by the charge. I have tried to contact the "collections department" with NO response to email or phone. I tried speaking to a sales rep and they have "no control/worthless" I have spend hours, days and many tears to try and get my hard earned money back.

I have STILL not heard anything from RTR, I have never felt so victimized, I am a young professional that works hard, $870 isn't an amount i can afford. Save yourself!

I was just about to finalize my payment to rent a dress on RTR when I decided I would check the Terms of Agreement. This is the line that caught my attention...

In addition, at the time of your rental order for a Product, you hereby authorize RTR to charge your payment card for an amount equal to 200% of the original retail value of the Product (when new) set forth on the Site or App ("Retail Value") plus applicable sales taxes; provided that RTR will only charge your payment card for an amount greater than the Rental Fee as described below.

I thought wait to RENT a dress, I was going to have to pay $2000 for it?! If I could do that I would buy a dress. So I decided to do a little research when I found all the negative reviews on this site. It looks like they charge the 200% if the dress is late, which from the reviews I've seen, it seems like people got charged even when dresses were returned on time. I don't think its worth the risk, I'm glad I read that agreement. I suggest everyone else do the same!

Has anyone been able to solve their disputes with RTR? I sent back two dresses and purse on September 20, a day before they were to be postmarked. I hear nothing from them and did totally forgot about the return until I received an email from them on October 14 saying that my dresses had been returned. I thought they were just backed up on returns and it was acting as a reminder to write an email review, but two days later I notice on my credit card that they charged me $424 and $477! I emailed and the response I received was that these were received late! The UPS tracking number shows that the dress package was picked up on October 12, but I was already in Oklahoma and have been since September 20! I have written to their Collections dept, but have not heard back yet. Has anyone been able to have their charges reversed?

I originally placed my order 2 months prior to my event and updated it 3 weeks prior to my event. RTR emailed me the day my dress was supposed to arrive to tell me it would not be arriving as expected (it was arriving the following day, which was too late for me). The consideration offered for the inconvenience on my end, is that they offered a full refund if the dress would no longer be arriving on time. No kidding. You are going to give me my money back for the service you are not providing me? (That should be a given). If RTR really wanted to show they cared and that they were "sincerely" apologetic, they would have sent me a list of all the dresses they could get to me on time, in my size, and honored the original price I paid, regardless of the cost of the dress. Or they could have offered me a free rental in the future, to try to gain my trust and business back. What they really should do is send me a check for the cost of a last minute babysitter that I'm going to have to find so that I can go out and buy a dress. (That's if I can even find a babysitter at the last minute.)

RTR's whole business model is built on the fact that people actually TRUST that they are going to receive a dress on time. Without that trust, who in their right mind would wait until the day or two before an event to find out if they are actually going to receive a dress? If RTR only delivers on time, some of the time, there is no way they can sustain their business model and keep customers. The thing I loved and made me so excited about Rent the Runway, was the convenience. I have a 6 month old and a 3 year old and finding a babysitter isn't easy. RTR allowed me to shop from my own home--so, SO cool and convenient! Oh wait, now I have to find a babysitter last minute when I get home from work tonight at 5:30 pm so that I can go dress shopping for the wedding I have to fly to tomorrow morning. Oh and I have to pack tonight too. Looks like I won't be sleeping.

This might be ok for other functions if you have time to try on etc, but avoid for weddings at all costs if your bridesmaids are not perfect size 2s. Out of 5 bridesmaids, the only one without issues was a size 4, all other girls had horrid fit issues, zipper splitting issues, and honestly just the hassle you do not need to deal with before your big day (especially destination weddings where you can't try on beforehand).

Anyways, awful experience, caused a lot of grief for the wedding, essentially ruined the eve before the wedding as the bride, and all bridesmaids were frantic about what to wear on the next day (in a destination wedding location without much formal gown options).

In the end, 3 bridesmaids had to wear backup dresses, and 1 had to squeeze into a dress which was too tight. (all girls ordered their normal size, and according to the measurement guides provided by the company)

I read these horrible reviews after I had already sent my dresses back. The two outfits I rented showed up exactly on time, they were perfectly cleaned and smelling fresh, I received two sizes of each and both of the ones I thought were going to fit me, did! It was so nice to be able to wear gorgeous designer dresses without the high pricetag! The return process couldn't be easier either. Pop them back in the bag they send you, put the label on they give you and bring to your nearest UPS store. DONE AND DONE! I got a receipt from the UPS store so there was proof of the package and time sent back. Just yesterday I got an email from the company saying they received my dresses. Perfect. I will rent again and again :))

Renter Beware!
I wish I would have read all of these reviews earlier and saved myself the hassle of getting 2 dresses that didn't fit and an email a month later letting me know they never got the dresses back and that they had already charged my credit card $2356!
Ive called and emailed their "collections" department and of course have not heard back. I am disputing this charge with my credit card company. I spoke with UPS and they said the tracking # that RTR provided me that nothing had ever been scanned and the drop box I took it to gets daily pick ups so its impossible that it didn't get picked up. I am so furious!

I reserved a dress several weeks ahead of time for an event. At 10pm the night before I was to receive it, I got an email that the dress was unavailable and another had been substituted. The replacement arrived and was something you'd wear to a funeral -- a completely different style and color than what I'd ordered. I tried to get a repalcement shipped in time but of the 15 other styles I tried, none were available except one. I replied to the customer service person's email 5 minutes after she sent it, confirming I wanted this replacement. A few hours later, I got an email saying that the dress had already been reserved. So, I'm left scrambling at the last minute to find a new dress. Avoid the hassle of scrambling for a dress at the last minutes and don't use Rent the Runway!

I rented a dress and handbag for an event. I packed both items in the garment bag provided, locked it, and dropped it at a UPS for return. I tracked the package a few days later and it had been received. I didn't give it another thought until a month later when I checked my charge bill and saw a charge for $340 (they never contacted me just charged me). I called their customer service line and after a lengthy hold was told the handbag had not returned. I explained that the item was returned with the dress. The representitve told me that she would follow up with the collections department via e-mail. I asked to be copied on the e-mail and was told this was not possible, and that I would be contacted within a few days. A week passed and I didn't hear back and did not receive a credit so I called RTR again. Once again I endured a lengthy hold. After explaining that I had called a week ago and not heard back, I was informed that there were no notes in the system about my previous call, and that the last person who helped me did nothing I was furious. I was als informed that the bag had been returned a few days ago; however, the charges (200% of the value of the bag) would not be credited, because it was a month late. I once again informed the rep that the bag was returned with the dress ON TIME and wanted a credit. The rep said she was not authorized to give ma a credit and would e-mail the collections department. This rep did follow through with an e-mail and copied me, but I have not heard back nor received a credit. This has beed a very stressful and frustrating experience! I will NEVER EVER use RTR again, and would advise everyone else not to either.

The dresses that I received... wow.

The ONE dress that was sent to me that I ACTUALLY wanted to wear had the boning poking through into my skin. I would've been in pain all night.

I was sent an email to choose new styles when my second style dress was, THE DAY OF Shipment, unavailable. Even some of THOSE dresses that I chose were unavailable as well. So a rtr stylist picked for me... half of them were cut small and ALL of the dresses have a musty odor and half the zippers are trash. The hem on one of the dresses is crooked... looks like something may have happened to the hem and in an effort to salvage the dress they just cut off a part and tried to match it up with the rest of the dress.

My order came to $160 something dollars minus the $25 promotional coupon. The shipping was on time, I'll give them that but their ordering system sucks!

Half of the dresses that you want are unavailable and when you finally find a style that you like and decide to order based off of that, you're told last minute THAT dress isn't available.

I won't be ordering again. This was a nightmare... STILL need a dress to wear tonight.

Btw you can't even post your review to their website so who knows if other women will see this. It's no wonder that their site is filled with rave reviews

I learned about this company and service through a segment done on Good Morning America. I figured if GMA was endorsing them they had to be a first class operation. I signed up for the waiting list for the Unlimited service and placed an order for 2 dresses for 2 upcoming weddings. I am tired of having a closet full of dresses I only wore one time. I thought the concept was very interesting. After all men rent tuxes. The one flaw is you can only get the dress a day or two before your affair. If it doesn't fit or there is an issues with the dress, you are stuck rushing to the boutiques to find a dress. Needless to say, the first dress I received had a very noticeable rip in the seam in the back. That wasn't the worst part. The body odor smell from BOTH dresses (right size and backup size) was horrendous. My husband could smell it as soon as I took it out of the plastic. These were never cleaned. Even a bad dry cleaner could do something with that odor. It actually made me gag. I contacted the customer service and asked for a phone call to work out the matter since I needed it in two days. NO phone call, just an email telling me they are sorry and they won't be able to get me a dress by Friday. Cancelled this order, my future order and asked to be taken off the wait list for Unlimited Service. This company has a lot of work to do! Poor quality dresses, extremely poor dry cleaning, poor customer service. Shame on GMA for endorsing them.

I rented what I thought was going to be the perfect dress for an upcoming wedding... I reserved the dress in MAY, today I was informed that my dress had either been returned late or was damaged, so it would not be available for shipment. Customer service suggested I pick something else out (told me to list 5 dresses I liked and they would ship one) NONE of those dresses were available either.

I have just canceled my order and will not even be attempting to use their service EVER... hopefully I can find something before the wedding this weekend.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!

I have never, ever written a horrible review about a business before but I am compelled
To after a horrific experience with RTR. I reserved an outfit for a wedding on a Saturday and at midnight on a Thursday night I was informed my order was not available to ship. I didn't have anything else to wear as I recently had a baby and wasn't the same size. I went to the retail store in my city (Georgetown DC) and chose a replacement dress that I actually loved. On Monday I dropped my dress at the UPS drop box in my office building in the envelope provided by RTR and went about my business. A week or so later, my husband informed me that we had a $264 charge on our CC. Baffled at what this could be, I emailed customer service who told me that they never received a dress from the tracking number they gave me and that it was my problem. Somehow this package vanished and I can't get accountability from RTR or UPS. In any event, I'm sure this kind of thing happens all the time as you're dealing with a 3rd party and the mail system. What is also shocking is that you don't even get an email saying your dress never showed up and they are charging you without even letting you know why or what the breakdown of charges are.

In any event, this whole experience was stressful and not worth any of it. I have a large network of people and will be emailing 100's if not 1000's of people telling them to
Never use RTR and to boycott:

I rented from RTR on few occasions, and every time something was wrong with the dress I received! But what do you expect from a glorified drycleaners! Both times the dresses smelled. The second time I rented I did not get the dress I had ordered, but received something completely different then my back up choices. The customer service was horrendous, and I was basically made to feel like I had done something wrong.
This company should really just hang it up! I would much rather go buy something from a reputable dress shop that cares about customer service!
Also, I met someone that had worked in their distribution /dry cleaning center and heard some really scary stories...

I have used this service a few times with no issues and would have considered myself a loyal customer. However, on my last rental a charge for $600 showed up on my credit card statement. I called immediately and was told it was late fees. I rented the dress in questions for an event out of town and had the dress shipped to my hotel. When I was done (the next day) I boxed it up and used the UPS label included and gave it to the concierge for UPS pick up. Apparently the hotel held the packages for 2 weeks before sending and now I am stuck trying to sort out who is going to pay the $600. I contacted RTR and they indicated "as our customer, it is your responsibility to ensure that your rental is returned on time" and wouldn't even work with me on the charges.