From grease tyre marks to the gown destroyed by an escalator: Dress hire company reveals the worst returns they've ever seen

EXCLUSIVE -- From grease tyre marks to stains, spills, rips, cigarette burns and even a dress being utterly destroyed thanks to the wearer getting caught on an escalator, this Aussie dress hire company has seen – and heard – it all.

After going viral with a TikTok post about the shocking state of some of the dresses returned to them recently, as well as their dry cleaner, Dress Hire Au has spoken out.

Watch the videos above.

The rental company, started by Ellie Gafforini when she was studying speech pathology at university, is based in Melbourne's Eltham and offers customers the chance to hire a designer dress for a fraction of its original cost.

Brands on offer include big names like Effie Kats, Bec & Bridge, Rebecca Vallance and even Zimmermann, providing a cost-effective way for fashionistas to get their hands on the latest trending threads and chic pieces without breaking the bank.

Customers can rent the items out for a number of days, making a perfect option for an event or special occasion.

But the system comes with a slight downside – sometimes the garments aren't coming back in the best shape.

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Even though most are an easy fix, the company takes care of the cleaning for customers and offers free $100 insurance.

However, customers who do irreparable damage to the dress will have to fork out the replacement value of the item.

Gafforini spoke to nine.com.au about the outpouring support she received from people on TikTok after sharing videos about the damaged and soiled garments.

"Unfortunately, some things are irreparable, like cigarette burns or rips in certain areas that aren't along a seam," she says.

"[The videos were] meant as light-hearted behind-the-scenes content, not to seek sympathy, but it was genuinely lovely to see so much kindness and understanding in the comments."

But she doesn't want customers to feel bad, either.

"We also hope it puts anyone thinking of hiring, or those who already have, at ease that they don't need to panic over the occasional small spill or mark," Gafforini continues.

"Accidents happen, and that's exactly why we have cleaning and insurance processes in place."

One commenter joked under one of the videos, "At this point I'd rather go to jail than return some of these items."

Gafforini says "nothing really surprises us anymore" in terms of the state some dresses are returned in.

"It can definitely be disheartening, though, especially for our dry cleaner who works tirelessly," she adds.

"Some of the incredibly soiled garments can take hours to clean, and on busy days when we're processing hundreds of other dresses as well, it really can take its toll."

Gafforini, who has more than 10,000 garments in stock at her company, says some of the worst damage she's ever seen done to an item was when a dress got caught in an escalator.

"We've definitely seen a few memorable ones over the years," she says.

"We once had a customer get caught in an escalator and it completely destroyed the dress. She was so apologetic and lovely to deal with.

"We've also had a couple of situations where parcels were left in yards and dogs got to them."

Gafforini says one keen customer even went paintballing in a hired dress.

"In general, we just ask customers to avoid high-risk situations, as these are shared garments," she says.

One understandable pet peeve is when customers send a garment back damaged or dirty and act like nothing's happened.

"It's often the customers who apologise profusely who send back garments with the tiniest marks, and then the ones who don't say anything at all will return a dress with grease tyre marks," Gafforini reveals.

But she would prefer the customer be upfront and honest, and Dress Hire AU can easily rectify the situation, with customer service and professionalism at the forefront.

"Just tell us. We've truly seen everything, trust us, so nothing is going to shock us," she says.

"Letting us know in advance makes such a difference. It allows us to plan ahead with cleaning and, if the dress is booked back-to-back, to contact other customers early if needed."

The company doesn't just offer dresses for rental hire – there are also blazers, skirts and tops, and sizes range anwyhere between a size 4 or a size 18.

"We feel very lucky to play a small part in helping people feel confident for important moments," Gafforini says of her business.

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