Rent The Runway

Watch out! The fine print of the agreement you MUST sign to rent anything from this company indicates that they may charge you a $50 late fee per item that THEY CLAIM was returned late. They do not have to support their claim that an item was returned late and you will not be able to get any shipping information to prove you returned something on time because the pre-paid label is provided by Rent the Runway and they have all of the shipping information, (which they will refuse to provide you with).

They charged two of the bridesmaids in my wedding a total of $2,200 in late fees! I had three different conversations with three different customer service reps for this company. All 3 basically just kept restating that this is the company's practice to do this and they have no obligation to back up their claim that an item was returned late. And yes, they will charge 3 times the value of the dress, and no, they don't have to support their stated value of the dress, and no you may not have the dress that you just paid $1,000 for.

I don't believe the positive reviews are legitimate, (probably posted by the company), and I urge you to read the reviews from the many customers that have had this happen to them before you hand over your credit card information to this company.

Too difficult to cancel and you will be overcharged - In the end, you are better off with other services. And during the holidays, it's extremely hard to find dresses in average sizes.

I have used RTR twice in the past and my dresses came no problem. But this most recent time I received a notification 1 day before my dresses were supposed to arrive that the style I had ordered was not returned on time by the previous renter, so I was sent what a "stylist" considered a "reasonable replacement." The replacement dress fit, but was not flattering and not a style I liked, but this all happened 2 days before the event so I had no choice but to wear it. I tried contacting customer service several times via online chat and email, and did not receive responses until the day of the event, and even then they were unhelpful. They also do not provide a phone number, so I couldn't actually speak to a real human.

Finally, the day after the event I heard back from a RTR customer service rep who agreed to refund my order in full. I think this was an appropriate response given the frustration of my situation, and am grateful they refunded me.

Overall, when it works, this service can be great and is a good idea, but when it goes wrong, it's very frustrating.

In general, I like the concept of renting clothes, but beware of certain practices of RTR that you may not be aware of. 1) Their cloth shipping bags are filthy. They attract a ton of dirt that you are bringing into your home, and often they are full of moths. I had a moth infestation that destroyed my expensive wool rug plus a closet full of cashmere sweaters. RTR was not responsible because I couldn't prove the moths were theirs. They offered me no compensation whatsoever. 2) I tried posting this incident online, but RTR pays many review sites, so they take down bad reviews from Yelp and other sites. When you see their high ratings, it is because they delete the bad ones. 3) Often they delay shipments when they think you are renting too muh. I have the unlimited plan, which should mean I get unlimited access to clothes. Now they are delaying unlimited shipments so that you will upgrade your account for an additional $39 and get 5 items. To delay shipments so you have no choice but upgrade. 4) Their customer service is horrible. They are simply responsible for nothing.

I had never ordered with this company before. I had a formal event in august 2016. Ordered on line... I was concerned about the "rules" so I called the next morning to make sure I understood what the guidelines were- return policy, etc. I was told by two different sales people that I would only be charged for the dress I wore and would receive a CREDIT for the dresses I i did not wear (jewelry excluded- always a charge and that was ok) SO i proceeded to order $800 worth of dresses for one event. Received them and picked one. Wore it, sent the lot back on time as instructed (btw a few of the dresses were very worn and smelly) I followed up a week or so later only to be told that all the dresses I ordered I would be charged for and there would be NO credit. I was told that the policy is whatever you order you pay for. WELL, I asked the person on the phone to ask the "stylist" that I had talked to with the original order and she came back on and said yes she remembered me and she definitely told me about their policy. I did ask who would rent $800 worth of dresses with no credit back when I could have purchased an $800 dress and still have it hanging in my closet) No answer on that one. Because the conversations were recorded, I asked to speak to a manager to discuss and try to retrieve a CREDIT for the dresses I did not wear. I was told the managers were in a meeting and would call me back. I gave my number. No call back- out $800. Called back again- left my number. No call back. A total rip-off!

Rent the Runway- AT YOUR OWN RISK! I have rented from RTR before, but I have always done in-store drop offs. I finally decided to drop my "Le Tote" subscription and upgrade my closet to RTR Unlimited.

Little did I know it would be one of the BIGGEST MISTAKES I have EVER MADE.

I rented 3 articles of clothing, and after I was done- mailed it back. Little did I know you can only mail back via UPS, not USPS.

Because this has happened, RTR is now telling me I am on the hook if for the clothes. I cannot cancel my subscription because I will have to pay for all the clothes immediately.

The issue is that I live in a city, so what happens if in the future I do not recieve my delivery, then I would be LIABLE TO PAY FOR ALL THE CLOTHES AGAIN.

This is a horrible business model. This was my FIRST EXPERIENCE with RTR Unlimited.

Now I have to pay them over $1,000 + my RTR Subscription.

HOrrible service. Not worth it.

UPDATE: I include my original review below. I returned to RTR in 2017 because I did miss spoiling myself with the fashion adds. Their customer service has improved significantly. I have had issues and have had customer service response that was exceptional. I give them a 4 because I love their products. I can't give them a 5 because they don't have enough styles for larger sizes and because they are still expensive for the unlimited (mytote is cheaper- but so are their products). Their website & app are also much better now.

Below is my review when I gave them a very poor review:
I did RTR unlimited from 2/15- 12/15. They started at $50 and it was a great deal considering the quality of the items I was receiving. They then increased it to $100. I didn't like that price but again I continued with it because I liked the quality of the items. Now they've increased their price to $139. I'm struggling to justify it. I hate their website. It's always freezing. Just a crappy UX. Also I had a hiccup with a return. It took them 2 weeks to credit and get me new items. At such a high monthly rate I asked for a credit for the time lost (their fault). They refused and their customer service did nothing to engage me as a customer. I dumped them. I will miss their great quality items- but it's hard to to justify the high and increasing monthly cost + bad UX + bad customer service.

I ordered 2 dresses for my daughter's prom three weeks in advance and my credit card was charged immediately. I received a confirmation email upon placing the order, and then another the day before scheduled arrival saying my order had shipped. By 8 pm the day the dresses were supposed to arrive (the day before prom), nothing had arrived. I called Rent the Runway and waited on hold for 30 minutes before they informed me that they were having "mechanical difficulties" and I would not be receiving any dresses. They offered to "make it right" by issuing me a full refund. HUHHHH? 12 hours before prom, and the only way they plan to fulfill their "100% satisfaction" guarantee is by giving my money back when they messed up? So now I am scrambling to figure out how to get a prom dress in 6 hours. They did say they would issue a merchandise credit to my account (no use since I will never use them again) but they didn't even issue the credit. DO NOT USE RTR if you actually need a dress for a particular event. NOT RELIABLE.

They charge 2,198.00 for returned items to my credit card and do not answer my phone calls for more than 3 weeks. 5 Items returned already totally disrespectful and poor considerations

Wow. I am appalled by this company. I ordered a dress for a wedding and two days before found out that the dress wouldn't arrive in time. I was told to return the dress as soon as it arrived, supposed to arrive end-of-day Monday. On Monday I receive an email from them saying that I would receive a $50 late fee if the shipment wasn't dropped off at UPS by noon on Monday; THE DRESS HASN'T EVEN BEEN DELIVERED TO MY HOUSE. For four hours, I tried to contact their customer service countless times (via chat, via email, there is no phone# listed) to make sure I'm not charged the late fee, because I can't return a shipment I haven't received yet. I am livid and will never order from them again, and will never have anything good to say about them. What a headache this company has caused me. Horrible customer service, horrible logistics. Not a good look when serving customers, especially a first-time customer.

They do not care about you, no matter who you are. Did not deliver what was ordered and sent other crap to justify not giving total refund. Who are these people?

I called costumer service since I noticed there was an item I sent that they didn't receive. I was on hold for more than an hour until I had to hang up to answer another call!

After 3 months of RTR unlimited service that I wanted to love, I have come to the conclusion that I hate the service. The idea of having pretty dresses on rotation to wear to meetings and presentations had me feeling ecstatic about the money I would save shopping, the time I would save because I didn't have to go out and shop and having something fresh and new in my wardrobe every few weeks. The reality has been the complete opposite.
1) The clothes take FOREVER to arrive, I ordered a selection of dresses on a Thursday night for an important meeting that I had scheduled the following week. The dresses arrived AFTER my meeting and they were so stretched out that they looked horrible on my anyway. Thankfully, I have a selection of well made classic dresses that can take me anywhere so the big deal was only complaint number 2...
2) I lost a lot of time and energy ordering "crap" that never worked out due to shipping, not fitting well and sizes of things I liked not being available. I only wore 2 dresses in 3 months! I sent everything back and opted for my classics. The second dress I wore brings me to my final complaint...
3) I wore a long red dress from RTR to a Gala, in fairness it looked awesome on me, but when I arrived to the Gala I felt that I was in a rented dress because almost every girl there was in a dress I recognized from scrolling through selections off the RTR, I'm sure they recognized my rental as well. Two girls had on the same dress! Can you say cheap? Save your money and invest in a closet that makes you feel fabulous... not cheap.

I placed an order for a dress to arrive for a wedding. I ended up having to change the dates, but they NEVER answer phone calls or respond on chats. I ended up emailing them and I haven't heard back for DAYS. I ended up changing my flight to reflect my current rental dates and they replied back saying that they changed to new rental dates. At this point, I had to change my rental date back to what I had. They could not change the date back because the dress was not "available" and charged me cancellation fee without CONSULTING with me if the cancellation fee was okay. I've been calling RTR, but they would NOT pick up their phone calls (been on hold for an hour) and I've been on hold for chats for at least 15 hours daily (I've been on hold for a chat since Monday). Girls, please AVOID THIS RENTAL PLACE. I would believe if this was a scam website. I believe I learned an expensive experience to never rent dresses online.

Upon return, my dresses were two weeks late and assumed lost in the mail and RTR was ready to charge $3,700 to my account to pay for the dresses without notifying me of the charge. Why so much? Because they want 200% of what they bought the dresses for, not just to replace them but also for an "inconvience to other customers". I only had 20 days (at Christmas time) to try and locate the package before the charge hit my card. Nevermind the $50 a day late fees that were piling up on top of that.
The phone reps were very rude anytime I called for assistance and I seemed to be the only one who put in the effort to find those dresses. When I asked what happened if the dresses were returned after the twenty days and I was charged the full amount, the representative couldn't confirm if would get any of my money back and that I could "just keep the dresses". After many days of doing my own investigating, the gowns finally showed back up at the warehouse.
I will complement them on scrapping most of the late fees once the dresses were returned, but that's as far as I will go. This place is a scam and I will NEVER rent from them again. Charging 200% to replace an item is robbery.

Paid $151.57 per month for the Unlimited subscription service. When I called to cancel it, the girl on the phone convinced me to just put the account on "hold" for 6 months. I am extremely busy and do not have time to check my credit card every single day. To my shock, I later found out that they had kept billing for the months my account was on "hold" EVEN THOUGH I DID NOT PLACE ANY ORDERS. THEY REFUSED TO REVERSE THE CHARGES, I am reporting to the police and the BBB. DO NOT USE THEIR SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE.

I have had a membership for a year. And I'm really really disappointed with the service. I signed up during Covid and the selection was TERRIBLE! They told me the options would be improving soon… they didn't. It got worse. NOTHING on here is "designer" or from a "runway." It's mostly Macy's quality brands and private label. Since they are low quality items, the assortment gets worn out very very quickly. If someone before you puts it in a washing machine, it will be shrunk and they will send it to you. Every single shipment I get, at least one item looks like it's was from The Goodwill. All their knits are extremely pilled. Their "rigorous" screening of their clothes is a lie.
Anytime that a new and actually cute item come out, don't expect to be able to rent them. They are all sent influencers. The things they style with items in photos with the model are usually not in their assortment.
It is spring again and all the same merchandise from last spring are still the only options. These items should have been removed from the website when last spring ended.
This service is so disappointing. It would be so great if it was higher end stuff. The probably is this brand is trying to be everything to everyone and it's failing on all counts. There is definitely a white space for a high end monthly renting service!

Lost a replacement order with no customer service option.

I ordered 4 items, 3 needed needed to be replaced. When I put the order on for THE SAME ADDRESS with 2 days free shipment, it was delayed 4 days. It was in my area-I saw the tracking info. SAME ZIPCODE. But nobody could figure out the name change. SEVERELY DISAPPOINTED AND DISSATISFIED WITH THIS SERVICE. Will probably never use again. I needed this dress for a wedding and with 3+ weeks notice, this company could not come through for me. I can't believe I entrusted this task to them & will never use them again. So upset. Do not use.

I used Rent the Runway last year, and had no problems. Sent the dress, perfect condition, etc. This year, I spent $175 on a dress, and got a backup dress in return. RTR did not notify me that the backup dress was being sent, and I would've cancelled my order if I had known. I called customer service, with 30+ minute waits, once I was connected a man answered, said "hold on" and disappeared for 20-30 minutes before I hang up. THIS HAPPENED TO ME THREE TIMES. I got on the online chat, and got an automated chatbot which they called "Tiana." I asked for her to send me a dress, and then she told me they didn't have it in stock. THIS HAPPENED WITH SEVEN DIFFERENT DRESSES I ASKED FOR. I am still trying to figure out what the $#*! I'm going to wear to this event tomorrow. DO NOT USE RENT THE RUNWAY!

I fell in love with a dress to wear to a wedding over the summer. A week or so before the event, RTR emails me to say it was no longer available. Well, that's a huge bummer. I guess I will go with a second choice. I then find out that they only have one of my chosen sizes available in my second choice. I am left a few days before the wedding with the uncertainty that I will like this second choice, and if the one size will even fit. They also told me that they had a back-up to my back-up, which was NOTHING like the dresses I wanted and was not my style whatsoever. I wait and wait for the dress to arrive to the point that I am desperately looking out the window for the shipment THE NIGHT before flying out for the wedding. The dress never arrived and last minute I grabbed a dress from my own closet while heading out the door to the airport. They offered to overnight the dress to the location of the wedding, but there was no way I was trusting that to happen. I laughed when they offered me a promo code for my next order. I will never be using this service again. I highly suggest having a solid backup in hand if using RTR!

Customer service means you are going to collections for 5 $ per day if you are late at all.

They won't call you back to straighten it out.
U are sent to collections.

I ordered 2 dresses using my unlimited plan on a Tuesday morning, and immediately received an email that I would receive the dress on Friday, which was perfect because I was leaving for a cruise on Sunday. 28 hours after I ordered the dresses, I noticed it was still processing and was concerned that they wouldn't arrive in time if they didn't ship out immediately so I called customer support (I would have done online chat, but the weren't available). I was on hold with them for 15 minutes when a rep finally picked up the phone. She looked up my account and said that it looked like there was a problem with one of the items- the belt was missing and they were trying to locate it. I told her that I didn't need the belt, I would use one of my own, and just ship it anyway, i absolutely had to have it by Saturday evening or the package would be sitting on my porch for a week while I was on my cruise. She said that would be fine, she would send a note down to the warehouse saying as much. Today I receive an email saying that due to a 'mechanical issue' they haven't shipped my dresses and I won't receive them until early next week. I've been trying to get a hold of customer service by phone but have now been waiting 34 minutes to talk to a 'stylist'. This is ridiculous and I will be cancelling my subscription and won't recommend them to anyone ever again.

Ordered a great dress in two sizes. Resevation confirmed the two sizes were available or I would not have ordered. The fancy cocktail dress arrives and the one size doesn't fit. Apparently they ran out of the other size and never told me. Instead they changed to another style dress. The second style is not even a cocktail dress but an ugly drab flower curtain like dress. Not a fancy cocktail dress like I ordered. Four hours to my event I am left with no dress and a pricey rental I can't wear. The stylist never phoned to say they were changing out the dress and ask for my feedback on a different dress (which I would have done). I had to run to the mall, I'm now wearing a dress I don't feel great in and I have to wait for RTR to refund me for at least five days. I waited on the phone for over 45 minutes with no response, tried using their chat feature that was clearly automated and cut me off because no one was available to help. Finally spoke with someone that gave a half assed apology and email with a 20% off promo code. I had a few good experiences prior but would never use them again. They left me stressed and just not feeling my best at a formal event. Overall, I would stay away from them unless you want to feel stressed looking for a dress at the last minute.