Halloween comes every year, bringing with it an array of social functions that demand nothing short of innovation and creativity when coming up with a costume. For most of us, finding the time to design and create our own costume is out of the window, and so the only option available to us is to buy or rent a costume. Renting a costume from a local costume shop is an easy enough process, but it is full of pitfalls and potential dangers should you happen to fall into disagreement with the costume shop. In this article, we will look at how you can go about preparing to rent a costume without jeopardising your wallet, and ending up significantly out of pocket.



When hiring a Halloween costume, you will most likely be expected to put down some form of deposit against the costume, as well as the fee for hiring for the period you require. Depending on the specific nature of the costume, the deposit can range in size, designed to reflect the value of losing the suit or excess damage to the condition. One of the main problems with this kind of business practice is that it is designed to protect the costume hire shop, but is not necessarily tailored to the person hiring the costume. There is no protection on your side when you hire a suit, and if you're paying a deposit there is no guarantee that you will ever see that money back. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous traders out there that will take any opportunity to make more money, and with a deposit, simply disputing some damage or flaw can enable them to deduct from the deposit whatever they deem appropriate. Whilst it may be a completely unjustified practice, there is very little you can do as an individual, other than refuse to put down a deposit.

The other option available to you is to fully investigate the condition of the costume, and to record every flaw to bring to the attention of the costume hire shop. That way, you should at least be able to avoid having to pay for damage that you didn't cause, which could help save on your deposit first off. Any damage that is attributed to you by the hire shop should also be fought. Whilst the ball is in their court, if you are willing to fight for your deposit you a more likely to be successful in receiving all your money back.

Hiring a Halloween costume is often seen as the easy way out when you've got various functions and events approaching. When you've got to have something novel to wear, heading down to the local costume hire shop can be a quick solution, and it can also be a good solution, provided you make sure you take all the relevant precautions in order to make sure it doesn't end up costing you more than you bargained for. By taking care to note damage, and by taking the precaution of clearing this before you take out the costume, you should be able to avoid any eventual disputes that could cost you money.