Cleaners shrunk car seat cover - who is liable?

smellybear

Hi everyone,

I'm pretty new to all of this but any help will be greatly appreciated!!

Basically we have a new baby due to arrive in 2 weeks, last week we got out the infant car seat and decided to have it cleaned to freshen it up. However Johnston’s cleaners have shrunk it making it completely unusable! The car seat is part of a travel system and replacement equivalent car seat costs £200, replacement covers are looking at around £35. Obviously neither of which we want to pay for especially as having the cover cleaned was only £4.50!! Went into the cleaners to complain today and was told that the label said dry clean only, which they did, so the fault is with the manufacturer as the materials mustn't be dry cleanable. Manufacturer says it is dry cleanable and it is the cleaners fault. The car seat is almost 3 years old and I'm currently looking for the warranty/guarantee but am unsure whether this will still be applicable. Who is liable for this and who do we look to for compensation/replacements?

Once again any advice would be great

hollydays

You tell the cleaners its their fault-as the label stated it was dry cleanable.
Who is the manufacturer?
Presumably they didn't warn you when they took it off you that there might be a problem?

sarahg1969

As an aside, if you've had your car seat for that long, you want to check underneath to see if there's a date of manufacture printed on it. If it's nearing 6 years (even though you've only had it 3, it would have been made quite some time before), then you'll want to replace it anyway.

hollydays

I don't understand? Why would the OP need to replace it?

OlliesDad

hollydays wrote: »

I don't understand? Why would the OP need to replace it?

For safety you shouldnt use child seats that are too old. Likewise you shouldnt use ant car seat that has ever been in an accident, even if it has sustained no damage.

hollydays

Ok. But why shouldn't you re-use your own safely stored carseat? IS there a new standard in the last 6 years?

OlliesDad

hollydays wrote: »

Ok. But why shouldn't you re-use your own safely stored carseat? IS there a new standard in the last 6 years?

Its one of these government recommendations. #i'm sure there is a legitimate reason, i just cant think of it!

Sagaris

hollydays wrote: »

Ok. But why shouldn't you re-use your own safely stored carseat? IS there a new standard in the last 6 years?

Yes!

Safety Standards : ECE R44.03 and ECE R44.04

Child restraints (baby seats, child seats, booster seats and booster cushions) sold in the UK must conform to the United Nations ECE Regulation R44.03 or later standard (R44.04).
(Child restraints that conform to a British Standard or to an earlier version of R44, may continue to be used, although as these will now be several years old, parents should consider replacing them with a seat that conforms to R44.03 or R44.04).

The standard, ECE R44.04, was introduced at the end of June 2005, and all new child car seats had to meet this standard from the end of June 2006.

From http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/standards/r4403.htm

Older car seats can lose their 'flexibility', in that the thermoplastic they are made form can become brittle with age, and fracture in the event of a crash, also the polystyrene lining used as a cushion inside the shells of some seats can also become hard and not protect a child properly in a crash.

hollydays

Thanks.........................................

smellybear

We thought the fault was with the cleaners too, but the staff weren't helpful at all and barely even acknowledged anything! The manager is back in on mon so hopefully we'll get the matter resolved then. Interestingly enough the car seat cover fabric now feels like has plastic inside it (almost like vending machine cups) which it didnt before being cleaned, and makes me think it wasn't cleaned correctly. With regards to make/model/age the car seat is a Jane Matrix Pro 2006 version, it conforms to all regs (and even excels some as it a lie flat infant car seat) although there have been newer versions brought out since. Thanks for all comments, hopefully we'll get it sorted before baby comes!!

hollydays

Aren't Jane a Spanish Company?