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dry cleaner gave my suit away

Hi can anyone give me some advice, I put my husbands suit in to be cleaned and the staff gave it to another customer without them having the claim check ,I still have it, I'm meeting the owner of the shop on Monday morning what rights do I have.......the customer that has the suit has been asked twice to return it but he won't he can be seen on cctv getting the suit, we have a party on Friday and my husband has had to buy another suit
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Comments

  • vax2002
    vax2002 Posts: 7,187 Forumite
    Give the shop the bill for the new suit and tell them they have 7 days to pay it or you will take them to the country court.
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  • dreamypuma
    dreamypuma Posts: 1,341 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    How much is a "used" suit (albeit now dry cleaned) worth?

    Does your claim check have any T&Cs with it?
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  • fluffnutter
    fluffnutter Posts: 23,179 Forumite
    Your gripe is not with the other customer, and nor should the onus fall on you to pursue said customer (if this is suggested). The company has been negligent in not checking true ownership properly before giving your suit away and they are responsible for resolving this.

    Just present them with a bill for the new suit. It doesn't matter that your suit wasn't brand new (and indeed it might only have been worn once anyway). It's not necessary for you to have to source a suit of similar value; the company will just have to take the hit and reimburse you for the new replacement.

    If they don't pay up within, say, 14 days, threaten them with the small claims court.
    "Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell" - Edward Abbey.
  • fluffnutter
    fluffnutter Posts: 23,179 Forumite
    dreamypuma wrote: »
    How much is a "used" suit (albeit now dry cleaned) worth?

    Does your claim check have any T&Cs with it?

    What's this got to do with anything? Are you suggesting that the dry cleaners are relieved of their responsibility not to give away your clothes to some random person simply because they have a clause saying "If we give your clothes to some random person, it's your tough luck".

    They have a duty of care towards a person's clothing and not checking who owns the suit is failing in that duty.

    This is not the same as the dry cleaning process damaging clothing. Provided this possibility has been pointed out and the customer accepts the risk, then it can be argued that the outcome is outwith the dry cleaners remit and hence, they can't be held responsible. The customer has accepted the risk.

    You don't walk into a dry cleaners for them to say "Oh, by the way, there's a good chance that we might give your suit to someone else. By telling you this we're relieving ourselves of our obligation to look after your clothes. Still want to go ahead? Sign here please".

    Making sure a suit is returned to the correct customer is entirely within their remit and, if they fail, they're responsible for resolving the problem.
    "Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell" - Edward Abbey.
  • arcon5
    arcon5 Posts: 14,099 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    It's likely they will be liable for the value of the old suit, not the price of the new suit.

    The value of the old suit will be based on the original price less any value lost over time due to wear and tear. Anything more would either be betterment or consequential loss depending on what the claim is for (e.g. transportation).

    Their terms and conditions and wholly relevant, it should outline each parties obligations and liabilities, it should if drawn up professionally outline a procedure for making a claim and how that claim would be calculated. These terms should be fair to both parties of course.
  • whitewing
    whitewing Posts: 11,852 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I agree that the shop has to put it right. When did they give the suit away? I just wonder if it would be seen that you had given a fair amount of time before buying the replacement.
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  • fiddiwebb
    fiddiwebb Posts: 1,806 Forumite
    squeeb wrote: »
    Hi can anyone give me some advice, I put my husbands suit in to be cleaned and the staff gave it to another customer without them having the claim check ,I still have it, I'm meeting the owner of the shop on Monday morning what rights do I have.......the customer that has the suit has been asked twice to return it but he won't he can be seen on cctv getting the suit, we have a party on Friday and my husband has had to buy another suit

    Just wonder why the other customer won't return the suit?

    I assume the other customer has the wrong article of clothing that they put in to be cleaned and that they paid the cleaning bill when they collected it?
  • Hintza
    Hintza Posts: 19,420 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    arenaman wrote: »
    or else you'll report it to the police.

    Absolutely no point in this action. This is a civil matter betwen the OP and the shop. What happene between the shop and the other customer is irrelevant as far as the OP is concerned.
  • arenaman wrote: »
    I don't agree with that, this may be resolved by the shop replacing or reimbursing the customer but technically it is a theft when you break down the component parts of the offence.

    Not sure it is.

    For example

    Customer walks in and takes what he think is his suit, but unfortunately is no longer in the area/country. The dry cleaners refuse to provide postage or courier costs upfront and the customer who accidentally took the suit thinking it was his is unwilling/unable to front the costs and believes he shouldn't be out of pocket first.


    Theft is the intent to take what isn't yours.
  • arcon5
    arcon5 Posts: 14,099 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    arenaman wrote: »
    I don't agree with that, this may be resolved by the shop replacing or reimbursing the customer but technically it is a theft when you break down the component parts of the offence.

    Even if it is theft, the stole the suit from the dry cleaners, not op. So it would be the dry cleaners that should report it.
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