Wedding dress ruined by dry cleaners

DrPepper123

Apologies for long post. I went to pick up my wedding dress from dry cleaners today and was so upset as it's really creased. They told me that as it's pure silk they had to dry clean it (which I asked them to do anyway). She seemed very insistent about this and also kept going back to the fact that they took off the pearls & crystals as they would have melted if they hadn't.

I have since rang the shop where I purchased my dress from as I know she dry cleaned it for me as my dress was a shop sample and there were no creases on it when she did it. I also spoke with the dress maker that altered it as I know as part of their service they iron the dress. Both of them have said that the dry cleaner's may have washed it. They also advised that if it was washed it would shrink and as the under layers are not silk they would stay the same size and I could maybe tell from that.

The dry cleaners are dry cleaning it again and are going to dry iron it, they did admit that they pressed it but with the steam on the iron but from the creases I can't see they have pressed it at all.

My question is do I actually have a leg to stand on?

InsideInsurance

DrPepper123 wrote: »

My question is do I actually have a leg to stand on?

Assuming the 2nd attempt to deal with it doesnt work, what do you actually want from them?

What do their terms state about damage to delicate items? Was this a specialist wedding dress service or just a standard service?

DrPepper123

I wanted to sell the dress and hoped to achieve £300 - 500 so feel I would be out of pocket by this much. The dress was not cheap.

But as you have asked is it a specialist service? No it's a normal dry cleaners that the local wedding dress shops use, therefore they do have experience of this type of cleaning. I didn't ask to see their terms but expect they have their a*ses covered on this count.

I suppose what I am asking is, if I could prove they washed it instead of dry cleaning it can I expect some compensation?

paddyrg

DrPepper123 wrote: »

I suppose what I am asking is, if I could prove they washed it instead of dry cleaning it can I expect some compensation?

If you paid for dry cleaning, I'd have thought so. Seems unlikely that a dry cleaners that deals with wedding dresses regularly would not dry clean a dress they were paid to dry clean.

Poppy9

Do dry cleaners wash clothes as well. I thought they only did chemical cleaning?

Also is it realistic to get that much money for a second hand dress? If you do end up claiming from their insurers you will have to provide evidence that you could sell that dress for the value you claim.

DrPepper123

paddyrg wrote: »

If you paid for dry cleaning, I'd have thought so. Seems unlikely that a dry cleaners that deals with wedding dresses regularly would not dry clean a dress they were paid to dry clean.

I agree but the difference between the two dry cleans that the dress has had it huge which does make me question it.