Escalating dispute with dry cleaner

mthmoney

Hello,


I gave a jacket to a dry cleaner that was returned to me with a broken zip. When I tried to talk about the issue, the owner got very quickly hostile and insisted, that it can't be her fault. There are several dodgy details to the story and I am absolutely sure that she damaged the jacket, so I am willing to escalate the case.
From what I gather, the best next step would be to seek mediation through the Alternative Dispute Resolution process (ADR), before going to the small claim court. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a description online of how to actually start the process.

If anyone could advise, that would be much appreciated!

unholyangel

Have you had the zip examined to determine what caused it to break?

What exactly do you mean by break? Not working correctly or that the tag bit on the puller is broken? Or something else?

Diamandis

Have you tried just asking for the £20 or so to get it repaired? Probably easier than going through small claims for something that can't really be proven either way.

JJ_Egan

<There are several dodgy details to the story>
????


Suggest as above or an LBA letter before action see google .

Aylesbury_Duck

mthmoney wrote: »

Hello,


I gave a jacket to a dry cleaner that was returned to me with a broken zip. When I tried to talk about the issue, the owner got very quickly hostile and insisted, that it can't be her fault. There are several dodgy details to the story and I am absolutely sure that she damaged the jacket, so I am willing to escalate the case.
From what I gather, the best next step would be to seek mediation through the Alternative Dispute Resolution process (ADR), before going to the small claim court. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a description online of how to actually start the process.

If anyone could advise, that would be much appreciated!

It's up to you how much time and effort you want to put into legal action for what might be a £20 zip replacement. Personally, having got nowhere with the cleaner, I'd get it fixed myself and never use that cleaner again.

lincroft1710

£20 is probably too small even for "Small Claims"

mthmoney

Hi all,


thanks for your replies. We (the jacket belongs to my wife) are very aware that the fix does not cost much money. However, the issue turned into a matter of principle, as the women from the dry cleaning was excessively rude. We used the cleaner because of a friend's recommendation and did not do our usual checks on google maps. There are dozens of similar complaints and I think it is time to stand up against what I believe is an abuse of the system.



@unholyangel: No, we haven't had it examined yet. The stopper at the bottom is torn from the fabric and together with a part of the teeth somewhat twisted, so the slider can't catch anymore.


@Diamandis: Absolutely. We would have loved to settle it in a friendly manner. But as described, the owner went full offensive without reason.


@JJ Egan: The LBA is a good advise, I will look into that.


I'm still unsure about the ADR process though. Wouldn't that be a good first step?

bris

"However, the issue turned into a matter of principle"


Your principles could very well get you scolded by the judge and all costs awarded against you. Taking a case to court for 20-30 quid is frivolous and probably wouldn't even pass the first stage.


The claim can also by no means be proved unless you can find an independent expert who can say dry cleaning did it, good luck with that.


You still haven't said how the zip is damaged or the drycleaners name so we can at least look at these complaints against her.

Aylesbury_Duck

Ah, “the principle”. Somehow I knew that would come up.

Totally up to you how you spend your time, but I would have thought that by the time you’ve gone through a legal process (which could get thrown out as mentioned above), any victory is going to be decidedly hollow, and will certainly have cost you much more than you’re out of pocket already.