Curtain damage/small claims court

rach2008

Hi everyone.

Hoping to get any advice insight that anyone can help with.

The issue was I wanted my curtains rehung after builders took them down (I could do this myself but needed to get the hook placement right to get the correct wave pattern). I asked the curtain manufacturers to help thinking this would set me about around £50. The curtain manufacturers said they would only do this if I got my curtains dry cleaned first. I protested that the curtains did not require a clean (I do not close them and the fabric repels dust.) I was reluctant thinking they may deteriorate. The curtain manufacturer insisted and said the curtains would be completely fine (giving no guidelines other than general dry clean), so with no other option for help to rehang them, I took the curtains to my local dry cleaners. Then the curtain company said they wanted £250 to do the rehang! I asked why this was so expensive and they told me that the cost would include a steam and dressing taking up to 2 hours. The dry clean had already cost me a lot but I had had the dry clean and so I saved up and paid the money they wanted.

The guy came to put the curtains up and took about 15 minutes doing so. He told me he had not been instructed to do anything else so I had paid all that money for only 15 minutes work! However the real issue here is that the curtains had shrunk following cleaning and now need to be completely replaced at a cost of almost £2000.

I looked into whether the dry cleaners were at fault or the manufacturer. My feeling is that the manufacturer is at fault. A google search shows dry cleaning curtains comes with a risk of shrinkage so I feel the curtain company did not act in my interests insisting on the dry clean given risks they would have been aware of (they told me dry cleaning was necessary for the steam which they didn't even do). The curtains have no care label so I was reliant on the curtain manufacturer's advice (and they have worked with this fabric for many years and know how it reacts). The curtain company are offering me no concessions and seems I must take them to court if I get anything back at all. Does anyone have any advice on how I could argue this or anything else in relation to this? (I have no clue how it works) I am very upset as £2000 is so much money.

When I looked into the dry cleaners I found out they used a green dry cleaning method known as wet cleaning. I do not feel this changes anything as I can find no information it is unsuitable for cotton curtains but just for information.  Hope this makes sense and thanks in advance.

Curtain advice
Small claims court
Dry cleaning

TELLIT01

I think your first step needs to be to speak to the cleaners.  You need to clarify how 'dry cleaning' can use some sort of wet method.  Furthermore, did the dry cleaners give you any warning that their method of cleaning could lead to shrinkage.  On the face of it, I suspect any claim would be against the dry cleaner rather than the curtain manufacturer.

Almost as an aside, I don't understand why you needed somebody else to take them down and rehang.  Surely you could have noted the position of the hooks.  Expecting a company to send somebody out to do the work for £50 is unrealistic as many companies would have a minimum charge of half day.  Did you not ask how much they would charge to rehang?

Loza2016

It’s been 25 years since I worked for a dry cleaners but we always made customers aware curtains could shrink relax in the cleaning process. It’s common for the curtains to shrink but not the lining so can look odd after. 

We had a form that customers had to sign to confirm they understood and accepted the risk. 

Did the cleaners not advise you this could happen? 

swingaloo

All items that go through the Dry Cleaning process get wet.  Its just that it is a solvent rather than water, they still get soaked.

rach2008

Thanks for your response. Firstly my dry cleaners said nothing prior to cleaning and I was not worried after the curtain company told me they would be fine being cleaned (They - the dry cleaners - also don't speak much English so it has been difficult to speak to them) The curtain company initially argued that the dry cleaners should have advised that shrinkage could occur making the dry cleaner's liable.  The curtain company then found out about the wet cleaning and said that this method shouldn't have been used. But I would argue why  did they not advise me properly on what cleaning to use (from what I've found out 'wet cleaning' is often used for dry cleaning (which is distinct from normal water washing). If I had known the curtains were this delicate I would have been a lot more cautious. I asked the dry cleaner's to 'dry clean' the curtains, not knowing about different techniques.

So I didn't ask how much the rehang charge would be before the dry clean as I thought it would be low. I see now I was naïve. I feel the curtain company did not have my best interests at heart forcing me to do the dry clean. I would rather just pay £250 for a rehang than have to fork out £2000 for replacing curtains. I actually contacted other curtain companies to get quotes for new curtains and they told me they would never insist on a dry clean for a simple rehang, and that dry cleaning (with or without water) does come with a risk of shrinkage.

And to explain your other point, I had builders in working on my floor who took the curtains down unexpectedly and I didn't therefore know where the hooks went to put them up again myself. 

DullGreyGuy

I'm more confused why the hooks were removed? I can understand taking the curtains down if they are going to be producing dust or painting etc but you just unhook them from the rail and leave the hooks in the curtain hence its a 10 minute job to put them back up (assuming they are large and heavy).

Can't say I have much experience with curtains but certainly if you want people to work on other fabric items it is normal for them to insist that they are cleaned before someone gets up close and personal with them. You'd have no idea how much dust, crud, allergens have been trapped in the fabric since the last time they were cleaned. 

There are over half a dozen different dry cleaning methods and not all dry cleaners offer all of them. Do the curtains have labels that explain what the materials are and what methods should be used? Given you say the firm you used "barely spoke English" how did you ensure they understood what materials they are? I'm guessing you dont speak their language? 

Grumpy_chap

What is the value that the OP is thinking they might be able to recover from someone here?

The £250 paid for the rehang received the service paid for so no claim here.  If that is poor value, the time for the discussion about the cost was before the work was agreed.

The replacement curtains cost £2k, but what was the cost of the original curtains?  How old were the original curtains?  There is a depreciation factor to consider for the life of the curtains as a proportion of expected life.  It sounds like these curtains were possibly at end of life and residual value is nil.  You can't get betterment by the old curtains being ruined and brand new curtains in exchange.

The cost of the dry cleaning.

saajan_12

Seems like a mad sequence of events and even when one step had gone unexpectedly, OP ploughed on without taking a step back to consider other advice. So while I usually don't like to pile on about what should have been done, it seems there's quite a few basic lessons which are important to take stock of. 

* Always ask the total cost before embarking on the first step (eg how much will the rehang be before you do the dry clean, so that if its too high, you can ask someone else who may or may not need the dry clean

* Check the item after the first service ie dry clean in this case, check it hasn't shrunk, and claim from them if necessary (regardless of any argument with the curtain company). You wouldn't have incurred the £250 if you knew they had shrunk beforehand)

* Confirm in writing which services are included eg steam, dressing (what even is a dressing) and compare with others whether the amount is competitive. 
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Re what to do now, try to get some acknowledgement of their advice to get it dry cleaned in writing if not already. 

rach2008

No care labels on curtains. Curtain company told me just to dry clean and that they would be fine (which I have in writing). I was not aware items could shrink. The curtain has shrunk from the lining and this curtain company originally made the curtains 2 inches too short which I had let go as they would have had to bin the curtains and start again - but means shrinkage is all the more of an issue). Curtains were 10 years old, original cost £1600, but they looked fine - I don't close them. They are large curtains and very difficult to manoeuvre myself hence I had not been able to fully unfold the curtain and see any damage before they were hung up. I contacted multiple curtain firms for a rehang but the ones that responded told me they would only work with their own curtains. I had it in writing that I would get a steam (of course water based process) and dressing with the rehang. Also that it would take about 1.5-2 hours. But only got a quick rehang.

Grumpy_chap

I would have thought the life span for curtain would not be any more than 10 years.  So, 100% depreciation on the original purchase price.  The value of the loss of the end-of-life curtains is nil.

Others may have alternative views on the life-span and, hence, residual value.

prettyandfluffy

 Curtains frequently shrink when washed or dry cleaned, usually at a different rate to the lining.  This is often an expensive learning curve but after 10 years you've had value from your curtains; I had a pair of custom-made silk curtains in a pale colour (never again!) that needed to be cleaned after less than 2 years and they shrank.  A lot.