The Dry Cleaners have Ruined My Husband's Suit

Fedupfanny

Hi all

I hope someone can help me.

I need a professional report on a suit that was damaged by a dry cleaner. Can anyone tell me who I can contact for a written opinion on the condition, likely cause of damage, and whether it’s repairable, suitable for an insurance or small‑claims case?”

The suit was Made by Austin Rees, so at the time of purchase it wasn't cheap, I have asked them for compensation to cover a new suit, but they have only offered to refund the cost of the dry cleaning service. This would not even buy the buttons!

I would be grateful for any advice you can give me

Thanks in anticipation

 

sheramber

How old is the siut?

A ailor /seamstress should be able to tell yoiu if it is repairable.

Does the shop have insurance cover, who would deal with any claim?

You are only entitled to the value of the suit when handed in to the dry cleaners, not the cost of a new suit unless it was new when handed in.

lincroft1710

How old is the suit and what is the damage? Because if the suit is several years old, it will probably have little value.

pinkshoes

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6667842/the-dry-cleaners-have-ruined-my-husbands-suit

How old is the suit?

In what way has it been damaged?

What do the suits cleaning instructions say? Did you inform them of these? Did they follow them?

You would not be entitled to a new suit. You would need to find the cost of a replacement second hand one or the cost to have it repaired.

Brie

it is quite possible that some damage may not be the fault of the dry cleaners. If, for example, there is a lot of bubbling of the fabric this would not be the cleaners' fault but the manufacturer who has used faulty interfacing to structure the suit.

if on the other hand you gave them the suit in relatively good condition and they returned it with an arm ripped off the jacket, well, that would be their fault.

eskbanker

The suit was Made by Austin Rees, so at the time of purchase it wasn't cheap, I have asked them for compensation to cover a new suit

Assuming you're referring to Austin Reed, they went into administration ten years ago, so is the suit older than that?

lincroft1710

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81994900#Comment_81994900

Austin Reed are still very much active online and are owned by Edinburgh Woollen Mill

Grumpy_chap

Hopefully the OP will return to advise how old the suit is. That is critical to assessing what remedy might be appropriate.

timjim

I think you'll find that Edinburgh Woollen Mill bought the name rather like M&S bought the right to use the Jaeger name. The cloths in M&S are definitely not Jaeger's quality

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6667842/the-dry-cleaners-have-ruined-my-husbands-suit

If they are liable then they would be required to indemnify you, ie put you back in the same financial position as you were immediately before the problem. So immediately before the action you had a X year old suit in need of dry cleaning so they would have to give you the amount of cash it would take to buy a X year old suit that needs cleaning. Looking on eBay at completed listings you are probably looking at circa £35

There are however two other considerations, firstly are they actually liable? You would need to show their actions or inactions were not reasonable for a dry cleaners, their charges will also be a consideration… our local dry cleaners charge about £15 for a 2 piece suit, the one in town charges £90, you can't expect the same skills and results between the two.

Secondly, what do the terms say? Terms will often try and cap or remove liability.

Why were you getting the suit dry cleaned? It's a horrible process that is not good for the suit, environment or anything and really should only be used as a last resort when other localised cleaning attempts have failed. Obviously if the suit was in a mess then that will further reduce the value of it.

Fedupfanny

Thank you for all your comments, sorry I did not reply sooner, have not been well. To be honest I don't hold out much hope so have decided to give up.