Dry cleaners ruined coat

[spinduffy]

I have a good cream wool coat from Reiss that I use only on special occasions e.g. Weddings. It cost £325 and was bought 18 months ago.

I left it in to be dry cleaned (with my usual company that has done the coat before) and it has come back badly marked. The dry cleaners accepts it's their responsibility.

What I want to know is how much should they offer? They told me to come back during the week to discuss. The coat is no longer available.

I don't want money, I just want my stylish wool coat back!

Can they reclean it and see if the marks come out? Have you looked online for a replacement? You may find someone selling the same coat on eBay.

They have recleaned it twice and there has been no improvement. None on eBay either.

What dry cleaning chemicals do they use? If they use the "green earth" ones (silica based) then get them to send it to a shop that uses the old fashioned solvents cause they get the chemicals out better. Long shot cause I'd think they'd have tried this before you even saw the coat had been messed up but thought it was worth mentioning..

This happened to me this week with a Hobbs coat. I emailed Hobbs and they sent me a brand new one. Though in my case it had been dry cleaned according to the instructions, so it may have been a faulty coat.

Mine was dry cleaned as per instructions, but for some reason there are black blotches on it! That was good of Hobbs!

They should pay for the cost of a replacement. Take some examples of prices to them and tell them you want a new coat. It's not exactly about what it's 'worth' per se - it's about the fact you do not have the coat they ruined. Find some similar styles of a similar quality and go from there.

Reiss have a couple of similar coats but they are £325 - same original cost. Is it being grabby to expect them to replace with this? I am not in a position at the moment to be contributing to it myself- a new wool winter coat was not on the agenda for at least another few years!

They either pay for a new one or pay the excess on your insurance. Which works better for you? Pursue that.

They either pay for a new one or pay the excess on your insurance. Which works better for you? Pursue that.

DH had this with a jacket, luckily I'd keep the receipt. We emailed the shop he'd bought it from they confirmed they didn't have it in stock so the dry cleaners gave us a refund for the full amount which was about £400.

If they offer money for a new one take the ruined coat back anyway. Try putting it through a wool wash with wool detergent , you've got nothing to lose.

I used to work in a dry cleaners as a Saturday job. I know ours used to send expensive garments off. Did they fill out a form when you took it in, noting how much the coat is worth and how long you had it? I never came across anything like this so unsure as to how it works but I think they should be giving some replacement money.

I don't know whether I would risk it with an item of clothing that expensive but I always wash my dry clean only clothes. Dry cleaning doesn't remove grease, just brings it more to the surface if I remember rightly.

They either pay for a new one or pay the excess on your insurance. Which works better for you? Pursue that

No, this is a terrible idea, OP's premium will increase at next renewal when this incident wasn't her fault at all.

People have household insurance for situations where they are themselves at fault (accident) or the 'wrongdoing' party can't be found (like a burglary)

So many people on MN fail to appreciate this.

OP, the cleaners have a legal duty to indemnify you, i.e. to put you in the same position as you would be in had they not ruined your coat.

If a comparable second hand coat cannot be found, then they will have to either find you a new one, or pay you sufficient damages so you can buy another one.

Thank you. I've found a similar coat in Reiss for £325. I will ask them to get me that! It's same fabric and length, just buttons and shade are different. I will keep you posted.