Boden wool viscose coat after the dry cleaning :(

[underwater4]

Evening :) I am not an active member but I really need your advise right now please. (sorry if I should've posted this under House Keeping?)

Last week I took my favorite Boden coat to the local dry cleaners for the fist time since I purchased. I know I'm cheap. (Anyway, tag says Dry Cleaning Only. Cool Iron. Don't Bleach. 50% Wool, 50% Viscose). Unlined.

We've used this dry cleaners previously and the owner is always friendly. It looks like they have the machines at the end of the store/premises.

Today I went to collect the coat and wore it straight away on the spot, walked around in high street for an hour, then came home. Since I noticed the cuff area was a bit loose, I thought maybe JUST IN CASE I should inspect it and this is what I found

coat on the bed - taken tonight under room/warm light, and some are taken with flash. I'm searching some old pictures of me wearing the coat as well.

Obviously I didn't noticed it today when I was out as I was alone, so I'll have to wait and see how it looks under the day light though.

Eh...
Polka dots at the front, and inside the coat you can see there are beige-ish lines. to me, it looks like the colour is faded - like partially being left in the sun in the summer.

Is that because the fabric is possibly unique?
Can i use some sort of brush to smooth the surface?
OR is that because tag says COOL DRY ...but they didn't?

They've pressed it on something, probably a steam thing that's left that pattern. Does it brush out?

Try light brushing on a small area to see if it improves, otherwise take it back to the cleaners.

They've pressed it on a presser. Its just like a book (presser has two surfaces, top one comes down and close like a book) and it got small holes in it, from which steam comes. It is very good to press trouser, jackets, sheets, curtains but care required for wool item because they can get damage from high steam !!
I think what they've done is that, they put your coat on Presser and brought its top down and steamed it. I think presser steam was too high for your coat thats why you have this pattern on your coat.
Probably they didn't notice what happened to your coat but fabrics like corduray and wool too can get damage if you press them in a presser by bringing the top down.
The only solution is you can try soft brush on it, or take it back to dry cleaner they must have a corduray pressing brush. It is also possible that your coat permanently damaged now.
Best of luck xx

Thank you @Noloudnoises @thedevilinablackdress @Naumanah for taking your time to comment, it cheered up me up a bit!

I didn't have appropriate mini brush except teeth brush so i just used fingers to rub in circular motion, but didn't see much difference. (the fabric/hair is quite short, almost like a felt)

I think you guys are guys SO right...they must have used the presser otherwise those dots wont' be there!! I Googled "dry cleaners press" and got the general idea of what they use. (like a panini maker?)

(Well, I did go to back to the dry cleaners this morning, will write that later )

The first pic - within blue dotted area I can definitely feel the fabric is darker and tougher/harder compare to where pink dot is
2nd &3 rd pic (from this morning) you can see a big rectangular patch at the back, and dots at the front.

So yeah @Naumanah, maybe it could have been damaged permanently. By the way that's so helpful you seem to know all the dry cleaners tool. esp Coduroy Pressing Brush! never knew it existed.

In the daylight I get some compliments on this coat (not the design, but the colour, haha )

I am a dry cleaner @underwater4, that is why I know all this stuff. There is definitely a mistake happened in pressing your coat. Hopefully it will get sorted soon.

If the fabric is stiffer then it's been felted which is irreversible damage. Go back and talk to them.

(thanks @Naumanah I didn't want to blame the dry cleaners in the beginning, so I've e-mailed Boden to see if they've had any reports with the coat previously in case if the fabric was faulty)

When I went back to the dry cleaners & e-mailed Boden, I haven't read you guys' comments so I didn't have the concrete speculation (I know I'mt a bit naive)

Anyway below is what the owner said :

--Coat was hung and hand steamed by him, not pressed because it doesn't have the lining. he repeated "hand steam."
--When he dry cleans something like cardigans he won't hang it because it can be heavy after the wash and can get stretched. (which I don't know why he told me )
--Going to dry clean it again right away to see if he can restore the colour

When i pointed why there are dots at the front, and front fabric looks darker & tougher compare to the rest, he said "he doesn't know."

He offered the Dry Cleaning again so i left it with him. though I'm 95% positive that the fabric is damaged by them and irreversible like @Paraballa said.

Yes he's damaged it by hand steaming it. The heat and pressure were too much. Don't let it go. Let him try his fixes then when it doesn't work ask him to replace the coat.
In the meantime get advice from Trading Standards who will just tell you the same but then you can tell him you've spoken to them.
But he may offer anyway. We all make mistakes.

Ahh what a shitter
Hope the coat comes back restored

Also... what style is this coat? I love it and am looking on eBay at Boden coats now 🙈

@Paraballa good point about Trading Standard, I'm printing out some pages relating to it. thanks for commenting,

Any update? How did it go?