The dry cleaner ruined the item - what should I do?

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When regular home washing fails to remove stubborn stains, people turn to dry cleaning services. The number of such organizations is growing every day, but not all of them can provide quality service. Therefore, it is important to give away an item after choosing a company in advance, based on reviews from former clients, and you should not go to the first dry cleaner you come across.

There are often cases when dry cleaning spoils a client’s item. And then, many people have a question: is it possible to return the money spent on dry cleaning and whether the organization must, by law, reimburse the damaged item? To answer these and subsequent questions, it is necessary to analyze the situation in detail.

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Normative base

If a poor-quality service is provided or a product is damaged, a citizen’s rights can be restored by referring to:

• Civil Code of the Russian Federation;
• Law on Consumer Protection";
• Rule of consumer services for the population;

Attention
The client may well demand a refund of the cost of dry cleaning and monetary compensation for the damaged item. If the product is so badly damaged that it cannot be used for its original purpose, then the organization must pay its cost twice as much.

All requirements for dry cleaning must be satisfied within three days from the date of application. If there is no answer, then you need to go further and write complaints to higher authorities.

How to write a complaint to a dry cleaner?

The claim is made in free form. It is always better to draw it up in two identical copies. One will be considered by the dry cleaner, and on the second the dry cleaner will mark the acceptance and you will have in your hands a document confirming the direction of the claim.

The claim may be typed or handwritten. The dry cleaner cannot refuse to accept a handwritten claim.

The claim must indicate:

• name of the dry cleaner, its address. If you used the services of a branch, be sure to indicate which one.
• your details - last name, first name, middle name, contact phone number.
• the date of delivery of the item to the dry cleaner and the date of receipt of the item for dry cleaning
• the condition of the item at the time of dry cleaning
• damage that was not repaired or that occurred as a result of the provision of inadequate service - for example, stains, stains, deformation of the shape of the item, etc.
• indicate the requirements.

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According to the consumer protection law, you can demand:

1. in case of loss of an item or loss of consumer properties by an item - replacement of the item with a new one or reimbursement of twice the cost of the item
2. reimbursement of the cost of improperly provided services
3. proportionate reduction in the cost of services provided
4. reimburse expenses - if you corrected the defects yourself or with the help of another dry cleaner.

Actions to take if items are damaged at the dry cleaners

Before handing over the item to the dry cleaner, the acceptance receipt must be issued in accordance with the rules.

Must be indicated:

• legal address of the organization;
• last name, place of residence, telephone number of the client;
• type of work provided;
• description of the product down to the smallest damage and defects;
• date and time of receipt of the product;
• expected order execution time;
• price for the service provided;
• It is advisable to enter the cost of the item itself;
• list all removable elements from the item (belt, collar, etc.);

It is important to be vigilant and not sign anything on the receipt if something is unclear or incomprehensible. Otherwise, when a claim is made, justice will be on the side of the organization.

IMPORTANT

The receiver, when assessing an item if it is unsuitable, must warn about all possible consequences. If he did not do this, then in case of damage, the blame falls entirely on the dry cleaning employee.

If a defect is detected on an item:

• you cannot sign the receipt;
• it is necessary to require the drawing up of a bilateral act with a thorough listing of the existing shortcomings;
• the act should indicate the cost of the product in its original form and insist on compensation in double amount;

Additional information
In the event that defects were discovered after the customer left the dry cleaner, the right to compensation remains valid only if invisible defects could not be detected at the time of acceptance of the item. You can request compensation within two years after dry cleaning. During this time, the company is responsible for the services provided. If the damage to the product was caused by chemical treatment, the customer can file a complaint against them.

If the consumer has signed a document stating that he is completely satisfied with the dry cleaning and has no complaints, further proceedings will no longer be justified.

You can receive compensation in the following ways:

• having tried to come to an agreement with the director of the organization;
• by writing a complaint and sending it to the service center;
• by requesting a final report on the activities performed;

The dry cleaner is also responsible for the safety of items. If the product is lost, the company must fully refund its cost or provide the customer with a similar product.

For your information

There are cases when an organization tries to avoid liability illegally by falsifying receipts, using force and pressure. The client must not give in to threats; it is necessary to record a case of offense and immediately go to court.

Sample statement of claim against dry cleaning

To Leninsky District Court

Ekaterinburg

Plaintiff:

Respondent:

State duty: exempt from payment on the basis

pp. 4 clause 2 and clause 3 art. 333.36 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation,

as well as paragraph 3 of Art. 17 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”

STATEMENT OF CLAIM

on the protection of consumer rights to dry cleaning

On January 31, 2012, a gray sheepskin coat belonging to the plaintiff was handed over to the dry cleaner-laundry “Jaguar”, owned by IP M. The defendant was required to provide dry cleaning and dyeing services for the plaintiff's sheepskin coat. The service was paid for using a Groupon discount coupon 4128872/36691, the cost of which was 950 rubles, and an additional 300 rubles were paid when taking the item to the dry cleaner.

The item was purchased on 01/18/2011. The period for wearing the product is from 01/18/2011 to 03/15-20/2011, from 12/01/2011 to the date of acceptance into the defendant’s organization. Upon acceptance of the product, minor contamination was noted on the bends of the sleeves and in the area of ​​the pockets; the level of wear was determined to be 50%.

When the item was first returned from dry cleaning, the following defects were discovered: the leather of the sheepskin coat became thinner, took on a washed-out appearance, especially in the pocket area, there were brown stains on the cuffs and shoulders, pieces of leather began to differ from each other in color, the texture changed - the “velor” layer was missing " The item acquired an unpleasant odor, the fur on the collar became matted, the collar was wrinkled, and the pockets were bulging. The sheepskin coat has lost its appearance. The plaintiff’s mother received the item from the dry cleaner, but due to her age, poor eyesight and insufficient lighting at the place where the items were picked up from the dry cleaner, she did not notice the above-described shortcomings. The receptionist also took the original receipt and did not provide a copy.

Having discovered defects on the product after dry cleaning, the plaintiff contacted the Defendant again. It turned out that in violation of the terms of service, the sheepskin coat was not painted. The item was taken back for painting. The deadline for readiness was determined to be 03/07/2012, in fact the deadline turned out to be 03/13/2012. The plaintiff also requested a receipt, and she was given a copy.

When the item was returned again, shortcomings were also discovered: the sheepskin coat was painted dark brown, while the item’s own color was gray - the plaintiff did not give consent to change the color, some areas of the item were not painted, the dyeing was done unevenly, parts of the item differ from each other color, the skin has lost its softness, there are creases on the forearms. As a result of dry cleaning and painting, the item was irreversibly damaged. I believe that the item was not painted at all in the end.

In connection with the above, on March 28, 2012, the plaintiff sent a claim to the management of the dry cleaning company, IP Myltsev D.V., with demands to return the cost of poor-quality service provided in the total amount of 1,250 rubles, and to reimburse double the cost of the damaged item in the amount of 50,726 rubles 30 kopecks (the price of a sheepskin coat is 25,363.15 rubles).

In response to the plaintiff’s claim, the defendant did not acknowledge the demands and voluntarily refused to satisfy them. He also expressed an opinion about the suitability of the item and the performance of the service in accordance with GOST. The plaintiff turned to the “Corporation of Independent Experts” to conduct commodity research in order to establish the compliance/non-compliance of the appearance of the sheepskin coat after dry cleaning with the requirements of technical standards. In the conclusion of a specialist expert dated December 2, 2012, it was concluded that based on the results of the study, taking into account the pronounced heterogeneity of the coloring of the product, the dry cleaning and painting services provided do not meet the requirements of GOST R 51108-97.

In accordance with Art. 4 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, the contractor is obliged to perform work, provide a service, the quality of which corresponds to the contract, in the absence of conditions in the contract on the quality of work, service, the contractor is obliged to perform work, provide a service suitable for the purposes for which the work, This type of service is commonly used.

When accepting the plaintiff's sheepskin coat for dry cleaning, the defendant did not warn the plaintiff about all the necessary special properties of the sheepskin coat, which could lead to its complete or partial loss (damage). Chemical cleaning must be carried out without violating the requirements of GOST R 51108-97. However, these requirements were violated. In particular, clause 5.2 – the presence of the smell of solvent and stain removers, clause 5.3 – the color and original shape of the product are not preserved, clause 5.4 – there are creases on the product, clause 5.7 – the product made of natural fur has not retained its original shape and shine .

Thus, I believe that the defendant should compensate twice the price of the damaged item.

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According to Art. 29 of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”: “the consumer has the right to refuse to fulfill the contract for the performance of work (provision of a service) and demand full compensation for losses if, within the period established by the specified contract, the shortcomings of the work performed (service provided) are not eliminated by the contractor. The consumer also has the right to refuse to fulfill the contract for the performance of work (provision of a service) if he discovers significant deficiencies in the work performed (service provided) or other significant deviations from the terms of the contract.”

Since IP Myltsev did not fulfill his obligations for high-quality dry cleaning and painting, to eliminate deficiencies after my appeal, I consider it possible to refuse to fulfill the contract and demand reimbursement of the cost of the service and double the cost of the sheepskin coat. The claim with the specified requirement was transferred to the defendant on March 28, 2012. By letter dated April 11, 2012, the defendant denied my demands.

Consequently, at present the amount of the penalty is equal to the amount of the order, namely 1,250 rubles.

Based on the above, guided by art. 4, 7, 15, paragraph 1, Art. 35, paragraph 6 of Art. 13 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, paragraph 1 of Art. 732 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 98, 100 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph 46 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 28, 2012 N 17 “On the consideration by courts of civil cases in disputes regarding the protection of consumer rights”

Ask:

1. To recover from IP Myltsev D.V. in favor of Sh. double the price of a sheepskin coat in the amount of 50,726 rubles 30 kopecks.
2. To recover from IP Myltsev D.V. in favor of Sh. the cost of poor-quality services provided in the total amount of 1250 rubles.
3. To recover from IP Myltsev D.V. in favor of Sh. for compensation for moral damage in the amount of 20,000 rubles.
4. To recover from IP Myltsev D.V. in favor of Sh. the costs of paying for the services of a representative in the amount of 10,000 rubles, the costs of paying for a commodity examination in the amount of 1,500 rubles, the costs of drawing up a notarized power of attorney in the amount of 1,000 rubles.
5. To recover from IP Myltsev D.V. in favor of Sh. a penalty in the amount of 1,250 rubles.
6. To recover from IP Myltsev D.V. in favor of Sh. a fine in connection with his failure to voluntarily fulfill consumer requirements in the amount of 25,363 rubles 15 kopecks

Date, signature

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Where to contact?

Immediately after discovering a defect in the product, the client should try to peacefully negotiate compensation with the management of the dry cleaner. If the option does not satisfy the client’s requirement, his next step is to file a claim and send it to customer service. But, when this does not help, in order to protect their rights, a citizen can contact one of the following authorities:

1. Rostpotrebnadzor. When the issue is not resolved peacefully, a claim against the enterprise can be added to the complaint.
2. Prosecutor's office. During the prosecutor's inspection due to the complaint, a fine is imposed on the dry cleaner and an obligation to compensate money.
3. Court. You can contact the courts immediately, but it is more recommended to leave it for last. During the negotiations, it will be possible to reach an agreement with the enterprise and avoid exhausting legal processes.

Additional information
The person himself must decide where exactly to turn for help. You can hire a lawyer and follow his recommendations. In any case, the advice of a lawyer will not hurt; guided by his recommendations and professionalism, you can resolve the conflict without litigation. Even if you have to go to court, quality support will help restore justice.

Is an examination needed?

When a dry cleaner expresses clear disagreement with the claims presented, a citizen can turn to an independent expert. There are two types:

1. Technological examination, which identifies the cause of the defect. If the product has deteriorated due to non-compliance with the rules of chemical processing, then such a conclusion is considered an important argument for filing a claim.
2. Commodity examination is carried out in the absence of a sales receipt for the item. This procedure helps to establish the market price of the product taking into account its wear and tear.

All services provided by the examination are paid for by the citizen. If the court sides with the client, the dry cleaner will have to reimburse the amount spent on the examination as well.

Attention

The result of the examination plays a big role in proceedings and disputes. All evidence starts from her. If it shows that the cause of the defect was improper processing of the item, then the dry cleaner is forced to pay compensation to the client.

Claim

The claim is written to the manager of the organization that provides dry cleaning services. The act must indicate all the circumstances relevant to the case and your claims in relation to the enterprise. The document is formatted as follows:

• the name of the organization is indicated;
• Client's full name;
• date of conclusion of the contract;
• check number;
• a detailed description of the identified defects;

Next, you should indicate the existing laws that protect human rights and that they were violated in the process of providing the service.

In conclusion, they record their requirements in relation to dry cleaning and the deadline for fulfillment in accordance with the law. The client's further action in the event of non-fulfillment of his requirements is also indicated. The act is drawn up in two copies, one is kept by the client, and the other is left by the organization.

For your information

The claim must be reviewed by the dry cleaning management within three working days. If the answer is negative, you should request a written conclusion to be presented as evidence in court. If there is no response to the claim, then you need to send another one, but with a receipt. If the dry cleaning management also ignores it, then the notification is tantamount to a refusal.

claims if deficiencies in the provision of services (dry cleaning) are detected here.

about compensation for damaged items

On October 22, 2010, I entered into an agreement with your dry cleaner to provide me with dry cleaning services for sheepskin coats. The sheepskin coat was almost new, only the first time I had it cleaned.

On November 5, 2010, I came to receive my sheepskin coat from cleaning. She has completely lost her appearance (all in spots, stripes and stains), it is absolutely impossible to wear such a sheepskin coat.

In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 35 of the Law of the Russian Federation - “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” - I ask:

1) either return a similar sheepskin coat to me within the three-day period established by law, or reimburse me twice the cost of the damaged sheepskin coat.

2) and also refund me the cost of dry cleaning.

The cost of a sheepskin coat is 15,000 rubles, the cost of dry cleaning is 350 rubles. Thus, the amount to be paid is 15,350 rubles.

ASK:

Consider my claim within 10 days. If my demands are ignored, I will be forced to go to court. In the statement of claim, in addition to the above, I will ask the court to recover compensation for moral damages from your company, and you will also have to pay a state fee.

APPLICATION:

– a copy of the receipt for the provision of services (dry cleaning);

– a copy of the sales receipt for the sheepskin coat.

November 28, 2010

Ivanova A. L.__________

Or we draw up a report on detected defects:

Step-by-step instructions for filing a complaint against a dry cleaner

If the written complaint has no impact on the conflict situation, the citizen can only write a complaint to the supervisory services.

If a complaint is written to Rostpotrebnadzor, you need to do this:

• visit the site;
• to write an application;
• send a complaint;
• await review;

When a complaint is written to the prosecutor's office, you must:

• to write an application;
• send it by registered mail or stamped mail;
• await review;

A complaint to the court is written when there is no satisfactory result from Rostpotrebnadzor and the prosecutor's office . But if the client wishes, he can start immediately with the trial. To do this, a citizen must:

• to write an application;
• send a letter
• wait for the result of the review;

What to do if your item is damaged at the dry cleaners

Well, your dry cleaning item was ruined and you don’t know where to start or what to do? Let's look at the necessary steps from the very beginning:

We resolve the conflict verbally

First you need to talk to the manager and explain your requirements verbally. The argument will be the receipt that was issued when placing an order for the provision of services. The document must contain information about:

• legal address of the organization, its contacts;
• Full name, contact details of the customer (client);
• type of service provided;
• name, detailed description of the item (even the fittings are described);
• time of completion;
• day of acceptance of the order;
• cost of services, payment note, advance payment;
• Full name, signature of the person who accepted the order;
• customer's signature.

The latter indicates that the owner has been warned about possible risks. Often, all clients are provided with a “universal” receipt for signature, which states in small print that the customer has been informed of possible damage to the clothing.

This signature is the main argument of the performer. Therefore, even if the item was damaged in dry cleaning, the victim’s claim remains unsatisfied. But is the refusal legal?

Not really. According to the provisions of the Civil Code, a receipt is one of the types of adhesion agreement. That is, the consumer can use the services (in our case, dry cleaning) only by agreeing to the conditions of the contractor. At the same time, civil law stipulates that this agreement cannot limit the right of citizens to protect their interests. Thus, the presence of standard phrases on receipts about a possible risk does not exclude the responsibility of the contractor if a down jacket, fur coat, jacket or coat is damaged in a dry cleaner.

Making a claim

But since you are reading this article, most likely you have already passed point number 1, and you have not been able to resolve the conflict with the dry cleaner amicably. Therefore, we move on to the next stage - we file a written claim. You can download a sample claim for dry cleaning here - Claim for damages. You will find a detailed description of the preparation of such a document below, in the next section - “Sample”.

This claim must be sent by registered mail or handed over to the head of the dry cleaning company against signature.

We file a complaint

If the complaint did not have an effect and the dry cleaner refused you or simply ignored you, we proceed to the third stage - a complaint to the supervisory authorities. In our case, this is Rospotrebnadzor. You can download a sample complaint here - Complaint to Rospotrebnadzor.

It should be noted that a complaint can be submitted in the traditional way - in writing to the official address of the organization responsible for your city (or district) or online on the regulator’s website. At this link you will find a form for filing a complaint for residents of the Moscow region - //77.rospotrebnadzor.ru/index.php/upravlenie/priemnaya/forma. If you live in another region of the Russian Federation, then simply select the appropriate city on the Rospotrebnadzor website. Below are the fields that you have to fill out on the site.

Court

Together with the decision of Rospotrebnadzor, we have prepared an application to the court, we attach all the materials to the claim and submit the dry cleaning to the court.

Arbitrage practice

In cases where a company refuses to voluntarily compensate for damage caused to a client, the case is often heard in court. It takes a long time for a citizen to achieve this, persistently going through examination services and complaints to the appropriate authorities.

In the course of judicial practice, many cases have been recorded when the court was on the side of the plaintiff. But full satisfaction of requirements does not happen often.

It is worth remembering that dry cleaning may also be exempt from compensation under the law. This can happen:

1. If the item accepted for processing had hidden problems that the receiver did not notice. If the client was also not aware of the existing defects, then the parties remain the same. But when a citizen brings such an item on purpose and starts a conflict in the hope of receiving compensation, he will be convicted by the court for fraud.
2. If the receiver is not sure that the item will not be damaged during processing, he must inform the client about all the existing nuances. If all suspicions are described in the receipt, the client cannot make a further claim against the dry cleaner.

Please note:
To increase the likelihood of a trial outcome in favor of the client, you need to have irrefutable evidence.

It includes:

• availability of receipt and sales receipt;
• the result of the work performed;
• witness statements;
• result carried out by an independent expert.

To sue a company, you need to take into account all the pros and cons. Only in this case you need to start this long and unpleasant business.

The law has such a concept as a statute of limitations for poorly provided services. In other words, claims against contractors should be submitted within the period established by law, but should not be delayed for more than a year.