Dry Cleaner Damaged or Lost Your Clothes? Your Rights (UK)

You drop off a favourite jacket and get back something shrunk, discoloured, or not at all. Dry cleaners owe you a careful service and are liable when they ruin or lose your clothes. Here is how to claim.

Your rights

Dry cleaning is a service under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, so it must be carried out with reasonable care and skill. If they damage, shrink, discolour, or lose a garment through carelessness, they are responsible and must compensate you.

The "no liability" sign is not the whole story

Many cleaners display disclaimers, but a business cannot exclude liability for its own negligence by a notice alone — terms that try to are often unfair and unenforceable. There is a difference between an inherent risk in cleaning a delicate item they warned you about, and damage caused by their carelessness, for which they are liable.

How compensation is worked out

Compensation reflects the garment's value at the time of damage — taking account of age and wear, not the original price. The cleaning trade often uses a recognised fair-wear-and-tear scale, but you can argue for a reasonable figure with proof of the item's value.

How to claim

1. Raise it immediately and keep the ticket and the garment.
2. Photograph the damage and gather proof of the item's value (receipt, similar listings).
3. Complain in writing, stating the damage and the compensation you want.
4. If they refuse, the small claims court handles these routinely; some cleaners are members of a trade association with a complaints route.

A complaint letter template

Dear [Dry cleaner],

Re: Order [ticket number] — damaged/lost garment

You [damaged / shrank / discoloured / lost] my [item] cleaned on [date]. Under the
Consumer Rights Act 2015 you must carry out the service with reasonable care and
skill. I claim £[amount], reflecting the item's value. Any notice excluding
liability for your own carelessness is not enforceable.

Please respond within 14 days.

Yours faithfully,
[Your name and contact details]

Don't be put off by a disclaimer on the wall. Keep the ticket and the garment, evidence the value, and claim a fair amount for careless damage or loss.