Dry Cleaner Ruined My Dress - Now What?

leahd50

I was just married on July 23 and absolutely loved my dress!  It's a Lea Ann Belter "Mallory" that I modified slightly w/a sweetheart neckline and I added a rhinestone sash.  The bottom got quite dirty, so I brought it into the dry cleaner as soon as I could, which was the following Wednesday.  http://www.lea-annbelter.com/2008_collection_mallory.php - Duchess Silk Satin with Alencon lace on top and the bottom mermaid part is just the silk satin.

I went to pick it up last Friday, it's gone from being white (technically off-white) to an overall yellowish/cream color.  The Alencon lace apliques are still white, so now instead of matching the fabric underneath, the lace pieces are an obvious contrast.  The silk satin bottom part is no longer silky with a satin shine.  it's a dull, soft fabric and is yellowish.  I'm sure there is nothing they can do to reverse the color change.

I'm not sure what to do now.  I left it at the dry cleaner and told them it's ruined and I will come back to discuss it with the owner tomorrow.  It was my dream dress, and I just got our professional pictures back this weekend and when I look at the pics, I just adore my dress.  But when I think about the cream-colored mess it's become, it makes me sad!

Do I ask that they replace it with a new one?  If I do that, I'll have a beautiful dress again, but I'd need to get it altered again and I'll know that it's not "my" wedding dress from my wedding.  Do I ask for the retail value ($4,000 - which I didn't pay; I got it on sale)?  Do I tell them I was going to sell it for $2,000?  Do I just agree to not pay the dry cleaning fee?  

If it were you, what would you do?

This is a picture of my dress after the dry cleaner and the one below is from my wedding.  It's a pretty obvious difference in color. 

saintpaulJess

Your dress is gorgeous!  I am so sorry it was ruined.

Did you sign anything when you dropped it off that would limit their liability?

SuperRNluvsChef

I guess I don't understand what the big deal is?  Sure I'd be pissed and demand compensation at least for the cost of the cleaning if they still charged you.  But you're married and have beautiful photos to remember your dress with.  I don't understand why you want it replaced, did you want to preserve it? 

I could be totally off base but I'm planning on donating my dress so my feelings are different. 

khornbach

Did you go to a dry cleaner who specialized in wedding dress preservation? they are the only ones that a wedding dress should be taken to for cleaning. 

maybe984

I will start out by saying this... I totally get why you're pissed. However, I think asking them to reimburse you for the retail value is pretty ridiculous. I would recommend that you openly discuss your displeasure and see what they offer you. I'm guessing they're probably legally protected from having to pay you exorbitant fees for discoloring your dress. If you went to small claims court, you'd probably pay more to file the complaint than you would actually get back in compensation.

I know this doesn't do you any good... but let this serve as a PSA to other brides who haven't gotten their gown cleaned yet... AVOID Dry Cleaners! Most of the shops that specialize in wedding gowns use a process called wet cleaning, and it's way safer. The chemicals they use in dry cleaning are basically toxic sludge, so I'm never surprised when stuff gets ruined.

khornbach

It is stressful getting your dress cleaned after the wedding. My dress store has told me there is a specific store in NYC that I'm supposed to ship my dress to for cleaning and preservation. They give you a gift certificate to ease the money problem.
I'm so sorry you've run into this problem. I'm not sure if you'll be able to get any money out of the dry cleaners though.

leahd50

I didn't sign anythign when I brought it in.  I took it to this dry cleaner because they advertise that they specalize in wedding dresses. 

I hold very sentimental value to it and wanted to keep and cherish it for years to come.  My mother did not save her wedding dress, and I always wished she had.  My MIL has her own mother's dress, which she has given to (and it fits!) her daughter.  I am envious that they have held onto their family dress.

My dress retails for $4,000, so for someone to ruin a dress of that value and not provide any repayment to me is absurd.  If this were a dress for any other occassion, I would not just accept it in return for no dry cleaning charge.  I would ask that it be replaced.  And in this instance, the personal value to me is difficult to put a dollar amount on.  Looking at pictures of it is not the same as being able to look at it in person or pass it along to my family.  In addition, had my feelings toward it for some reason changed, I could sell it in the short term for $1500 - 2000 (I looked up similiar dresses by this designer and this is what they are going for, preowned).   

I called the owner of the dry cleaner (Falconer's), Roger Mamedov, introduced myself and politely told him I was calling to find out what sort of recourse can be taken.  He immediately stated that he knew who I was, and started yelling (quite literally, yelling) "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME AND ACCUSE ME OF RUINING YOUR DRESS!  YOU SHOULD BE THANKING ME FOR FIXING IT!  HOW DARE YOU!  I SHOULD BE CHARGING YOU TRIPLE FOR ALL THE TIME I PUT IN TO FIX IT!"  Without raising my voice to his level, I said to him that when I brought my dress in, aside from the dirt on the bottom of the train, the dress was white.  It is now yellowed.  I started to describe the lace/bodice contrast and he interrupted me, yelling again, "IT WAS NEVER WHITE!  IT WAS NOT WHITE!  I DID NOT CHANGE COLOR!"  I told him I am certain of the color, and that I have professional photographers, the designer's website, and 250 wedding guests that will prove the dress was a different color when I brought it in.  I also told him the value of the dress and he said "$4,000?  IT IS NOT $4,000!!"  and would not listen to me that I have already contated the only store in MN that sells this dress, and they quoted me $4,000.  He continuted to verbally harrass me to the point that I could not continue the call and I hung up.

My husband called back, told him yelling isn't going to help resolve the situation, and reiterated that the bottom line is he did send the dress back discolored.  Mr. Mamedov continued to tell my husband that it was never white and he didn't change the color.  Clearly, from photos, you can see that this is a blatant lie. 

I have already filed a complaint with the BBB, and if they are unable to resolve the situation, we are prepared to take him to court.  At this point it has gone beyond the personal value and desire to save my dress for years to come, to now being verbally assaulted and treated in such an incredibly rude manner that cannot be tolerated.  I have already looked into the cost of small claims court and the filing fee is reasonbly inexpensive. 

Whatever you do, DO NOT take your clothes or wedding dress to Falconer's Dry Cleaner. 

EmilyW416

Oh wow I am so sorry. Thats terrible, I hope everything goes well for you! Sounds like theyhave horrible customer service

FutureMrsS13

OMG  thats so aweful!! Im wishing you the best!
 I will not bring anything there...thankfully i dont live near it....

Steph0871

Yeah. To be honest- asking them to replace the retail value of your dress is ridiculous. Now, if you weren't married yet that'd be a different story.  I dont get it. It's just going to sit in a box/bag in your basement for the next 20+ years. It's going to get yellowed anyway.

If you really feel like you need to be righted in teh situation, I'd recommend contacting another cleaner that specializes in wedding dresses. Ask them to take a look at the dress to see if there's anything they can do and get a quote. Request you be compensated that amount; i.e. the cost to 'fix' your dress.

But seriously? Why would you even want a new dress. if you're all about keeping it for sentimental reasons, why would you want a new one that looks the same?

SuperRNluvsChef

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_dry-cleaner-ruined-dress-now?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:5424eb59-6b9f-4909-aedb-84e249e49fd0Post:301b22cf-8fda-4a1e-93cf-2330dfc605e5">Re: Dry Cleaner Ruined My Dress - Now What?</a>:
[QUOTE]Yeah. To be honest- asking them to replace the retail value of your dress is ridiculous. Now, if you weren't married yet that'd be a different story.  I dont get it. It's just going to sit in a box/bag in your basement for the next 20+ years. It's going to get yellowed anyway. If you really feel like you need to be righted in teh situation, I'd recommend contacting another cleaner that specializes in wedding dresses. Ask them to take a look at the dress to see if there's anything they can do and get a quote. Request you be compensated that amount; i.e. the cost to 'fix' your dress. But seriously? Why would you even want a new dress. if you're all about keeping it for sentimental reasons, why would you want a new one that looks the same?
Posted by Steph0871[/QUOTE]

This.  Exactly this.  Just like Steph said if they gave you $$ for a new dress it still wouldn't be the same one. 

The situation sucks and I completely agree that you should be compensated to some extent but I still guess I don't understand why it's such a big deal for you to keep your dress *shrugs* everyone's different though. 

maybe984

Assuming your representation of the phone call is accurate, and you were calmly explaining the situation when he got hostile... I agree... there's no excuse for his poor behavior. However, I think you're potentially wasting a whole lot of time and money if you try taking this to court. You would have to PROVE that the dry cleaner knowingly used inappropriate methods to clean the dress and that it is in fact RUINED. Unless it's unwearable or completely unsightly, I doubt you're going to convince any judge to make the dry cleaner pay you $4000 for a discolored dress. Not to piss you off or anything, but I think it looks even prettier with a bit of a two-tone quality.

Ditto Steph about calling around to real wedding dress specialists and seeing if there's anything they can do to fix it. I've seen some amazing restorations of old, molded dresses... so there has to be some hope. If anything, you could see how much a lawyer would charge to write a sternly worded letter to the dry cleaner asking them to pay the bill for the restoration.

leahd50

Update on my dress: I took it to the Director of Education & Analysis with the International Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (where I was referred by 3 other dry cleaners) and he said it was cleaned improperly.  My silk dress was washed in water, tumbled, and pressed - all of which caused the silk fibers to break dow and lose it's body and sheen (and cannot be restored), and they used the wrong chemical, turning it yellowish.  To top it all off, in order for them to return my dress to me so I could bring it to this expert, they charged me for the dry cleaning.  So $108 and a $4,000 wedding dress ruined, I'm strongly considering taking them to concilliation court.  They should be held responsible for their actions, and considering the way they have treated me this far, I'm sure they won't now fess up to their mistakes and settle with me outside of court.  What a hassle.  Do NOT bring your gown to Falconer's.