TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE PROVISION OF DRY CLEANING AND LAUNDRY SERVICES
By entrusting your laundry and clothes to us, you fully accept the Terms set forth herein
DISPLAY OF PRICES AND SERVICE OFFERINGS
Refer to mandatory display, as defined by the Administration.
All services performed are payable upon collection or delivery..
ISSUE OF THE DROP-OFF TICKET
When items are handed over to the service provider, the following document(s) - constituting the drop-off ticket- shall display the following details:
• The shop’s name
• The date at which the item(s) are handed over
• The quantity and nature of such items
• The type of service ordered
• The price of each service
• The possible reserves made by the service provider
• The purchase value of the item(s) entrusted to the service provider when such value exceeds the compensation scale
• The existence of a friendly report in case of dispute.
BUSINESS LIABILITY
Businesses must make all necessary effort to deliver the best possible result regarding the items entrusted to them.
Under the terms of the law:
In case the piece of clothing entrusted to the service provider cannot be safely returned to the customer (loss, items wrongly handed to another customer, thief, fire, etc.), the former is deemed liable in accordance with Article 1789 of the French Civil Code (performance obligation). In such case, it is the service provider’s responsibility to provide evidence of his non-liability. In any other case, the service provider is only bound by an obligation of means.
It is the customer’s responsibility to provide evidence of the service provider’s liability as stated in Article 1147 of the French Civil Code.
When the damage is due to a hidden defect (for instance a defect in workmanship, natural wear and tear, customer’s unappropriated care, etc.), the service provider cannot be held liable.
LABELLING
It shall be reminded that under the regulation in force, two types of labels exist:
• The composition label which is MANDATORY (ex: cotton, wool, silk, polyester/cotton, etc.)
as per the Decree of 14/03/1973.
• The care label which is recommended.
The service provider cannot be held liable in case of erroneous labelling.
LIABILITY INCURRED BY THE PROFESIONAL SERVICE PROVIDER DURING THE DRY CLEANING OR WASHING PROCESS
(Garments with composition labels)
with care label without care label
• Thief, fire, water damage, loss, items wrongly handed to another customer, machine incident, handling, treatment, delivery ...................YES...........................................YES
• Unappropriated treatment ..................................................................................................................................................................................YES...........................................NO
• Hidden defects (wear and tear, moths, acid splash, pencils inside the linings, etc.), edge seams ..............................................................NO.............................................NO
• Pigment dyes, coatings, loss of finish .............................................................................................................................................................YES...........................................NO
• Fibrillation, tough stains ....................................................................................................................................................................................NO............................................NO
• Discoloration on sensitive colours, leakage ....................................................................................................................................................YES...........................................NO
• Felting ................................................................................................................................................................................................................YES...........................................YES
No guarantee on buttons and trimmings (breakage, discoloration, melting, deformation, detaching, loss due to loose threads, buttons fading with steam, etc.).
Any item that may not withstand a cleaning process may be refused or accepted with reserve expressly made in writing, either on the customers’ order form or by subsequent pre-treatment notification.
COMPENSATION
When the service provider is held accountable, the amount of compensation is calculated based on the compensation scale shown in Appendix, to which a deduction is applied, depending on the date of purchase of the item.
The compensation amounts to:
80% for items bought less than three months ago;
60% for items bought less than thirty months ago.
Notwithstanding, in the event the value of the garment/item entrusted to the service provider exceeds the amount shown in the compensation scale, compensation will be calculated based on such value, provided the customer specified it in writing and presented a valid proof of purchase when dropping his/her piece of clothing/item off.
As for older items, compensation equals to 30% of the amount displayed in the compensation scale. As far as clearly well-worn items are concerned, the service provider can make reserves on the item drop-off ticket. As for items whose value is clearly inferior to that displayed on the compensation scale the compensation amount shall not exceed the value of the item.
Professional dry cleaners commit themselves to reviewing prices listed on the compensation scale every single year, in line with the evolution of the above-mentioned clothing prices.
REFUND OF MULTI-PIECE ITEMS
In the event a suit, or part of it is damaged or lost (3-piece suit, women suit, home furnishings, set of bed linen, etc.), only the entrusted pieces of clothing shall be refunded.
Minor rips and tears shall be refunded at the price of the cleaner without the customer being able to claim any other form of compensation.
LEATHER AND SUEDE
As those items virtually never come with a care label, the service provider acts with caution and diligence but cannot always impede:
• slight variance in texture, suppleness and colour.
• Revealed hidden defects in workmanship (vein marks, imperfections, scars)
• unforeseeable and little-known phenomena (polymerization of oils) or inevitable phenomena (pastel shades fading).
for which he cannot be held liable.
CLAIMS
All claims must be made upon delivery. A claim form must be filled out and signed by both the customer and the service provider. Any claim made after delivery shall be inadmissible.
If the customer is not satisfied with the response provided or if he/she has not received any response within one month from the time the claim was made in compliance with the process mentioned above, he/she can bring the matter to : Médiation Franchise-Consommateurs de la Fédération Française de la Franchise : 29, Boulevard de Courcelles - 75008 Paris, using the claim form available on the FFF web site.
The Commission can be seized free of charge
STORAGE
Apart from costly garments (furs, ceremonial dresses...) unclaimed items can be kept up to 3 months by the professional dry cleaner at its premises, with no right to demand extra charges.
The uncollected piece of clothing shall be kept against payment from 3 to 12 months.
Specific provision is made for costly items stating that if they are not collected at the date specified on the order form, they shall be considered as items to be kept against payment.
Beyond one year, any Item that remains unclaimed can be freely disposed of at public sale (As per the Law 1248 of 31/12/68). Any claim against the dry cleaner shall be deemed inadmissible.
The item is assumed to be lost when it has not been given back to the customer within two months from the time the item was dropped off, provided a writing request was made.
If the customer specifies in writing the value of the item and accepts the application of a special rate – when dropping his/her item off - such amount shall be considered for the refund.
LAUNDRY
As the exact value of items cannot be set at time of drop off, in case of non-delivery the service provider’s responsibility is limited to an amount representing at least 12 times the agreed price for the provision of laundry service, rising to 15 times for sheets.
The amount calculated on such basis shall not lead to a refund exceeding the value of the new item. In case of damage, the launderer shall not be held liable in the following cases:
• Laundry charged by weight, in the case of mixed items that do not withstand the same treatment, as neither sorting nor control is performed
• Laundry charged by item:
- Items made from mixed fibres and without composition label
- Items on which special treatments were applied and not specified by the customer at the time of drop off
- Well-worn items not withstanding standard washing
- Non-textile accessories of an item
LIMIT VALUES UPON WHICH THE CALCULATION
OF THE COMPENSATION SCALE IS BASED
Ministerial Order no. 86-12 dated March 1, 1986 by the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Budget.
