re: east dulwich dry cleaners

[Badger007]

Hello

I am still very upset by something that happened a couple of weeks ago so have decided to share it:

When we moved house a few months ago, my girlfriend and I decided to get a quote to have a pair of curtains altered. These were originally a moving in present from my mum and dad when I bought my first flat in Hove.

The curtains were raw silk with a raw silk lining (they were beautiful with raw silk in contrasting colours on both sides: room side burgundy, street side a lovely biscuit/ivory colour). There were three panels in total (my lounge had three separate windows in a row, like a squared bay window). My parents had had them custom made especially.

As we were moving to East Dulwich, we thought we would look into getting the curtains altered to make two very long curtains to fit in our new bedroom window.

We took the curtains to the East Dulwich Dry Cleaners on Lordship Lane.

Having explained what we wanted, we weren?t sure whether to get them altered or to just have them dry cleaned and put them away. We left them with the dry cleaner, saying we would call them to confirm in a week or so, after we had moved in and had a chance to decide. It wouldn?t be worth having them altered if we weren?t going to put them up.

As the new bedroom window is very sunny and there are already blinds fitted in all the windows, we decided to just have the curtains dry cleaned. We didn?t want to damage them in the sun as they were very expensive and held (ridiculous I know!) sentimental value to me.

We called the dry cleaner and he said unfortunately they had already sent them away to be altered. He apologised and offered to cover the cost of the alteration. We were unhappy but realised it was an honest mistake so didn?t make a fuss about.

A few months later (having let the dry cleaner know we hadn?t forgotten about them) I picked the curtains up, paid for the dry cleaning (?30) and took them home.

On inspection, I found they were not the same curtains at all! They were a similar burgundy colour and a similarly large size but the fabric was a mixed synthetic/some silk and they had an old, stained cotton lining. They were very badly sewn together, sun bleached and a mess. There was a seam running through the centre of each curtain vertically and horizontally, in a cross. They were both effectively made up of four pieces of material sewn together.

That is not possible if you are extending two panels in length with the material from one other panel. That would make just one horizontal seam, two thirds of the way down.

We went back to the dry cleaners to find our curtains. He said he would go to his tailor and find the right ones.

The tailor said they were the same curtains.

We asked the dry cleaner to go again.

The tailor said they were the same curtains.

When we went back to discuss it, the dry cleaner was very rude. He told me there was no way his tailor would make such a mistake. After a heated discussion in front of lots of other customers, he said he would do nothing about it and basically implied, in front of everyone, that I was lying and trying to extort money from him.

I am very upset: I am sad about the curtains and also that he would accuse me of such a thing. I have no receipt, as they were a gift. I have asked my mum but she is quite poorly and cannot remember where she had them made.

I?m sorry this post is so long, I have tried to be as clear as possible. I wasn?t sure whether to write it because it isn?t really the material stuff that matters, I know but I am an honest person and am hurt by the whole experience (pathetic, I?ll get over it).

So, if you take anything at all to the east dulwich dry cleaners on Lordship Lane for alterations, make sure you have photographic evidence/get a detailed receipt for it.

If you give them a beautiful cashmere blazer to be altered, they may swear blind it was a beaten up old viscose jacket.

All the best, Sally