I recently bought a new dress and had it dry-cleaned a month later. The dress came back from the dry-cleaner damaged and out of shape. When I complained, the dry-cleaner said there were no dry-cleaning instructions on the garment in English, only Chinese. But “she’d done her best”. Who’s at fault here?
In my view, first of all the retailer. It is mandatory under the care labelling laws for certain textile goods, such as clothing, to carry care instructions. And they must be in English. This includes what they’re made of, how they should be washed and ironed, and whether they are dry-cleanable. If your new dress didn’t have such a label, the retailer is breaking the law. You should take the dress back, tell the shop what’s happened, and ask for your money back or maybe a replacement.
If they refuse to do this, contact the Commerce Commission. Before you complain, you might want to check if other clothes on their racks also carry care labelling in non-English. Maybe take a photo with your cellphone. It was unwise of the dry-cleaner to try and clean your dress when there was no understandable care label. She should have called you, pointed out the problem, and asked if you wanted to proceed under an “all care – no responsibility” basis. But this is a more complex issue for you to fight. I’d go for a refund or replacement from the retailer.
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