DEAN DUNHAM: Dry cleaner shrank my jumper - then went bust. How do I get a refund?

I took a jumper to the dry cleaners in Sunderland in March but when I got it back it had shrunk.

I have chased the company for a refund but have now discovered it has gone bust.

J. B., via email.

Dean Dunham replies: The consumer Rights Act 2015 states that services such as dry cleaning must be provided with reasonable care and skill, failing which the consumer will be entitled to a remedy; typically the service provided again free of charge, a refund or compensation for a loss.

Here you would be entitled to compensation as your jumper has been ruined. This would not be for the amount the jumper cost you to purchase, but instead the value of the jumper in a used condition.

Incidentally, you sometimes see signs in dry cleaners saying something like we take no responsibility for items left with us.

This will never be binding and will therefore not act as a defence to a consumer claim.

So the law is clearly on your side and you have the right to a refund and compensation.

However, as the firm has gone bust, it adds a significant complication as you have no one to pursue your complaint against.