San Francisco Coin Laundry Company Ruined and/or lost more than $200 worth of my laundry, then offered only a fraction of its worth in reimbursement. San Francisco, California
I was a steady customer of this laundromat for more than 10 years. But recently they ruined/lost more than $200 worth of my laundry and then refused to fully reimburse me for it.
In late February, 2010, I brought in a large load of laundry to be washed and folded. After taking it home I found that many items had been ruined by bleach. Among these: 6 pairs of pants; 4 shirts; several washcloths and towels. In addition, a brand-new set of full-size of sheets and set of matching pillow cases were never returned.
On top of that, they charged me $40 for the wash without having the decency to reduce the price. Nor did they even tell me about the ruined items or offer to fully compensate me for them. I learned of the losses only after I got home and started going through my laundry.
When I confronted the manager of the laundry, she admitted that she had put the ruined items into a washer that contained bleach. She promised that if I brought in receipts for the purchase of equivalent items, she would fully reimburse me. So I set out to purchase these at stores known for their reasonable prices--Target, Old Navy and Costco.
I then submitted the receipts, expecting the promised reimbursement. Instead, the laundry offered me only $60--as opposed to the $265 I had had to spend replacing the ruined items.
I wrote to the owner, Irena Cortez, threatening a small claims lawsuit. First she wrote me a letter, assuring me that I was one of her best customers, and she was truly concerned about my losses. Then she called and said that if I brought the ruined items to the laundromat she would reimburse me.
I did so--and she immediately began using words like, "IF we ruined your laundry...." when the bleach-stained clothing was right in front of her. She made it clear she would not fully reimburse me for the damaged articles. At that point I gathered my ruined laundry and left.
I sent her a second letter, giving her a deadline by which to fully reimburse me or face me in small claims court. She called me, but only to lecture me on why I should not be angry with her. I told her to make me an offer, not give me a lecture. She hung up.
On April 14, I filed a small claims lawsuit against her and am scheduled to face off in court with her on June 2. On May 20, she wrote me another letter, offering me $117--out of the $265 owed me--if I agreed to drop the case. I didn't bother to respond.
AVOID THIS LAUNDROMAT AT ALL COSTS. They refuse to accept responsiblity for the negligent behavior of their employees or fully reimburse their customers for anything they ruin or lose.
No matter the worth of the items lost/ruined, they offer only a pittance in reimbursement. The owner--Irena Cortez--is thoroughly arrogant and believes she has a right to treat even her best customers like dirt and still have them love her for it.
If you do your own laundry there, be prepared to shell out big bucks--for example, you get only five minutes' drying time per quarter. If you leave your laundry to be washed and folded by them, be prepared to haul them into small claims court if your clothing is lost or damaged, because they won't behave responsibly otherwise.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Investigator
San Francisco,California,
U.S.A.
Greed and Arrogance at S.F. Coin Laundry
#3Author of original report
Sat, June 26, 2010
I was a steady customer of this Laundromat for over 10 years. But in February, 2010, they ruined/lost more than $200 of my laundry and refused to fully reimburse me for it. They also charged me $40 for the wash without reducing the price.
Although it cost me more than $265.00 to replace these lost/ruined items, the Laundry offered only $60, saying they refused to reimburse for more than that. A final offer came to $117.
I threatened the owner, Irena Cortez, with small claims court. She said that if I showed her the ruined laundry she would reimburse me. When we met she quickly said, "IF we ruined your laundry" when the bleach-ruined shirts/pants were in full view. She refused to fully reimburse me. So I reclaimed my damaged laundry and left.
I filed a lawsuit against her in San Francisco small claims court on April 14.
I met her in court on June 21--and was improperly served with a false counter-claim: That I owed her $2,500 because (1) I had made an "invalid" claim; (2) She had tried to settle it out of court three times; and (3) She felt I owed her for "time lost from work and transportation costs" from her home in Montara to San Francisco.
I asked for a postponement and a second trial date was set.
I faced off again with Irena Cortez on June 21. To her dismay, she had to withdraw her false counter-claim against me because it had been improperly served.
Cortez denied they even used bleach--when "bleach" was clearly written on several receipts. She denied that my clothing had been ruined in HER Laundromat. She said they COULDN'T have lost/ruined my laundry because NO ONE HAD EVER MADE SUCH A CLAIM BEFORE. (The judge pointed out: "Someone is making it now.") Finally, Cortez admitted that SOME of my clothing HAD been ruined by bleach.
The judge listened to her excuses and arrogance (at one point she even started to argue with him). Then he ruled against her. Stunned, she left court in a huff.
AVOID THIS LAUNDROMAT! If they ruin/lose your laundry, be prepared to sue in small claims court, because they won't behave responsibly otherwise. They offer only a bare minimum in compensation.
AND IF YOU DARE TO TAKE THEM TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT, BE PREPARED FOR THEM TO FILE A FRIVOLOUS AND VINDICTIVE SUIT AGAINST YOU IN RETURN.
Investigator
San Francisco,California,
U.S.A.
S.F. COIN LAUNDRY LOSES IN COURT
#3Author of original report
Tue, June 22, 2010
I was a steady customer of this Laundromat for more than 10 years. But recently they ruined/lost more than $265 worth of my laundry and refused to fully reimburse me for it.
In late February 2010, I brought in a large load of laundry to be washed and folded. When I picked it up I found that many items had been ruined by bleach. Among these: 5 pairs of pants; 4 shirts; 4 washcloths. In addition, a brand-new set of full-size sheets and set ot matching pillow cases were never returned.
On top of that, they charged me $40 for the wash without having the decency to reduce the price or even tell me of the ruined/lost items. I didn't find this out until I opened my laundry bags.
When I confronted the manager of the Laundry, she admitted that she had put the ruined items into a washer that contained bleach. She promised that if I brought in receipts for the purchase of equivalent items, she would fully reimburse me. So I brought in photocopies of the receipts of newly-purchased items.
Although it cost me more than $200 to replace these lost/ruined items, the Laundry offered me only $60, saying that it was their policy to not reimburse for more than that.
I wrote to the owner, Irena Cortez, threatening to file a lawsuit against her in small claims court. She called and said that if I showed her the ruined laundry at the Laumdromat she would reimburse me. I brought in the laundry and she immediately started using weasel-words like, "IF we ruined your laundry...." when the bleach-stained shirts/pants/etc. were right there in front of her. She made it clear she would not reimburse me for the full costs. At that point I gathered up my ruined laundry and left.
I sent her a second letter, giving her a deadline by which to fully reimburse me or face off with me in small claims court. She called me, but only to lecture me on how I should not be angry with her. I told her to make me an offer, not give me a lecture, and she hung up. On April 14, I filed a lawsuit against her in small claims court.
On June 2, I met her in small claims court--and found myself improperly served with a counter-claim. She claimed that I owed her $2,500 because (1) I had made an "invalid" claim; (2) she had tried to settle it out of court three times; and (3) she felt I owed her for "time lost for work and transportation costs."
(She didn't explain why, if I had filed an "invalid" claim against her, she had tried to settle it out of court three times.) Since I had not been properly served, I asked for a postponment and a second date was set for June 21.
UPDATE - June 21: I faced off again with Irena Cortez in small claims court. To her dismay, she had to withdraw her false counter-claim against me because it had been improperly served. Otherwise I would have asked for a second postponement--and she would have had to travel a third time from her home in Montara to San Francisco.
She did her best to evade any responsibility for having to reimburse me. First she denied they even use bleach--when the word "bleach" was clearly written on several receipts. Next she refused to accept that the laundry had been ruined in her Laundromat. Finally she admitted to the judge that at least SOME of the laundry HAD been ruined by bleach.
The judge listened to her evasions and arrogance--and then ruled against her. She left court in a huff.
AVOID THIS LAUNDROMAT AT ALL COSTS. They refuse to accept responsibility for the behavior of their employees or reimburse their customers for anyting they ruin or lose.
No matter the worth of the items lost/ruined, they offer only a bare minimum as compensation. The owner is arrogant and believes she has a right to treat customers like serfs and NOT have them get mad in return.
If you do your own laundry there, be prepared to pay 25 cents for only five minutes' drying time. If you leave your laundry to be washed by them, be prepared to haul them into small claims court if you have a problem, because they won't behave responsibly otherwise.
AND IF YOU DARE TO TAKE THEM TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT, BE PREPARED FOR THEM TO FILE A FRIVOLOUS, VINDICTIVE SUIT AGAINST YOU IN RETURN.