Terms and conditions for a dry cleaner and laundry

A dry cleaner's terms earn their money on the day a customer puts a ruined jacket on the counter and asks what you are going to do about it. They also have to deal with pockets, care labels, items nobody collects and the hotel that wants its linen back by breakfast. I draft customer terms for dry cleaners and laundries for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Dry cleaners, launderettes, service wash and ironing businesses, collection and delivery laundries and specialist cleaners handling wedding dresses, leather and curtains, in England and Wales. Most take in work from consumers over a counter or through an app, and many also hold contracts with restaurants, hotels, gyms and care homes. Those two groups are treated very differently in law, so the terms need to handle both.

What matters in a dry cleaner's terms

Getting the terms in front of the customer before the ticket is written

This is where most dry cleaners lose claims. Small print on the back of a docket handed over after the garment has been taken in is not obviously part of the contract, and under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 binding a consumer to terms they had no real chance to see is on the list of terms treated as unfair. The terms need to be displayed at the counter, referred to on the ticket, and available on your website and in your app before the order is placed. I set out exactly how to do that, because the drafting is worth nothing if the incorporation fails.

Care labels, inherent risk and items taken at the owner's request

Cleaning goes wrong for reasons that are nothing to do with your process: a missing or wrong care label, dye that migrates, adhesive trims that fail, sun damage that only shows once the soiling is removed, beads and buttons that will not survive a cycle. Your terms should record that you rely on the care label, that you will judge the process reasonably, and that certain items are accepted only on a written acknowledgement signed at the counter. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you still owe reasonable care and skill, so the acknowledgement covers inherent weakness, not your own poor workmanship.

What you pay when a garment is ruined

Every dry cleaner wants a cap. A consumer cap cannot go below the price of the cleaning, because the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not allow a service liability to be limited to less than what was charged, and a term that is unfair does not bind the customer at all. What does work is a compensation basis stated clearly and applied consistently: a proportion of the garment's value reflecting its age and condition, proof of purchase where you ask for it, and a defined period for reporting damage after collection. Blanket exclusions of all liability for loss or damage are the ones I most often have to remove.

Pockets, valuables and items left in the machine

Rings, hearing aids, car keys, cash and memory sticks all arrive inside garments, and a service wash bag is opened by someone who is not the owner. The terms should put responsibility for emptying pockets on the customer, say what you do with anything found, and exclude liability for valuables left in items where that exclusion is reasonable. For self-service launderettes, the same section should deal with unattended machines, items removed by other users and what your supervision actually amounts to. Say it plainly on the terms and on the notice above the machines.

Uncollected items, storage and disposal

Racks fill with work nobody comes back for, and disposing of a customer's coat without authority is a risk you do not want. The terms should set a storage period after the ready date, a notice you will send to the contact details given, a proportionate storage charge and a right to dispose of or sell the item after that. Keep the charge genuinely related to your costs: disproportionate default charges against consumers are on the unfair terms list in the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Collect a correct mobile number and email at drop-off, or the notice provision is decoration.

Collection, delivery and trade laundry contracts

Orders placed through an app, by phone or at the customer's door are distance or off-premises contracts under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, with fourteen days to cancel and rules about starting work inside that period at the customer's express request. Off-premises contracts of £42 or less sit outside them. Your app price also has to show mandatory charges up front under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Hotel, restaurant and gym linen work needs separate commercial terms: stock counts, lost and damaged linen, minimum volumes, and interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I put 'all items accepted at owner's risk' on my ticket?

That wording rarely does what dry cleaners hope. Against a consumer a sweeping exclusion is likely to be treated as unfair and simply ignored, leaving you with no protection at all. A properly drafted risk acknowledgement for named categories of item, signed at the counter, is far more likely to be worth having when the claim arrives.

Do I need different terms for my hotel and restaurant contracts?

Trade linen work sits on a different footing and I draft it separately from the counter terms. It needs stock responsibility, replacement pricing for lost or stained pieces, delivery windows, volume commitments and a liability cap tested for reasonableness under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. If a laundry contract moves from another supplier, ask about staff transferring before you sign.

Can I add a card fee or a surcharge for express service?

Card surcharges to consumers are prohibited by the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, so that one has to come out. An express or same day premium is fine, provided it is shown with the price the customer sees rather than added at the till. I set out how to present it in the terms and on your price list.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Terms and conditions for a dog groomer
• Terms and conditions for a hairdressing salon

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.