Guangzhou City Introduces Measures for Resolving Laundry and Washing Consumption Disputes

The laundry and cleaning industry is a typical service industry, closely related to consumers' daily lives. With the rapid development of China's economy and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, consumers have become more concerned about the laundry technology and service quality of laundry shops after sending their clothes for cleaning. To protect consumer rights and regulate the laundry market, improve service quality and credibility levels, the Guangzhou Laundry and Cleaning Industry Association, after consultation with industry peers and relevant experts, formulated the "Guangzhou Laundry and Cleaning Consumer Dispute Resolution Measures" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"). During the formulation of these Measures, strong support was received from the Guangzhou Consumer Council and Guangdong Yichunqiu Law Firm. Yesterday, an information release meeting was held at the Consumer Council to announce the implementation. Director Xu Zhihua of the Guangzhou Economic and Trade Commission, Secretary-General Li Yongqiang of the Guangzhou Consumer Council, Director Sima Chunqiu of Guangdong Yichunqiu Law Firm, and President Lu Zhiji of the Guangzhou Laundry and Cleaning Industry Association attended the information release meeting and gave speeches. The original text of the "Guangzhou Laundry and Cleaning Consumer Dispute Resolution Measures" is as follows:

Guangzhou Laundry and Cleaning Consumer Dispute Resolution Measures
Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 To protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and operators in this city, and to timely, justly, fairly, and reasonably resolve laundry quality disputes in the laundry and cleaning industry, these Measures are formulated in accordance with the "Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People's Republic of China," to regulate the behavior of the laundry industry and considering the particularity of the laundry and cleaning industry.

Article 2 All member units of the Guangzhou Laundry and Cleaning Industry Association and consumers sending clothes for cleaning shall comply with these Measures. These Measures apply to the rapid compensation settlement of cleaning disputes, based on the principle of mutual consent.

Chapter 2 Contract Conclusion

Article 3 When consumers send clothes for cleaning, they may independently choose between negotiated and non-negotiated cleaning items. Operators, upon accepting the clothes, shall inspect and inform consumers face-to-face of various defects such as stains, shrinkage, color bleeding, wear (damage), moth damage, mildew, missing parts, and possible adverse effects after cleaning, and note these on the cleaning service contract, signed and confirmed by both parties, thus forming the contract.

Chapter 3 Non-Negotiated Cleaning

Article 4 The cleaning fee for non-negotiated clothes shall be charged according to the prices listed on the store's public laundry price list.

Article 5 If any missed inspection is found before cleaning non-negotiated clothes, both parties must confirm the missed inspection issue within 72 hours before proceeding with cleaning; if quality issues are found after more than 72 hours from receiving or picking up the clothes, the party responsible for storing the clothes shall bear responsibility.

Article 6 If non-negotiated clothes do not meet the laundry industry quality standards after cleaning, the operator shall re-clean once. If re-cleaning still does not meet the quality standards, the cleaning fee shall be refunded, except for stains that were noted before cleaning as unable to be removed or only partially removable.

Article 7 For clothes with quality defects noted before cleaning, if other quality issues are found after cleaning, the operator shall compensate 1 to 3 times the cleaning fee; if serious damage or loss occurs after cleaning, the operator shall compensate 3 to 5 times the cleaning fee.

Article 8 For clothes noted as having no quality defects before cleaning, if minor quality issues appear after cleaning, the operator shall compensate 4 to 6 times the cleaning fee; if serious damage or loss occurs after cleaning, the operator shall compensate 6 to 9 times the cleaning fee.

Article 9 For brand-new clothes with tags and no stains or defects noted before cleaning, if damage or loss occurs after cleaning, the operator shall compensate 10 to 20 times the cleaning fee.

Article 10 If buttons or accessories are damaged or lost after cleaning and the operator cannot replace them, the operator shall compensate 1 to 2 times the cleaning fee.

Article 11 If the quality issues are due to the fabric or garment manufacturing itself, or if the consumer signed to confirm washing according to the garment's care label instructions which are incorrect, and after cleaning the clothes show shrinkage, thread loss, hardening, fading, color bleeding, color mixing, sticking, bubbling, etc., the operator shall not compensate but is obligated to provide relevant proof and assist the consumer in claiming compensation from the distributor or manufacturer.

Chapter 4 Negotiated Cleaning

Article 12 When consumers send clothes with special commemorative significance or valuable clothes for cleaning, both the operator and consumer may choose negotiated cleaning.

Article 13 The cleaning fee for negotiated clothes shall be negotiated between the consumer and operator based on the difficulty and risk of cleaning, and shall be charged at no less than 10% and no more than 20% of the estimated value of the clothes.

Article 14 When negotiated clothes are sent for cleaning, after face-to-face inspection and signature confirmation by both consumer and operator, the contract shall take effect.

Article 15 If the cleaned clothes do not meet the laundry industry quality standards, the operator shall re-clean once. If re-cleaning still does not meet the quality standards, the cleaning fee shall be refunded, except for clothes noted before cleaning as having stains that cannot be removed or only partially removable.

Article 16 If buttons or accessories are missing after cleaning negotiated clothes, or obvious repair marks remain but do not affect wear, the operator shall compensate 30% of the negotiated price of the clothes.

Article 17 If the operator is responsible for loss or serious damage to negotiated clothes that cannot be repaired, the operator shall fully compensate according to the negotiated price of the clothes.

Article 18 If the operator and consumer fail to reach an agreement on negotiated cleaning, the operator may refuse to accept the cleaning business under the negotiated form but must explain to the consumer.

Chapter 5 Exemption from Liability

Article 19 The operator shall not be liable for compensation if the consumer's laundry has any of the following situations:

(1) Unpredictable and potentially changing situations: such as moth damage that has not yet caused hair loss, but hair loss, damage, lining exposure, holes, and expansion of damaged areas appear after washing; thread loss or damage caused by narrow seams after washing; down jackets and cotton-padded clothes emitting odor after normal washing, with filling contaminating the fabric; fur clothing showing fabric reverse side or inner filling contaminating the front fabric after washing; lining contamination on the edges of garment lining pockets or waistbands; dark spots appearing on sofa seat covers after washing and ironing; pre-existing chemical corrosion and chemically repaired clothes exposed after normal washing.

(2) Stubborn stains or damage hidden under heavy dirt that become obvious or reappear after normal washing.

(3) Cotton and other fabrics experiencing varying degrees of fading or shrinkage after normal washing processes.

(4) Metal buttons and metal decorations fading in color after normal washing.

(5) Curtains becoming naturally brittle after long-term hanging and showing damage after normal washing.

Chapter 6 Clothing Storage

Article 20 If the consumer exceeds the clothing pickup period agreed in the service contract by 15 days, the operator is not obligated to provide free storage. For overdue pickup, a storage fee of 1 yuan per item per day will be charged, except for clothing with washing quality disputes. If the operator fails to deliver the clothing within the agreed contract period, a penalty of 2 yuan per item per day will be paid to the consumer, except for clothing with quality disputes.

Article 21 The maximum storage liability period for clothing is 90 days. Beyond this period, the operator has the right to treat the clothing as unclaimed.

Chapter 7 Loss of Receipt

Article 22 When the consumer's clothing pickup receipt is lost or damaged and cannot be identified, the consumer must promptly complete the loss report with the operator and retrieve the clothing with valid identification and the contact number provided at the time of laundry. The original laundry receipt becomes invalid automatically after the loss report is processed. If the clothing has been collected before the loss report is completed, the operator is not liable for breach of contract.

Chapter 8 Appraisal and Mediation

Article 23 If there is a dispute between the consumer and the operator regarding the laundry quality, they may entrust the Guangzhou Laundry and Washing Industry Association's Laundry Quality Appraisal Center or other authoritative appraisal institutions agreed upon by both parties to appraise the laundry quality. The appraisal fee shall be advanced by the requesting party and borne by the responsible party.

Article 24 If a dispute arises between the consumer and the operator regarding laundry quality, complaints may be made to the Guangzhou Consumer Council, industry associations, and relevant departments. For those who reach a settlement agreement, both parties should sign a settlement agreement; if no agreement is reached, either party may file a lawsuit with the people's court having jurisdiction.

Article 25 If a party needs to entrust an agent for mediation due to special circumstances, the agent shall provide a power of attorney, copies of the ID cards of the principal and the agent, and present the original ID card of the agent for verification.

Chapter 9 Supplementary Provisions

Article 26 If any provisions of these measures conflict with national laws, regulations, or rules, the national laws, regulations, or rules shall prevail.

Article 27 These measures shall be interpreted and revised by the Guangzhou Laundry and Washing Industry Association.

Article 28 These measures shall come into effect from the date of promulgation.

Guangzhou Laundry and Washing Industry Association

July 19, 2012