Every week on our Money blog, we answer questions about your financial problems or consumer disputes. This week, a reader asked what rights he had after a dry cleaner ruined his couch.

Reader Maureen asked: “Johnsons the cleaner cleaned half of my sofa covers. They were ruined because the Belgian bedding was hand washed and the care instructions were not followed.

“This happened in July. I was in communication with customer service who finally agreed that half the sofa could not be reupholstered and verbally said they would cover the entire suite.

“Last week I received an email from management who were now waiving the offer and instead offering a small amount of money which would deem my sofa unfit for use as it would not cover either a reupholstery or a new sofa. Where am I?”

Our cost of living specialist Megan Harwood-Baynes responded…

He sent me further details of his complaint, including photographs and his correspondence with Johnsons (the excerpts which have remained in writing).

I can see from your email correspondence with Johnsons that they will not pay what you say is required to reupholster the entire sofa. They say their responsibility to you extends only to the actual covers that were sent for cleaning.

The original sofa cost him £2,400 eight years ago, and he also has a budget to fully upholster it, which amounts to £2,560. You maintain (rightly) that it is not actually possible to reupholster half a sofa.

As for the verbal offer you say was made, Helen Dewdney, consumer expert at The Complaining Cow, says she always tells people to put everything in writing because there’s no evidence when you make phone calls, so have this into account in the future.

As for her current rights, her issue is governed by the Consumer Rights Act 2005, she says.

“If the services are not carried out with reasonable skill and care and your items are damaged or lost, then you are entitled to claim compensation,” says Helen.

This may include claiming the cost of replacing a damaged or lost item, although there may be a reduction for wear and tear on the original item.

Johnsons has already offered him compensation (£800). They claim the age of the sofa means it has “no residual value” but they offered 25% of the original price, an additional £200 as a goodwill gesture and a refund of the original cleaning charge.

However, he is not happy about this because he says that it is not enough to fix or replace his “ruined sofa.”

I contacted Johnsons and they did not respond, but you told me that two days after I emailed them, they almost doubled the amount of compensation offered (to £1,500).

You went back to them with a counteroffer of £1,700, they accepted and now you can finally put an end to the saga (and fix your sofa).

If they had not agreed, these next steps could have been considered…

Textile Services Association membership is available to laundries, dry cleaners, textile tenants and their suppliers, says Helen.

“If the company you are using is a member, then the TSA offers a conciliation service. You may be asked to prove your claim and, in the event that the loser pays, use the association’s evidence service. Also offers an arbitration service if the matter still cannot be resolved.”

However, if the company is not a member of the TSA (and it appears that Johnsons is not), then you have the option of taking the matter to the small claims court, or equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“If a company doesn’t provide any information about what you should do if you have a complaint, this is a red flag,” says Helen.

“If a company doesn’t acknowledge that errors occur and describe what it will do if a problem occurs, it cares little about customer service or reputation.”

This feature is not intended to be financial advice; The goal is to give an overview of the things you need to think about. Send your dilemma or consumer dispute through:

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