Original report (by correspondent Luo Xianli, intern Zhang Huicen, and reporter Ma Hui): How should laundry contracts be drafted to be reasonable and fair? On March 24, after the original newspaper published an article titled "Collaboration between Original Newspaper and Nongshang invites you to 'create' a contract," it sparked heated discussions among citizens.
Some officials in Wuhan believe that before washing clothes, the store should make fewer profits. According to the principle of "equivalence" in civil law, if the customer is at fault, they should not bear any responsibility. If the store can prove that the damage to the clothing was caused by inaccurate manufacturer labels or fabric quality, the store could work with consumers to hold the manufacturer accountable.
Other city officials believe that setting an annual depreciation rate of 25% is too high. Generally speaking, expensive clothing is sent to professional laundries and is not worn frequently, so setting the annual depreciation rate at 25% implies that after four years, the old clothing would be worth nothing.
The draft stipulates that "with purchase receipts and if both parties fail to reach an agreement, the compensation amount shall not exceed 10 times the cost of laundering." Some people feel this clause has a strong "tyrannical flavor" and suggest that the compensation amount should be determined by a fair third party - mediation or arbitration amounts.
"The washed clothes will be kept free of charge for 30 days; beyond the specified period, they will be treated as abandoned goods." This clause has sparked debates among many readers. Many people suggest that it should be revised to: "Free storage for 15 days; beyond the specified period, contact the customer first, then charge 5 yuan per day for storage; after half a year, treat them as abandoned goods." At the same time, the contract should specify that if the operator fails to wash the clothes on time, they should pay a penalty of 5 yuan per day.
Many readers believe that some laundries deceive customers by using water washing instead of dry cleaning, and the contract should specify double compensation in such cases.
Yesterday, the Commerce Bureau of Hankou District introduced that they will refer to the opinions of the public and soon release a standardized laundry contract for the Wuhan laundry industry.