Nightclub lost my jacket, urgent help needed!

[3rdLion]

I paid £1.50 for my jacket to be stored in the nightclub cloakroom last Friday, I was given what was basically a raffle ticket with a number to claim my jacket when I left the nightclub. As the nightclub closed I went to retrieve my jacket from the cloakroom, handing my ticket number over to the assistant, only to be informed that my jacket was no longer there and that presumably an error had been made. The assistant appeared to be apologetic, also admitting that she had made such errors previously and had actually left her position from the cloakroom that night. I requested to speak to the manager but I was told he was busy and was "cashing up" therefore unable to speak to me.

The promotion manager then came to speak to me, accompanied by multiple thuggish bouncers who wanted to remove me from the club, who told me to "stop getting 'arsey'" and that if I left my details they would e-mail me a claims form for compensation the next day. In my tired, semi-drunken and somewhat naive state, I ceased arguing and reluctantly decided to give them my contact information.

As expected, I did not receive an e-mail the following day so I decided to e-mail their Facebook page with the following message:

I paid for my jacket to be looked after on Friday night and when I went to collect it I was informed that it had gone missing due to negligence on behalf of the cloakroom attendant. The staff told me to give them my details and I would be e-mailed a claims form for compensation the following day but unsurprisingly I have yet to be contacted. Can you please inform me on what my next course of action should be to sort this out? Should I come down or do you have a contact number? Thanks.

I then later received a reply from the nightclub (presumably from the same promotion manager who I spoke to on the night). The reply read:

Firstly I would like to apologise for this and I appreciate that you may be distressed regarding this matter, however sarcasm doesnt really help. Unfortunately I have been off ill since after trade on Saturday night but will be returning to work in the morning when I will send the form out to you. The form basically requires brief details of the incident, a dscription of the item and also a receipt for proof of purchase for the value of the item. As per the company policy and disclaimer on the cloakroom, all items are left at owners risk and the company will not be responsible for any items left in pockets or bags. The company policy is a maximum value of £25 for any particular claim based upon the actual value and proof of purchase.

I shall ignore the comment about the sarcasm because I am sure you can understand what sort of people I'm dealing with here.

My jacket cost £55 so I am not satisfied with a measly £25 compensation, I paid for a service and I expect reasonable care of my property whist in their possession. How do I know it was not stolen by their staff or they are not unlawfully detaining my property until proven otherwise? According to them I simply have to accept that my jacket is missing and take what I am given in compensation. This can't be right!

Can anyone advise me on what I should respond with? I'm not sure what I can say (or the obvious illegalities) regarding what they have done/said. If somebody can fill me in on what to say to them next I would be very grateful! Thanks in advance!

[leclerc]

Re: Nightclub lost my jacket, urgent help needed!

When did you buy the jacket since the jacket will not be worth face value since it's value would depreciate?

was anything in the jacket that was also a loss?

Personally if you can find out the holding company ie if it is a chain of nightclubs you can usually google CEO emails and potentially find the chief exec of the holding company and clearly state your issue.

They failed you twice: did not look after your jacket and failed to send out the form when they said they would.

[3rdLion]

Re: Nightclub lost my jacket, urgent help needed!

The jacket was actually an early Christmas present and was almost new, I only got it 2 weeks ago. There was no items in my pockets, thankfully!

[CleverClogs]

Re: Nightclub lost my jacket, urgent help needed!

I shall ignore the comment about the sarcasm because I am sure you can understand what sort of people I'm dealing with here.

Yes.

capita eorum in ano sunt

My jacket cost £55 so I am not satisfied with a measly £25 compensation, I paid for a service and I expect reasonable care of my property whist in their possession. How do I know it was not stolen by their staff or they are not unlawfully detaining my property until proven otherwise? According to them I simply have to accept that my jacket is missing and take what I am given in compensation. This can't be right!

It isn't.

Can anyone advise me on what I should respond with? I'm not sure what I can say (or the obvious illegalities) regarding what they have done/said. If somebody can fill me in on what to say to them next I would be very grateful! Thanks in advance!

Remind them of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (link) and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (link). Also point them at page 17 of the guidance notes published by the Office of Faffing and Twaddling (PDF link) and suggest that, if they do not pay up the full value in a timely manner, they may wish to give some thought about how they will respond to a complaint raised with Trading Standards.

[bluebottle]

Re: Nightclub lost my jacket, urgent help needed!

This nightclub has clearly never heard of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (as amended) (UCTA) or has and is being disingenuous. When they accepted your jacket, a contract was formed between you and them. They cannot impose or attempt to impose any terms on you that are detrimental to your rights unless those terms are reasonable in the circumstances. Company policy is not enforceable upon members of the public or customers. A company cannot make laws nor impose its own version of the law on customers and is not above the law. Their stated limit is, almost certainly, unenforceable.

There is also the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 to consider. This requires anyone providing a service to exercise reasonable care and skill in providing the service. The cloakroom attendant's admission she was careless and had been so on a number of previous occasions does not bode well for the nightclub as it shows reasonable care and skill was not exercised. Under the Act, the company that owns the nightclub is liable for consequential loss.

The claim should be for the cost of replacing the jacket on a like-for-like basis, taking account of the fact it is, effectively, brand-new.

As for the behaviour of the "security staff", you may wish to consider making a formal complaint to the police, local authority licensing department and the Security Industry Authority (SIA). The police will be concerned with any unruly or disorderly behaviour on licensed premises, as will the local authority licensing department. The SIA will be more concerned with the behaviour of the "security staff".