LOST OR DAMAGED ITEM POLICY

Lowcountry Suds, LLC

Effective Date: August 6, 2026
 

Lowcountry Suds, LLC takes reasonable care when collecting, transporting, processing, packaging, and returning customer laundry.

This policy explains how we evaluate claims involving allegedly missing or damaged items. It is incorporated into the Lowcountry Suds Terms & Conditions.
 

1. Scope of This Policy

This policy applies to ordinary residential and household laundry services provided by Lowcountry Suds.

A signed commercial service agreement may establish different:

• Inventory procedures
• Claim deadlines
• Valuation methods
• Liability limits
• Insurance requirements
• Remedies

When a signed commercial agreement conflicts with this policy, the signed commercial agreement controls for that account.
 

2. Customer Responsibilities Before Pickup

Customers are responsible for:

• Emptying every pocket.
• Removing cash, jewelry, electronics, keys, identification documents, medication, and personal property.
• Checking bags, bedding, pillowcases, and other items for concealed objects.
• Identifying special-care items.
• Disclosing high-value, designer, antique, collectible, heirloom, ceremonial, or irreplaceable items.
• Providing accurate care and processing instructions.
• Identifying items that should not be washed or dried using ordinary commercial methods.
• Reviewing the prohibited-items provisions in the Terms & Conditions.
• Keeping a personal inventory of submitted items when item-by-item verification is important.

Lowcountry Suds is not responsible for property left inside pockets, laundry bags, bedding, or other submitted items.

The customer may be responsible for damage caused by concealed objects or substances.
 

3. Ordinary Processing Risks

Laundry and textile processing can reveal or worsen preexisting or hidden conditions.

Examples include:

• Weak or worn fabric
• Loose stitching
• Existing tears
• Unstable dye
• Color bleeding
• Shrinkage
• Fading
• Pilling
• Stretching
• Delamination
• Manufacturer defects
• Adhesive failure
• Heat sensitivity
• Loose buttons, zippers, snaps, sequins, and decorations
• Previously set stains
• Damage from prior bleach, cosmetics, oils, chemicals, or cleaning products
• Incorrect, incomplete, or missing care labels

Lowcountry Suds is not responsible for damage resulting from ordinary wear, inherent fabric weakness, hidden defects, manufacturer defects, inaccurate care labels, or accepted customer instructions, except to the extent directly caused by our failure to use reasonable care.
 

4. Stain and Odor Results

Lowcountry Suds does not guarantee:

• Complete stain removal
• Complete odor removal
• Restoration to original or new condition
• Elimination of every allergen
• Elimination of every contaminant
• Complete removal of pet hair
• Complete removal of fragrance or detergent residue

Repeated cleaning or aggressive stain treatment may damage fabric. We may decline further treatment when the likely risk of damage exceeds the expected benefit.

Failure to remove a stain or odor is not, by itself, proof that an item was damaged or processed negligently.
 

5. High-Value and Irreplaceable Items

Ordinary laundry pricing does not include unlimited liability for high-value or irreplaceable property.

Customers must disclose before pickup any item that:

• Originally cost more than $250
• Is difficult or impossible to replace
• Has designer, antique, collectible, ceremonial, or heirloom significance
• Requires specialty treatment
• Has substantial sentimental value

Lowcountry Suds may decline the item or require:

• Proof of value
• A written declared value
• Special handling
• Separate packaging
• Additional charges
• Different written liability terms

Unless a higher value is accepted by Lowcountry Suds in writing before pickup, all items are subject to the liability limits in this policy.

Lowcountry Suds does not accept liability for sentimental, emotional, historic, collectible, or subjective value.
 

6. Reporting a Missing Item

A missing-item or quantity-discrepancy claim must be reported within 48 hours after delivery.

Send the claim to info@lowcountrysuds.com and provide:

• Customer name
• Order number
• Pickup and delivery dates
• Detailed item description
• Brand
• Size
• Color
• Material
• Distinguishing features
• Approximate age
• Approximate purchase price
• Photograph of the item, when available
• Receipt or other proof of ownership and value, when available
• Reason you believe the item was included in the order

Prompt notice gives us the opportunity to:

• Search bags
• Search vehicles
• Search processing and packaging areas
• Contact the processing partner
• Review order weights
• Review bag counts
• Review tags, photographs, and records
• Check nearby orders for a possible mix-up

A delayed claim may prevent effective investigation and may affect whether the claim can be verified.
 

7. Reporting a Damaged Item

A visible-damage claim must be reported within seven calendar days after delivery.

Send the claim to info@lowcountrysuds.com and provide:

• Customer name
• Order number
• Item description
• Description of the alleged damage
• Clear photographs
• Care-label photographs
• Approximate purchase date
• Original purchase price
• Receipt or other proof of value, when available
• Description of the item’s condition before service
• Any relevant care or processing instructions

Do not:

• Discard the item
• Repair the item
• Alter the item
• Wash or dry it again
• Send it to another laundry or repair provider

until Lowcountry Suds has had a reasonable opportunity to inspect and document it.

Altering or disposing of an item before inspection may prevent us from determining the cause and may affect the claim.
 

8. Service-Quality Concerns

Concerns involving:

• Odor
• Folding
• Wrinkling
• Fragrance
• Detergent preference
• Incomplete washing
• Remaining stains
• Pet hair
• Packaging

must be reported within 48 hours after delivery.

When appropriate, Lowcountry Suds may offer a complimentary rewash or corrective service.

The customer must preserve the items and make them available for pickup.

A rewash or service credit is a customer-service remedy and is not an admission of negligence.
 

9. How Claims Are Investigated

Lowcountry Suds may consider:

• Customer statements
• Pickup records
• Delivery records
• Bag counts
• Order weights
• Photographs
• Item tags
• Processing records
• Care labels
• Customer instructions
• Evidence of preexisting wear
• Information from the processing partner
• Search results
• Purchase records
• Comparable replacement information
• Repair estimates
• Insurance requirements

We may request additional information or physical inspection of the item.

A customer’s belief that an item was included in an order does not, by itself, establish that Lowcountry Suds received it. The available evidence must reasonably support that the item entered our custody.
 

10. Valuation of an Accepted Claim

Laundry items generally decrease in value through age, wear, use, laundering, and condition.

An accepted claim is valued using the item’s reasonable current value immediately before the loss or damage.

Relevant factors include:

• Age
• Condition
• Original purchase price
• Remaining useful life
• Frequency of use
• Comparable used or replacement items
• Repairability
• Documentation provided
• Accepted declared value, when applicable

We do not automatically reimburse the original retail price or the cost of replacing a used item with a brand-new premium item.

We do not reimburse sentimental or emotional value.
 

11. Available Remedies

When Lowcountry Suds accepts responsibility for a claim, we may provide one or more of the following:

• Recleaning
• Repair
• Partial refund
• Service credit
• Replacement with a reasonably comparable item
• Payment based on current depreciated value
• Another mutually agreed resolution

Subject to applicable law, the maximum remedy will be the lowest of:

1. The reasonable cost of repair;

2. The reasonable current depreciated value of the item;

3. The documented replacement cost of a substantially similar item, adjusted for age and condition;

4. Ten times the service charge reasonably attributable to the affected item; or

5. $100 per item.

The maximum aggregate liability for an ordinary residential order is $500, unless Lowcountry Suds accepted a higher declared value in writing before pickup.

Commercial customers may be subject to different limits in a signed agreement.
 

12. Exclusions

A claim may be denied or limited when loss or damage resulted from:

• Ordinary wear
• Hidden defects
• Manufacturer defects
• Fabric weakness
• Unstable dye
• Color bleeding
• Shrinkage consistent with the material or care instructions
• Missing, incorrect, or unreadable care labels
• Prior chemical exposure
• Customer instructions
• Undisclosed specialty-care requirements
• Objects left in pockets
• Prohibited or hazardous items
• Items never established as having entered our custody
• Customer handling after delivery
• Rewashing or alteration after delivery
• Theft or weather exposure after an authorized unattended delivery
• Delay in reporting that materially prevents investigation
• False or incomplete claim information
• Fraudulent or inflated valuation
• Sentimental or subjective value
• Consequential or business losses

Nothing in this policy excludes responsibility that cannot legally be excluded.
 

13. Consequential Losses

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Lowcountry Suds does not pay for indirect or consequential losses resulting from an item claim, including:

• Lost rental income
• Lost reservations
• Business interruption
• Missed events
• Substitute lodging
• Emotional distress
• Lost profits
• Reputation damage
• Replacement-service costs
• Loss of use beyond an approved item remedy

A separate commercial agreement may establish different terms.
 

14. Items Found After a Claim

If Lowcountry Suds pays a claim for a missing item and the item is later found, we may:

• Return the item after repayment of the claim amount;
• Treat the paid claim as resolving ownership of the recovered item; or
• Reach another written agreement with the customer.

We will act reasonably based on the condition of the item, the payment made, and the customer’s preference.

 

15. Fraudulent Claims

Submitting knowingly false information, altered documentation, inflated values, or a claim for an item not delivered to Lowcountry Suds may result in:

• Claim denial
• Account suspension
• Termination of service
• Recovery of investigation or legal costs where permitted
• Referral to the payment processor, insurer, or appropriate authority
 

16. Insurance Claims

Lowcountry Suds may refer a claim to an insurance carrier.

The customer agrees to reasonably cooperate with an insurer’s investigation and provide requested documentation.

Insurance review does not guarantee payment. Coverage and claim decisions may be subject to policy terms, exclusions, deductibles, and proof requirements.
 

17. Claim Resolution

Lowcountry Suds will make reasonable efforts to acknowledge and investigate a complete claim promptly.

The investigation period may depend on:

• Complexity
• Availability of records
• Search requirements
• Processing-partner cooperation
• Repair estimates
• Replacement research
• Insurance review

Any settlement, refund, credit, repair, or replacement may require the customer to sign a reasonable claim-resolution acknowledgment.
 

18. Questions and Claims

Submit questions or claims to:

Lowcountry Suds, LLC
Email: info@lowcountrysuds.com
Phone: 912-660-9300
Savannah, Georgia

Include the customer name and order number in all claim communications.