Not All Customers Get Clothes Back from Dry Cleaners

Hundreds of people lined up outside Payless Dry Cleaners Saturday morning to attempt to retrieve clothes they dropped off at 150 Lincoln Highway in Fairless Hills before the location closed unexpectedly last week.

One woman, a Langhorne resident, said she watched as another woman rummaged through a bin looking for her mother’s wedding dress. In the end, the woman found it.

However, many were not so lucky on Saturday.

Bucks County consumer investigator Lynn Hanes said the dry cleaners and tailoring shop had clothes everywhere. Inside garments hung from racks and sat piled in bins. Hanes told Patch and customers that it might take a little while for all the clothes to be sorted out and given to their respective owners.

The Bucks County Consumer Protection Department expects to hold another clothing pick up day in a the next week or two, Hanes said.

The 4-hour-long item retrieval event on Saturday was so packed that Falls Township police were called to the scene to help direct traffic and manage the crowds, which wrapped around the building at one point.

Lower Makefield resident Gene Dolnick said he was “elated” as he walked out of the store with a handful of dress shirts.

Those who waited in line told stories of how they were left without proper work attire because much of their wardrobe sat locked in the store. One woman said her son had to buy another dress outfit for his school's homecoming dance due to the closure.

The business, which boasted a $1.99 special, closed without prior notice within the past two weeks. Patch was unsuccessful in reaching the owners of the shop.

Hanes said the county also initially had trouble contacting the owners, who also operated the recently closed Payless Dry Cleaners in Warminster.

Through a representative, Hanes continued, the county and the business owners came to an agreement to give the customers clothes back.

“We’ve received about 160 complains about this business,” she said. “Oh, and that number is growing.”

Customers who still have not received their clothes are asked to file a complaints with the county online at BucksCounty.org. The Bucks County Office of Consumer Protection also accepts complaints via 215-348-6060.

Hanes said it is believed the store closed because of financial trouble.