Hairdresser damaged my Barenia Birkin, help please!

[bibivi1]

Dear TPFs, I hope some of you will be able to help and advise me how to deal with the situation that happened to me today. Would be very grateful for any help.

Today, after my hairdresser appointment finished I noticed a thin, maybe 2cm long splash of a brown substance on the front of my birkin.
I alerted the receptionist and she made a phone call asking sb to bring "smuge remover". When the solution was brought and she wanted to treat my BB with it I asked if it will not take a colour of the bag or damage it.
Her reaction was " I take it to my boss and ask". She grabbed my BB and took it upstairs before I was even able to tell her what kind of leather she is dealing with.
A few minutes later, her boss, carrying my BB came downstairs and advised me that she decided to wash the splash with water. She showed me large 5cmx3cm dark spot on the front of my BB!!! I thought I am going to faint! She added lightly that if this won't help she will reimburse me the cost of the bag, as looks expensive, so probably around 500£ ?
When I told her how much it is worth than it was her time to faint. She told me to go home and let her know if spot goes away after bag dries out.
It is 7 hours later now and spot is still the same. I am afraid she ruined it. What can I do now? I do not believe she voluntarily will reimburse the cost of my bag. Will Hermes Spa accept a bag with a such stain?
Hope there are some lawyers among us and would be able to advise me how to deal with this situation. I live in Scotland, Uk. Please help!

 

[ALiteBeat82]

Def take it to your H store and see what they say. I would then ask the salon for compensation, if not you should go thru small claims to get some sort of restitution.

Sent from my SM-G925P using PurseForum mobile app

 

[bibivi1]

Def take it to your H store and see what they say. I would then ask the salon for compensation, if not you should go thru small claims to get some sort of restitution.

Sent from my SM-G925P using PurseForum mobile app

Thank you for your advice, I will definitely go to H store this weekend, (although it is 100 miles away and I was there last weekend - my DH won't be pleased!) Do you think I should get some sort of statement from the hairdresser to be able to proceed with the small claims?

 

[sparklelisab]

Oh my goodness---I am out of breath from gasping. I am so sorry--I am dying for you. Barenia?? I fear you might be stuck with this spot!

I am no lawyer and often, "statements" are not worth the paper they are written on but you need to get to the beauty shop and ask salon owner to write something to prove this happened there. Salons have insurance, remember. I would do this before someone "forgets" what happened. Oh my dear, good luck and keep us posted. Soooo sorry!!!

 

[Mindi B]

I don't know British law, but in the US, small claims judgments are capped at a few thousand dollars, (usually--it varies by state here) and further, a used item will be valued at a depreciated amount, so even in the best possible case you will not be able to recoup the cost of a replacement bag. The salon might be able to go through their insurance to offer you compensation--or do you have any sort of homeowners' insurance rider that covers high value items? This is a tough one; I'm so sorry it happened. Obviously in this case the horse has already escaped the barn, but taking anything valuable like this to a hair salon is a risk. . .

ETA: While I am no leather expert, I do know that Barnia and water don't mix, and at the very least you will be left with some sort of water spot. Hermes spa may be able to condition the whole panel to make the stain less obvious, or--if the leather is available--replace the entire panel, but I don't know if they will do this, and if they will, it will be pricey, I would expect.

 

[ouija board]

See what it looks like when it is dry, which could take most of the day if they really soaked it. I'd be more concerned with what the original stain was. The only good thing about what that employee did was to dilute out whatever chemical splattered on your bag. Definitely take it to Hermes as soon as you can, to see what they can do. The beauty of Barenia is that it can be cleaned, in my opinion, better and more thoroughly than any other leather because you're less worried about scrubbing off a dyed top layer. Years ago, I spilled a creamy, oily soup all over my Barenia Birkin, and just with my own frantic and probably overzealous cleaning with Lexol, it looked as clean as it did before the spill. After sending it to spa six months later, it came back even cleaner.

Definitely have a talk with the salon owner/manager because she had no business attempting to clean, wash, or fix your bag (or anything else that is outside her realm of expertise, for that matter). While it may not have been the hairdresser's fault that your bag got stained, they should be responsible for any damage done by their attempt to wash your bag.

Edit: I just read that it's been seven hours with no change. Call the salon and make absolutely sure that she didn't apply that "smudge remover" rather than just water. It may still dry out over 24 hours, but I'd expect it to have at least lightened up after 7 hours IF it was just water. Fingers crossed.

 

[bibivi1]

Oh my goodness---I am out of breath from gasping. I am so sorry--I am dying for you. Barenia?? I fear you might be stuck with this spot!

I am no lawyer and often, "statements" are not worth the paper they are written on but you need to get to the beauty shop and ask salon owner to write something to prove this happened there. Salons have insurance, remember. I would do this before someone "forgets" what happened. Oh my dear, good luck and keep us posted. Soooo sorry!!!

I didn't think about salons' insurance, it is definitely worth checking, thank you for your advice!

 

[**Chanel**]

Oh my, that's awful! I am so sorry this happened to you.
First of all, I would bring it to Hermès asap to see what can be done. Maybe a spa will help, but I am not sure.
If that doesn't work, maybe our docride has advice what to do with it. Have a look at the vintage nightmare leather thread, she can do miracles so perhaps it is worth a try.
If that also doesn't work out, I would definitely try to keep the salon responsible.
I am no lawyer, so I can't give legal advice, but usually they should have insurance.
So perhaps the salon can have a look at their insurance to find out what the possibillities are.
Also, if Hermès spa can do something about it, I would give the receipt to the salon. I would update the salon anyway about the status of your bag and that you are taking it to Hermès.
I truly hope all works out for you.

I never carry a H. bag to the hair salon. I am way too nervous something like this would happen to me.

 

[bibivi1]

I don't know British law, but in the US, small claims judgments are capped at a few thousand dollars, (usually--it varies by state here) and further, a used item will be valued at a depreciated amount, so even in the best possible case you will not be able to recoup the cost of a replacement bag. The salon might be able to go through their insurance to offer you compensation--or do you have any sort of homeowners' insurance rider that covers high value items? This is a tough one; I'm so sorry it happened. Obviously in this case the horse has already escaped the barn, but taking anything valuable like this to a hair salon is a risk. . .

ETA: While I am no leather expert, I do know that Barnia and water don't mix, and at the very least you will be left with some sort of water spot. Hermes spa may be able to condition the whole panel to make the stain less obvious, or--if the leather is available--replace the entire panel, but I don't know if they will do this, and if they will, it will be pricey, I would expect.

That's what I was thinking as well - it would be difficult to asses a replacement value, but replacing a whole front panel at Hermes Spa...that might be a great idea, thank you !

 

[scarlet555]

OMG never ever let your Birkin leave your sight and fight anyone who grabs it. No one can touch these leathers especially if they have no clue, and most people have no clue!!!

No one but us here has any idea how much these bags cost!

Please let us know how this pans out. I have a barenia B too and have been extra careful and reading on how to clean it, which I still don't know how to clean small spots/stains from it.

 

[Israeli_Flava]

OMG I just died. I'm so sorry this happened to you.

I'm not a lawyer nor do I know Scottish law but I'd have to say that the hairdresser's boss taking the bag from you and "treating it" makes her responsible for the spot now. She may have been able to turn you away with some "you brought the bag in to the salon, so it's your fault" type response if she never got involved but by trying to "fix" the spot.... now she is at fault. I'd say you need to take your B to Hermes and get an estimate for spa. Then go to the salon and tell her the prognosis. She must be liable. ... I don't think she is going to argue with you as she seemed willing to help... She already stated she would pay to get a new bag so I'm sure she will be willing to spa the bag for you (once you explain to her that Birkins go to "Spa" hahahahahaha)...

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[papertiger]

Dear TPFs, I hope some of you will be able to help and advise me how to deal with the situation that happened to me today. Would be very grateful for any help.

Today, after my hairdresser appointment finished I noticed a thin, maybe 2cm long splash of a brown substance on the front of my birkin.
I alerted the receptionist and she made a phone call asking sb to bring "smuge remover". When the solution was brought and she wanted to treat my BB with it I asked if it will not take a colour of the bag or damage it.
Her reaction was " I take it to my boss and ask". She grabbed my BB and took it upstairs before I was even able to tell her what kind of leather she is dealing with.
A few minutes later, her boss, carrying my BB came downstairs and advised me that she decided to wash the splash with water. She showed me large 5cmx3cm dark spot on the front of my BB!!! I thought I am going to faint! She added lightly that if this won't help she will reimburse me the cost of the bag, as looks expensive, so probably around 500£ ?
When I told her how much it is worth than it was her time to faint. She told me to go home and let her know if spot goes away after bag dries out.
It is 7 hours later now and spot is still the same. I am afraid she ruined it. What can I do now? I do not believe she voluntarily will reimburse the cost of my bag. Will Hermes Spa accept a bag with a such stain?
Hope there are some lawyers among us and would be able to advise me how to deal with this situation. I live in Scotland, Uk. Please help!

I am sooooo sorry, this is terrible news!

I don't know what to advise except get an expert opinion from H if anything can be done

FYI UK small claims court limit is 10K.

 

[cvw1004]

I am assuming you need to take it to Glasgow? Do they have a craftsperson there? Otherwise it will need to go to Bond St who may need to send it to Paris if the damage is too bad. Your bag could be out of action for months I'm afraid. I was told 4 months for a spa in London recently, longer if sent to Paris.

 

[missD]

So devastating! I'm sorry you have to go thru this!!! Hope it gets resolved in your favor!

 

[mistikat]

Water on barenia should not be an issue; it's an oil tanned leather. My barenia bags have gotten wet (rain, snow) with no lasting discolouration or issues. Because it's oil tanned, it will absorb oil based products but generally repel water. It would be helpful to know, if possible, the substance that caused the stain and what was later applied to it to attempt to remove it. If it can't be removed, one option could be applying Hermes baume to the entire bag, which would darken the leather so the stain blends in.

I hope Hermes can offer some satisfactory solutions and you will again be able to enjoy your bag.