Help Me Hank: Help Me Hank! Taken to the cleaners

Lisa's a dedicated professional, and it's key to dress the part. Every shirt must be perfectly laundered and well pressed. 

Lisa Barton, professional
"You notice it immediately."

But Lisa doesn't have the time to make sure every wrinkle is ironed out, that she leaves to the cleaners. She brings her shirts and her husbands to be laundered. The cost 2.25 each.

Lisa Barton, professional
"They're just basic cotton shirts, some with French cuffs, some without."

Last month she dropped off 21 shirts, 15 his, 6 hers, expecting all of them to be washed and pressed as usual. But when she picked them up her shirts had been separated from her husbands. Hers had been dry-cleaned. And the cost of that almost 7 bucks each.

Lisa Barton, professional
"I didn't believe that at all."

Lisa was told your shirts are blouses and they have to be dry-cleaned. 

Lisa Barton, professional
"You feel like you're being cheated, absolutely."

Unsatisfied, she asked for a redo and this time they got it right. But she was charged for the dry-cleaning and the laundering. What's more seemed like Lisa was charged more because the shirts belonged to a woman, was that okay? She picked up the phone to find out.

Lisa Barton, professional
"It was channel 7."

Look at these shirts, can you tell which one is Lisa's husband's and which one the dry-cleaner said was a blouse? Exactly, they're nearly identical! And we know charging more to clean a shirt simply because it belongs to a woman is illegal.

It is fair to charge more if there are ruffles, or fancy cuffs, or complicated collars or delicate fabric, that's because they require a different process or can't be pressed on this machine. But you can see there was nothing like that on Lisa's shirts; she'd been taken to the cleaners.

Hank Phillippi Ryan, Investigative Reporter
"Clearly that's wrong, correct?"

We called the company to remind them of gender discrimination. They told us oops! A new employee just didn't know. And no problem they'd refund her money. Lisa got her money back, but so far she's not going to forget it.

Lisa Barton, professional
"Thank you, but I'm still going to another dry-cleaner."

Hank Phillippi Ryan, Investigative Reporter
"So whoever in your family takes the stuff to the dry-cleaner, or just as important, who ever picks it up, make sure you're getting the correct process! You can see it can make a big difference in your bill.

(Copyright 2008 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)